The Senate's Senator
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An homage to Senator Robert C. Byrd from YPNation contributor Ewan Watt (http://www.ypnation.net/blogs/senates-senator):
"It's hard to imagine a senator other than Byrd who would be willing to confront a president from the same party and lambaste him for exceeding his constitutional authority, as he did when President Obama appointed his various policy czars without confirmation hearings. Obviously, as expected, there was a great deal of opposition from the Republicans, but apart from Byrd most Democrats did little more than shrug their shoulders.
Now that's not to say this is only indicative of a supine Democratic Party --recall the manner in which the GOP rolled over for former President George W. Bush when the Executive accumulated near unprecedented powers in the absence of an official declaration of war. Byrd, citing the constitution, stood up for the Senate when very few others had the political spine to do so. And, before it became fashionable, Byrd refused to kowtow to Bush over Iraq, when many of his Democratic colleagues appeared hell bent on demonstrating their hawkish side."
"It's hard to imagine a senator other than Byrd who would be willing to confront a president from the same party and lambaste him for exceeding his constitutional authority, as he did when President Obama appointed his various policy czars without confirmation hearings. Obviously, as expected, there was a great deal of opposition from the Republicans, but apart from Byrd most Democrats did little more than shrug their shoulders.
Now that's not to say this is only indicative of a supine Democratic Party --recall the manner in which the GOP rolled over for former President George W. Bush when the Executive accumulated near unprecedented powers in the absence of an official declaration of war. Byrd, citing the constitution, stood up for the Senate when very few others had the political spine to do so. And, before it became fashionable, Byrd refused to kowtow to Bush over Iraq, when many of his Democratic colleagues appeared hell bent on demonstrating their hawkish side."
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