Ambulances race to Robert Byrd's home

[mod mom]

Source: Politico via TPM

Ambulances and fire trucks were dispatched to the Northern Virginia home of Sen. Robert Byrd Tuesday morning.

A neighbor of the 91-year-old West Virginia Democrat said several ambulances were outside his residence in McLean, Va., and a Byrd spokesman said the senator suffered a fall in his home.

An officer at the McLean Fire Department said that a unit was dispatched at 9:10 to the address where Byrd lives, but he declined to comment on the substance of the response.

Byrd – the longest-serving senator in the nation’s history – has been absent from the Senate for much of the

year and has been in and out of the hospital battling various ailments.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27429.html#ixzz0RqcR1cSb

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27429.html

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My thoughts are with him & his family!

[napi21]

1. God bless you Senator Byrd. I hope you didn't get hurt, at least

not too badly.

[spinbaby]

2. Hopefully just a minor fall

Hoping.

[alittlelark]

14. At his age there are no 'minor falls'.

:-(

[snooper2]

3. If he can't perform his duties

why doesn't he resign from the Senate and enjoy his last years?


Hope my job lets me just leave for months at a time when I'm ill and just show up when I'm ready to work again...

[SIMPLYB1980]

6. Maybe he would like to see health care pass before he does.

That's some cold shit to just tell him to give up. Kennedy didn't give up until the day he died.

[snooper2]

12. didn't tell him to give up...

I am curious as to the Senate rules and the fact you can be a Senator and just not show up...

doesn't seem right...

[No Elephants]

19. Please see Replies 16 and 18. Kennedy was ill, but got himself to the Senate when his vote may

have made the difference, even though he was damaging his health so to do. I have no doubt Byrd intends to do the same, if he possibly can. He got his frail 91 year old self to the steps of the Capitol to see Ted's hearse go by, even though he had to wait for hours.

[question everything]

47. No, he did not. Not for the Stimulus Package

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio had to come from his mother's wake to join Snowe, Specter and Collins to provide 60 votes.

http://www.opencongress.org/roll_call/show/5247

[Ian David]

4. Hope all the paramedics are gay. n/t

[rfranklin]

9. Why would that matter?

Just wondering.

[cali]

10. Byrd is a homophobe n/t

[unblock]

11. speaking as a strong gay rights supporter and a former emt, i say horseshit.

medical personnel from the first responders on should put the patient at ease, not challenge them in their critical time of need. there's a time for debate and politics and correcting social wrongs but emergency care ain't it.

when reagan was shot, he quipped to the surgeon, "i hope you're a republican" and the surgeon responded, "today we're all republicans". that's the right attitude. it rather implied that the surgeon was not, in fact, a republican, but that he recognized that that moment was not the time to have an argument about it.

[LeftishBrit]

13. I interpreted the point more as that if gays saved Robert Byrd's life, it might change his views on

the matter.

I don't think that's likely at the age of 91, however. And of course the ambulance personnel should treat everyone according to their need.

[tavalon]

60. Boy, if that surgeon didn't say that, he really needed you as his writer

I have very strong political opinions, but when I'm taking care of my patients, those opinions are irrelevant.
Likewise, I take care of plenty of religious people who would blanch at my polyamory. I don't talk about that aspect of my life.

[unblock]

62. naturally, i didn't hear that quote from the surgeon himself.

i heard it through the media, which heard it from reagan's people.
so it's entirely possible that the quote was, actually, a concoction of reagan's speechwriters.

that's certainly the sort of thing the shrub white house would have done, at least. reagan's white house, rotten though it was, wasn't known to be nearly as overtly goebbels-esque.

in any event, the point is that the medical profession is there to heal, not to judge.

[NinetySix]

5. Rest well and recover soon, Senator.

All of our thoughts are with you.

[Arkana]

7. What's the Senatorial succession law in West Virginia?

Appointment or special election?

[Lyric]

18. Temporary appointment by the governor

and then a special election in 2010. But the governor is a DINO, and we don't really have anyone good to replace Byrd with. Certainly not anyone with Shelley Moore Capito's standing, and SHE will undoubtedly be the Republican nominee for the special election. She's been waiting for this for a very, very long time.

