• It’s his first public appearance in a bizarrely successful campaign. South Carolina’s Democratic nominee for the Senate will address the Manning chapter of the NAACP on Sunday. And he even has some support from the people who initially didn’t know who he was. “The word in the barbershop, the word on the street, the word in the church parking lots is that everyone is pulling for him,” said Manning NAACP President Robert Fleming. Great he has some support, but if he beats Jim DeMint, color us shocked. source

• 56 number of Democratic senators who will vote for the final financial reform bill for sure
• three number of Republican senators who will probably vote for the bill (including Scott Brown)
• one number of Democrats named Ben Nelson who (once again) will make things tough source

• First, it started with the Cold War. Then it went to this argument that the U.S. has the engine of capitalism. Then he noted that the Soviets were thrown off because Americans had color TVs. Then he made this whopper of an argument: “The poor in our country are enormously better off than the rest of the world. Doesn’t mean we can’t do better, but we have to acknowledge and be proud of our system of capitalism, be proud of our American way.” Uhhhhh … source

• what The Senate’s attempt to increase unemployment benefits failed to pass yet again last night.
• why They didn’t have 60 votes to stop the filibuster; they had 59. The 60th would’ve been Byrd. source

• 237-192 with just three
  GOP votes source

• no The Senate won’t get it passed and signed by their July 4 deadline.
• yes Robert Byrd’s timely death is the specific reason for the holdup.
• maybe The Senate might have enough votes to pass it – possibly. source

• I can’t remember a time that we’ve ever had trouble with interviews. Especially with people running for office — they usually beat our door down.
• KRNV news director Mary Beth Farrell • Explaining how flabbergasted she is that Nevada bizarro hippie candidate Sharron Angle has seemingly gone out of her way to avoid talking to the local mainstream media. In choosing to talk only to conservative news outlets, she’s created an atmosphere where local news outlets have become increasingly desperate to talk to the lady taking on Sen. Harry Reid. Some of those conservative outlets suggest that Reid is the evasive one, something TV news outlets scoff at. “He may still dodge questions, but at least you can see him do it,” said Jason Pasco, the news director at Reno’s KTVN. source

• The Senate just lost a key vote for the measure. When Sen. Tom Coburn made a remark that seemingly suggested he hoped Robert Byrd wouldn’t live to see the health care vote, it drew the Democrats in a tizzy. When Robert Byrd died just before the financial reform vote, it left Democratic leadership in a complete bind – now they have to find someone to replace Byrd’s vote, and hope that other Democrats don’t fall out of rank. Will it happen? source

• Say what you will about Robert Byrd – career politician bar none, former KKK member – but he made it through health care. It probably took a lot out of him to make sure health care had his 60th vote, but he made it. Despite certain GOP members suggesting they hoped he missed the vote, he still made it. In a lot of ways, the endeavor speaks more of his career than anything else – a fighter, a guy who got beyond his racist past to have a heck of a second act. Some highlights:

• 9number of times he was re-elected to the Senate (totally unprecedented)

• a racist past, moderatedMaybe in another era, Byrd’s early association with the KKK may have been a career-killer, but many (many) apologies and the passage of time ultimately moderated his views on civil rights. It wasn’t instant – he famously filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – but the effect was lasting.
• Propping up West VirginiaByrd used his power in the Senate to help build jobs and infrastructure in a state that had little of both when he first started. To some, he earned the nickname “the prince of pork,” but to West Virginians, he was seen as a savior who was voted to both chambers of both the state and federal legislatures.
• A senate leaderByrd ultimately became much more than simply a West Virgina senator – first chairing the Appropriations committee, then later becoming Majority Whip, and spending two separate spans as Majority leader. “A leadership role is different,” he said, “and one does represent a broader constituency.”

Robert Byrd, in his own words

• It has been my constant desire to improve the lives of the people who have sent me to Washington time and time again.
• Sen. Robert Byrd • From his 2005 autobiography, “Robert C. Byrd: Child of the Appalachian Coalfields.” Say what one will about Byrd, but he’s always held up this part of the bargain for West Virginia. West Virginia has responded in kind, naming 30 federal projects after the senator. The state also voted him back into office by wide margins. If anything, he’s proof that a man with a controversial past can be moderated. He’ll be missed. source