By Nelson Benton
Staff writer
May 09, 2008 12:46 am This might be the weekend we honor our moms, but that's of no consequence to angry congressional Republicans who this week slapped down a resolution honoring motherhood. Impossible, you say? It happened during C-Span coverage of the House of Representatives Monday during which Congressman John Tierney of Salem was advancing several bills having to do with education. With each request for unanimous consent to allow these normally routine matters to move forward, a member of the minority raised an objection, thus delaying their progress for the time being. The scroll noted that it had something to do with Republicans' objections over Democrats' delay in taking action on an Iraq spending bill. After Tierney was through, another member introduced a resolution honoring the late actor Charlton Heston, former president of the National Rifle Association and a conservative icon. Surely, I thought, the Republicans will let that sail through. They didn't. Next came the resolution honoring "the importance of mothers and motherhood in general" in advance of this, the 100th anniversary of Mothers Day. Now they say there's nothing more sacred to Americans of every stripe than "mom and apple pie." Not this day. The move to suspend the rules was made, and then shot down — "regretfully" — by the GOP. nnn During debate on the mayor's salary this week, Salem City Council President Michael Sosnowski told colleagues he wants to see more "common folk ... sitting in these chairs," adding, "I want to have a normal, Joe Blow ditch-digger with dirt under his fingernails" running the city. No disrespect intended to Sosnowski or any of the current councilors, but shouldn't things like intelligence and integrity also be among the criteria? nnn Peabody councilors have split on the idea of a mayoral pay raise, with some noting that with money tight, the city has to keep a close eye on its spending habits. A motion to increase the salary from the current $94,933 to $104,933 lost on a 5-5 vote last week. "There's so much uncertainty right now," Councilor Ted Bettencourt observed. Hopefully he and his colleagues will adopt the same tough stance when the city unions come to them complaining about the raises the administration is offering them. nnn Beverly City Councilor Bill Coughlin recently had a chance to renew acquaintances with a former student of his at Lynnfield High School — New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch. Coughlin was in Concord where his daughter, Cheri Coughlin, was honored by that city's police department as civilian employee of the year. In addition to working part-time as an administrative technician at police headquarters, she teaches in the Allentown, N.H., school system. After the luncheon they visited the Statehouse where they met Lynch, who was a student at Lynnfield High when the elder Coughlin was director of guidance there. Coughlin describes his fellow Democrat, who most consider a shoo-in for re-election this year, as "a terrific guy." nnn It would seem now that Sen. Hillary Clinton's blatant attempt to pander for votes by joining Republican John McCain in calling for a gas tax "holiday" this summer had the reverse effect. Certainly, it didn't gain her any kind of advantage in North Carolina, where she lost big to Barack Obama, or Indiana where she barely eked out a win on Tuesday. No one likes having to shell out $50 or more to fill up the family car. But most are smart enough to figure out that with the country already deep in debt, and the country's roads and bridges falling into disrepair, that revenue is badly needed. nnn Many of those in the halls of government may think it, but few have the courage to express the sentiment displayed on a bumper sticker on a city DPW truck we encountered recently in Lynn: "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups." nnn Nelson Benton's political column appears every Friday in this space. E-mail him at nbenton@salemnews.com
—
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.