University of Virginia Library

Polishes Sterling Image

He has worked for the
prestige and power he now
wields. Byrd has developed a
sterling image in his home
state, and he works to keep it
that way.

His office complies a
color-coded file of more than
2500 constituents, including
local politicians, ministers, and
newspaper editors, all of whom
he contacts regularly.

Byrd returns to West
Virginia about 25 times a year,
but keeps no offices there. He
answers constituent mail daily,
and sends about five or six
newsletters a year to 240,000
West Virginians, and weekly
columns to 70 newspapers.

The columns, however,
rarely outline his votes on
various issues, but actually
only present general
information and his learnings
on a particular subject.

Yet, these media
presentations enable Sen. Byrd
to at least make the voters
think he is listening to their
positions.

Moreover, his membership
on key Senate subcommittees
further enhances his image
with this constituents. He
currently serves on five
Appropriation Subcommittees,
three Judiciary Subcommittees
and two Subcommittees on
Rules.

His membership on the
Appropriations Subcommittees
places him in an advantageous
position to secure federal aid
for projects in West Virginia.

His position as chairman of
the Appropriations
Subcommittee on
Transportation allows Byrd to
funnel federal monies for
interstate highways into the
state. This works to his
advantage, since "improved
roads" have been an issue in
the Mountain State since time
immemorial.

***

Robert Byrd's rise to power
is to be admired. His devotion
and willingness to serve others
have made him the
"workhorse" of the Senate. He
has effectively seized the
opportunity in the last few
years to move forward with a
fundamentalist, law-and-order
philosophy that has appealed
to voters. The result is
reelection time and time again.

Even though his drive and
ambition have won the support
of West Virginians, these
qualities have been
over-shadowed by his
accomplishments in office for
the state. He has helped
provide monies for at least 75
federally funded projects in
West Virginia. This kind of
work wins votes from every
political group in the state.

Byrd, however, appeals to
consecrative voters yet, regardless

of his "hawkish" views on the
war, and his hard-nosed
law-and-order position, liberals
respect his integrity. He is not
to be pushed or pressured into
compliance, he consistently
says what he believes, and
more often than not returns to
his pragmatic
middle-of-the-road stance.

His diligence is perhaps best
exemplified by his graduation
from American University's
Law School in 1963, when at
45 he obtained a degree by
attending night school while
serving in the Senate.

Byrd has risen from poverty
to power, and has proven that
any man can. He may never
escape his past membership
with the Klan, which
periodically a critic may bring
to the surface, but he has
shown with his
straightforwardness that he has
risen above the situation and
can face his mistake.