seen this one?
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bruce.Hamilton@sierraclub.org Date: Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 5:53 PM Subject: Fw: "Help us Robert C. Byrd; you're our only hope." To: pjgrunt@gmail.com, robinmann@earthlink.net
In case youy missed this gem. ----- Forwarded by Bruce Hamilton/Sierraclub on 07/09/2009 02:52 PM -----
"Mary Anne Hitt" <maryanne.hitt@si erraclub.org> To <#conservation-carbon@sierraclub.or 07/09/2009 02:41 g> PM cc
Subject Please respond to "Help us Robert C. Byrd; you're our <maryanne.hitt@si only hope." erraclub.org>
Thought everyone might appreciate the view from West Virginia. Please note that this is one of the conservative papers in the state. A somewhat creepy excerpt:
I dream that Sen. Byrd is healthy enough to return to the Senate and be a part of this debate about a bill that will cost the poorest West Virginians their last heating and electricity dollars.
Though injured, like Darth Vader at the end of "Return Of The Jedi," he will have the strength to intercede as Emperor Obama slowly chokes the life out of a young warrior named Manchin. The irony of Byrd pitching the emperor down a reactor shaft or some such with a deciding Senate vote against cap and trade should not be lost.
"Help us Robert C. Byrd; you're our only hope."
The State Journal (WV)
Byrd's Vote Can Be Key on Climate Debate
July 9, 2009
Byrd remains a critical vote as the cap-and-trade legislation from the House heads down the hall later this summer for Senate deliberation.
The last few weeks have been filled with the now-rumbling din of concern for the health of West Virginia's senior U.S. senator. It's safe to say that something is more than a half-bubble off when we know more about the health of a backup quarterback at West Virginia University than that of someone still in the actual order of presidential succession.
For example, courtesy of the Charleston Daily Mail, we know this about a Parade All-America quarterback now in Morgantown named Eugene Smith.
"Smith will need six to eight weeks to recover after fracturing the navicular bone, which is on the inside of the foot and at the base of the ankle... . Smith had X-rays and a CT scan last Thursday and began his rehabilitation Friday. He's on crutches and wearing a protective boot, but is under orders to keep weight off the foot."
Anyway, the obfuscation that surrounds Sen. Byrd has been embarrassing for a long time. It's a disservice to the voters and citizens not to be represented when critical national issues are being decided in Washington.
Byrd remains a critical vote as the cap-and-trade legislation from the House heads down the hall later this summer for Senate deliberation. It is assumed he will be a vote to protect coal or energy interests in our state, or at least enough of an impediment to those who would stop a filibuster by topping the 60-vote mark.
I expect our junior senator, currently wavering on Waxman-Markey in public, to go back to his roots and vote for most any sort of anti-energy bill that comes down the pike. I sense the antipathy Rockefeller showed in the 1970s for coal is still just below the skin and worry that if he is in his last turn in the Senate as well, little will keep him from voting his VISTA conscience.
The best possible scenario? The one that occurs in my dreams? The one that gives our state probably its last Senate relevance for a while? Well, it's based in my viewing of one of the "Star Wars" movies a couple weeks ago.
I dream that Sen. Byrd is healthy enough to return to the Senate and be a part of this debate about a bill that will cost the poorest West Virginians their last heating and electricity dollars.
Though injured, like Darth Vader at the end of "Return Of The Jedi," he will have the strength to intercede as Emperor Obama slowly chokes the life out of a young warrior named Manchin. The irony of Byrd pitching the emperor down a reactor shaft or some such with a deciding Senate vote against cap and trade should not be lost.
"Help us Robert C. Byrd; you're our only hope."
It would be a fitting final act for our greatest senator, showing he's not with the party but with the people and their family budgets, selfless to the end, with nothing to lose and doing the right thing for West Virginia.
Of course later, while we all celebrate with the Ewoks our short-term win over those who would end our way of life, we'd see the senator again, as we want to remember him. A little younger, maybe playing that fiddle in a life-like hologram like at the end of the movie. He might be surrounded by other heroes of our past. Arthur Boreman, Stonewall Jackson, whomever floats your boat.
We'll inevitably find out that Joe Manchin and Shelley Capito are ideological siblings, much like Luke and Princess Leia. We'll send them on to Washington for Byrd and Rockefeller someday soon.
We just have to find our cowboy, Han Solo-type to make my dream work. Not sure even who that is yet. But auditions to be the next governor and look good in a leather vest will be under way. Get your measurements in soon.
Rob Cornelius of Parkersburg writes about energy for The State Journal. His e-mail address is robcwv@gmail.com.
Copyright 2009 West Virginia Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
-- Mary Anne Hitt Deputy Campaign Director Beyond Coal Campaign Sierra Club
304-876-7064 (w) 540-239-0073 (c) maryanne.hitt@sierraclub.org www.sierraclub.org/coal