Senator Robert Byrd, 91, has been hospitalized for a high fever caused by a minor infection. According to his office and Associated Press, Robert Byrd is being treated with antibiotics and responding well. He should be released from the hospital in a few days.

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia is the longest serving senator in history. He was elected to Congress in 1952 and to the senate in 1958. He is currently the President pro tempore of the United States, third in line of presidential succession behind Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi. In November, he stepped down as the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Senator Robert Byrd: A Conservative Democrat

Robert Byrd is known as a Dixiecrat, a Southern Democrat by tradition. Senator Robert Byrd holds both liberal and conservative positions. Under Clinton, he opposed gays in the military by also opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment, citing states rights. He holds a 73 percent rating with the League of Conservation Voters and 68 percent lifetime rating from the ACLU. Under President Bush, Robert Byrd opposed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the resolution to wage preemptive war in Iraq. In 2007, he also gave an impassioned speech against the cruelty of dog fighting.

Senator Robert Byrd has a troubled history in race relations. In the 1940s, he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, but has long since recanted. According to Washington Post, he attributes his judgment to having grown up in impoverished West Virginia without a lot of hope. In his biography, he explained that he was afflicted with tunnel vision and an immature outlet. He had hoped the Klan would serve as an outlet for his ambitions. Robert Byrd is one of the senators who filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights bill, a move he now regrets.