Greens Bash Democratic Governor For Speeding
By David N. Bass (09/26/03)
It seems that everyone except the Green Party knows it’s a major no-no to criticize the driving habits of Democrats.
Arianna Huffington can limousine from one CNN interview to another, and everyone is expected to keep their mouths shut when she runs ads claiming owners of SUVs support terrorism; Ted Kennedy can destroy the ecosystem (and take a human life, but caring about that is too extreme for most environmentalists) by running a car into a river, but we conservatives must be “civil” and remain silent.
Imagine the wind in the sails of the Democrat’s holy war against the American automobile if they’d actually practice what they preach. Little chance of that since they can’t seem to keep their foot off the pedal.
The most recent example is New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson, and once again the Democrats find themselves vigorously attacked by that nagging thorn in their side, the Green Party.
According to Washington Post reporter Mark Liebovich, Governor Richardson’s state car reached speeds of 110 mph en route to an Albuquerque debate among Democratic presidential candidates. Liebovich, who was traveling with Governor Richardson as a member of the press, reported that the driver wove in and out of traffic, tailgating and hitting the siren, while the governor urged him to speed up.
The Green Party’s Ralph Nader was quick to strike, saying the New Mexico Governor was caught with his throttle down and adding that Richardson’s lead-footed tendencies might be habitual: “If he will do this with a reporter in the car, what will they do when there's no reporter in the car? That's why there’s a high suspicion that it's chronic.”
Richardson made no public comment on the situation, but allowed his Public Safety Secretary John Denko to tap-dance for him. (Where was public safety when Governor Richardson was blowing through traffic at hurricane Isabel speeds?) According to Denko, the reason for the 110 mph romp was the heightened level of security concerns that day. “What we do, why we do it, how we do it, we don’t talk about,” he said.
This blatant hypocrisy is from a party whose congressional members ripped President Bush for withholding intelligence reports on Iraq in an effort to protect national security. Where was Denko’s slinky attitude of “what we do, we don’t talk about” then?
Not surprisingly, Nader didn’t buy Denko’s explanation, and neither should we. Blowing through traffic to arrive at a Democratic presidential debate on time, then later claiming the excessive speed was over security concerns – does that strike you as reasonable? Sounds more like a cover-up, and a half-baked one at that.
Of course, the liberal media won’t give this story the justice it deserves. Although Governor Richardson endangered countless lives that night, the story was hardly covered. Perhaps the Governor has the same attitude as Bill Janklow – a little speeding never really hurt anyone. But now we know that it certainly can hurt and kill.
This situation has mainly served to aggravate wounds between the Democrats and Greens. Ralph Nader chiding Bill Richardson is a symptom of a larger blessing for Republicans: The Greens can’t stand the Democrats and the Democrats can’t stand the Greens. With the Green Party having tallied nearly 3% of the national vote during the last presidential election, this growing schism spells doom for the Democrats in ’04.
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