-
What Obama Should Have Done During Subsequent Debates
October 29, 2012 | 6 comments
-
Just Another Casual Conversation About Voter Fraud
October 26, 2012 | 0 comments
-
CNN: Obama’s plan not “significantly new,” just same old stuff repackaged
October 23, 2012 | 6 comments
-
Acts of Terror, etc.
October 16, 2012 | 15 comments
-
Devastating RNC ad captures Biden laughing at the issues
October 11, 2012 | 9 comments
The Spectacle Blog
Every so often, we lose a politician who stood apart from the typical political careerists.
Someone who took bold stands against the fashions of the times.
Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., is not among that elite few. So let’s be glad to see his announcement that he will not seek re-election in 2012. For examples on why…
Here’s Hinchey telling a reporter to “shut up” when asked about the conflict of interest resulting from his ownership stake in a project receiving federal funding:
He later claimed he “didn’t tell the reporter to shut up.”
And here’s Hinchey rambling about his deficit reduction priorities — without actually seeming to know what it means to reduce the deficit:
So long.
View all comments (6) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by J.P. Freire
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/01/18/hinchey-to-retire
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Occam's Tool| 1.18.12 @ 2:55PM
Well, perhaps he can be the SecTreasury for the Democratic ticket in 2016, if it is elected: Weiner/Holder.
Bob Grant| 1.18.12 @ 3:06PM
...some people call me Maurice 'cause I speak of the pompatus of love.
albert constantine jr.| 1.18.12 @ 4:30PM
He is definitely the Joker.
albert constantine jr.| 1.18.12 @ 4:31PM
I think Rep. Hinchey was on to something when he asked if the question was referring to his deficits, as the two videos seem to reveal he has many.
Paul McGrath| 1.18.12 @ 7:27PM
And to think there are hundreds more like him who will still be around. It's enough to make you weep.
Scott| 1.18.12 @ 9:41PM
Hinchey is an excellent illustration of how liberals keep getting elected in regions where they shouldn't (I'm from Hinchey's district and the general population is nowhere near as liberal as he is -- Democrats will try to get on the Conservative Party line on the ballot in a lot of the places around here):
One, the district was tailored for him. In its most recent iteration, it looked like a tadpole, with the tip of the tail in the Workers' Paradise of Ithaca, then dipping down and snaking through every Democratic enclave along the NY/PA border, before expanding into a head around his home stomping grounds in Ulster County. I had the chance to talk with a Republican county chairman back in 2000 who predicted that when Hinchey retired, the district would vanish, and I strongly suspect it will.
Two, he's been blessed by the quality of his opponents. In the 90's and early 2000's the main qualification the Republicans looked for in his would-be opponents was deep pockets so they wouldn't have to put up any money, and about 10 years ago the Republican running against him was absolutely deranged (at a speech I attended he (I kid you not) invoked the James Bond villain from Die Another Day as a threat we had to be prepared against -- I had to leave the room because I was going to burst out laughing, and as I left I could see a number of others in a similar state). The last few times he's actually faced a competent guy, but he's unfortunately been hamstrung by a lack of resources.
Three, Hinchey has been a master at creating wall of ignorance separating what he does in Washington as opposed to what he does in the district. Again, I'm from the district and the various wacky things he does that appear on this website and others NEVER appears in local media, and I don't think most people from the district have the slightest clue what he does in Washington (I've talked to people working to beat him during election years and they don't know this stuff). Conversely, these sites never report on the massive amounts of constituency service he does (we had massive flooding back in 2006 and in 2011 and Hinchey seemed to be all over the place doing everything short of going house to house with a hand pump to empty the basements). We're literally talking Jekyll and Hyde (and I'm not meaning Henry).
So good riddance to bad rubbish, but the embarrassment has been that he's going of his own volition.