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Columns

Rhonda Chriss Lokeman

Flipping the Byrd
July 21, 2007

For a codger, Sen. Robert Byrd sure has plenty of spunk.

ааааааааааа While other lawmakers' get-up-and-go got up and went, the Senate's grumpy grandpa keeps going and going and going.

ааааааааааа This is a man who, before they drop The Big One, will scold and then flip the enemy the bird before signing off into oblivion.

ааааааааааа He may lose the battle, but the West Virginia Democrat is going down fighting until his dying breath.

ааааааааааа I find the qualities of this ex-Klansman endearing. I only mention his past as a Ku Kluxer because each time I write about him, people feel obliged to point this out.

ааааааааааа There is so much more about Byrd to know. Besides, some others in Congress may never have worn the costume, but certainly act the part.

ааааааааааа I digress.

ааааааааааа Other lawmakers hem and haw about what's happened to our country since the Bush-Cheney apparatchiks took over. Not Byrd. He gets to the point. For a country boy, his great command of the English language makes the Senate's Ivy Leaguers look like a bunch of backwoods babblers. He chided fellow senators about the war in 2003 with this: "We stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralyzed by our own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events."

ааааааааааа Byrd speaks plainly and talks plenty. Some politicians talk for hours and don't say anything worth remembering. You listen to Byrd give a speech and remember what democracy is all about.

ааааааааааа You remember that there is, indeed, more than one branch of government and that the legislative and judicial branches do not report to the executive under our form of government.

ааааааааааа But for Byrd's Senate rants about the Constitution, you'd never know those cries of executive privilege from the Oval are a bunch of hooey. Or that the Justice Department and the attorney general are supposed to enforce the laws, not rewrite them.

ааааааааааа A lot of what Byrd says in the Senate is said to a near-empty chamber. He knows it, but keeps talking to get things on record.

ааааааааааа Unlike the pretty boys and the women dressed in red, both playing to the TV cameras, Byrd doesn't mind staying late at the office to make his point on behalf of good government.

ааааааааааа If the coverage of Byrd's speeches were left to broadcasters, you'd never know this country was going to Hades in a handbasket. The networks give more time to the self-possessed Paris Hiltons of our times than to the bare-knuckled freedom fighters in our midst. Perhaps that's because, as Paris would say, Byrd's just not hot enough for primetime.

ааааааааааа Many times since the Iraq war, Byrd has predicted where it all would lead. In the dung heap of history, that's where. (My words, not Byrd's.)

ааааааааааа He has been the canary from coal-mining country, telling us some of our liberties have been lost. Often ignored as the crazy uncle in the attic, Byrd has made plenty of sense on many topics of great importance.

ааааааааааа Some people actually do gain wisdom with age. Ted Kennedy hasn't. John McCain hasn't. Pat Roberts hasn't. John Warner hasn't. Dick Cheney hasn't. Robert Byrd has.

ааааааааааа Even when he's talking about what others don't find important, Byrd is spot on.

ааааааааааа Hardly anyone was in the Senate recently when, in a speech against dog-fighting, he summoned the Almighty with all the passion and fury of abolitionist John Brown.

ааааааааааа "Let the word resound from hill to hill and from mountain to mountain, from valley to valley across this broad land Е May God help those poor souls who would be so cruel. Barbaric! Hear me! Е Who are the real animals: the creatures inside or outside the ring?"

ааааааааааа If you liked that speech, here's one from 2005, when he assailed Bush over the war: "Face the facts! Stop the spinning. Get a grip on the situation. Then, please, oh, please, explain to us all where we are heading in Iraq."

ааааааааааа Well, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

ааааааааааа Rhonda Chriss Lokeman (lokeman@kcstar.com) is a columnist for the Kansas City Star. To find out more about Rhonda Chriss Lokeman, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2007 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC

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