Just as the racists and bigots who identify as republican and conservative are not representative of all republicans and conservatives, so too is Byrd not representative of democrats, nor is Byrd 'representative' of the democratic party that's existed for the last 50 years.I shall never fight in the armed forces with a negro by my side ... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glorytrampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.
—Robert C. Byrd, in a letter to Sen. Theodore Bilbo (D-MS), 1946
“There are white *******. I've seen a lot of white ******* in my time.”
—Robert C. Byrd, live on Fox News 2001
Indeed, Byrd represents the success of the democratic party to reject the racism and bigotry that manifested primarily among its Southern members half a century ago, something republicans have yet to accomplish.