Thread: Bryd, Blago and Barack ~ ugliest aspect of politics in US

They offer us the ugliest aspect of politics in America and each was elected by people who should have known better, but didn’t care enough

Bryd, Blago and Barack

By Alan Caruba
Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The long history of the nation is filled with examples of stupid and greedy politicians. The very profession seems to be a magnet for those who are, too often, ill equipped to function well in any other capacity. There are, of course, exceptions.

The death of Robert C. Byrd will be concluded with the ceremonies attendant to someone who should have left the Senate decades ago due to extreme age. Would any State trust its care to a man who, by the time he died, was so impaired that watching him in his final days in the Senate was an embarrassment of befuddlement. The answer is yes.

Byrd will be hailed a great statesmen, the embodiment of the Senate, and other encomiums, but the fact is that he mastered the rules of the Senate and achieved his stature by being reelected enough to have seniority over everyone and everything there including the chamber’s furniture.

Over the years Byrd managed to transfer an estimated $3 billion to the State of West Virginia. It is filled with some fifty highways, bridges, and every other manner of public structure, all named for Robert C. Byrd and even a few for his wife, Emma. For keeping him in office, West Virginia got back $1.75 for every $1 it sent to the U.S. treasury.

There will be brief references to his former membership in the KKK, but little mention of a voting record that resisted equal rights and justice for black Americans. For as long as he could, Byrd held out until the tide turned. To the end, he was a racist, the only senator to vote against the confirmations of both Justice Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas.

Byrd, however, was not intellectually deficient, a common factor among too many elected to high office. It is one thing to be able to raise campaign funds and make promises and quite another to have actually read a book since having left high school or college. He could quote the ancient Romans and classic literature. His greatest redeeming factor was, we’re told, his devotion to the U.S. Constitution.

In Chicago, a trial is unfolding in which the former Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, is alleged to have improperly used his office to benefit himself from the appointment of a replacement for Barack Obama, formerly a Senator and, at the time, President-elect of the United States.

Illinois has put several former Governors in jail for various crimes, but I am inclined to believe that Blago is guilty mostly of stupidity and cupidity. As far as I can discern, putting a public official in jail for that is a stretch. Were that the case, Nancy Pelosi and most of the California delegation in Congress would be wearing stripes.

As Jeff Coen and Bob Secter, reporters for the Chicago Tribune, wrote on June 27, “At times, there’s a kid-in-the-candy-store flavor to the wish lists that Rod Blagojevich rattles off in the wiretaps played at his corruption trial. A very frustrated kid in a store with shelves that leave things mostly out of his reach.â€

Yes Senator Byrd was a member of the KKK when he was a young man which no one would have known if he had not revealed the fact and apologized to the Nation for his shortcomings.

Yes Senator Byrd did take home the Bacon to W. Va. but I cannot think of another State who needed the help more then W. Virginians.They are mostly poor people working in Coal Mines with very few other opportunities in the Apalachian Mountain State.

Senator Byrd was deeply loved and revered in W. VA.. He won the 2006 Election with 65% of the popular vote.

Senator Byrd was a staunch advocate of enforcing Immigration laws and always voted against Amnesty for Illegal Aliens.

Senator Byrd was a strong advocate of the Constitution,he carried a tattered copy with him always.He was always vigilant against Presidential Power Grabbing and was not afraid to speak out against it.He said he workrd with the President NOT for him.We lost a champion of the Constitution this week.

I guess you may have guessed I was and am a fan of Senator Byrd and I shall greatly miss listening to his fiery Senate Floor Speeches.He was one of the great orators of our times.............. RIP Senator Robert Byrd.

I am originally from Wheeling, W.Va born and raised .. we dont all see him that way

however his vote slamming Amnesty ... I am forever indebted to him

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

I am originally from Wheeling, W.Va born and raised .. we dont all see him that way

however his vote slamming Amnesty ... I am forever indebted to him

I was born & raised on a farm in that tri-state area. I know everyone did not like Byrd but I think he did a lot to help W. Va. and yes he did help stop Amnesty more then once.

I just hope Rockefeller does not cave on Amnesty now that W. Va's Lion is gone.

I loved the Tri-state area ... perfect area to grow up in .... beautiful. As a matter of fact, heading back there tomorrow

Woooo Hoooo

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

I loved the Tri-state area ... perfect area to grow up in .... beautiful. As a matter of fact, heading back there tomorrow

Woooo Hoooo

Ahh yes I love it too and miss the smell of the woods,going fishing,mushroom hunting,digging a little ginsang,picking walnuts..............

You picked a great time to go home.........

Like a friend once said: those from the hills may leave but will always go back if it is only in death.

almost heaven ... people just have no idea how beautiful it is... the sights the smells

the fishing, the wildlife ... been planning this for over 7 months. I cant stay away to long or it gets to me

Columbus ohio 100 miles away, Pittsburgh 70 miles away, Cleveland within driving distance, Morgantown ... man.... looking forward to those hills... the mighty Ohio river .. the New River gorge ...

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

almost heaven ... people just have no idea how beautiful it is... the sights the smells

the fishing, the wildlife ... been planning this for over 7 months. I cant stay away to long or it gets to me

Columbus ohio 100 miles away, Pittsburgh 70 miles away, Cleveland within driving distance, Morgantown ... man.... looking forward to those hills... the mighty Ohio river .. the New River gorge ...

OK now your making me homesick and I am stuck here for a while before I can see home again.

Almost Heaven is right.............. Miss playing Blue Grass with my friends too.

dont forget the great football ... high school, College with the WVU, PITT, Ohio State

you people just dont realize the energy back there...

"Old Rockie Top" I'll try to drive threw and take some photos

if nobody see's me on here its because i am out for the next 10 -14 days

not that anyone will .. but hey, it really doesnt matter

Originally Posted by USPatriot

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

almost heaven ... people just have no idea how beautiful it is... the sights the smells

the fishing, the wildlife ... been planning this for over 7 months. I cant stay away to long or it gets to me

Columbus ohio 100 miles away, Pittsburgh 70 miles away, Cleveland within driving distance, Morgantown ... man.... looking forward to those hills... the mighty Ohio river .. the New River gorge ...

OK now your making me homesick and I am stuck here for a while before I can see home again.

Almost Heaven is right.............. Miss playing Blue Grass with my friends too.

miss the blue grass music .. and the blue grass festivals are the place to be