Monday, May 21, 2007

All Hail Empress Landrieu


I know I don't live in DC anymore. I also recognize that my final experience there involved broken glass, a rather uninterested police department, and sweet relief to just get the hell out of Dodge.

But here's the thing.
La Senator Blocked Vote on DC Schools

Yeah, you read that right. A Senator from Louisiana can completely halt action to improve DC's public schools. How f'ed up is THAT?! Could your state or city have any hope of achieving anything if some random senator from some random state could just randomly halt random policies *she* decided needed more study, based on the gripes of someone in city government?! Are we really shocked that DC is the mess that it is?!

It seems to me that The Good Senator From Louisiana might have issues more germane to her position in Congress than blocking DC's Mayor's public school plan. How are those Katrina survivors doing, Senator Landrieu? Everyone back in their homes and back at work yet? Back in New Orleans' stellar public schools yet, Senator Landrieu? You plannin' to send your kids to public school in Louisiana since you seem to be SO CONCERNED about the fate of America's children in DC's schools?

Some city-states fail on their own (lack of) merit. Others are "helped" along by power-hungry, dick-swinging public servants, male or female, who think that their precisely zero years of experience in DC public schools justifies their power grab.

Forget Taxation Without Representation. More like Taxation With Representation By Moron Senator From Louisiana. I'm not sure which is worse.

{And here's the best part: Bets on how long it will take The Gentle Lady from Louisiana to realize that Robert Bobb just played her? Bobb dislikes Fenty, Bobb gets a real live senator to act as his henchman in an inside baseball city issue. Landrieu deals with the negative fallout of the powergrab, not Bobb. Yeah, it's partly the question of doesn't she have something more Louisiana-focused to take care of, but it's also the complete loss of credibility this action has wrought for her--while curiously and inversely increasing the perception of credibility and power for Bobb. Embarrassingly bad politics for Landrieu. Lamentably bad luck (once again) for the kids in DC's schools.}

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Landrieu's office number is 202-224-5824. I think we should all take a few seconds to call and share a piece of our minds. I am calling right now