Sen. Robert Byrd Dead at 92; Truly Eternal Filibuster Now Commences

Posted on | June 28, 2010 | 62 Comments

He just became the best kind of Democrat, joining the sainted ranks of those who can no longer demagogue and pander their way to power, who no longer tax honest people into poverty so that their less industrious neighbors can be bribed with “free” government giveaways, and about whom even Republicans feel compelled to say nice things.

American children not yet born will pay the debts incurred to build all those pork-barrel edifices that now must be renamed the Robert C. Byrd Memorial Wastewater Treatment Plant, etc.

UPDATE: Cassy Fiano gathers the reaction from the dextrous blogosphere.

Category: Democrats, Senate, West Virginia

Comments

62 Responses to “Sen. Robert Byrd Dead at 92; Truly Eternal Filibuster Now Commences”

Dave C
June 28th, 2010 @ 11:30 am

Not to worry, the Democrats will still let him vote.
Dave C
June 28th, 2010 @ 7:30 am

Not to worry, the Democrats will still let him vote.
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 11:39 am

But you know what, when Strom Thurmond died, there were a substantial amount of folks on the Left that said the exact same thing that is mentioned in this post. My point? Is that there is too much sameness among Democrats and Republicans. Two sides of the same coin.

While I disagree with a substantial number of points the some of the Tea Party are throwin’ out, I would love nothing more than to see the Tea Party, and other 3rd party groups, just run all Dems and Repubs out of Congress (well run a majority out). Only to really cause a shake-up. Because right now, Democrats and Republicans in Congress just turn into corporate shills and Washingtonians.
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 7:39 am

But you know what, when Strom Thurmond died, there were a substantial amount of folks on the Left that said the exact same thing that is mentioned in this post. My point? Is that there is too much sameness among Democrats and Republicans. Two sides of the same coin.

While I disagree with a substantial number of points the some of the Tea Party are throwin’ out, I would love nothing more than to see the Tea Party, and other 3rd party groups, just run all Dems and Repubs out of Congress (well run a majority out). Only to really cause a shake-up. Because right now, Democrats and Republicans in Congress just turn into corporate shills and Washingtonians.
Mike
June 28th, 2010 @ 11:57 am

How fitting the former Klansman was probably wrapped in a white sheet when he died…something familiar to him for the trip to the afterlife.
Mike
June 28th, 2010 @ 7:57 am

How fitting the former Klansman was probably wrapped in a white sheet when he died…something familiar to him for the trip to the afterlife.
Moe Lane
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:01 pm

Ah, I see that you have a representative from the GOOOH Elect-a-Democrat in 2010 crowd commenting.
Moe Lane
June 28th, 2010 @ 8:01 am

Ah, I see that you have a representative from the GOOOH Elect-a-Democrat in 2010 crowd commenting.
T.L. Davis
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:04 pm

Mr. Steel as a member of the Tea Party Movement I can say that I appreciate your sentiment and you might be glad to know that up to 20% of Tea Partyists are either Independents or disaffected Democrats. Democrats making up around 8%. And, I would encourage you to take a closer look at the Tea Party’s ACTUAL stances, not just those attributed to them.
T.L. Davis
June 28th, 2010 @ 8:04 am

Mr. Steel as a member of the Tea Party Movement I can say that I appreciate your sentiment and you might be glad to know that up to 20% of Tea Partyists are either Independents or disaffected Democrats. Democrats making up around 8%. And, I would encourage you to take a closer look at the Tea Party’s ACTUAL stances, not just those attributed to them.
T.L. Davis
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:08 pm

Oh, and as far as Byrd was concerned, there was a time when he stood on principle, at least. In later years he just went along with the Obama crowd. He was a klansman, a forgiveable error if a Democrat, a more serious indictment of the Democrat Party I cannot find. RIP, however, God will know what to do.
T.L. Davis
June 28th, 2010 @ 8:08 am

Oh, and as far as Byrd was concerned, there was a time when he stood on principle, at least. In later years he just went along with the Obama crowd. He was a klansman, a forgiveable error if a Democrat, a more serious indictment of the Democrat Party I cannot find. RIP, however, God will know what to do.
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:17 pm

Mr. Davis, I should have been more clear. Actually it’s not the actual positions that I have a big issue with, it’s how they are represented by some of those here in suburban/rural Georgia where I live. For the record, I’ve never voted for a Democrat or Republican on the federal level since, as I said, they all sound and act the same. ‘Nuff said on that.

I believe that the Tea Party can make in-roads into traditionally hostile Republican areas by just being direct with the issues with any extra spices attached that can be perceived as bigoted and the like (NOTE I’M NOT SAYING THIS ABOUT ALL OF THE TEA PARTY JUST IN MY AREA). I want change. Heck we need change. And see the Tea Party as more of a legit 3rd party force. Maybe I should approach the local Tea Party rep as a minority outreach contact. HMM!

