Will the Real Robert Byrd Please Stand Up?

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) is the Liberal Lion of the US Senate. The longest serving member of that institution, he has been a champion of big government and spending programs for years. He is also a philosophical ally of President Obama, an ally who has been at odds with that President.

In addition to his love for big government, Byrd also has a history of demonstrating a great passion about the protocol of the US Senate. Few members of Congress understand the unique role that body plays in the legislative process and he is infuriated by an Administration that is so passionate about its policy agendas that it is disregarding legislative integrity.

About a year ago, in a statement, Byrd made it clear that he agrees with the President when it comes to policy, stating, "I like this budget. I support many of the policies that the President's budget embraces - including middle-class tax relief, and badly needed investments in our nation's infrastructure." In spite of his agreement with the President when it comes to policy, he has great concern when it come to tactics noting that he "cannot, and...will not, vote to authorize the use of the reconciliation process to expedite passage of health care reform legislation or any other legislative proposal that ought to be debated at length by this body."

His statement as to why members of the Senate should be opposed to this legislation is both eloquent and forceful. He notes that "Using reconciliation to ram through complicated, far-reaching legislation is an abuse of the budget process. The writers of the Budget Act, and I am one, never intended for its reconciliation's expedited procedures to be used this way. These procedures were narrowly tailored for deficit reduction. They were never intended to be used to pass tax cuts, or to create new Federal regimes. Additionally, reconciliation measures must comply with Section 313 of the Budget Act, known as the Byrd Rule, which means that whatever health legislation is reported from the Finance Committee or legislation from any other Committee that is shoe-horned into reconciliation will sunset after five years... This is a very messy way to achieve a goal like health care reform, and one that will make crafting the legislation more difficult" (emphasis added).

Many liberal members of the Senate or talking revenge. They believe the legislative process had been used to force legislation down "their throats" in the past. They are not getting much sympathy from Byrd, who said "Whatever abuses of the budget reconciliation process which have occurred in the past, or however many times the process has been twisted to achieve partisan ends does not justify the egregious violation done to the Senate's Constitutional purpose. The Senate has a unique institutional role."

Advocates of mob rule will also find little sympathy from the West Virginia Democrat. He notes that the US Senate "Is the one place in all of government where the rights of the numerical minority are protected." This is not by accident, but by design, stating that, "As long as the Senate preserves the right to debate and the right to amend we hold true to our role as the Framers envisioned. We were to be the cooling off place where proposals could be examined carefully and debated extensively, so that flaws might be discovered and changes might be made."

He has an ominous warning for myopic colleagues who would disregard the rules and ram this legislation through. "Remember, Democrats will not always control this chamber, the House of Representatives or the White House. The worm will turn. Some day the other party will again be in the majority, and we will want minority rights to be shielded from the bear trap of the reconciliation process."

Unfortunately, Byrd is back tracking on his convictions and is now coming out in support of reconciliation to finish the health care bill. This goes against the grain of Byrd's career, but is typical of the politics of the day. It does make one ask, will the real Robert Byrd please stand up?

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is also host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650). Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Rush Limbaugh and "I Hope Obama Fails"

Obama is under scrutiny like many on the Right never imagined and it is beginning to show in the President's declining poll numbers. Some in the mainstream media are beginning to have buyers remorse, even as the news continues to operate as a propaganda machine to defend itself as ones who moved from the role of "witnesses of history" to makers of it. If Obama fails, the media fails with him they fear. They served as a sophisticated PR tool to get the Illinois Senator in the White House.

Conservatives are up in arms in a way that I have never seen. Even at the height of the Clinton impeachment trials Conservatives were not as vocal. Barack Obama has created an alarm among every day Americans for many good reasons. Obama hates free enterprise, limited government, and those other elements that have made us free. Furthermore, he is developing a shadow government within his White House designed to keep him free from Congressional accountability.

So serious is this Administration's radical actions, even one of his strongest allies, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) has warned about the establishment of "White House Czars." His policies are radical -- socializing health care, eliminating what little local control is left in education, and the government's far reaching control of energy. These policies may pale in comparison to what Obama plans on doing with the political process. From his hostility towards criticism seen in the removal of reporters from his plane that represented newspapers which endorsed his opponent to his lust for political power by moving the Census (which is used to determine Congressional Districts among other things) to the White House all point to a man who is more interested in the "Cubaization" of the United States and not the mere "Europization" that so many talk about it.

Enter Rush Limbaugh, the long time voice of grassroot conservatives regardless of who was in power. In light of the dangerous times being brought on by the Obama Administration, Limbaugh and other Conservatives feel forced to take off the gloves. Recently, a major publication asked Rush Limbaugh (as well as many other political and media leaders) the media giant's hopes with the dawn of a new Administration. Following a summary of the radical and socialist policies being pursued by the new president, Limbaugh simply said four words, "I hope Obama fails." This is a statement that will not go away and Limbaugh is also not shying away from it either.

