RSS
Home
Connecticut lawmakers caught on Facebook and playing solitaire in $37 billion budget hearing
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Solitaire, Facebook, and World Series highlights: a day in the life of a Connecticut lawmaker (AP Photo).
Associated Press photographer Jessica Hill captured the essence of the clumsiness of government yesterday in a now widely circulated photo. While Connecticut House Majority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr. spoke on the budget issues that are plaguing yet another state, members of the Hall of House are playing solitaire, browsing Facebook, and checking out World Series highlights (it has been a great series though).
It's understandable that Connecticut's "public servants" obviously have very little concern for the details of a $37 billion dollar budget battle; it's not their money, after all. As long as the public trough is large enough and the right politically connected pockets are filled, the intricacies and details of a budget matter little when you have endless supply of funds (the Connecticut taxpayers).
Republican Tom Foley, who is running against Crook "Chris" Dodd (D-Wall Street) in Connecticut, took the time to pounce on the Democrats in Connecticut's legislature.
"I was disheartened to see a Hartford Courant front page photo showing members of our Democratically-controlled legislature playing solitaire on their computers while debate was occurring on a new state budget that raises taxes and contains no net reduction in spending. This is not a time for the Democrats who control our legislature to be playing games with Connecticut's future. Our elected officials need to put away their computer toys and help working people by lowering taxes and keeping government spending down."
Lower taxes and cutting government spending? It may be too good to be true to have a politician say AND mean these words at the same time, but a Dodd-less Senate would be something to cheer for (though my heart is with the smart and funny libertarian Republican Peter Schiff for the Senate seat).
Lastly, we see once again the Internet is leaving the dinosaurs in the mainstream press behind. Though I'm no fan of conservative pundit Michelle Malkin, she posted this picture on her blog post this morning, and combined with the Drudge Report's coverage, it spread all over the web.
In a time when the government spies on our emails, phone calls, and medical records, it's nice to know that there is finally an outlet for us to finally be able to watch the watchmen.
