So, do we hate Byrd today or what?

[theboss]

Based on the usual vote-to-vote living that takes place here, I assume that Byrd is no longer the last hero of the American Republic but is instead a DINO who needs to be pulled from the Senate by a mob with pitchforks?

[bryant69]

1. Yeah, but if he makes a speech calling Bush a Nazi

We'll forgive him lickity split.

Also the mob will probably also need some torches. It's hard to do this sort of thing during the day (for inexplicable reasons), so the mob will need both pitchforks and torches.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[genius]

36. Byrd's great on civil rights and civil liberties. It's economics where

he has a problem - probably because he's rich. This is no big surprise to those you note that he voted for the last bankruptcy bill.

[jpgray]

41. Civil liberties? He voted for cloture on the FMA

So he's only against security for the unfortunate and impoverished, and against equal rights for gays, then.

[Dufaeth]

2. I never considered him a hero.

He hasn't made up for his history in my eyes.

[koopie57]

9. what more do you want him to do?

I have made mistakes .. done my best to fix them. That is the way life is. He could have not changed, could have not done nothing or could have done his best to make things better. That is pretty much all a human can do.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

12. The only time I see Byrd's past brought up is on DU.

I thought we were supposed to stand for things like true forgiveness here, unlike the hypocritical "Christian Coalition". I guess not.

[babylonsister]

20. Byrd's past is brought up on Faux ad nauseum. nt

[Dufaeth]

22. If he was a private citizen, fine,

but I could never give him my vote. He would have to do a lot more for minorities for me to accept his repentance.

[QC]

42. They discuss it a lot at Freak Republik, too. n/t

[bullimiami]

3. i am surprised by his vote.

and dissapointed, some of the others I have come to expect as DINO, Biden (pehhh), Loserman (uggh), but Byrd and Stabenow (if i recall) I was shocked.

[sui generis]

4. I am disappointed, to say the least.

This is supposed to be the "democratic" party, not the "plutocratic" party.

I worked for Capital One for a while as an executive consultant and (hey please try to sue me Capital One) sat in board meetings where they discussed this legislation and laughed about what the results would be.

Their entire philosophy is that consumers exist ONLY to be bilked for as long and as hard as possible. Every bit of legislation they had their fingers in was concerned with raising late charge caps, interest rate caps, repayment agreements, eliminating bankruptcy and keeping people in debt for as long as possible, preferably against their will. They did not distinguish between liberals and conservatives.

Our representatives are flaming fucking idiots.

[formernaderite]

10. Actually....

they're just bought and paid for...particularly the career lifers.

[WI_DEM]

5. well nice of you to bring it up

rather than wait for some kind of anti-Byrd thread to materialize.

[flordehinojos]

6. what did byrd do that he is up for the hate award, or not?

[NoPasaran]

7. On DU, everybody gets their Two Minute Hate

[RogueTrooper]

8. To paraphrase Benjamin Graham

"In the short run, Democratic Underground is a voting machine, but in the long run it is a weighing machine.".

[kentuck]

11. I don't hate any of them but....

I think Senator Byrd may have finally surrendered...How much longer will he last?

[blindpig]

13. while I appreciate his stands against bu$h

He has always been the senator from Big Coal. His environmental record sucks.

[Mass]

14. No surprise there

Because Byrd speaks strongly on some important issues, some assume he is a strong liberal on every issues. He is definitively not.

He is a conservative Democrat when it comes to Social issues, supports the FMA. His lifelong ADA rating is only 61, compared to Rockefeller 83.

[KoKo]

15. It would help if those who split from the party on votes would explain

why. I think it would help the rest of us understand alot more about their thinking. Otherwise we assume the worst.

I'm surprised by Byrd's vote, and I give him a pass on some of his DINO votes because he's from WVA and he is more conservative than the "Progressive Wing" that's emerging. But Byrd grew up so poor that I can't imagine he would support this bill. It may be that he sees something we here don't in the bill, though. He's been around long enough to have a perspective. And, I don't think he gets money from the credit card companies, but for all I know there's a "processing center" in WVA or something else and he got pressure from constituents.

Byrd has been a wonderful voice for us and he's don't so much to try to stop the Iraq Invasion and remind us out here that a Senator can still use language in a way that doesn't spew hate, that I have to give him a "pass" on this vote. Let's see how he does when the final bill comes up for vote.

