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Clinton says Byrd was proud of the pork
Posted: Jul 2, 2010 2:01 PM by David Ortiviz, News First 5
Former President Bill Clinton recalls that the late Sen. Robert Byrd made no apologies for delivering billions of federal dollars to his home state of West Virginia. At a memorial service today for Byrd, Clinton recalled him saying that "the constitution does not prohibit humble servants from delivering whatever they can to their constituents."
Also speaking at the service outside the West Virginia state capitol, President Barack Obama said Byrd's life was one that was "bent toward justice." He says even though Byrd joined the Ku Klux Klan as a youth, the senator showed "a capacity to change, a capacity to learn."
Victoria Kennedy spoke on behalf of her late husband, Ted Kennedy. She said tears flowed down her cheeks when she watched Byrd vote in favor of Obama's health care reform law, and dedicate his vote to Kennedy.
Byrd spent nearly six decades in Congress, first in the House of Representatives and then his final 51 years in the Senate, becoming the nation's longest-serving member of Congress.
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