David S. Broder: Sen. Robert Byrd's Vanished Ethic
[David S. Broder is a columnist for the Washington Post.]
The paradox of Robert C. Byrd's life -- and the reason his death was recognized by his Senate colleagues as so significant a milestone -- is the balance he struck between the parochial and the profound.
On one hand, he was known as the "king of pork" and was immensely proud of the way he used his long years on the Appropriations Committee to funnel billions in federal funds into his home state of West Virginia. It never occurred to him to apologize for looking out for the home folks.
At the same time, this senator, a throwback to Lincoln in being largely self-educated, developed the fullest historical and philosophical appreciation of the separation-of-powers doctrine in the Constitution of anyone who served in government in the past century....
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The paradox of Robert C. Byrd's life -- and the reason his death was recognized by his Senate colleagues as so significant a milestone -- is the balance he struck between the parochial and the profound.
On one hand, he was known as the "king of pork" and was immensely proud of the way he used his long years on the Appropriations Committee to funnel billions in federal funds into his home state of West Virginia. It never occurred to him to apologize for looking out for the home folks.
At the same time, this senator, a throwback to Lincoln in being largely self-educated, developed the fullest historical and philosophical appreciation of the separation-of-powers doctrine in the Constitution of anyone who served in government in the past century....