Phillip Martin Is Doing His Best John Kerry, “I Voted For It Before I Voted Against It” Impersonation
In light of the fact that no traction came from his claim that Speaker Craddick initiated the Ghost Employee scandal as political retaliation against his rivals, Phillip Martin has now rescinded that opinion. Check out exactly what the tool reputable blogger had to say on the matter:
I was wrong earlier in the week when I said Craddick had political motives in trying to go after these “ghost workers.”
Big ups to you, Philly, for putting down that glass of kool-aid and thinking on your own two feet. But then just as he had me thinking bright things for his future, Philly-Dilly offered a new, yet equally gay, motive behind his retarded little Craddick theory:
Speaker Craddick and the failed Republican leaders in this state are so fundamentally opposed to providing health care to Texas — a philosophy that has led to the disastrous health coverage for Texans that is outlined in the stories above — that they’ll do anything to save a few bucks.
Phil, you can’t be serious, right? Oh, wait, he is.
First off, to think that Ghost-gate was Speaker Craddick’s doing is just plain ignorance. Then again, considering the source, well, lets just say that the shoe fits, it’s firmly on Phil’s foot and shoved right down his loud mouth. Second, BOR must really think that Speaker Craddick is some real-life Montgomery Burns, sitting in his mansion atop Springfield, plotting its destruction for no other reason than for his own amusement.
To think that is so ridiculous that I’m not even going to touch it except to say that governing is the practice of prioritizing and making difficult decisions in light of having a finite amount of resources to expend. That is what Speaker Craddick and the Republican leadership are doing, they are governing.
Sure, if Democrats had their way they would just raise taxes and throw more money at the problem, but that is not leadership, that is not governing. That is taking the coward’s way out.
Seriously Phil, quit being a tool.
2 Responses to “Phillip Martin Is Doing His Best John Kerry, “I Voted For It Before I Voted Against It” Impersonation”
By Frank Oevermann on May 10, 2008
A note about being a tool:
Did someone neglect to tell you that the use of “gay” as a catch-all derogatory term went out of style about ten years ago?
Regardless of your party affiliation, stance on gay marriage, etc, most people now realize that someone who continually uses “gay” in this manner is behind the times, ignorant, or probably…well, a tool. (If you were simply still listening to the Backstreet Boys, or wearing a leather jacket with a giant Eight ball on it, we’d probably humor you, but this is slightly more bothersome.)
A note about leadership:
Jake, I agree that *choose descriptor*-blogger Phil is barking up the wrong tree by claiming that Craddick initiated the whole ghost voting thing. That’s bonkers.
However, Craddick hasn’t shown leadership on the matter. I can’t imagine why, except to suspect that Craddick may have received some bad advice about how to try to use the situation to his advantage.
Craddick’s claim that it was news to him that some members had employees who were on full-time status yet were paid less than a full-time salary is absurd. How long has Craddick been in office? House Administration (and, I presume, Craddick) knew the media was looking into this issue many weeks ago. Instead of notifying members that something was amiss and working with them to correct it, Craddick waited for the media to blow, called in the Travis County DA, the Attorney General, General Investigating, and the Canadian Mounted Police. Meanwhile, he threw his bumbling House Administration Chair Goolsby under the bus (According to the Statesman, turns out he had his own “ghost” employee.)
The likely result of all this is negative consequences for members of both parties (in some cases deserved, in other cases undeserved), for legislative staffers (deserved and undeserved), and for the institution of the House.
It’s hard to see what Craddick gains from all this. Sure, saying he called for an investigation of ghost employees might help him win reelection in Midland (not that he needs any help), but it certainly doesn’t help him win re-election as Speaker. His handling of this just reinforces the longstanding perception that he doesn’t care about members and is willing to let them twist in the wind when it suits him. There may be some Craddick Ds and especially on-the-fence Rs who are paying very close attention here.
There’s still time for Craddick to show some true leadership here. (A good start would be a strong , clear statement from the Speaker about what exactly the employment rules are and what members should do to comply with them.)To date, he hasn’t.
By MeanRachel on May 11, 2008
Re: use of gay as a derogatory term
Same goes for “retarded.”