Tomorrow, he turns 92 after passing another milestone yesterday as the longest-serving member of Congress in history, almost 57 years.
With such longevity, Sen. Robert Byrd embodies almost a century of American history that transformed a nation of backwaters dotted by big cities into a metropolitan sprawl with access to 24/7 knowledge about the whole world.
Byrd, a self-made man if there ever was one, started as a gas jockey and butcher in West Virginia during World War II, who discovered a taste and talent for politics by joining the Ku Klux Klan at the age of 24 and rising to the position of Exalted Cyclops.
His worldview then is reflected in a 1944 letter: "I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds."
Jump-cut to May 2008, and here is Sen. Robert Byrd endorsing an African-American candidate as "a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq, and to lead our nation at this challenging time in history. Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support."
In his journey from benighted to Obama, Byrd's finest hour came on the eve of the Iraq invasion in 2002 when he warned:
"Why are we being hounded into action on a resolution that turns over to President Bush the Congress's Constitutional power to declare war? This resolution would authorize the president to use the military forces of this nation wherever, whenever and however he determines, and for as long as he determines, if he can somehow make a connection to Iraq. It is a blank check."
Today, plagued by the ills of old age, Robert Byrd is third in line of presidential succession behind Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi.
Happy Birthday, Senator, on a milestone in a remarkable American Life.
Showing posts with label Sen. Robert Byrd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sen. Robert Byrd. Show all posts
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Mission for the Mourner-in-Chief
It will be a short trip for Barack Obama from his vacation site in Martha's Vineyard to Ted Kennedy's funeral in Boston Saturday, but the Senator's interment will be the start of a longer, tougher journey for the President.
He will have to follow his mourning by channeling the departed's gift for inside politics, summoning up Kennedy's legendary blend of toughness and people skills to lure Senators out of their "ideological caves" and come together to rise above lobbyist pressures and political posturing to pass meaningful health care reform
Sen. Robert Byrd suggests today, in expressing grief for Kennedy, that "in his honor and as a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling and have a civilized debate on health care reform which I hope, when legislation has been signed into law, will bear his name for his commitment to insuring the health of every American."
In the coming weeks, the President will have to put more than Ted Kennedy's name on health care reform. When the eulogies are over, he will have to put the old pol's stamp on his efforts to get a good bill passed by members of the club in which Kennedy spent almost half a century wheeling and dealing.
That would be the tribute Kennedy would cherish most of all.
Update: He can start by convincing Congress and the public to undo Medicare Advantage, "a wasteful bonanza averaging about $17 billion a year for [insurance] companies, which critics say provide few benefits beyond regular Medicare" but that Dr. Karl Rove insists gives seniors "better care and better value for their money."
A year ago, Ted Kennedy rallied from his illness to cast the deciding Senate vote to protect Medicare. The President will have to pick up that torch.
He will have to follow his mourning by channeling the departed's gift for inside politics, summoning up Kennedy's legendary blend of toughness and people skills to lure Senators out of their "ideological caves" and come together to rise above lobbyist pressures and political posturing to pass meaningful health care reform
Sen. Robert Byrd suggests today, in expressing grief for Kennedy, that "in his honor and as a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling and have a civilized debate on health care reform which I hope, when legislation has been signed into law, will bear his name for his commitment to insuring the health of every American."
In the coming weeks, the President will have to put more than Ted Kennedy's name on health care reform. When the eulogies are over, he will have to put the old pol's stamp on his efforts to get a good bill passed by members of the club in which Kennedy spent almost half a century wheeling and dealing.
That would be the tribute Kennedy would cherish most of all.
Update: He can start by convincing Congress and the public to undo Medicare Advantage, "a wasteful bonanza averaging about $17 billion a year for [insurance] companies, which critics say provide few benefits beyond regular Medicare" but that Dr. Karl Rove insists gives seniors "better care and better value for their money."
A year ago, Ted Kennedy rallied from his illness to cast the deciding Senate vote to protect Medicare. The President will have to pick up that torch.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Senator Byrd's Decision
A 90-year-old man, who once wore the robes of the Ku Klux Klan and whose constituents voted for Hillary Clinton last week by a margin of more than 2-1, endorsed Barack Obama for president today.
Sen. Robert Byrd of West Viriginia, third in line of presidential succession, may well be the most superdelegate of them all, in deciding the Democratic nominee.
