Episode 90: What's the legacy of the Byrd Machine in Virginia?

We’ve all heard of machine politics. Tammany Hall. Boss Tweed. Right in the heart of New York City, the Gilded Age, an era synonymous with corruption in America’s history. But Virginia has its own slice of machine-politics history: under the control of Harry Byrd, Sr., the Byrd Machine controlled the state government for the better part of fifty years.

Who was Harry Byrd? How did he gain total control of the government? And what are the lasting impacts we feel today? To answer these questions, we're joined by friend of the show Michael Pope, author of The Byrd Machine in Virginia: The Rise and Fall of a Conservative Political Organization.