I hope Byrd makes it through this, because when he's gone, we're not going to have much of a chance of replacing him permanently with a Democrat.

[cali]

8. he should retire. period.

[Lyric]

16. No, he shouldn't.

We have a Democratic governor, but he's a DINO for the most part, and I suspect that an appointed replacement for Byrd would probably be someone none of us would like very much. Byrd's no staunch liberal, but he's also not a sleazy Blue Dog, and a DLC Blue Dog is exactly what we'd get from Manchin--and even THAT would be temporary, because there's nobody well-known or popular waiting in the wings on our side to replace Byrd. We'd probably LOSE the special election that would result.

I suspect that the Repukes will run Shelley Moore Capito as THEIR candidate if and when Byrd passes away, and that evil bitch is incredibly popular in the red parts of the state. She's been lurking, just WAITING for Byrd to die--she knows she can't win against Byrd, so she sat out the last few races, but when he's out of the picture, she'll be right there to step into it. She's about as slimy and awful as it gets, so God help West Virginia and the U.S. Senate if she wins.

I hope Byrd stays right where he is for as long as possible, because right now, we don't HAVE anyone progressive, well-known, and electable to replace him. Hell, we don't really even have a well-known Blue Dog right now. There are precious few strong Democratic voices here on a statewide level, especially since the GOP strategically removed Alan Mollohan as a threat with their hyped-up "scandal" a few years ago. I keep hoping to see or hear about an electable Democratic rising star, but there's not much on the horizon. When Byrd goes, we'll probably have a year of some do-nothing Blue Dog idiot, and then six years of Senator Capito--at which point I'll be living elsewhere.

Believe me--it's NOT in our best interests for Byrd to go right now. He knows it, too--that's why he's still where he is. There just isn't anyone on our team right now who could replace him and beat Capito. Joe Manchin might be able to beat Capito--MIGHT--but he's no progressive, and even if he WERE, he can't exactly appoint himself. I dread the day that we lose Byrd. I really do.

[WriteDown]

22. Seems like WV could do much better

Filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Majority Whip Byrd meeting with President Gerald Ford.Byrd joined with other Southern and border state Democrats to filibuster the Civil Rights Act of 1964,<18> personally filibustering the bill for 14 hours, a move he now says he regrets.<19> Despite an 83 day filibuster in the Senate, both parties in Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Act, and President Johnson signed the bill into law.<20> He also opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In 2005, Byrd told The Washington Post that his membership in the Baptist church led to a change in his views. In the opinion of one reviewer, Byrd, along with other Southern and border state Democrats, came to realize that he would have to temper "his blatantly segregationist views" and move to the Democratic Party mainstream if he wanted to play a role nationally.<6>

Because of his opposition to desegregation, Byrd was often regarded as a Dixiecrat, a member of this Democratic Party wing that opposed desegregation and civil rights imposed by the Federal Government. However, despite his early career in the KKK, Byrd was linked to such "Dixiecrat" Senators as John C. Stennis, J. William Fulbright or George Smathers, who based their segregationist positions on their conception of states' rights in contrast to, for example, James Eastland, who held a reputation as a committed racist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd#Filibuster_of_the_Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964

[AspenRose]

26. And yet he endorsed Obama. Imagine that.

Get well soon, Senator. :patriot:

[WriteDown]

27. Probably wouldn't have had to endorse him...

if the Act had not passed due to his efforts. I do hope he gets well though.

[Lyric]

31. Why does everyone do that?

As if we don't know what he was like before. He's made his mistakes and stupid, ignorant stumbles, and he has apologized. Extensively.

Mistakes are mistakes--even enormous ones like that. They do not always define who someone is for the rest of their natural life. There are plenty of things that Byrd and I disagree on (as I said, he's no progressive) but he's not the demon you're painting him as, either. THIS is the Robert Byrd *I* voted for:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxWfawiufK0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU4cLu63xUY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuCrVpYw1z4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjhVRjaXLSk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84VJvWjINr4

He is not who he once was. Kennedy forgave him, and so did the people of West Virginia.

