Politicians: Some make you proud. Some don't. Part 2

You know things aren’t going well when veteran Republican strategist Scott Reed said: “This is shaping up to be a wacky year," about the GOP field of 2012 Presidential candidates. Reed managed Republican nominee Bob Dole's 1996 campaign and now is advising Mississippi Governor, Haley Barbour who decided not to run. (That was a wise move, especially after Salon ran a story exposing Barbour’s press secretary for the incessant tasteless jokes in his daily press reports http://www.salon.com/news/haley_barbour/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/03/14/barbour_email_jokes followed by a Boston Globe story on the deplorable condition of health care in Mississippi.)

Sarah Palin continues to embarrass herself. She recently declared that Obama “stole the 2008 election."  http://www.politicususa.com/en/sarah-palin-obama-2008. (Of course, I have always felt that Palin was doing nothing more than promoting herself for her own financial gain, a belief that was strengthened by a recent report that the Palin family “take” from reality TV shows has just topped $3 million.)

A Washington Post columnist wrote that there were “no grownups” present at the recent GOP debate in South Carolina. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gop-debate-no-grown-ups-edition/2011/05/06/AFGpl16F_story.html  

And then there is Donald Trump who hasn’t voted in a Primary since 1999. Not just this whole “Birther” nonsense but he seems to humiliate himself almost daily with some crazy statement. Just recently he compared gay marriage to golf putters. http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/02/donald-trump-putters-gay/  and he repeatedly drops ‘F bombs’ in his speeches. Karl Rove, the top political adviser to President George W. Bush, has called “The Donald” a "joke candidate," Tea Party billionaire David Koch said he was “not qualified” and columnist George Will called Trump a “blatherskite." (Ouch!) Jeff Jacoby, the chief Republican apologist for the Boston Globe was a bit kinder writing that the GOP candidates are a “Field of Mediocrity." Finally, a Gallup poll unveiled that 52% of Republicans  are so disgusted with the candidates that they want a third party to compete with the GOP and President Obama. http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/mostrepublicanswantthirdparty37509;_ylt=Al26XTU7gnrWPuNfEAEyeAiyFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTNkMm4zcm81BGFzc2V0A2F0bGFudGljLzIwMTEwNTA5L21vc3RyZXB1YmxpY2Fuc3dhbnR0aGlyZHBhcnR5Mzc1MDkEY3BvcwM0BHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl9oZWFkbGluZV9saXN0BHNsawM1Mm9mcmVwdWJsaWM-

It’s no wonder that the Borowitz Report recently ran a headline  stating that the “2012 Election had been cancelled” by mutual agreement of the two major parties because President Obama has an “approval rating of 100 percent." http://www.borowitzreport.com/2011/05/02/2012-election-cancelled/   Of course, everyone knows that Andy Borowitz is spoofing us but many Americans are thinking the same thing about the Grand Old Poohbahs.

More criticism gets heaped on your Governor’s Councilor Mary Ellen Manning as she continues to get portrayed as the epitome of everything that is wrong with the Governor’s Council. http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-09/news/29525694_1_councilors-legislature-nominees 

However, praise for State Auditor Suzanne Bump continues to grow. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2011/05/10/new_auditor_deserves_support_in_mopping_up_denuccis_mess/ 

One politician I am very proud of is our representative to the Great and General Court of Massachusetts, Lori Ehrlich. This SHS graduate has been in the legislature only a few years but she has already gained a national reputation, especially on matters of energy.  She was recently summoned to Washington, DC, to attend individual meetings as well as a stakeholder meeting at US DOT headquarters on the topic of pipeline safety. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently launched a national pipeline safety initiative to repair and replace aging pipelines to prevent potentially catastrophic incidents. 

"Attending these meetings allowed me to share the approach I've taken in Massachusetts and to learn what others are doing in their states," said Representative Ehrlich, "With the oldest natural gas pipeline infrastructure in the country and the 2nd highest amount of corroding cast iron, it's not surprising we've had so many preventable accidents in Massachusetts. By repairing our more than around 20,000 known leaks, perhaps we can save lives, ratepayer funds, a finite natural resource, and serve as an example for the rest of the nation." 

Following several fatal pipeline accidents, including one that killed five people in Allentown, PA, Secretary LaHood called upon U.S. pipeline owners and operators to conduct a comprehensive review of their oil and gas pipelines to identify areas of high risk and accelerate critical repair and replacement work. Secretary LaHood also announced federal legislation aimed at strengthening oversight on pipeline safety.

“People deserve to know that they can turn on the lights, the heat, or the stove without endangering their families and neighbors,” said Secretary LaHood.  “The safety of the American public is my top priority and I am taking on this critical issue to avoid future tragedies we have seen in Allentown and around the country.”

While there, Representative Ehrlich met with Secretary LaHood and U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administrator Cynthia Quarterman, to discuss legislation that she filed last legislative session and expanded in the current session. She also met with staff in each Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown to discuss these bills and others.