“I believe," he said, "Barack Obama is a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq, and to lead our nation at this challenging time in history...Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support.”
Byrd, who led the opposition to the 2002 Senate resolution giving George W. Bush a blank check to invade Iraq, was apparently not swayed by Hillary Clinton's conversion to his point of view and co-sponsoring a resolution last year to "de-authorize" the war.
More than four thousand lives and half a trillion dollars after her vote for the original authorization, the Senator from West Virginia must have decided that was too little and too late.
Sen. Robert Byrd of West Viriginia, third in line of presidential succession, may well be the most superdelegate of them all, in deciding the Democratic nominee.
“I believe," he said, "Barack Obama is a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq, and to lead our nation at this challenging time in history...Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support.”
Byrd, who led the opposition to the 2002 Senate resolution giving George W. Bush a blank check to invade Iraq, was apparently not swayed by Hillary Clinton's conversion to his point of view and co-sponsoring a resolution last year to "de-authorize" the war.
More than four thousand lives and half a trillion dollars after her vote for the original authorization, the Senator from West Virginia must have decided that was too little and too late.
Monday, May 12, 2008
The Most Superdelegate of All?
A 90-year-old man may turn out to be a swing vote for the Democratic nomination. Robert Byrd is President Pro Tempore of the Senate, third in line of presidential succession behind Dick Cheney and Nancy Pelosi.
Tomorrow, if the polls are right, Hillary Clinton will defeat Barack Obama in his home state of West Virginia by more than 2 to 1, and in the past year, she has been wooing Byrd by cosponsoring with him a vain resolution to "deauthorize" the war in Iraq.
As a superdelegate, Sen. Byrd has not declared a preference as yet, but his choice may depend on how well his memory serves him.
In October 2002, he passionately opposed giving George W. Bush a blank check to invade Iraq, but Hillary Clinton took the Senate floor to disagree, "from the perspective of a Senator from New York who has seen all too closely the consequences of last year's terrible attacks on our Nation. In balancing the risks of action versus inaction, I think New Yorkers, who have gone through the fires of hell, may be more attuned to the risk of not acting. I know I am.
"So it is with conviction that I support this resolution as being in the best interests of our Nation."
The following March, just before bombs began falling in Baghdad, Byrd told the Senate chamber, "(T)oday I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart...We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance...There is no credible information to connect Saddam Hussein to 9/11."
John McCain rose to disagree, and Hillary Clinton was silent. When he exercises his power as a superdelegate, will Robert Byrd remember that?
Tomorrow, if the polls are right, Hillary Clinton will defeat Barack Obama in his home state of West Virginia by more than 2 to 1, and in the past year, she has been wooing Byrd by cosponsoring with him a vain resolution to "deauthorize" the war in Iraq.
As a superdelegate, Sen. Byrd has not declared a preference as yet, but his choice may depend on how well his memory serves him.
In October 2002, he passionately opposed giving George W. Bush a blank check to invade Iraq, but Hillary Clinton took the Senate floor to disagree, "from the perspective of a Senator from New York who has seen all too closely the consequences of last year's terrible attacks on our Nation. In balancing the risks of action versus inaction, I think New Yorkers, who have gone through the fires of hell, may be more attuned to the risk of not acting. I know I am.
"So it is with conviction that I support this resolution as being in the best interests of our Nation."
The following March, just before bombs began falling in Baghdad, Byrd told the Senate chamber, "(T)oday I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart...We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance...There is no credible information to connect Saddam Hussein to 9/11."
John McCain rose to disagree, and Hillary Clinton was silent. When he exercises his power as a superdelegate, will Robert Byrd remember that?
Friday, October 05, 2007
Byrd-Watching and Sleepwalking
The senior Senator from West Virginia--and I do mean senior, he turns 90 next month--always gives me hope that, at 83, I can grow up to be as smart and outspoken as he has been in trying to keep American kids from being killed in stupid wars that should never be fought.
In 2002, he tried to keep us from invading Iraq, and here he is again, warning us about getting caught up in another mess with Iran. It may be an octogenarian thing, but both of us think it’s sleepwalking.
In 2002, he tried to keep us from invading Iraq, and here he is again, warning us about getting caught up in another mess with Iran. It may be an octogenarian thing, but both of us think it’s sleepwalking.
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