If there was ever a case to be made for term limits, West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd is it. Nearly 57 years in Congress. That's about 50 years too many.From POLITICO:
Byrd's stat sheet speaks for itself:Sen. Robert Byrd to capture longevity record - Jonathan Allen - POLITICO.com
• Served 20,774 days — or 56 years and 10½ months — in Congress
• Attended 18,582 Senate roll call votes
• Elected to Senate nine times
• Served under 11 presidents
• Held five jobs in Democratic leadership
• At age 91, sits third in line to the presidency
Now frail, white-maned and bereft of his primary power base, Byrd, who turns 92 on Friday, is a walking testament to the mortality that is inevitably revealed as longevity records pile up. In recent years, he has lost his beloved wife, Erma Ora Byrd; his close friend Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts; and the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee, a post he coveted since his earliest days in Congress but gave up under pressure earlier this year.
But in a well-staffed institution that still pays tremendous deference to seniority, the oft-hospitalized Byrd remains what he has always been: an economic driver for West Virginia.
"He's still bringing home the bacon," said former Rep. Ken Hechler, a fellow West Virginia Democrat who served in the House from 1959 through 1977. "I would say he’s West Virginia's No. 1 economic development officer."
Last year, Byrd nabbed 60 projects totaling $123 million by himself and nearly $30 million more in conjunction with other lawmakers, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.
3 comments:
When a former KKK member gets 92% of the black vote, something tells me that something is wrong in the black communities in WV. I wonder what that could be?
I was watching the exit interviews in N.J.. They interviewed a Afro-American woman in her late 40's. She stated that she voted for Corzine before and things don't change they remain the same but she still voted for him again.
Can't this guy be fired for "sick abuse". If he goes any longer birds are going to perch on his shoulder................. Who cares he would not know it. Resign give a new young thief a break
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