And Mr. Lane, are you talking to me? I will never vote for (nor will I) vote for a traditional Democrat or Republican on the federal level. I would cast my vote for Spongebob Squarepants clones in 2010 and 2012 instead of those nonsensical political clones.
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 8:17 am

Mr. Davis, I should have been more clear. Actually it’s not the actual positions that I have a big issue with, it’s how they are represented by some of those here in suburban/rural Georgia where I live. For the record, I’ve never voted for a Democrat or Republican on the federal level since, as I said, they all sound and act the same. ‘Nuff said on that.

I believe that the Tea Party can make in-roads into traditionally hostile Republican areas by just being direct with the issues with any extra spices attached that can be perceived as bigoted and the like (NOTE I’M NOT SAYING THIS ABOUT ALL OF THE TEA PARTY JUST IN MY AREA). I want change. Heck we need change. And see the Tea Party as more of a legit 3rd party force. Maybe I should approach the local Tea Party rep as a minority outreach contact. HMM!

And Mr. Lane, are you talking to me? I will never vote for (nor will I) vote for a traditional Democrat or Republican on the federal level. I would cast my vote for Spongebob Squarepants clones in 2010 and 2012 instead of those nonsensical political clones.
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:18 pm

OOPS. Type this sentence should read:

“I believe that the Tea Party can make in-roads into traditionally hostile Republican areas by just being direct without the issues with any extra spices attached…”

Sorry.
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 8:18 am

OOPS. Type this sentence should read:

“I believe that the Tea Party can make in-roads into traditionally hostile Republican areas by just being direct without the issues with any extra spices attached…”

Sorry.
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:20 pm

Guess I made the exact same mistake. This sentence should read:

“I believe that the Tea Party can make in-roads into traditionally hostile Republican areas by just being direct with the issues WITHOUT any extra spices attached…”
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 8:20 am

Guess I made the exact same mistake. This sentence should read:

“I believe that the Tea Party can make in-roads into traditionally hostile Republican areas by just being direct with the issues WITHOUT any extra spices attached…”
Cassy Fiano » BREAKING: Senator Robert Byrd dead at 92; conservative blogosphere reacts
June 28th, 2010 @ 8:32 am

[…] Stacy McCain calls Byrd “the best kind of Democrat”. […]
A Klansman Departs « The Underground Conservative
June 28th, 2010 @ 8:41 am

[…] as Robert Stacy McCain points out: He just became the best kind of Democrat, joining the sainted ranks of those who can no longer […]
Moe Lane
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:44 pm

:patting T-Steel on the top of the head:

Speaker Pelosi and SML Reid thank you for your support.
Moe Lane
June 28th, 2010 @ 8:44 am

:patting T-Steel on the top of the head:

Speaker Pelosi and SML Reid thank you for your support.
Moe Lane
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:46 pm

…And, yes, that *is* casual contempt.
Moe Lane
June 28th, 2010 @ 8:46 am

…And, yes, that *is* casual contempt.
Virginia Right! News Hound for 6/28/2010 | Virginia Right!
June 28th, 2010 @ 9:34 am

[…] Sen. Robert Byrd Dead at 92; Truly Eternal Filibuster Now Commences […]
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 2:21 pm

Wow. Assuming makes an… Whatever. It’s quite entertaining when those of us who don’t support either party get accused of being Republicans on Dem/Liberal sites and Democrats on Republican/conservative sites by a person or two. But it’s all good. I know who I am and what I believe so the casual contempt is butter for the toast.

Either way, I hold firm to my views on how the Tea Party can make in-roads in certain areas that don’t seem possible. Even in traditional Democrat strongholds like Atlanta, there is a lot of discontent that just needs the right delivery to switch them over. Optimistic? Perhaps. But not impossible.
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 10:21 am

Wow. Assuming makes an… Whatever. It’s quite entertaining when those of us who don’t support either party get accused of being Republicans on Dem/Liberal sites and Democrats on Republican/conservative sites by a person or two. But it’s all good. I know who I am and what I believe so the casual contempt is butter for the toast.

Either way, I hold firm to my views on how the Tea Party can make in-roads in certain areas that don’t seem possible. Even in traditional Democrat strongholds like Atlanta, there is a lot of discontent that just needs the right delivery to switch them over. Optimistic? Perhaps. But not impossible.
Robert Byrd
June 28th, 2010 @ 2:25 pm

In the early 1940s, Robert Byrd organized a 150-member klavern, or chapter, of the Klan in Sophia, W.Va., and was chosen its leader at a meeting. After the meeting, Joel L. Baskin, the Klan’s grand dragon for the region, suggested that Mr. Byrd use his “talents for leadership” by going into politics.

