Political Quotes

“Mr. President, on this day, West Virginia has lost probably its most prominent son and the Senate has lost probably its most able statesman. For myself, I have lost an admired colleague and a treasured friend. More than nine decades of a remarkable life and five decades as an accomplished public servant in the Senate only serve as one form of proof that Robert C. Byrd was and always will be an icon, particularly in his own State. A man of great character, faith, intellect, who rose to the heights of power, yet never forgot where he came from, his story holds such a profoundly significant place in both West Virginia and American history. But it was in the coalfields of southern West Virginia where a young Robert C. Byrd first gained the skills, the moral character, the toughness, and the shrewdness that would make him a truly great man. After his mother passed away, he was raised by his aunt and uncle, a coalminer, he movingly called ``the most remarkable man I have ever been privileged to know.'' From them Senator Byrd learned early in life what it meant to be loyal, to have a ferocious work ethic, really almost beyond imagination, and possess a deep faith in God. And it was these values--these innately West Virginia values, I argue--that guided his every action and made him such a unique and strong fighter for our State and who got such joy in doing that fight. He was proud of West Virginia. He was proud of his ideals.…”