New York's Next Superstar Activist Legislator?
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New York City has no shortage of activist legislators. One that I have no doubt will grab the headlines more and more frequently is Representative Anthony Weiner (D - Not Manhattan).
Weiner is, like all politicians, ambitious. He has run for mayor in the past. He will run in the future. I'm guessing he'll eventually win, perhaps as early as the next election in 2009.
In the meantime, he lurks among the backbenches of the House Democrats, popping his head up every so often, in a typical whack-a-pol fashion that is matched only by his more senior counterpart, Senator Chuck E. Cheese Schumer, to "denounce this" or "condemn that."
Most recently, and most damnably, Weiner was a field commander in the disgraceful, and unfortunate, War on Wal-Mart that certain collectively bargained malcontents waged mercilessly in this city. Because low prices, wide selection, and lots of potential property and other taxes to be paid by a big corporation would have been just so horrible.
Having won that battle — with every New York shopper as collateral damage — Weiner now needs a new "big, heartless villain" to, well, vilify.
But the pickings appear to be slimming down a bit:
The fact that nothing improper actually happened is of course irrelevant. As is the fact that "long wait lines, old equipment and high ticket prices" might have more to do with the way the government runs Liberty Island than with how Circle Line tries to run its business.
Meanwhile, one wonders exactly why Weiner is involving himself in this rather mundane matter? Does he have nothing better to do in Washington? Will the terrorists win if Circle Line's competitively-bid contract is renewed?
All politicians are, by definition, moral defectives. Sometimes they demonstrate it by taking defective routes from one political office to the next. Apparently Weiner thinks that the fastest route from Capitol Hill to Gracie Mansion is via the Circle Line.
Weiner is, like all politicians, ambitious. He has run for mayor in the past. He will run in the future. I'm guessing he'll eventually win, perhaps as early as the next election in 2009.
In the meantime, he lurks among the backbenches of the House Democrats, popping his head up every so often, in a typical whack-a-pol fashion that is matched only by his more senior counterpart, Senator Chuck E. Cheese Schumer, to "denounce this" or "condemn that."
Most recently, and most damnably, Weiner was a field commander in the disgraceful, and unfortunate, War on Wal-Mart that certain collectively bargained malcontents waged mercilessly in this city. Because low prices, wide selection, and lots of potential property and other taxes to be paid by a big corporation would have been just so horrible.
Having won that battle — with every New York shopper as collateral damage — Weiner now needs a new "big, heartless villain" to, well, vilify.
But the pickings appear to be slimming down a bit:
The National Park Service must decide whether Circle Line — often criticized for long wait lines, old equipment and high ticket prices — will hang on to the [Statute of Liberty ferry] contract reportedly worth up to $350 million.Ah yes, the "dedicated public servant" doing selfless battle against the "evil, greedy corporation." How wonderful to think that Weiner is so eager to save us from Circle Line, just as he helped save us from Wal-Mart.
...
But now Weiner is releasing documents from a 2005 inspector-general report critical of the friendly relationship between a former park service director and a Circle Line lawyer[.].
The report found nothing improper, and Circle Line officials are fuming over the timing of the documents' release.
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Weiner said, "It's not personal," and added, "They've got a lucrative contract, and they'll do anything they can to keep it."
The fact that nothing improper actually happened is of course irrelevant. As is the fact that "long wait lines, old equipment and high ticket prices" might have more to do with the way the government runs Liberty Island than with how Circle Line tries to run its business.
Meanwhile, one wonders exactly why Weiner is involving himself in this rather mundane matter? Does he have nothing better to do in Washington? Will the terrorists win if Circle Line's competitively-bid contract is renewed?
All politicians are, by definition, moral defectives. Sometimes they demonstrate it by taking defective routes from one political office to the next. Apparently Weiner thinks that the fastest route from Capitol Hill to Gracie Mansion is via the Circle Line.
Posted by Kip on
29 April 2007
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