Friday, May 30, 2008

Hey Hey, Ho, Ho, Maurice Hinchey's Gotta Go!











It is time to defeat Congressman Maurice Hinchey. He has been riding high in a gerrymandered district that goes as far west as Ithaca and includes Ulster and Sullivan Counties. According to Heather Yakin in the Times Herald Record Congressman Hinchey yesterday called for a price control ("cap") on gasoline prices to be set at $2.59 a gallon. Those of us who remember the 1970s gas lines (see photo above) caused by government rationing know that Hinchey is out of his mind. As a Congressman, Hinchey himself likely would have a special deal on gasoline or just tell an aide wait in the two-hour lines. Those who need gasoline the most will not be able to get it, while the politically connected, like Congressman Hinchey, would enjoy an ample supply. Congressman Hinchey need not need be concerned if oil exploration firms do not seek new sources of oil and poor people cannot get gas because of the "cap", or if people who have access to the gasoline do not economize. Hinchey's proposal is selfish, vicious and anti-environmentalist since those who have access to the gas will squander it due to the artificially low price.

A glance at the map of the 22nd Congressional district delineates the extent to which Congressman Hinchey has benefited from unethical and anti-democratic gerrymandering by New York State's corrupt political establishment. The district includes eight counties (Broome, Delaware, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins and Ulster). Only Sullivan and Ulster are completely in Hinchey's district. The twenty-second district's absurd shape illustrates how Congressman Hinchey has enjoyed the fruits of New York State's political corruption. He has run unopposed for years.

No comments: