More thoughts on Coffin of Nevada
I don't often post twice on the same topic, but I think I may have left out some feelings I had on my Nevada post last night. The more I thought about Bob Coffin in Nevada, the more rilled up I got.
It must be sickening to watch a legislature -- Democratically controlled, but reacting to the policy whims of a Republican governor originally bent on giving a tax rebate to Nevada's richest -- roll over you and your seemingly good idea of paying back National Guardsmen.
Coffin isn't the first Western Democrat to point out that maybe the states should be doing something more to support our National Guardsman. Brian Schweitzer on Lou Dobbs last night was all about the shifting rolls, and additional pressure, being put on our National Guards. Schweitzer was talking about the contrasting missions of fire fighting and Iraq, but it was still there.
Bill Richardson was the one that came up with the idea that maybe the states should pitch in to help defray the cost of Guardmen's insurance.
Lastly, how many of us would already know about Bob Coffin if he was a Republican legislator from Orange County, fighting against Democratic controlled legislature in California? If a California Republican fasted for a week to promote his bill for bonuses for National Guardsman, he would be a hero.
But, have we heard anything about Bob Coffin from Ann Coulter? What about Michelle Malkin?
I'm sure Rush was all over it.
The fact is that none of these folks (that would absolutely be out of their minds crazy for a Republican doing what Coffin did) care that a Democrat wanted to give bonuses to his state's National Guardsman so much that he fasted for a week. Not just a Democrat, but a Western Democrat, and one from the home state of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Emmett O'Connell | June 10, 2005 | Comment on This Post (2 so far) |
Your Name: Your Personal Note: | Your Email: Friends' Emails*: |
Comments
See my response to your original posting.
It got no local media attention at all because back when there was a bill being passed to pick up health insurance premiums for Guard members, he didn't push it then.
As you've written on this site frequently, Western Democrats need to be coyotes and take opportunities when they come. That means in part knowing how to build allies and cultivate the press, two things that frankly Senator Coffin has never done.
Posted by: desmoulins | Jun 12, 2005 12:53:08 PM
Good points all. I never really considered that someone willing to starve themselves for a week would be a publicity hound, but the more I look into it, the more likely it seems. Yikes, what some will do huh?
Posted by: Emmett O'Connell | Jun 14, 2005 4:47:09 PM
Ads by Google
(and yes, we know that sometimes they're very, very wrong. Other times, they're right on.)
