Where are all of the Byrd bashers now? Surely nobody will support one of "Sheets"' decisions.
It should be noted that a block of senators usually follow his lead.
I sometimes get the feeling that Bryd is actually among the most patriotic of the Dems in office. Agree with him or not, it seems as though he actually bases most of his decisions on what he feels is best for AMERICA, rather then making decisions based on this overriding guilt that most Dems seem to have because the US is the sole superpower.
Byrd deserves to be bashed most of the time.
This time, he gets a pat on the head for doing something sensible. But, this one vote doesn't change my opinion of the man. He should retire.
Ol' Sheets is telling us two things, I think.
1. Red state Democrats up for re-election in '06 had best not tempt fate.
2. If 40+ Democrat Senators vote against Alito, it will suggest they could have mounted a filibuster, had they really, really wanted to. That would inflame the moonbat base. Thus, in the end, it would we wise to have no more than 39 votes against Alito.
Sheets is up for re-election, and it's not a shoo-in that he'll be re-elected (as it would be in my state of delusion, Kalifornia). That is always what I look for, when there is a "crossover" vote. Lieberman occasionally gets things right, but I no more trust him than I do Sheets.
It's going to be interesting to see if
Teddy Kennedy and John Kerry allow them
to do that. Byrd is so old, there's
nothing they can do to maneuver him.
I notice Lieberman caved.
Harry Ried just refused a suggestion
by Nomination Committee head Arlen
Spector to call the vote. The news
casters say the Dems want the vote
put off until after the State of
the Union Speech next Tuesday.
Byrd is generally untolerable when it comes to his votes, but he is very much about order and principle in the Senate. He takes his role as Senator seriously and is serious about bringing home pork for WV. I believe he has integrity...a lot more than most of the D Senators and even some of the Rs. Don't get me wrong...I am not a Byrd fan, but he respects the Constitution and the institution that he serves in (yes he belongs in an insitution too). I wish more Senators took their responsibilities as serious as he does. I certainly wish that "my" Senators would stop sharing the same brain cell and take some cues from this Senator.
Yes, I know I will get flamed for this, but occasionally, I find myself admiring this Senator's service and then he does something so incredibly partisan or liberal and I want to rench.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Sheets is only doing it because he is in re-election mode. To him, it is a "throw-away" vote to cover his expansive butt.