Hey...why go through the Congress...when he can get it from his communist friends??
Kinda makes me wonder what in Sam Hill we're funding LIHEAP for...Grrrrrrr...
Of course he's familiar with LIHEAP. LIHEAP has funded his Citizens' Energy for many years. Between budget cuts and the big hike in the cost of heating oil, LIHEAP no longer covers enough energy to carry people through the winter. Massachusetts and other northern states don't have a lot of clout in Congress any more so they were unable to get greater appropriations that way. Enter Hugo Chavez.
No one in Massachusetts is going to rise up to overthrow the government, not unless George Bush burns down a Dunkin' Donuts. This is strictly a way to embarrass the federal government, which has decided to stop helping out low-income people here with their heating bills as a budget-cutting measure. Since my neighbors all vote 'RAT they don't support this move, not surprisingly.
(Before anyone brings up the Big Dig, I'll save you time and point out that Massachusetts is a huge net contributor to the federal government, and even at the height of Tipsy O'Neill's reign and the Big Dig's early stages we gave a fraction of a cent more per dollar than we ever got back from Washington. So we're still subsidizing the rest of the country, whatever happens to policies.)