Lary Bloom
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Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Shays' Rebellion
Christopher Shays is sounding an awful lot these days like Lowell Weicker. That is, like Weicker in the early 1970s, Shays has given his own party a pounding. At the Congressional hearings on the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, he pummeled Michael Brown, who we all thought had resigned from his FEMA post but we have learned still collects a salary for "consultation." In his testimony Brown proudly pointed out that he spent time as an assistant to the city manager in Edmond, Oklahoma, where the city developed its first emergency response plan. Shays was not impressed with this, or anything else Brown had to say in his own defense. "I have come to the conclusion that this administration values loyalty more than anything else, more than competence, more than the truth. You have reinforced that view."Weicker, of course, was a Senator, and Shays is in the House. But there are so many similarities -- both emerging from Fairfield County in Connecticut, the most affluent county in America. Both adopting moderate and conservative stances, and fitting easily into the party's big tent. And both critical of party members' performance, to the point where they became clear annoyances. Weicker has always stood for what he believed in, even when it was turning against his fellow Republicans in the Watergate scandal. And, of course, he later abandoned the party and now calls himself an independent. Shays could be an attractive candidate for president. He's articulate, brilliant, if too compassionate to attract extreme right wingers.
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 7:42 AM
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