Changes

Byrd joined with other [[Southern United States|Southern]] and border state Democrats to [[filibuster]] the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], personally filibustering the bill for 14 hours — a move he later said he regretted.<ref>[http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0228-07.htm Byrd Says He Regrets Voting For Patriot Act], Associate Press, 2006-02-28.</ref> Despite an 83-day [[filibuster]] in the Senate, both parties in Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Act, and President Johnson signed the bill into law.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Civil_Rights_Filibuster_Ended.htm  U.S. Senate, June 10, 1964: Civil Rights Filibuster Ended]</ref> He also opposed the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], but voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In 2005, Byrd told the ''Washington Post'' that his membership in the [[Baptist]] church led to a change in his views. In the opinion of one reviewer, Byrd, along with other Southern and border state Democrats, came to realize that he would have to temper "his blatantly [[racial segregation|segregationist]] views" and move to the Democrat Party mainstream if he wanted to play a role nationally.

Byrd joined with other [[Southern United States|Southern]] and border state Democrats to [[filibuster]] the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], personally filibustering the bill for 14 hours — a move he later said he regretted.<ref>[http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0228-07.htm Byrd Says He Regrets Voting For Patriot Act], Associate Press, 2006-02-28.</ref> Despite an 83-day [[filibuster]] in the Senate, both parties in Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Act, and President Johnson signed the bill into law.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Civil_Rights_Filibuster_Ended.htm  U.S. Senate, June 10, 1964: Civil Rights Filibuster Ended]</ref> He also opposed the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], but voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In 2005, Byrd told the ''Washington Post'' that his membership in the [[Baptist]] church led to a change in his views. In the opinion of one reviewer, Byrd, along with other Southern and border state Democrats, came to realize that he would have to temper "his blatantly [[racial segregation|segregationist]] views" and move to the Democrat Party mainstream if he wanted to play a role nationally.

===Democratic Leadership===

===Senate Leader and Whip===

In addition to being an Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, Byrd held the positions of Democratic Majority Whip from 1971 to 1977, Senate Minority Leader in the Reagan era from 1981 to 1987, Democratic Majority Leader from 1987 to 1989. Byrd was removed as Democratic Leader after the election of Pres. [[George H.W. Bush]] for not being [[partisan]] and confrontational enough with Republican presidents. Democrats wanted to end "twelve years of neglect" and install a [[New Jim Crow]]. He held the honorific title of President pro tempore of the United States Senate in the [[Obama]] era, third in the line of succession to the presidency after the [[Vice President]] and the [[Speaker of the House of Representatives]], until his death in 2010.

In addition to being an Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, Byrd held the positions of Democratic Majority Whip from 1971 to 1977, Senate Minority Leader in the Reagan era from 1981 to 1987, Democratic Majority Leader from 1987 to 1989. Byrd was removed as Democratic Leader after the election of Pres. [[George H.W. Bush]] for not being [[partisan]] and confrontational enough with Republican presidents. Democrats wanted to end "twelve years of neglect" and install a [[New Jim Crow]]. He held the honorific title of President pro tempore of the United States Senate in the [[Obama]] era, third in the line of succession to the presidency after the [[Vice President]] and the [[Speaker of the House of Representatives]], until his death in 2010.