A recent Newsweek Magazine has a picture of Limbaugh with (what appears to be) tape over his mouth and the title "Why Rush is Wrong" and it is the reflections of a Conservative journalist who is trying to take the radio host to task. It is interesting that the only Conservative they could find to take Rush on is David Frum, a man described as a "Canadian conservative" who is most identified with the neoconservative wing and has served as a speechwriter to President Bush. His strongest links to the Conservative movement are with the National Review, he is an ardent critic of Sarah Palin, and a huge fan of Michael Steele. In other words, he represents that wing of the "Conservative movement" that most people on the right have largely disregarded. Newsweek, in its desperate efforts to try to create division in the Conservative movement when it comes to Obama, had to go outside of the country and really, outside of the movement, to find a critic. It shows you how pathetic the mainstream media has become.

Could Limbaugh have handled his criticism of Obama better? I think so and with greater effectiveness as well. As an Obama critic who has studied history and economics for years, I know Obama well fail. That is fact, not speculation. It has nothing to do with "hope," but mere reality. Socialism has failed, government isn't the answer, freedom is all that works. Limbaugh should have spoke of Obama's failure as fact, not hope. So if I had been asked to make a statement of what I would "hope" with the inauguration of this new Administration, I would have to say four words like Limbaugh too: I hope America survives.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am). Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business and says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com.

It is the "Cubaization" and not the "Europization" that We Should Fear

Conservative pundits have rightly pointed out that President Barack Obama is moving rapidly towards socializing the US economy. In making this case, we are told that Obama is working towards the "Europization" of the United States. Obama simply smiles at such comments and you can almost hear him say "thank you."

Most Americans have heard and seen decades of propaganda from the mainstream media about the "virtues" of socialism in Europe. We are told about how wonderful it is to have "free" (if not rationed) health care, the beauty of 30 hour work weeks, and the splendor of employers being unable to fire employees when they deem it necessary. Furthermore, many Americans have gone to beautiful cities like Paris, London, and Rome and think these are great places. Such places are often wonderful to visit, but not to live in. What we haven't been told, or seen in our visits, are the chronic economic problems such policies foster. The Europeans would find our current unemployment rather low and would call this economy that we deem weak, rather strong. If we get down to it, very few Americans would want a European style for the United States. Neither does Barack Obama.

While Obama bombards us with the socialization of our health care, education system, and energy industry, he is quietly creating a political infrastructure designed to keep him and his friends in power for years to come. We are so busy looking at the policy decisions, we are missing the potentially dramatic changes in the US political system.

Obama, quietly, moved the Census Bureau tasks to the White House from the Commerce Department, in what could be a ploy to distort Congressional Districts in favor of his Democratic colleagues. Historically, this important function of government was left in Commerce because that department faces Congressional accountability. Conservatives are not the only ones to fear this, liberal Senator Robert Byrd described Obama's movement of Cabinet functions to the White House by saying that "'too often, I have seen these lines of authority and responsibility become tangled and blurred, sometimes purposely, to shield information and to obscure the decision-making process." This isn't limited to the Census, but also energy, health care, education, and other major policy initiatives.

Obama's "stimulus" package is designed to ensure his long term power. Obama cut his teeth as a political activist and used the radical ACORN organization in his rise to power. That organization, which used political pressure as a powerful force behind the issuing of mortgages to people who could not afford them, will receive over $4 billion from Obama's so-called stimulus package for "educational purposes." This is not the only radical group to be able to eat at Obama's trough, it is just one of the most notable. It is safe to say that the majority of those dollars will go to help candidates and organizations that support Obama's policies. The bulk of the Obama package is not economic stimulus, but political payoffs designed to keep the pockets of his supporters lined and the Democrats in office for years to come.

Instead of being alarmed by our current economic crisis, Obama is delighted. In fact, I believe he needs more bad news to pursue his agenda. Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reflected the sentiment of the Obama Administration when he said "Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before." Obama is bombarding Congress and the American people with so many different policy and political changes, we can't even begin to keep up with them. That is by design and not by accident. Very few of the things Obama is pursuing would survive the due diligence process one issue at a time. So like rats trying to evacuate a room all at once, they are all scrambling for the door with the knowledge that some of them will get through.

In Emanuel's logic, this crisis is not nearly as bad as it needs to be. Instead of being alarmed by a stock market that has tanked to levels we haven't seen in over a decade and rising unemployment numbers, Obama continues to talk down the economy in a relentless effort to make this situation look as bas as possible so he can pursue his radical agenda.

