Senator Robert “Kleagle” Byrd has a lot of history to answer for. Born with the most magical name in Virgina politics, the Senator nevertheless grew up poor. His constant harking on his hardscrabble roots to voters plays very well in the mountains and “hollers” of his native West Virginia. And his “good old boy” demeanor on the campaign trail has meant electoral success for more than half a century.
It’s not unusual to erect statues to prominent politicians. I remember a statue of Abe Lincoln in my home town. It was an interactive statue in that kids would climb all over it, hang from the Great Emancipator’s outstretched arms, and sit on his gigantic feet.
But Abe Lincoln had been dead nearly a hundred years by the time that statue had been built. I guess Senator Sheets didn’t want to wait that long:
The Morgantown lawyer made his announcement near the base of a statue of West Virginia’s senior Democratic senator at the state Capitol in Charleston.Sen. Byrd has set a new standard for taxpayer-funded narcissism by convincing the West Virginia Legislature to erect a statue of himself in the state Capitol. The statue’s completion violates state law prohibiting statues of government officials until they have been dead for half a century.
What a weird feeling that must be! To know that a permanent likeness of yourself is already gracing the Capitol of your home state would give me the willies. But then, I must not have the ego and chutzpah to force the issue through the state legislature in the first place.
Byrd’s opponent may be Hiram Lewis IV, the state’s Republican Party Treasurer. Here he is making the announcement of his candidacy in front of the stern visage of the former Kluxer. I’ve added a caption for effect:
“ALL NIGRAS WILL KNEEL BEFORE ME”
By the way, if I were Hiram, I’d drop that “IV” from the end of his name. Most of those good simple folk from West Virginia look at that moniker and think immediately of the snobby kid from the big house on the hill outside of town. Best do a little back slappin’ and “grinnin’ like a possum” if you’re going to make any headway with the good people of the Mountaineer state.
Mark Noonan of Blogs for Bush gives us just the right amount of outrage:
This is an un-American outrage; we shouldn’t be waiting for an election to get rid of Byrd, we should be impeaching him! And every government official, elected or otherwise, who had a hand in approving the creation of this abomination. That statue should be ripped down today; as our ancestors once upon a time ripped down the icons of living political leaders who taxed and oppressed our people.
Mark, as usual, has hit the nail on the head. It’s unseemly for us to immortalize sitting politicians. Makes us look like a banana republic or worse, a decrepit relic from the cold war Soviet Union where we got used to seeing pictures of a young, vigorous Brezhnev all over Moscow while the real thing was wasting away to mummyhood.
I don’t know though…I think the Senator looks pretty good, very dignified. But, what’s he doing with his left hand? At least he’s got it in his own pocket; we’re pretty used to having it in ours.
6:26 pm
“The Conscience of the Senate” proves once again that he has absolutely no sense of shame. Good caption for the picture.
6:36 pm
I don’t agree with Byrd’s background but I also think Republicans need to attack him on issues instead of name calling. There are more than a few Republicans who had been clan members at one time or another. Can’t you guys put name calling and nastiness aside every now and then to discuss issues?
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9:52 pm
Bye Bye Byrdie II
Mark Noonan was outraged enough about the statue, but imagine his ire when he learned the rest of the story – that almost every thing in the entire state of Ole West Virginny is named The Robert C. Byrd “something or other”. Obviously, Mark has not v…
3:18 am
Robert Byrd’s Vanity.
Mark Noonan of Blogs for Bush points out this story, which explains that West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd has at least one challenger for his seat in 2006: State Republican Party Treasurer Hiram Lewis IV announced Saturday he planned…
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1:55 am
so, i guess you hate ronald reagan for having an airport named after him while he was still living?
3:28 pm
Sure would like to know who the Republicans who are alleged to have been KKK are… [what Joseph (Advocate of Democracy) Said]
“advocate of democracy”? Because some of us may be Democrat, does it mean we are “a democracy”? The United States is a Republic, which ON OCCASION uses democratic methods to accomplish its purposes; a republic is a “thing” while democracy is a “process”. We need not all be “Republicans” to be patriotic citizens of a republic. The use of democratic method does NOT make us a democracy. If that were the case, we should have allowed the South to vote on desegregation; Robert KKK Byrd could then be their presumptive leader, instead of the old fool he proves himself daily.
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9:20 pm
Come on! How hard can it be to put a big white hood over that ugly mug?
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Actually, the statue was erected by the Legislature in honor of a man who’s done more for his state than likely any other single man in history, /not/ as this request. Get you’re facts straight, kids.
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7:39 pm
Screw you andy you fool! He was IN THE KKK! What more do you need to know. Would you elect a person if they were a Nazi? I’m sure you would.
8:39 pm
I do not appreciate all of the negative comments made surrounding the state of West Virginia and its residents. If you have something to say come to a WVU football game and say it to my face.
3:32 pm
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad currently denies that Robert Byrd was ever a member of the KKK.
8:23 am
oh, and by the way betch…they say somethin bout the KKK in the Colt 45 song….i love that song..it used to be my ringtone.