Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) Hospitalized in Washington D.C.-Area Hospital in Grave Condition

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), longest serving senator in U.S. Congress, dies after being hospitalized.

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) is reportedly in serious condition in a Washington-area hospital. His office issued a statement Sunday: "Byrd was admitted to the hospital late last week suffering from what was believed to be heat exhaustion and severe dehydration as a result of the extreme temperatures. He was expected to remain in the hospital not more than a few days. "However, upon further examination by his doctors, other conditions have developed which has resulted in his condition being described as 'serious.'"

Sen. Byrd is proof that no senator in America should be elected repeatedly to serve in any elected office for so long. Byrd, once a member of the Ku Klux Klan, began his career in Washington D.C. in 1952 with his election to the House of Representatives. He was later elected to the Senate six years later. He has been in frail health in recent years and it begs the question of why he hasn't stepped aside to allow someone else to take his place.

UPDATE#1: Sen. Byrd's office is reporting that the has died. I am amazed at the outpouring of support and praise for Byrd, though they seem to have forgotten his past, which was a very dark one. Sorry, but I can't sing the virtues of a former Ku Klux Klan member. Another stain on his  political career is the note he wrote in 1944 to racist Sen. Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi about a move to integrate the armed forces:

I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled 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.

To add insult to injury, 12 years into his service in Congress, he voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act and held up the vote in the Senate with a long filibuster. He later said he wished he could take that vote back. I could go on and on.