Most of the political blogs noted that the nation's longest serving senator returned to work today, after a prolonged absence due to illness. What most of them failed to note though was why Byrd returned. From an e-mail from the West Virginia Democratic Party:
Byrd returned to the Senate chambers today to vote against an amendment to delete funding for the U.S. Air Forces' F-22 jet fighter program. Byrd noted the importance of the number of jobs the continued production of the jet fighter program provides nationwide in a struggling economy, including in the state of West Virginia.
No interest in military strategy, competing priorities in the defense budget, or the advice of the country's military leadership - no, Senator Byrd just wants to throw billions at in-state jobs, regardless of whether the program is needed, efficient, wanted, or even the most effective way to spend such a sum in a way that would develop West Virginia's economy. Plus ca change ...
Posted by armand at July 21, 2009 07:20 PM | TrackBack | Posted to West Virginia