Sherwood Boehlert's once powerful incumency seems to be coming apart at the seams.
The only reason that the progressive 24th District, which stretches from the Herkimer in the Adirondacks through Cortland and Auburn around Cayuga Lake and to Tompkins County, has given Congressman Boehlert victories in the past is that Boehlert's PR machine has people convinced that good old Sherry Boehlert has been an adequate advocate for university programs in the area.
Of course, that claim has been debunked thoroughly. In fact, as chair of the House Committee on Science, Sherwood Boehlert has reigned over huge cuts in science budgets and done nothing to stop attacks against scientific integrity by the Bush Administration.
Well, okay, okay, Congressman Boehlert has been a complete failure as chair of the House Science Committee, but still, as the chair of that committee, Sherwood Boehlert would keep bringing home lots of money to 24th District colleges and universities, right?
Wrong. What Sherwood Boehlert hates to admit to his constituents is that he is scheduled to step down as chair of the House Science committee, even if he wins re-election. You see, there are such things in the House of Representatives as term limits for committee chairs, and Sherwood Boehlert's term is past its expiration date. That means, citizens of the 24th District, no more money from Sherwood Boehlert.
As Steven Harmon, a reporter for the Grand Rapids Press, tells his readers, another Republican, Congressman Vernon Ehlers, is expected to take over from Boehlert - whether or not Sherwood Boehlert gets re-elected.
Of course, that presumes that the Republicans are able to hold onto their majority control of the House of Representatives. It doesn't look like that's going to happen this year. So, even if Sherwood Boehlert does get re-elected, and he manages to fend off Vernon Ehlers, and defy the House ethics rules, good old Sherry Boehlert will just get replaced by a Democrat anyway.
If you care about science, research and other educational budgets in New York's District 24, the last thing you want to do is vote for Sherwood Boehlert. Boehlert has failed to deliver in the past, and what little power he has will be taken away from him later this year. That's why, at schools across District 24, Sherwood Boehlert is getting a new nickname to reflect his weakness in Congress.
They're calling him Sherwood "Floppy" Boehlert. Is that who you want representing you in Congress? Congressman Floppy?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It doesn't matter if he wins reelection or not. He's not eligible to run for Science chair because of the term limits on Committee Chairs. Do some more homework on your stories.
I'll tell you what, "anonymous". I'll do more research on these stories if you actually read the stories.
What in the world do you think I meant when I wrote,
"he is scheduled to step down as chair of the House Science committee, even if he wins re-election. You see, there are such things in the House of Representatives as term limits for committee chairs, and Sherwood Boehlert's term is past its expiration date."?
Yes, I meant the very thing that you're chastising me for not writing about.
Strange, that.
What did you think the title of this article meant, I wonder?
Post a Comment