He may be 92 years old and frail, but Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) isn't going to let anything stand in the way of health-care reform. In order to break a Republican filibuster against the Democrats' health-care bill, the oldest senator has been wheeled through the freezing cold into the Capitol to signal his approval of the legislation with a thumbs up—and sometimes a fist pump. “When he comes onto the floor and the members cheer and his face lights up, it just makes our day,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) told The New York Times. Byrd, who has been hospitalized at times this year, is tended to by a live-in nurse and ferried around by a security detail (he's third in the line of presidential succession). He's missed 40 percent of roll call votes since 2009 but is a crucial vote at various points in breaking GOP obstructionist tactics.
Read it at The New York Times
