Saturday, December 13, 2008

Harkin: Liberal Elitism at its Best


Tucked away on the Des Moines Register’s website is a story about the plane carrying Ruth Harkin that skidded off the runway at the Waterloo airport on Friday. Harkin was in Black Hawk County for a Board of Regents meeting at the University of Northern Iowa.

I’m glad that Mrs. Harkin attends these meetings and takes her role on the Board of Regents seriously. When she was appointed to her position with the Regents, many wondered how she would attend the meetings since she lives and spends the majority of her time in the DC area. Friday’s incident at the Waterloo airport provides us with a glimpse on she is able to balance her responsibilities in DC and Iowa, the use of ConocoPhilips $60 million dollar corporate jet.

I think it’s outrageous that Ruth Harkin can use a $60 million dollar corporate jet complete with two pilots and a flight attendant for her private use. I guess I’m assuming that ConocoPhillips doesn’t have any business in front of the Board of Regents. Furthermore, one has to wonder if Ruth Harkin would receive such a generous gift from ConocoPhilips if she wasn’t married to a very powerful United States Senator.

I doubt that Senator Harkin would be able to accept such a lavish gift from any company due to Senate rules dealing with such matters. Unfortunately, those same rules don’t extend to the spouses of our elected officials.

In a time when the American public is outraged over the irresponsibility of corporate America, which was clearly illustrated by the Big 3 automakers when they showed up in DC on their private jets to beg for billions of taxpayer dollars. We should expect more from corporate America, those in financial trouble and those who are not, and we should expect more of our elected officials and their families as well.

Tom Harkin is also a hypocrite. When asked about the Big 3 flying to DC on their private jets he said, “the big three automakers "thumbed their noses" at taxpayers by flying private jets to Washington, D.C. this week rather than cutting company costs and flying commercial." Yet he must think it’s OK for ConocoPhillips to fly his wife back to Iowa to attend to her personal business. I also find it hypocritical that while Harkin has been critical of companies like ConocoPhilips, his wife and their bank account continue to benefit.

Conoco-Harkin, Liberal elitism at its best!

Oh, and I almost forgot. After reading about ConcoPhillips generosity to Ruth Harkin, one tends to understand why Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich thought he should benefit financially from having to fill President Elect Obama’s Senate seat.

21 comments:

  1. Yawn, non-starter. Not a tree we really want to be shaking.

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  2. If the "we" you are writing about is IDP, I understand your position.

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  3. Not surprising...why is she even on the Board of Regents? She doesn't live here. Her kids didn't go to school here.

    It would be a real pain coming back for meetings if she couldn't fly around in a Gulfstream for free.

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  4. I wrote the yawn / don't-shake-the-tree comment. I unequivocally mean _WE_ Republicans - the most likely readers of Krusty, you cretin.

    I seriously doubt that we don't have elected Republicans and families flying around in corporate/or chartered G2s Learjets and the like, (how soon we forget Sarah-and-family) and I believe the "scandal" of it is so non-existant that I wouldn't want to be firing the first shot of a "Your-guys-are-on-the-dole-more-than-my-guys" kind of squabble. Those things always seem to go deeper than either side would wish.

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  5. Wow - this is almost as deparate as going after Culver's wife for having a trooper drive her around (not the smoking deal - just the protection). Did Conoco-Phillips ask the government/taxpayers for a multi-billion dollar bailout? No? Then who gives a s**t how they decide to use their corporate jet!!!
    If you don't like it - fill up next time at an Exxon station.

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  6. 5:46 you are missing the point here. Harkin made the remark about the Big Three CEO's flying around in corporate jets and then his wife turns around and does the same thing.

    What Krusty is doing is showing Harkin for the hypocrite that he is.

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  7. (God - don't make me defend Harkin) You don't get it. Harkin was criticizing the CEOs who were flying on corporate jets to DC with hat in hand asking for MONEY FROM THE GOVERNMENT. Show me when Conoco asked for a bailout and you have a legit argument. Otherwise it just looks stupid to gripe about what every corporation in the country does with its board of directors just because one of them happens to be married to Tom Harkin. It's stupid crap like this that makes the GOP look foolish.

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  8. I am 3:02 and 5:46 and I thank poster 8:59 for saying it better than I would have.

    Pointing out what hypocrites (our fellow) politicians of the Democratic Party might be is nothing more than petty and well below the dignity which I (apparently naively-now but I generationally used-to) expect of my fellow Republicans.

    Shame on us, we're no longer better people than Democrats. Limbaugh et-al _has_ lowered our quality of character.

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  9. most corporations don't fly their board of directors around in $60 million jets

    she flies because she is a senators wife

    that is why she is on the board

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  10. I'm betting that 3:02, 5:46, and 8:59 are the same ones who want to water down what the party stands for. We can't talk about traditional marriage because there are a growning number of gay ans lesbians getting married, we can't talk about illegal immigration because hispanics will not vote for us either.

    I guess then we can't talk about the bailout wither since some R's were for it.

    If we run on nothing we are NOTHING.

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  11. You don't need to water down what you stand for - but have some common sense for God's sake. Petty crap like this just makes the GOP look stupid.

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  12. Last I looked Krusty wasn't the GOP just a blog. This is what I expect from a blog.

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  13. Don't shake the tree?

    You gotta be kidding me! We need to chop it down!

    One of Lincoln's most famous quotes was "If you gave me six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four hours sharpening my axe!"

    The key to defeating Tom Harkin is a "solid conservative" kandidate who can ARTICULATE how ARROGANT our Senator is! "Ruth Air" is just one arrow in the quiver of examples!

    Metal on metal, the sparks are already starting to fly... let's sharpen our axe and get to work!

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  14. When we use perceived personality traits of Democratic candidates as a basis of an election campaign, then we cannot cry foul when those same tactics are used against our candidates.

    Shame on us, in less than two decades we have allowed our Party of Lincoln to be taken down to the level of a big-city party-machine. Some of you are right, there _is_ nothing that differentiates us from Democrats.

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  15. Do we really want to get into this? Anybody know what Barbara Grassley does for a living?

    Here is a hint, its not baking cookies and it rhymes with lobbyist. Multi-million dollar lobbyist in fact. Go figure.

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  16. 9:54 understands that these issues can come back and bite us right on the ass. Apparently, I [3:02/5:46/9:16/9:25AM] am not alone.

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  17. Check out what the Unions do not want you to know!!!


    Unionfacts.org

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  18. I don't like Tom Harkin

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  19. Truth be told....Tom doesn't like you either. Especially when he has to "pretend" to like you every 6 years to get re-elected.

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  20. This is hardly a problem with liberal politicians. Have you forgotten about Jack Abramoff already?

    We badly need campaign finance reform, both at the federal and the state level.

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  21. The Democrat college student staffers seem to be out in force on the Conservative blogs these days. Maybe they are more worried about Uncle Chester’s chances for re-election than they are letting on. Honestly I cant blame them for their concerns.

    Look at who they have leading them:

    Bruce “climb the ladder” Brailey in the 1st District.

    David “The absent minded professor” Loebsack in the 2nd.

    “Lendin’ Lenny the Bailout Boy” Boswell in the 3rd (who, I may add even Democrats don’t like)

    Patt “the puppet” Murphy leading the Iowa House

    Kevin “I bend over and drop trow when the Union bosses tell me to” McCarthy helping to set the House agenda.

    Mike “The Puppet Master” Gronstall leading them in the Iowa Senate.

    And of course “Chet Not Stupid” Culver at the top of their ticket.

    … So yeah, what do they have to worry about?

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