hey senator! What's with the bed sheets?

The Democrats have lost their sense of shame. In an effort to stop Condoleeza Rice from becoming the first African American woman secretary of state, they bring out Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), for one, was determined to give his advice, if not his consent. A master of 19th-century attire and 18th-century rhetoric, he strode onto the Senate floor carrying the text of an hour-long speech.

Nineteenth century attire? What, did he wear his Ku Klux Klan Kleagle sheets? Eighteenth century rhethoric? Like when he said in 1946,

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.

Maybe he would support the war in Iraq if we didn't have so many black soldiers.

Back to the present:

"The Senate's role of advice and consent to presidential nominations is not a ceremonial exercise."

Senator Byrd should know all about ceremonies, especially ones where African Americans were the guests of honor.


Of course, you won't find this mentioned in the Washington Post.