No Filibuster Proof Senate on Cap'n Tax

Forget that Al Franken 60th vote, at least on Cap and Trade legislation.

WHEELING - He is not yet back to work in the Senate chamber, but U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd is opposing "cap and trade" legislation pushed by the Obama administration.

The 91-year-old Byrd, D-W.Va., was released from an unidentified Washington, D.C. hospital last week after a month-long stay for a staph infection. He expects to return to the chamber before the Senate begins debate on "cap and trade" - which is tentatively set for this fall, according to Byrd's office.

"I cannot support the House bill in its present form," Byrd said in a statement. "I continue to believe that clean coal can be a 'green' energy. Those of us who understand coal's great potential in our quest for energy independence must continue to work diligently in shaping a climate bill that will ensure access to affordable energy for West Virginians. I remain bullish about the future of coal, and am so very proud of the miners who labor and toil in the coalfields of West Virginia."

There are several other Democrats who have yet to be "bought off" by the Progressives, although we also have to worry about the progressive GOP senators like Snowe and Collins. Byrd, however, won't sell out. He's an older breed of lawmaker, from a different time. He can't be bullied by piss-ants like Harry Reid, or those weasels in the White House.

I don't often agree with him, but I can trust him to keep to his course.