Be it increased tax creation on the income groups that create jobs, additional financial burdens for companies that try to offer employees health benefits, or the undermining of our political institutions that help keep us free; all of these items are part of a larger agenda towards making the US look more like Cuba or Venezuela and not like Europe. The Europization of the US? We couldn't be so lucky.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am). Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business and says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com.

Robert Byrd Fears "King" OBama

Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) is something of an institution in Washington, DC. He assumed the office of US Senator in 1959 and has served in that body longer than anyone in the nation's history. He is famous for his knowledge of Senate proceedings and is one of the most successful members of either House of Congress at "bringing home the pork" for his constituents. He has been a liberal champion of big government for years.

On the surface, he should be a huge fan of President Barack Obama. The federal budget up to 2008 was $2.7 trillion dollars. As a Senator in September of 2008 and as a President in January, Obama has increased that spending by over $1.5 trillion. It is the biggest growth of government in such a time frame in our nation's history.

Byrd's concerns about Obama are not the President's love for more spending, but how he intends to control that spending and the operations of government. In a surprising series of events, Byrd has written a letter to Obama condemning the massive shift of power from the Cabinet officials who are accountable to Congress to White House staff who are largely free from such scrutiny.

In a press release by the Senator, his office states that "Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.... has written to President Barack Obama expressing his concerns over the increasing appointments of White House 'czars,' and the relationship between these new White House positions and their executive branch counterparts, noting that 'too often, I have seen these lines of authority and responsibility become tangled and blurred, sometimes purposely, to shield information and to obscure the decision-making process."

The release continues that "Byrd, in his February 23 letter, specifically referenced the creation of new White House Offices of Health Reform, Urban Affairs Policy, and Energy and Climate Change Policy, noting that 'the rapid and easy accumulation of power by White House staff can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials. As presidential assistants and advisers, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the president. They rarely testify before congressional committees, and often shield the information and decision-making process behind the assertion of executive privilege. In too many instances, White House staff have been allowed to inhibit openness and transparency, and reduce accountability,' Byrd’s letter continued."

Essentially holding Obama's own words against him, Byrd cited the President "recent memorandum to the executive departments and agencies in which Obama noted that, 'A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency.'"

This kind of public criticism by a Senator of a President isn't unusual. What is unusual is the Senator who is attacking this particular President and the seriousness of the charges. In the letter itself, Byrd describes Obama's approach as similar to the Nixon White House in terms of its secrecy and isolation from Congressional accountability. Those are "fighting words" among Democrats.

I have never been a fan of Robert Byrd, but he is certainly very correct in his concerns and assessment. While people continue to worry about the "Europization" of the United States under Obama, I'm more concerned that we are looking more like Venezuela and other regimes that have suspended constitutional law and that he changes the way we are governed. The policy approaches of Obama may not be as nearly as frightening as his approach to government.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Senator Joe Biden, Behaving Badly

Senator Joe Biden launched his very weak bid for the Presidential race of 08 with a splash and now he might drown in it. The senator from the small state of Delaware, with very little name ID, and even less hope of winning, appearantly wanted to make a big impression early on his campaign. Boy, did he ever.

Biden (D-DE) has served in the Senate for decades and had a reputation of being liked and intelligent (also extremely liberal), so when he described opponent Barack Obama (D-IL) as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy" to run for president, he raised more than a few eyebrows. I'm sure if he were a Republican, he not only would have been force to get out of the race, he would probably have to give up his seat in the Senate. It is just the way it is, I assume.

I'm sure he is sending notes of apology to Jessee Jackson, Al Sharpton and all the other blacks who have tried running for President in the past and is explaining how he "didn't mean it that way." I'm dying to actually hear an explanation of what he did mean. Biden didn't have much of a chance anyway, but this will likely finish him off as a serious contender in '08 (Democrats have short memories when it comes to their own, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia (photo) was a member of the Ku Klux Klan).

The question is, now, why did he do it?

* Was it a desperate attempt to get headlines for a campaign that was lagging far behind from the start?

* Was it a back handed compliment to the Junior Senator from Illinois?

* Was it a pronouncement of frustration because Obama came from no where just a few years ago and is now the biggest star of his party? Meanwhile, Biden has been in the Senate for 35 years (making me 10 at the time he got there and making me feel very young). I think anyone could be jealous of a new comers "rock star" status being acquired in such a short period of time (OBama is my age and is in his first year in the Senate). This last choice would be my guess.

In the end, Biden is dismissing Obama as just another empty suit that is biting off more than he can chew. Taking such an approach with someone so popular in his party, makes Biden look like the poster child of sour grapes.