Free Republic

Throughout the Iraq war, one of President Bush's loudest Democratic critics has been the longest-serving member of the Senate: Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia. *** Yet the octogenarian lawmaker's voice was quavering as he spoke, his regal bearing a bit unsteady. It was another indication that all is not well with Byrd, an institution within an institution, who turned 89 in November after winning a ninth Senate term. The war debate now unfolding in Congress is tailor made for Byrd, fusing his three celebrated Senate roles: Appropriations chairman (the legislation on the table is a spending bill); resident constitutional...

For those who may not have seen it, Mr. Smith (Goes to Washington) is the fictional story of one young Senator's crusade against forces of corruption, and his lengthy filibuster, his lengthy filibuster for the values he hold dear. My how things have changed. These days, Mr. Smith would be called an obstructionist. Rumor has it that there is a plot on foot to curtail the right of extended debate in this hollowed chamber. Not in accordance with its rules, mind you, but by fiat from the Chair. Fiat from the Chair. The so-called nuclear option. Hear me! The so-called...