Think again, Ed

There are some items in Ed Mead's column today which
warrant some comment. Here's how the column headline read:

Legislative pay cut unlikely

Then he wrote: "It is not certain, but there is talk in
Harrisburg that one of the ways to reduce the budget is to
cut back on salaries of state legislators. That might be a
tough law to get passed, since the legislators would be
voting to cut their own salaries."

There's no "talk" I'm aware of pertaining to legislators
voting to cut their own salaries, but there is widespread
discussion over the prospect of disallowing this years 2.8
percent cost of living allowance (COLA)for legislators, judges
and certain other elected and appointed state offices which
goes automatically goes into effect each year, thanks to a
self-serving law the legislature enacted about 20 years ago.

Ed also wrote:

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, 85, had held that Senate seat
for 40 years, longer than any Republican in history. After
being convicted recently, it was hard to see how he could
expect to keep his seat against his Democratic opponent,
Mark Begich. He lost the seat in a close race.

The reason Ted Stevens lost his reelection bid to
the U.S. Senate is because he was stuck in Washington,
D.C, defending himself against dubious charges during his
trial and unable to campaign for reelection in Alaska,
while his opponent campaigned freely throughout that vast
constitutency. Stevens has appealed his conviction on
grounds of proven prosecutorial and juror misconduct which
should have resulted in a mistrial,if not dismissal of the charges.

Thirdly, Ed wrote:

President-elect Barack Obama is looking ahead and knows that by naming Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, he will eliminate one possible opponent for a second term in 2012.

Hillary Clinton's appointment as secretary of state does nothing do preclude her presidential candidacy in the 2012 election. Indeed it strenghtens and emboldens her hand by butressing her foreign policy credentials and political stature.




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