With the long, long, long-winded Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) stepping down as the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, due to poor health, the position had to be filled. And it has, by a much younger Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii).
Senator Inouye is all of 84 years young. It's been told that he has a much different style than Senator Byrd...a quiet style.
"Rather than give big speeches on the Senate floor or in committee hearings like his predecessor, the senior Hawaiian senator will strike a lot more deals in the backrooms.
The first Japanese-American elected to Congress is, at 84, only slightly younger than Byrd and a decorated war hero who lost an arm in World War II.
Many insiders regard him as a team player, often doing what the Democratic leadership wants but not shying away from telling his superiors to do what he thinks is right.
Byrd, who has been a chairman with a strong personality, has been seen as more independent, always fighting to uphold the institutional and constitutional prerogatives of Congress.
Inouye, on the other hand, likes the politics of the upper chamber, working the members and making phone calls to persuade lawmakers from the cloakroom rather than the floor, according to a source familiar with both Inouye and Byrd. "
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Filibusters won't know what hit 'em....
