NYT: (Hastert's) Comments Anger NY Dems (9/11 "dollars and cents")

[DeepModem Mom]

Speaker's Comments Anger New York Democrats
By WINNIE HU

Published: August 26, 2004


Some of New York's Congressional Democrats yesterday denounced what they saw as House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's negative portrayal of their efforts to secure federal aid after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, accusing him of partisan politics less than a week before the Republican National Convention begins here.

Mr. Hastert, Republican of Illinois, was quoted in The New York Post yesterday as saying that federal aid had become the driving issue for the state's legislators after the terror attacks: "All the tragedy was converted into dollars and cents," The Post quoted him as saying. "People kind of lost the sense of the depth of the tragedy itself."

John Feehery, a spokesman for Mr. Hastert, disputed the Post article, saying that the speaker's views had been mischaracterized. "I don't think he was being critical at all," Mr. Feehery said. "He was just talking about the tragic situation surrounding 9/11."...

***

In a conference call yesterday, several Congressional Democrats reacted angrily to what they saw as another Republican attack on New York. Representative Jerrold Nadler said the $20 billion in federal aid the state was expected to receive covered just a fraction of the real financial impact on the city. "This administration has shown contempt for New York City, and done everything possible not to help us with funding," he said....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/26/nyregion/26hastert.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I hope everyone in the five boroughs hears about this

Hastert has shown the contempt towards NYC that many Rethugs feel. They merely want to use the city as a prop as they scream "911!" to try and rally the country to their failed and repressive policies.

[LeighAnn]

2. Horrible to think about "President Hastert"

but there's a slim chance it could happen, particularly if they steal the election again.

http://www.hereinreality.com/hastert.html

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Hastert went waaaaaaaaaaay over with his portrayal of NY lawmakers

whining for money to repair and rebuild New York City after September 11.

I don't think it was right for Governor Pataki to insert his hand into the theoretical pile of WTC money to take his share to distribute the money to UPSTATE New York businesses and casinos, but that's another story for another day.

Hastert has the heart of a republican compassionate conservative: nonexistent.

[PATRICK]

7. Yeah casinos.

So much for Upstate development. Instead it is just one big ghetto of rubes to soak for voluntary taxes by milking, creating gambling addictions. If you ever thought the people who teach gambling is immoral were Puritanical, get a load sometime of the senior citizens and housewives in the boondocks, mesmerized into quadrupling their lotto losses with fancy Vegas machines, killing the decent economy like a blight of bloodsucking Albany spiders.

The victims in NYC? Let the suckers choke on the dust. Maybe they will raise up a memorial casino on the WTC site too.

I think this is sad to distract from the invitation of firefighter and police unions to have Bush back their contract negotiations. Now there is something Hastert et. al. won't even make a peep about!

[gatlingforme]

4. Hastert is an asshole with a mouth. He is in my district and I am

very ashamed. He has always been a bully and fits right in with the Republican crowd in these parts of Illinois. Republicans eat their young here.

[EST]

5. G'day, fellow Illinoian!

Sad to say, that awful man has brought shame on all of us. When I was young and stupid, I thought I knew everything. I was a republican. These modern thugs represent the very worst aspects of humanity, all collected into one steaming lump, without, as far as I can tell, a shred of redeeming social value.

[gatlingforme]

9. Hello. You are right on with your post!!!

[chiburb]

6. And on the day Keyes came out for machine guns....

Hastert gave him his "full support". Glad to see the Speaker of the House SOOOOOO in touch with his constituents.

[gatlingforme]

10. Yeah, Hastert has no clue what the word constituents means.

[starroute]

8. Is there a whiff of anti-Semitism here as well?

I may be reading too much into the what was said -- but I think I catch a hint in Hastert's comments of the equation New York City = Jews = money-grubbing.

I don't know enough about Hastert to know whether his mind works that way -- but there are most assuredly many covert racists in the Republican Party for whom make that equation would be second nature.

[EST]

11. Imagine Dante on steroids.

The entire federal gov has become, naturally, a hydra-like creature with its own ego. As with any group, that ego has one purpose-the survival of itself.
With its basic mission the survival of self, it has not created or inherited a conscience. The battle against this creature will not end with the election of a different head, we will have to search out, convict and imprison all of those leaders who have become too much of the vile ego. That will be the majority of our erstwhile leaders. I can only hope we are up to the task.