C-SPAN cameras won't film Byrd's last Senate appearance

[babylonsister]

C-SPAN cameras won't film Byrd's last Senate appearance
By J. Taylor Rushing - 06/30/10 05:42 PM ET


C-SPAN cameras will be dark on Thursday during a six-hour memorial for the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), multiple Senate sources said Wednesday, despite the fact that it will be the first time a senator will lie in repose since 1959.

Senate Rules Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has been sent a formal request by the Senate Radio-TV Correspondents Association to waive a standing Senate rule that bans photos and video footage when the Senate is not in session. The Senate will be adjourned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. when the 92-year-old senator's body will be in the chamber.

While Schumer hasn't decided as of late afternoon, the request will almost certainly be unsuccessful. That's because it would still require a unanimous resolution on the Senate floor, and any senator could have objected and defeated it. Byrd, who died early Monday morning, was highly respected on both sides of the aisle and was once a passionate opponent of C-SPAN cameras in the Senate chamber, making unanimous permission from all 99 current senators nearly impossible.

Byrd's family had also requested that the cameras not be allowed, said the late senator's office. Print reporters and even Senate staffers will also be barred from the beginning of the ceremony, when the senator's family and friends will receive well-wishes from current members of Congress. The second-floor galleries will eventually be opened to the public, print press and Senate staff around 10:15 or 10:30 a.m.

more...

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/106531-c-span-cameras-wont-film-byrds-last-senate-appearance

[saracat]

1. I am disappointed. I wonder WHY they are doing this? I wonder why the family doesn't want homage

paid to the Senator? The casket is publicly lying in state in a public building after all. This is an historic event.

[xchrom]

3. I get what you're saying. But I don't need

To see everything.

There is some notion that an event like this isn't turned into
a public spectacle -- and it rather in keeping with
Byrd's notion of respectable.

[saracat]

8. But it is a "public spectacle". It is history. he was a public figure

and he is lying in state for the public in a public building.This isn't a private family event. We will have no historical evidence. That strikes me as wrong.

[napi21]

2. If the good Senator opposed the cameras & his family doesn't want them,

then they shouldn't be turned on. That would be more of a slam to Sen. Byrd than honoring him.

[hlthe2b]

4. How do you know the "good Senator" didn't want the cameras?

That said, I would want to honor the wishes of the family, though I'm curious what their reasoning might be.

[MiniMe]

5. +1

[saracat]

6. It says right in the article it is ironic because he campaigned for the use of cameras in the senate...

There isn't a reason provided to think he would oppose them. If we could see Kennedy and Reagan and others lying in state, why not Byrd?


"It was Sen. Byrd himself who opened the Senate to television coverage in 1986. In the past few days, the nation has noted the senator’s long service and his work. The country has taken an interest in his passing. We believe it would be appropriate to allow those not able to pay their respects to Sen. Byrd in person to view the solemn proceedings," the association wrote in its request to Schumer.

[saracat]

7. It was Sen. Byrd himself who opened the Senate to television coverage in 1986.

"It was Sen. Byrd himself who opened the Senate to television coverage in 1986. In the past few days, the nation has noted the senator’s long service and his work. The country has taken an interest in his passing. We believe it would be appropriate to allow those not able to pay their respects to Sen. Byrd in person to view the solemn proceedings," the association wrote in its request to Schumer.

[SoCalDem]

9. Not everything needs to be televised. His family should decide..and they did..n/t

[babylonsister]

10. I agree, just informing. nt