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Capitol Hill Mourns 'A Man of the Senate'

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Capitol Hill Mourns 'A Man of the Senate' VOL. 4 NO. 93 POLITITUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2010 CO WWW.PolITICO.COM SEN. ROBErt BYrd 1917-2010 Capitol Hill Mourns ‘a Man of the Senate’ Senate agenda imperiled without Byrd’s vote BY MARTIN KADY II AND DARREN SA M UEL S OHN The death of Sen. Robert Byrd inspired the familiar Washington ritual of public eulogies for the loss of a Senate giant alongside private calculations, by Democrats, over how to protect a suddenly imper- iled agenda. With flags at half-staff across the Capitol and Byrd’s Senate desk shrouded in black, Democratic leaders not only have to decide fu- neral details — like whether Byrd will lie in state underneath the Capitol Dome — but also have to make crass policy decisions over how to cope with the loss of a “yes” vote on a sweeping Wall Street re- form bill and a climate and energy proposal. Back in West Virginia, election officials hurriedly worked to clar- REUTERS ify a murky succession law, ruling Robert Byrd, shown in 2009, was the longest-serving senator in U.S. history before he died Monday at age 92. that it enables Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin to appoint a succes- sor who will serve until a special Details of Byrd’s illness Senate faces a ‘vacuum’ Manchin will dominate election is held in November 2012. were closely guarded that may not be filled Byrd succession process And in the Senate, Democrats acknowledged not only the insti- BY JOHN BRE S NAHAN BY DAVID RO G ER S BY SHIRA TOEPLITZ tutional loss of the longest-serving senator in U.S. history but also the A lawmaker’s health is one of the A student of history, Robert Byrd West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin will loss of a reliable vote for their elec- most tightly guarded secrets on Capi- became a chapter onto himself: a half- play an outsize role in determining a tion-year agenda. tol Hill, but in Sen. Robert Byrd’s case, century in the Senate and remarkable successor to the late Sen. Robert Byrd “It is a tougher road, believe me,” that was especially true. life that was its own Pilgrim’s Prog- (D-W.Va.), selecting the appointee who Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin Even Majority Leader Harry Reid, ress from Wolf Creek Hollow through will hold the seat until a 2012 special (D-Ill.) said Monday. “A 58-vote who was back home in Nevada cam- American politics. election and then likely running for majority is not as good as a 59-vote paigning, was caught flat-footed by Born into poverty, largely self- the seat himself. majority.” Sunday’s announcement from Byrd’s taught, Byrd had his flaws: a marti- In picking a temporary senator The Byrd funeral details re- office that the iconic West Virginia net’s vanities, fierce parochialism and whom he might succeed one day, mained undecided as of Monday Democrat — at 92, the longest-serving early blindness to racial injustice. But Manchin will have to tread carefully. evening, and his family had yet to senator in U.S. history — was “seri- the 92-year-old West Virginian never Governors and other key Democratic publicize memorial plans. Senate ously ill,” according to Senate insid- stopped trying to learn and to improve leaders have stumbled repeatedly in leaders are likely to make a request ers. himself, and his determination to grow picking their Senate appointments for Byrd to lie in state, aides said In the 18 months since Byrd stepped is the great legacy of Byrd’s life — and in the 2010 cycle, and in some cases, Monday, but they are still awaiting down from his post as chairman of the lesson for the Senate he loved. the fallout has been damaging to the approval from Byrd’s family to go See LAST YEARS on Page 18 See ObiT on Page 20 See SUccESSION on Page 16 See BYRD on Page 21 In Confirmation, Kagan Pledges to Be a ‘Modest’ Voice on Court BY JO S H GER S TEIN highest court will be marked by deferential to the decisions of the amounted to a carefully crafted Clinton to veto a law that would humility and restraint. American people and their elect- attempt to wrestle the narrative have outlawed late-term abortions. Supreme Court nominee Elena “The Supreme Court is a won- ed representatives,” Kagan said of her nomination away from Re- They accused her, in effect, of Kagan, who’s led a life of often drous institution. But the time I Monday as nomination hearings publicans, who have painted her being a Democratic striver, a par- pathbreaking ambition, told sena- spent in the other branches of gov- kicked off before the Senate Judi- as so beholden to the left that she tisan operative with a law degree tors Monday that her approach to ernment reminds me that it must ciary Committee. snubbed the military in a time of serving as a justice on the nation’s also be a modest one — properly Kagan’s brief opening statement war and persuaded President Bill See KAGAN on Page 23 INSIDE NEWS NEWS HEALTH CARE Mary CLICK Matalin The White House signals that immi- Supreme Court ruling opens States begin to make key deci- Mary Matalin: From accordion les- gration may not be dead this year. new front in gun-control wars. sions on implementing health law. AP sons to a brand-new radio show. PAGE 8 PAGE 10 PAGE 13 PAGE 35.
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