Strom Thurmond, a historical American figure, died last night at the ripe old age of 100. This farmer, WW II soldier (he flew into the D-Day invasion in a GLIDER), and judge won his first elective office in 1929. Count them, that's 75 years of elected service. Sure he started life as a Democrat and a racist segregationist but he was from a time when this was the "rule" not the "exception."

In 1964 he left all that behind to become part of a movement of Southern Democrats seeking to turn over a new leave with the big tented Grand Old Party. Okay, truth is the so-called Dixiecrats left due to objections to Lyndon Johnson's Civil Rights Act of 1964 because he, like the Republican party of the time, felt the law was unconstitutional. Because of that moment in history, the term "conservative" switched in many people's minds from meaning "limited federal government" to "racist." By opening our party up to the wayward Southern Democrats still struggling to come to terms with a lifetime of Jim Crow laws and "separate but equal" Supreme Court rulings, the GOP took on the burden of reforming these "leaders of men" into advocates for equal rights under the law.

Strom grew up a racist bastard who more than anything else believed in supporting the working man. He was only a couple of years too late to be able to have claimed to live in 3 different centuries. He was a southern gentleman thru-and-thru. He's seen half a dozen new generations join him in Congress. He came from a time of differing morality and sense of propriety but grew with the times and the changing culture.

When I die, I hope to be remembered for the good I did in life. I'm sure none of us are different. I truly hope that my friends from across the aisle to not take advantage of this loss to his family, his state, or his country to vilify those who will likely speak in defense and found remembrance of a man whose journey so many of us could never understand or truly appreciate. I pray that the very Democratic party that once was home to this noble servant resists the urge to search for and espouse some new political point designed to denigrate this once generous old man, now amongst the dearly departed.

Knowing that many of you will not take the time to visit the link I provided, I leave you with some typical Thurmondisms as explained by some of his former aids. Remember, don't hate the sinner, hate the sin. Give the man his due. You might have hated some of his policies but it was almost impossible to hate the man.

Livingston also witnessed some of history's funnier moments, like the time Thurmond was introduced to King Hussein of Jordan.

"Senator Thurmond goes, 'Hold up there, King. I've got somebody I want you to meet,'" he said.

And then there was the time when President Reagan kept the Thurmond waiting at the White House.

"Right as he's walking out, Senator Thurmond says, 'That's it. I'm a busy man. I've got things to do.' So, Senator Thurmond got up, loosened up his tie, unbuttoned his shirt, rolled up his sleeves and got down on the floor and started doing pushups," Livingston said.

If there was one lesson that Strom Thurmond has taught his staffers, pages, and interns, it is to never waste time.

"There is no free lunch. There is no way out. The only way to get there is by hard work," Williams said, speaking of the lesson he learned.

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