Get the Flash Player to see this content.

Was Sen. Byrd a big government porker or the champion of the West Virginian everyman? (Alissa Irei/MNS)


When Citizens Against Government Waste calls the late Sen. Byrd the “King of Pork,” they don’t mean it as a compliment. But Byrd embraced the title, even calling himself “Big Daddy,” because he brought so much legislative bacon home to West Virginia. Was Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) a congressional hog or a legislative hero?