“Suddenly, lights flashed in my mind!” Mr. Byrd later wrote. “Someone important had recognized my abilities.”…

And the rest is history!

Why is it so damn hot here?
Robert Byrd
June 28th, 2010 @ 10:25 am

In the early 1940s, Robert Byrd organized a 150-member klavern, or chapter, of the Klan in Sophia, W.Va., and was chosen its leader at a meeting. After the meeting, Joel L. Baskin, the Klan’s grand dragon for the region, suggested that Mr. Byrd use his “talents for leadership” by going into politics.

“Suddenly, lights flashed in my mind!” Mr. Byrd later wrote. “Someone important had recognized my abilities.”…

And the rest is history!

Why is it so damn hot here?
Moe Lane
June 28th, 2010 @ 3:08 pm

Aren’t they cute when they pretend to get all huffy?

Look, T-Steel: claiming that there’s no difference between the GOP and the Democrats doesn’t work anymore. ‘Stimulus,’ cap-and-tax, and Obamacare gutted that nonsense. I’m no more required to take you seriously as I am the people who deny the moon landing happened, who claim that 9/11 was put together by the International Zionist Conspiracy, or who fight back against the blindingly obvious observation that Firefly was absolutely brilliant television.

OK, you’re probably not as bad as the fools who claim that last bit. Fair’s fair.

Anyway, you can have the last word; I need to get back to getting conservatives and Republicans elected, anyway.
Moe Lane
June 28th, 2010 @ 11:08 am

Aren’t they cute when they pretend to get all huffy?

Look, T-Steel: claiming that there’s no difference between the GOP and the Democrats doesn’t work anymore. ‘Stimulus,’ cap-and-tax, and Obamacare gutted that nonsense. I’m no more required to take you seriously as I am the people who deny the moon landing happened, who claim that 9/11 was put together by the International Zionist Conspiracy, or who fight back against the blindingly obvious observation that Firefly was absolutely brilliant television.

OK, you’re probably not as bad as the fools who claim that last bit. Fair’s fair.

Anyway, you can have the last word; I need to get back to getting conservatives and Republicans elected, anyway.
Joe
June 28th, 2010 @ 3:31 pm

We need a West Virginia Scott Brown now.
Joe
June 28th, 2010 @ 11:31 am

We need a West Virginia Scott Brown now.
Wondering Jew
June 28th, 2010 @ 4:27 pm

I hate to speak ill of the dead, but in this case it is truly good riddance. Between his time as a Klansman, his shamelessly extended career as an elected official and his continual theft of the money of hard-working American families to name various monuments after himself, Byrd represented many of the worst aspects of our politics.
Wondering Jew
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:27 pm

I hate to speak ill of the dead, but in this case it is truly good riddance. Between his time as a Klansman, his shamelessly extended career as an elected official and his continual theft of the money of hard-working American families to name various monuments after himself, Byrd represented many of the worst aspects of our politics.
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 4:30 pm

First, Battlestar Galactica was absolutely brilliant televison!

And saying “doesn’t work anymore” just doesn’t work anymore. Down here in Georgia, Republicans are practicing the same blind spending that the Democrat-controlled Congress and Obama Administration is engaging in. At the federal level, lobbyist make sure they are in the ear of both Democrats and Republicans and frequently get their way. Washington D.C. changes them all. Turns them into pure politicians and not representatives of the people. What has excited me about the Tea Party movement is the purity of it. I went to a Tea Party rally here at the University of Georgia. And even with my concerns, those are folks I can support because they are SO outside of the D.C. ways and wiles. Could they be corrupted by lobbyist? Yes they could. BUT they aren’t part of an institution of corruption that the mainline Dems and Repubs roll in.

I’m through with the whole lot of them. They don’t represent me. They represent themselves. The Donkey and Elephant conventions are Hollywood productions of fakeness. Their campaign commercials are blah fests of the sameness. They are absolutely trash. Great the Republicans will “take back our country” starting in 2010. Uh no. 2012 if elected President? Uh no. You want to take back our country, you elect REAL CHANGE which lies outside the current Big 2.

And if that’s being huffy, so be it.
T-Steel
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:30 pm

First, Battlestar Galactica was absolutely brilliant televison!

And saying “doesn’t work anymore” just doesn’t work anymore. Down here in Georgia, Republicans are practicing the same blind spending that the Democrat-controlled Congress and Obama Administration is engaging in. At the federal level, lobbyist make sure they are in the ear of both Democrats and Republicans and frequently get their way. Washington D.C. changes them all. Turns them into pure politicians and not representatives of the people. What has excited me about the Tea Party movement is the purity of it. I went to a Tea Party rally here at the University of Georgia. And even with my concerns, those are folks I can support because they are SO outside of the D.C. ways and wiles. Could they be corrupted by lobbyist? Yes they could. BUT they aren’t part of an institution of corruption that the mainline Dems and Repubs roll in.

