Robert Byrd

“You may be a king or a little street sweeper, but sooner or later you dance with the reaper.”

“The Senate is the last bastion of minority rights, where a minority can be heard, where a minority can be protected.”

“There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men.”

“I am a West Virginian. It is a badge of honor.”

“The people of West Virginia have been good to me.”

“Be sure you are right, then go ahead.”

“To be a U.S. Senator, in my humble judgment, is the highest political office in the land.”

“Let us resolve to be masters, not the victims, of our history, controlling our own destiny without giving way to blind suspicions and emotions.”

“The American people have a right to know what is in the bill. The people who are going to be paying for this have a right to know what is in it.”

“The Constitution of the United States is not a mere collection of words. It is the embodiment of a nation's soul.”

“My first love and my last love will be the people of West Virginia.”

“Education is the key that unlocks the golden door to freedom.”

“Our liberties are not granted by governments; they are accumulations of centuries of human struggle.”

“I shall not vote to cloture this debate.”

“No one can take from you what you know.”