Posted on 07/22/2003 7:49:09 AM PDT by mikeb704
One of the benefits of living today is having access to so much information. And one of the advantages of this information is learning that, in many respects, the people we elect to govern aren’t any better than most of us.
Indeed, I could be coaxed into contending that a lot of them are worse. Some of those characters, even with their taxpayer-funded publicity machines turning out sanitized versions of their records, have shown themselves to be dumber than, pettier than, wickeder than and crookeder than the average American.
Not to mention nastier than, which brings us to the Honorable Fortney "Pete" Stark. A California Democrat, Mr. Stark appears to be in serious need of intensive anger management therapy.
The other day during a meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee he made it clear that as a child young Fortney shouldn’t have received a passing mark in the all-important "plays well with others" category. It all began when a Republican colleague courteously suggested to you can call him Pete that he shut up. Rather than graciously accepting this sound guidance, Stark showed that he needs to dial up the meds quite a lot.
His response: "You think you are big enough to make me, you little wimp? Come on. Come over here and make me. I dare you. You little fruitcake. You little fruitcake. I said you are a fruitcake."
A Republican aide also claims that Stark, for good measure, called the committee chairman a vulgarity. The term he purportedly used relates to a particular homosexual act and is certainly one a good Democrat shouldn’t be using. It’s also a word you won’t be reading in the family-friendly Reporter.
Stark denied using the word, but that doesn’t mean too much as he has a history of shooting his mouth off. According to Roll Call, he’s called a Republican congresswoman an insurance industry "whore." He characterized a budget proposal from President Bush as "the embodiment of the Antichrist." He claimed that a black Republican Cabinet member was "as close to being a disgrace to his race as anyone I've ever seen."
A couple of years ago, at a subcommittee meeting focusing on welfare and marriage, Fortney went into full foaming-at-the-mouth mode. The Honorable Stark brought up a "current Republican Conference chairman whose children were all born out of wedlock" and noted that "the two previous Republican Speakers both had extramarital affairs."
Aside from being inflammatory, Fortney’s words were wrong. The then-conference chairman, J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, has six children. One was born out of wedlock.
On his second assertion, one of the "Republican Speakers" to whom he was apparently referring never was speaker. Former Congressman Bob Livingston resigned before assuming the speakership.
Blackguards like Stark routinely exhibit atrocious behavior with impunity. Earlier members of Congress knew how to deal with such miscreants. An insult to one’s honor was rarely overlooked. At one point, the disputes were so plentiful that Congress had to pass a law prohibiting duels within the District of Columbia.
OK, so who needs duels anyway? They take up a lot of time, require extra travel (to get out of DC), necessitate brushing up on the official rules, and don’t afford immediate satisfaction to the injured party.
What Congress needs to do is enact legislation that allows, nay, encourages, its members to carry weapons. This isn’t as bizarre as it may sound and there’s substantial precedent.
In the 1996 book "Kings of the Hill," Dick and Lynne Cheney write: "In the 1850’s, a pistol concealed in a House member’s desk accidentally discharged. Instantly, there were ‘fully thirty or forty pistols in the air,’ recalled Rep. William Holman of Indiana, who was present."
How long would a creep like Fortney last in a House with 30 or 40 members packing? Not very, although he probably wouldn’t get his just desserts. Bullies usually skulk away when confronted. Stark would have to learn to save his fruitcakes for Christmas.
What makes the author think that there aren't 30 or 40 members, or more, packing today? After all, the laws don't apply to the Honorable CongressCritters, just to us kulacks.
What leads me to conclude that is the belief that, if they were, Fortney and others of his type would have been taking a dirt nap quite some time ago. B-1 Bob Dornan would still be adding notches.
Those two lifetime partners got their start courtesy of the Washington Blade as I recall.
Damn shame they succeeded...this guy really needs his chops busted.
Where were Babs Mikulski and Jerry Nadler when they were needed the most? I wish J.C. had ironed Fortney's face back then. He'd probably still be in traction.
"I think most newspapermen by definition have to be liberal; if they're not liberal, by my definition of it, they can hardly be good newspapermen."
Walter Cronkite
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