.
There is something wrong with this.
At 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon — nine hours before the 1 a.m. vote that would effectively clinch the legislation’s passage — Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) went to the Senate floor to propose a prayer. “What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can’t make the vote tonight,” he said. “That’s what they ought to pray.”
It was difficult to escape the conclusion that Coburn was referring to the 92-year-old, wheelchair-bound Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) who has been in and out of hospitals and lay at home ailing. It would not be easy for Byrd to get out of bed in the wee hours with deep snow on the ground and ice on the roads — but without his vote, Democrats wouldn’t have the 60 they needed.
Actually there are a couple of things wrong with this.
A) When an issue as important as health care reform hinges on a 92-year-old man showing up to vote at 1 AM with a pile of snow on the ground, there’s something seriously flawed with the system.
B) There should be no 92-year-old Senators.
The finale…
Byrd was wheeled in, dabbing his eyes and nose with tissues, his complexion pale. When his name was called, Byrd shot his right index finger into the air as he shouted “aye,” then pumped his left fist in defiance.
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You’d would think that he could call in the vote or email it! What is wrong with this system? Or have someone come in and witness him signing his vote!
I agree with you @mario that there should be an age limit! These are not easy issues for anyone…
An age limit for senators? Really? Anyone who still has all their marbles should be able to do whatever the hell they want.
Who judges whether someone has all their marbles? And I see it more as imposing term limits than age restrictions.
There should at least be proxy votes allowed or as ME said, phone it in!
@TonyM: we already have term limits – the people decide who they want to send to Washington. If I were a West Virginian, I’d be pretty proud of a guy who could get a Coast Guard station in a land-locked state. If the state of WV gets anything, it’s because it has two of the hardest working Senators in Washington – including one who has elevated wheeler dealing to a fine art. Say what you want about Byrd, but his constituents know what side their bread is buttered on.