I do love them, I use to watch CSPAN all the time in high school. Today Byrd and Frist had a fun back and forth.

Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia said Monday he doesn’t expect Democrats to filibuster the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, but he still chastised Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for threatening to stop any such effort through a drastic parliamentary effort that has been dubbed the “nuclear option.”

“If he ever tries to exercise that, he’s going to see a real filibuster if I’m living and able to stand on my feet or sit in my seat,” Byrd said in a Senate debate with Frist, R-Tenn.

“If the senator wants a fight, let him try it,” said Byrd, the Senate’s senior Democrat. “I’m 88 years old, but I can still fight, and fight I will for freedom of speech. I haven’t been here for 47 years to see that freedom of speech whittled away and undermined. ”

and another part of the debate from Think Progress

BYRD: And the Constitution says that the Senate has the power of advice and consent. It doesn’t say how that consent would be measured. It doesn’t say it has to be an up or down. Nothing in the history, nothing in the Constitution says that. Yes, you can point that out in the Constitution to me, where it says a nominee shall have the right to an up or down vote. Can the Senator point that out in the Constitution to me? Can the Senator point that out in the Constitution to me?

FRIST: If the distinguished Senator from West Virginia would let me answer, I would be happy to.

BYRD: Yes.

FRIST: It’s not in the Constitution that a United States Senator specifically has the up or down “ the right for an up or down vote.