[WriteDown]

36. Some crimes are so egregious....

that there is no forgiveness. I shudder to think what would have happened if the Act had not passed. I know, I for one would have not had the opportunities that I have had. Like war criminals, there is little forgiveness for people who attempt to enact their racist agenda.

[Lyric]

38. That's your opinion.

I don't share it. Neither do the other people in my state, and neither do a lot of other people across the country. I believe in the possibility of sincere CHANGE. Sorry that you don't.

And I'm guessing you didn't bother to watch the videos.

[WriteDown]

39. This kind of hate doesn't die...

I will never submit to fight beneath that banner with a Negro by my side. Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.

Robert C. Byrd

Disgusting.

[Lyric]

53. Why? Just because you say so?

Let's see...

Byrd Endorses Obama

"As people all across this great nation know, I have been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Bush Administration’s misguided war in Iraq and its saber rattling around the globe," Byrd says in a statement released by the campaign. "With the Bush Administration's latest request to fund this on-going war in Iraq without any attempt to start bringing our troops home, the issue of the upcoming presidential contest has been weighing heavily on my heart. The loss of life continues and the sons and daughters of tens of thousands of American families remain in harm’s way every day.

"This Democratic primary campaign has been tough and competitive. I had no intention of involving myself in the Democratic campaign for President in the midst of West Virginia's primary election. But the stakes this November could not be higher. After a great deal of thought, consideration and prayer over the situation in Iraq, I have decided that, as a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, I will cast my vote for Senator Barack Obama for President. Both Senators Clinton and Obama are extraordinary individuals, whose integrity, honor, love for this country and strong belief in our Constitution I deeply respect.

"I believe that Barack Obama is a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq, and to lead our nation at this challenging time in history. Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support."

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/19/1039475.aspx

Sounds pretty clear to me that the hate is "dead," but hey, if you want to shake your fist and insist that grass is actually PURPLE, dammit, then be my guest.

:shrug:

[WriteDown]

54. Its pretty obvious that you haven't been the victim of racism...

Old school racists never really reform. They just go with the flow to make their lives easier. Robert C. Byrd would have been a birther if it had been politically expedient.

[Lyric]

57. PURPLE! IT'S PURPLE, DAMMIT!

[AspenRose]

42. Lyric, not "everyone" does it. Most Democrats don't care.

Most Democrats realize that this was in the past, and have long since forgiven him.

But I think the pattern of this kind of behavior reveals a LOT about the people who would take an opportunity of someone's misfortune to insult them. More than they clearly realize.

[Papagoose]

33. You do know that he has done more than that in his career

We shouldn't judge people based solely on the worst thing they ever did. Seems like I have to tell my Republican friends that every time Ted Kennedy is mentioned.

[WriteDown]

37. So if Bush devotes his life to charity and helping people...

then we'll be singing his praises in 40 years? :eyes:

[Papagoose]

52. Maybe not singing his praises

but if he devotes the next 40 years of his to charity and helping people, then I would definitely have to rethink my opinion of him. We humans are the sum of our experiences. We each do good and bad things.

By the way, I will NOT be holding my breath for Mr. Bush to change his ways...

[AspenRose]

43. Egg ZACT lee

You "get it."

It's the exact same kind of pattern, if you catch my drift.

[Retrograde]

44. "The good is oft interred with their bones"

Shakespeare put some apt words in Mark Antony's mouth:

"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones"

[question everything]

48. You may end up with this choice, regardless

Had Kennedy did the honorable thing and stepped down last winter, when both the Democratic Congress and the new President had favorable image, we would have had by now another Democrat from MA, without the state having to go through this shameful exercise of changing the laws as it fit... Ted Kennedy.

Specter and Byrd should step down.

[mopinko]

59. he shouldn't have run again.

i know how much he loves the senate, and i'm sure that was doubled by the loss of his wife, but really.

[CountAllVotes]

15. Get Well Soon Senator Byrd!!!!!

:loveya: and get well soon sir!

