I'm not one to agree with Robert Byrd much in the last several years. His New Deal approaches to development hold West Virginia back in building a private sector. Also, I do not agree with his war stand. In 2006 John Raese had a better vision for West Virginia's future than Robert Byrd. However no one can deny that Byrd loves his state and has worked extremely hard over the years for its benefit.
What the liberal left has done to Robert C. Byrd is disgraceful. From 2003 until recently he served as their point man against the Iraq War. A popular senator with respect, seniority and an untouchable seat, Byrd was perfect for their purposes. They publicized every criticism of Bush and the war while promoting him as an experienced voice of reason. The real liberal left senators, for the most part, hem hawed. John Kerry voted against the war before he voted for it, or maybe it's the other way around. Hard to tell with him and his pals. Byrd, agree or disagree, spoke his mind. In doing so he alienated a lot of people in his home state and took real risks on behalf of his party.
Liberal leftists adored Byrd right up until he secured his seat for another six years. After all in an election with no incumbents a man of John Raese's name recognition and financial support could have won it. No, they wanted that seat assuredly marked with a (D) for at least another term. Sure that meant promoting an anti-abortion, pro gun, pro school prayer octogenarian who once portrayed a Confederate general in a movie. For liberal left wingers, that could not be easy. But hey, he was anti-Bush.
But now look at the situation. Liberal leftism's official voice in the nation's capital, the Washington Post, has started publicizing some of the lapses of old age the senator occasionally shows. He went from left wing hero to an old man whose time has passed. A columnist ridiculed Senator Byrd's speech about his dog during a congressional committee hearing on pet food safety. Another on May 30th pointed out Byrd's former affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan. Somehow conservative arguments about old age and past connections with terrorism held no relevance nine months ago. Now that the liberal left is done with Byrd, let the undermining of a senator's reputation commence. Republicans have criticized Byrd for many years, for many reasons, and rightfully so. The GOP at least generally remained consistent.
Maybe liberal left wingers do not realize that a younger and more charismatic version of Joe Lieberman is all but ready to take over the seat when the opportunity presents itself. The flip flop (are we even surprised when liberal leftists do this anymore) on Byrd has ranged over into hypocrisy, well past ingratitude. They used Senator Byrd and now they are throwing him aside. A very cruel way for the liberal left to treat a man that served the Democratic Party for so long. Maybe because they no longer in any way shape or form represent the kind of Democratic Party that Senator Byrd or most other West Virginians have supported all these years.
He's not from my party and I don't always agree with him. Senator Byrd's still a West Virginian though. Although there has been a lot to criticize from the point of view of a West Virginia Republican, it's tough to watch a bunch of elitist, snobbish Washington D.C. left-wingers using an elderly man from our state for their own purposes and disposing of him so callously when he is no longer useful to them.
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