[kentuck]

16. There are some Senators that vote it out of committee because...

they believe it deserves a vote -even if it sucks. Then they vote against it when it comes up for the actual vote. I think we should wait and see how those 14 vote on the real bill before we pass judgement. He believes strongly in the Constitution and perhaps believes that the ruling Party has a right to a vote on their agenda???

[librechik]

19. that was my thought/hope too, kentuck

but everybody knows I'm a fool.

Seriously, I don't think very many on this board would say they "trust" politicians of any party, as a rule. There are many admirable words--followed by many unconscionable acts. We have seen it all, at this point.

[LynneSin]

17. Fuck Byrd, let's get a vote recount and throw the bum out now!!

:sarcasm:

Yeah, I'm getting the same thing being from Delaware

:eyes:

[theboss]

18. I actually really like Byrd

I know him and have voted for him. I probably could have worked for him at some point, but I was in the money-earning phases of my life at that point.

But I always find the praise for him here a little bit much when he goes into his Cicero routine. And I tend to find the whiplish reactions here humorous.

I knew Byrd would eventually do something really anti-progressive since he's, well, a conservative at heart. I figured it would be with gay rights though. Frankly, there is still time.

[LynneSin]

21. I should have put the sacrasm in the subject line

I don't like Byrd - I absolutely and adoringly love Byrd.

:D

[theboss]

23. I got the sarcasm

I'm smart like that.

[LynneSin]

24. Wow - smart people in West Virginia

who would have thunk it

:eyes:

[theboss]

25. I moved

Which shows how brilliant I really am.

[Padraig18]

26. Well, Obama wasn't available for trashing, so Byrd is today's recipient.

Someone must be the whipping boy of the day, or some DUers' lives are just not complete.

[LynneSin]

27. At least it isn't my senators from Delaware

:sigh:

They are flawed senators but damnit, at least I dont' have Rick Santorum as my senator anymore

[Padraig18]

28. Thank God for small mercies, eh?

;)

[Mass]

29. They could not thrash Kerry on that one either n/t

[JI7]

30. i don't hate him

[rodeodance]

31. anybody ever find a reason for his no cloture vote yesterday?

[Mass]

32. Because he supports the bill.

I know some here have idealized him so much that they dont want to believe that, but he does.

[OrlandoGator]

33. I wish someone without a KKK past would say what he does.

That skeleton is always rattling in Byrd's closet. As well it probably should.

[BL611]

34. How could someone not like Byrd?

I mean sure he's a former KKK member who long after he "renounced" his membership, propped up the philosophies of a good segregationist southern democrat,such as trying to ram through legislation to take food stamps away from poor black children that was only stopped by a last ditch effort(and many, many threats) by the man in my avatar, and sure 30 years later he would be one of the biggest welfare reform hawks out of EITHER party.

SO WHAT? He likened Bush to Hitler, how can he not be a great human being?
Hey Bin Laden doesn't seem to like Bush much either, he must be getting a bad rap too right?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

37. The biggest welfare reform hawk was Clinton. He campaigned on it

And here is an article about Byrd renouncing his KKK past.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2075662/


BTW, the respect Byrd earned was not for calling Bush names but for his position on IWR.

[Bridget Burke]

35. No, I'm royally pissed at him for the Bankruptcy vote.

But life is not simple.

When he is good--he's very, very good. ("But he was in the KKK" the nervous Republican scumbags bleat.)

If I were going to hate Senators, I've got Cornyn & Hutchison representing me.....

[applegrove]

38. Obviously bankruptsy was not something the Dems felt was the

most important thing to fight. That is a law that is easy to change back once the FREAKS HAVE LEFT THE WH. Social Security Changes would be impossible to change back.

These are tough times. Relax and put down the pitchforks. Save them for the elections and your real enemies: the elite backed oligarchy AKA Bush Repukes.

[ChiciB1]

39. Byrd Has Always Stood Up For Us...

but this IS a surprise. But, the bill will go through, don't ya know?? It just doesn't need help from OUR side!

Too Bad, hope Kentuck is, (ooops almost said right) CORRECT.

[madmark]

40. I could care less that he alluded that Bush is a Nazi. That doesnt

matter. He just stuck it to millions of middle class americans with that cloture vote.