"TODAY OUR COUNTRY HAS LOST A TRUE AMERICAN ORIGINAL"; MY FRIEND AND MENTOR ROBERT C. BYRD. THIS IS ROBERT C. BYRD. HE WAS A KKK GRAND DRAGON, VOTED AGAINST THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT IN 1965, AND SAID IN THE '90S THAT THE KKK WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE HE EVER MADE. WHEN HE WAS IN THE KKK HE WAS A DEMOCRAT. WHEN HE MADE THE PREVIOUS STATEMENT HE WAS STILL A DEMOCRAT.