:dem: :kick:

[goclark]

35. Get well soon ~

[JNelson6563]

17. Oh dear!

So sorry to hear this, I hope for a good outcome.

Julie

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

20. Hope his health coverage pays for all those ambulances.

Mine sure as hell wouldn't...

:shrug:

[FBaggins]

23. Don't worry. Half of the state has his name on it

There's probably a Robert Byrd celebratory ambulance company right down the street from him that he funded with years of working hard for his constituents. I'm sure they would cart him for free even if he didn't have excellent coverage.

[WriteDown]

25. Man, you ain't kidding...

I used to travel through WV twice a year and it seems like Byrd's name was on everything from park benches to spitoons.

[AspenRose]

28. You know, I usually heard about that kind of comment being made on Rush Limbaugh.

He made fun of that often. As well as the fillibuster and KKK involvement. Like a dog with a bone, wouldn't let it go.

And I know because my husband is a republican and (once upon a time, but no more, thank God) listened to that crap.

Yes, the same people who want us to forgive and forget Joe Wilson's outburst (or Trent Lott, or George Allen) never let us forget about things Robert Byrd has since apologized for.

[FBaggins]

29. It's either a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it

If you're from West Virginia you're pretty happy that there's someone there fighting for you. If you're from another state and party... it's all pork.

It's a not a matter of who is right and who is wrong, it's a matter of perception and simple fact. He's brought an incredible amount of money into WV over the years. The people of the state love him.

[AspenRose]

30. Well, some of us outside the state love him, too.

[Piewhacket]

21. It has long been my habit to respectfully tip my hat to west virginians I met...

because they had elected senator robert byrd.

I reasoned that west virginia must have very fine
people in it, to have elected such a representative.

Godspeed to Robert Byrd.

[WriteDown]

24. Really? Love WV, but REALLY?

Filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Majority Whip Byrd meeting with President Gerald Ford.Byrd joined with other Southern and border state Democrats to filibuster the Civil Rights Act of 1964,<18> personally filibustering the bill for 14 hours, a move he now says he regrets.<19> Despite an 83 day filibuster in the Senate, both parties in Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Act, and President Johnson signed the bill into law.<20> He also opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In 2005, Byrd told The Washington Post that his membership in the Baptist church led to a change in his views. In the opinion of one reviewer, Byrd, along with other Southern and border state Democrats, came to realize that he would have to temper "his blatantly segregationist views" and move to the Democratic Party mainstream if he wanted to play a role nationally.<6>

Because of his opposition to desegregation, Byrd was often regarded as a Dixiecrat, a member of this Democratic Party wing that opposed desegregation and civil rights imposed by the Federal Government. However, despite his early career in the KKK, Byrd was linked to such "Dixiecrat" Senators as John C. Stennis, J. William Fulbright or George Smathers, who based their segregationist positions on their conception of states' rights in contrast to, for example, James Eastland, who held a reputation as a committed racist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd#Filibuster_of_the_Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964

[Lyric]

32. Have you taken a look at a calendar recently?

It's 2009, not 1964. Things change.

[WriteDown]

34. If the Act had not passed, it is likely that things....

wouldn't have changed.

[Alameda]

69. ......................but they did change.....now is now...then was then

[Piewhacket]

40. Yup, really. he was also a klansman in his 20's. he's from WV you know...

Hes been in the senate since 1959, 50 years, longer than many here have been alive,
and although holding various objectionable views, these were representitive of his state
and of the times, and many of which he has long and convincingly repudiated. I am old
enough to have witnessed the times.

let me remind that
no man (or country) is born complete, nor grows without succor (being taught, sometimes wrongly),
nor is perfect in all things, nor achieves success in politics without representing
his electorate.

I have watched Byrd many years on the senate floor, and considered his views and votes.
There is no question he is a man of great personal integrity,
principled, intelligent,and persuasive. It so rare combination in politics, i weep.
There are others, but he is high among them.

I consider Byrd one of our countries greatest elder statesmen. Byrd is a great man.
I have not even a slight doubt of it.