I’m through with the whole lot of them. They don’t represent me. They represent themselves. The Donkey and Elephant conventions are Hollywood productions of fakeness. Their campaign commercials are blah fests of the sameness. They are absolutely trash. Great the Republicans will “take back our country” starting in 2010. Uh no. 2012 if elected President? Uh no. You want to take back our country, you elect REAL CHANGE which lies outside the current Big 2.

And if that’s being huffy, so be it.
Robert Byrd
June 28th, 2010 @ 12:46 pm

It was good to catch up with my old friend Ted Kennedy, until I saw what they were doing to him down here. I suspect I will regret things I did in my life.
Robert Byrd
June 28th, 2010 @ 4:46 pm

It was good to catch up with my old friend Ted Kennedy, until I saw what they were doing to him down here. I suspect I will regret things I did in my life.
Miss Sharon
June 28th, 2010 @ 5:40 pm

Reading that Gov. Joe Manchin (D) to replace with Rep Nick Rahall(D) to pass Finance Reg Package and to save him from losing to Spike Maynard (R) in WV#3, initially. Now reading Manchin who is term limited, wants the seat for himself.
Miss Sharon
June 28th, 2010 @ 1:40 pm

Reading that Gov. Joe Manchin (D) to replace with Rep Nick Rahall(D) to pass Finance Reg Package and to save him from losing to Spike Maynard (R) in WV#3, initially. Now reading Manchin who is term limited, wants the seat for himself.
molonlabe28
June 28th, 2010 @ 5:48 pm

Byrd was an annoying and unctuous pain in the neck.

I have every expectation that the Governor of W. Va. will appoint a similar replacement.
molonlabe28
June 28th, 2010 @ 1:48 pm

Byrd was an annoying and unctuous pain in the neck.

I have every expectation that the Governor of W. Va. will appoint a similar replacement.
Joe
June 28th, 2010 @ 5:54 pm

molonlabe28
June 28th, 2010 @ 1:48 pm
Byrd was an annoying and unctuous pain in the neck.

I have every expectation that the Governor of W. Va. will appoint a similar replacement.

Not necessarily molonlabe28, not necessarily! But never underestimate the craveness and ability of the Democrats to cheat.
Joe
June 28th, 2010 @ 1:54 pm

molonlabe28
June 28th, 2010 @ 1:48 pm
Byrd was an annoying and unctuous pain in the neck.

I have every expectation that the Governor of W. Va. will appoint a similar replacement.

Not necessarily molonlabe28, not necessarily! But never underestimate the craveness and ability of the Democrats to cheat.
Joe
June 28th, 2010 @ 6:08 pm

Robert Byrd
Monday, June 28th, 2010
So if I’m correctly reading the various tributes to Sen. Robert Byrd floating around the web this morning, I’m supposed to celebrate how the man atoned for his bigotry earlier in life by devoting the rest of his life to public service . . . where he used other people’s money to build monuments to himself.

That this could be considered a form of redemption says all you need to know about what the political class considers important.

Radley Balko.

That sums it up pretty well.
Joe
June 28th, 2010 @ 2:08 pm

Robert Byrd
Monday, June 28th, 2010
So if I’m correctly reading the various tributes to Sen. Robert Byrd floating around the web this morning, I’m supposed to celebrate how the man atoned for his bigotry earlier in life by devoting the rest of his life to public service . . . where he used other people’s money to build monuments to himself.

That this could be considered a form of redemption says all you need to know about what the political class considers important.

Radley Balko.

That sums it up pretty well.
Grimcargo
June 28th, 2010 @ 6:16 pm

Hey Robert your favorite pos is steadily watching you.
no and guitar plays
64 Charles Mon, Jun 28, 2010 10:55:38am replyquote

* 0
* down
* up
* report

I’d like to urge people again who have Twitter accounts, to retweet those Robert Stacy McCain posts from the weekend, because there’s much more traffic on weekdays and a lot of people will have missed them.

If you do retweet, be sure to add “#tcot #tlot #p2” to your post, so it goes to the main political lists as well.
Grimcargo
June 28th, 2010 @ 2:16 pm

Hey Robert your favorite pos is steadily watching you.
no and guitar plays
64 Charles Mon, Jun 28, 2010 10:55:38am replyquote

* 0
* down
* up
* report

I’d like to urge people again who have Twitter accounts, to retweet those Robert Stacy McCain posts from the weekend, because there’s much more traffic on weekdays and a lot of people will have missed them.

If you do retweet, be sure to add “#tcot #tlot #p2” to your post, so it goes to the main political lists as well.
Charles Johnson
June 28th, 2010 @ 6:27 pm

Do not tip him off grimcargo or you will be next! My mission is to destroy RSM for daring to defend the dirty wench Pam Geller. He would challenges my authority lives to regret it.