Hillary Clinton: 800 lb. gorilla

Posted by Marc Hodak on April 18, 2007 under Collectivist instinct | Comments are off for this article

Here is what WaPo had to say about Our Dear Senator:

“Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton needed help: Bechtel Plant Machinery, a prominent local employer, had announced it was relocating to Pittsburgh.

“On Nov. 15, Clinton called Stratton, Schumer and Rep. Michael R. McNulty (N.Y.) to her Senate office for a meeting with Bechtel officials. Stratton described Clinton as ‘totally enraged and totally engaged’ and said she demanded to see the data that had informed Bechtel’s decision.

“Schumer reminded the executives that Bechtel relied heavily on federal contracts, that Democrats were now the majority party, and that Clinton was a member of the Armed Services Committee. Her presumed front-runner status for the 2008 Democratic nomination was never mentioned, Schumer said. But he described it as ‘the 800-pound gorilla in the room.’

“Two weeks later, Bechtel announced it was suspending the move. Relocating remained the better option, Bechtel executive T.F. Hash wrote to the senators. But he added: ‘I am, however, mindful of the difficulties this decision has placed on our employees and the community.’

The Bechtel executive’s note reminded me of statements read by hostages, plainly under duress, when they’re placed before the media.

It’s clear that the Post is heralding this as a political achievement. It’s clear that Ms. Clinton is quite proud of this vignette, too. In fact, I was made aware of it by her own staff who felt that it “might be of interest” to me. Yeah, it was.

It’s rare that we get to see into the heart of coercion. We got this glimpse because the Senators from New York apparently have no shame about conspiring against the citizens of the United States to deprive a legitimate company of the opportunity to fairly compete in government contracts. When I see displays of raw power like this supposedly exercised on my behalf, I wonder what I could do to help those without the guns. I wonder how I could apologize to Bechtel for being complicit by virtue of my citizenship. I wonder how the public and the press could be so morally barren as to applaud this kind of behavior. I wonder…where the heck are the Senators from Pennsylvania?