My esteemed congress critter.
She inherited her rotten borough district when her predecessor died and will be in congress until she herself dies. Thus our great republic.
You know what galls me about Spiers? She knew the Democrats in SF are how Jimmie Jones got all his people and his power. Since the days of the Guyana Massacre, and reading her initial reactions, post 9-11; I’ve always wondered how much she knew before Leo and the Two Reporters flew down there. Leo Ryan was a decent man. There used to be some decent Democrats in CA. I don’t consider Spiers one of these.
FWIW, I think the few words I found most disturbing in the whole piece were these:
‘You’re new. You’re wrong,’
In that kind of environment, the real risk is that “new” and “wrong” become de facto synonyms; that even if you’re right. you’re wrong, only because you’re new.
None of that is to say she’s right; she’s not, but the fact that she’s new has nothing whatever to do with it.
Fact is, D.C. is the ultimate “Old Boys Club”, and “new” just can’t be allowed to be “right” very much; it makes the old hands look bad if they get one-upped by some greenhorn upstart.
So, the noobs in D.C. don’t get to be “right” very often — at least not without approval from Party leadership — until they’ve paid their dues.
And that goes for BOTH sides of the aisle.
And THAT is what’s TRULY wrong with this country.