When Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia died Monday, his fellow senators praised him for being a great legislator. Even Republicans in the Senate said he was an outstanding colleague.

In my opinion, Sen. Byrd represented what is wrong in Washington, D.C. Known by many as the “Prince of Pork,” he spent his years transferring tax money into the state of West Virginia.

Byrd always supported big, costly government. Like Lyndon Johnson, he never met a spending bill he didn’t like. Because of liberals like him, our country is heading toward a $20 trillion deficit.

Byrd was 92 and had served in Congress longer than anyone else in our nation’s history. The reason people in West Virginia kept sending him back is that he brought home the bacon. He repeatedly said that his job was to finance federal programs in his state. Because of his influence, we the taxpayers of America spent billions of our dollars keeping up West Virginia.

When I think of a great leader, I am concerned primarily with two things. First, does he want to radically cut federal spending. I am convinced, with the National Taxpayer’s Union, that at least half the federal spending is wasteful. Even Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is now complaining about the pork in the Pentagon.

Sen. Byrd was not a great leader. In fact, he was a terrible leader. He encouraged members of Congress to waste money. That’s the worst thing anyone in Congress can do.

Because of liberals like Sen. Byrd, the government has failed to cut taxes for everyone. In my mind, a great leader is also one who believes that productive, hard-working people should be able to keep their money.

Instead of letting people keep the money they earn, Byrd, along with the many liberals in Congress, took that money and spent it on their own pet programs. What a travesty of justice. Taking from Peter and giving to Paul is absolutely wrong. Again, people should be able to keep the money they work hard to get.

No doubt, millions of Americans will continue to praise Sen. Byrd for his years of service. Unfortunately, many of these people are Republicans. Conservatives, however, see only a man who spent his life trying to redistribute the wealth. I can never condone that kind of behavior.