Yes I tip the hat to west virginians, and to Sen Byrd and west virginia, salute.

[WriteDown]

41. See post 39 for his "greatness"

:eyes:

[Piewhacket]

45. Your quote is from 1944! You are entitled to your opinion... but if the quality of your argument

is poor, who will be persuaded?

FROM YOUR SOURCE, Wikipedia, a little below where you quoted, we find the part you did not
deem worthy of mention

On May 19, 2008, Byrd released a statement endorsing Barack Obama (D-Illinois) for President of the United States. One week after the West Virginia Democratic Primary, in which Hillary Clinton defeated Obama by 41.32 percent, Byrd said, "Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support." In a written statement, Byrd stated Obama was "a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq." When asked in October 2008 about the possibility that the issue of race would influence West Virginia voters, as Obama is an African-American, Byrd replied, "Those days are gone. Gone!"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd

yet you rolled your eyes at me. amusing.
Look now into the mirror and roll your eyes.
Here is your lesson:
The world is not black or white, but filled with many colors.
You have but to look.

[WriteDown]

46. Like I said...

That kind of racism does not die. Kind of like if Bush suddenly became a spokesman for every humanitarian effort out there. It still wouldn't wash away what he's done.

[SpartanDem]

49. So people can't change?

[Piewhacket]

50. you're entitled to your opinion, of course, that Byrd is a racist, even after..

you have been shown he endorsed obama EARLY, in very glowing terms and in the face
of political disadvantage... one of the most influential senators, one from a southern state,
comes out for obama six months before the election with glowing praise,

and you call this man a racist?
well he sure doesn't seem to be acting like one. right?

[WriteDown]

55. Political disadvantage?

His election chances were threatened? Pfft.

He's just like the birthers. They'll never change either.

Or maybe they will? But its hard to know what really lies in a man's heart after the cat's been let out of the bag.

[Piewhacket]

56. you haven't answered any of my points, just round in circles you go.

with your own bigotry. ("he's just like birthers...". oh, please.)
we can discuss civilly but still we cannot reason.
enough then. you have been answered fully.

[WriteDown]

58. More "greatness"

"He strongly opposed Clinton's 1993 efforts to allow gays to serve in the military and has also supported efforts to limit gay marriage. However, he opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment, arguing that it was unnecessary because the states already had the power to ban gay marriages.<36> However, when the amendment came to the Senate floor he was one of the two Democratic Senators who voted in favor of the cloture motion.<37> He also opposes affirmative action."

Every once in a while the curtain slips.

[Piewhacket]

63. hey. you took your shot and lost.

still, no one says you can't have an an opinion.
so why not just make an exit with whatever dignity
remains?

[WriteDown]

64. If you say so....

:rofl:

I must not have enough "greatness"

[Piewhacket]

65. We now agree.

[WriteDown]

66. Euphemisms are fun!

:)

[Vidar]

51. I wish the Senator well.

[harvey007]

61. Byrd's "Barbaric" Speech -- one of his best

We pray for a speedy recovery for Sen. Byrd.

Remember this great speech?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V95eGgZbrU&feature=related

On July 19, 2007, Byrd, a self-described dog lover, gave a 25-minute passionate speech in the Senate against dog fighting, in response to the indictment of football player Michael Vick. Byrd called dog fighting a "brutal, sadistic event motivated by barbarism of the worst sort and cruelty of the worst, worst, worst sadistic kind. One is left wondering: 'Who are the real animals: the creatures inside the ring, or the creatures outside the ring?'"

[FarCenter]

67. He is being hospitalized only as a precaution

“Byrd was taken to the hospital this morning as a precautionary measure following a fall at his home which was likely caused by standing up too quickly,” Byrd spokesman Jesse Jacobs said. “While having no broken bones or bruises, upon examination, doctors found an elevated white-blood cell count which can be an early sign of an infection. Therefore, his doctors have determined that Byrd should remain in the hospital for antibiotic treatment and observation.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27429.html#ixzz0Rs7Zo2dR

[dysfunctional press]

68. why do they need so many for one guy?

i certainly hope that none of them were needed elsewhere.