Posted on 06/29/2010 6:38:48 AM PDT by bestintxas
A man of the Senate. I am sure that Robert Byrd, who died last night, would want people to remember that about him. And amidst all the remembrances of his life--from his many fans and his many critics--it’s important to remember what the word “Senator” meant to Byrd.
Byrd was a throwback: A throwback to the Constitution. To him, it mattered a lot that the powers of Congress are listed first in the Constitution, in Article One, while the powers of the president are listed second, in Article Two. For Byrd, that ordering of power was sacred and permanent--as sacred and permanent as the Constitution itself. And with that reverence came an understanding that concentrated power, clustered in the presidency, is always a danger.
Many Republicans find it easy to oppose imperial presidencies--when a Democrat is in the White House. And many Democrats find it easy to oppose secretive presidents--when a Republican is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Byrd was different. He was a senator, resolutely protective of his institution and against all opponents, especially presidents, in either party. And so he would lecture, on C-SPAN and elsewhere, on the history of senates, going back to the Roman Republic. No doubt many of his listeners were rolling their eyes as he talked about, say, the ancient Roman Helvidius Priscus, who fought imperial power in the first century, but Byrd knew what we all should know--if you don’t understand history, you won’t just repeat it, you will repeat the worst parts of it.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
No, he liked Senate traditions ONLY because he enjoyed the power that his office gave him.
No patriot here, just an old man who will not be missed by Americans, just liberals lusting for power.
Agreed. The Kleagle will never rise again.
Hahhaha Democrats making a saint out of an old KKK member. What a joke.
I certainly won’t miss the hypocrite KKK member.
He was a vile, self centered, blow hard.
“To him, it mattered a lot that the powers of Congress are listed first in the Constitution, in Article One, while the powers of the president are listed second, in Article Two.”
That was the extent of his much-vaunted dedication to the Constitution. In other word his interest was in protecting his power and influence as a member of Congress. He was jealous of his power and didn’t wanted anybody encroaching on it.
Exactly. He did work to great lengths to protect the Congressional balance of power. I suppose in a positive light, this is a good thing because we live in an age of ever growing Executive power, and he did his part to slow or prevent that growth. On the flip side, he should be seen as the largest pork barrel spender in history.
Bump!
One interesting thing was his federal mandate of Constitution Day for schools.
Let me guess...you've never lived in WV.
“Let me guess...you’ve never lived in WV. “
Relevance to thread, please?
I also never lived in India or Tahiti. Does that mean something?
Shame on James Pinkerton for churning out this bilge.
Byrd was a narcissistic gasbag, baby-killer, and boodler.
I see, so he was not a constructionist, nor did he adhere to original intent: he belonged to the obscure school of sequentialist interpretation.
Presumably taxes are also more important than freedom of speech, since the Constitution mentions them first.
In the reality outside of Byrdland, one of the signal features of The Federalist is the founders' fear of legislative tyranny.
I am sure that Robert Byrd, who died last night, would want people to remember that about him.
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No thats the least of his concerns...
Once he met Jesus, the Righteous Judge, all thought of his popularity level fled...
BTW:
Wheeling Jesuit University, in Wheeling, W.Va., had baby-killer Janet Reno as their commencement speaker in May of 2000.
They also have a building, bought with taxpayers’ money, named after baby-killer Byrd.
Wheeling has also had “The Vagina Monologues” on campus.
Their current president, a Jesuit whose name I can’t recall, serves on the board of the National Catholic Reporter—with Sr. Therese Kane, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Charlie Curran, and other pro-baby-killing “Catholics.”
A typical Jesuit college—pro-abortion, pro-lesbian porno.
I posted the relevance...your comment about who would miss him (unless you’re implying that many, many West Virginians are not Americans?!?)
“I posted the relevance...your comment about who would miss him (unless you’re implying that many, many West Virginians are not Americans?!?)”
I live in Texas that spawned the likes of Lyndon Johnson, another renegade for liberalism. Many, many Texans shed no tears when he passed. An sure that is the same in WV on Byrd.
Of course, those who are related to him or profited from the largesse he obtained for the state will miss him.
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