Marshall, W.Va. lose big advocate with Byrd's death

 It's safe to say that no one has fought harder for West Virginia than the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd. 

"With his name on so much, it shows how much Robert Byrd has done for the state," said George Davis, professor of political science at Marshall University. "For a long time, people will be remembering him."

Byrd was known by his opponents as a champion of pork barrel spending, but it is through this spending that Byrd funneled billions into the state.

"You might not like government spending in the big picture, but you probably like that we have roads and bridges," Davis said. "Even his opponents have to agree that he was good for the state of West Virginia."

Depite his past with its fair share of mistakes, it can't be denied that Byrd was an advocate for West Virginia and always tried to return to the state what he felt the state had given him.

"I came from lowly beginnings. The bottom rungs of my ladder were gone," Byrd said in his autobiography. "I had to have the help of the good Lord, and I've had to have the help of the people and the confidence of the people. And I've tried to repay them."

He clearly has given back. He made sure that federal complexes were built in West Virginia, including an FBI building, the Coast Guard's National Maritime Center and a NASA facility. Several schools, roads and campgrounds would not be in existence today if not for Byrd's efforts to better West Virginia. 

Byrd helped pass several laws that are integral to the well-being of our state. It's not certain where West Virginia's future lies, but Byrd has set us up for a better tomorrow.

Nationally, Byrd will likely be recognized as a scholar of the Constitution and Senate procedure, but locally, he will be a man who is remembered for a deep devotion to providing everything he could for his home state.