Quoth the Oracle of W. Virginia

To many who watch Congress regularly, he is the epitome of a United States senator: white-maned, brimming with homilies and historical allusions and exceedingly long-winded--almost invariably a great show in an increasingly lackluster institution.

To insiders, however, Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.) is the Senate’s own elder statesman--the guardian of the chamber’s prerogatives, its institutional memory and, on occasion, its voice of conscience. His pronouncements are received with awe by lawmakers of both parties.

So when the senator said Friday afternoon that he would sponsor a Democratic motion to dismiss the impeachment articles against President Clinton, the news created a stir in the Senate chamber.

“Byrd’s announcement was a serious blow for the Republicans,” said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist who follows Congress closely. “They had counted on him to be very tough on Clinton. This will help push the trial toward a close.”

Onetime Meat-Cutter in Mining Store

A onetime meat-cutter in a mining town’s company store, Byrd entered politics by running successfully for the West Virginia state Legislature in 1946. Six years later, he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. He entered the Senate in 1959.

Now 81 and second in seniority only to 96-year-old Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), who has served for 42 years, Byrd is a study in contrasts.

A maverick who played the fiddle well into his career and frequently sports brightly colored brocade vests, Byrd specializes in florid speeches, laden with obscure, highfalutin words--a throwback to the times before the TV sound bite when such oratory carried the day.

Byrd is shameless about pushing through pork-barrel projects for his home state, and his effectiveness is evident in the dozens of Robert C. Byrd highways, libraries, statues and other public structures throughout West Virginia.

But his real stature--and power--has come from mastery of the Senate’s arcane traditions and rules, a knowledge he has used skillfully to wield a cudgel, both during a brief stint as majority leader and later as appropriations chairman.

His Senate Tome Is Authoritative

He wrote a two-volume history of the Senate that is considered the major work in the field.

Virtually all his major floor actions in recent years have been linked in some way to the Senate’s prerogatives.

His decision to vote against the confirmation of Clarence Thomas as a Supreme Court justice in 1994 was based in part on his view that Thomas had insulted the Senate by bringing the issue of racism into the proceedings.

Not all of his stands have been applauded. In 1997, he drew criticism for single-handedly blocking efforts to allow a blind staffer to bring a guide dog onto the Senate floor. He later also barred the use of laptop computers by lawmakers and record-keepers.

Nevertheless, when the Senate began considering the impeachment issue earlier this month, Byrd once again was looked to as an oracle--one, characteristically, who struck fear into the hearts of the president’s staff.

In a move that delighted Republicans, he pointedly warned the White House not to try to broker a deal on the censure issue, saying he “could go either way” based on the evidence.

“If there’s any attempt to push me . . . it would be counterproductive,” Byrd said.

On Friday, unpushed and unbowed, Byrd relieved White House lawyers: “I see a motion to dismiss as the best way to promptly end this sad and sorry time for our country.”

The senior senator from West Virginia had spoken.