The LuLac Edition #15-May 27th, 2006

News of the Day………..While Maureen Tatu has declared victory in the 118th Republican Legislative race, Art Bobbouine is still asking for a recount. Tatu told one of the local news stations that if she were in Bobbouine’s position, she’d do the same. But as it stands now, the Monroe County resident is set to face off with Mike Carroll for the seat vacated by Representative Tom Tigue…………The city of Wilkes Barre finally got around to approving the Government referendum that calls for a pairing down of council seats from 7 to 5. Right now city council is an “at large” body with council being elected citywide. However, under the new system, the district will be divided into 5 separate districts. This will have ramifications in next year’s municipal elections. For example Phil Litinski, Mike McGinley and Bill Barrett will face off in one district while Kathy Kane and Jim McCarthy will square off in another. This is course of depending on whether they all run for re-election. No council members made comments on the new arrangements but Kathy Kane launched into a large and vocal criticism of taxpayer advocate Walter Griffiths labeling him as an “opportunist” who will do anything to get elected. Griffiths was absent from the meeting.

COMMENTARIES………..I did not vote for the new council arrangement. Although I have been critical of Wilkes Barre City Council’s inaction in the past, I think setting up separate districts will not benefit the city as a whole and pit neighborhoods against neighborhoods. It might be a more divisive force than a unifying one.

MEDIA WATCH……….WILK’s Sue Henry is rapidly becoming Rick Santorum’s Howard Cosell and Santorum is becoming Muhammad Ali. The Junior Senator was on her show again on Friday making news. On the immigration issue, he labeled President Bush as “wrong headed” and said he did not understand why the President was taking a stand like that. He guessed it might be Bush’s past experience as a border state Governor. Henry closed the interview by asking the Senator if she could get an invite to his Penn Hills home, part of a controversy surrounding the Senator’s residency issue. Santorum, clearly taken aback dodged the issue and quickly ended the phone call. The conversations between Henry and Santorum remind me of the times when the late Howard Cosell sparred verbally with the great fighter Ali. While Henry has regard for the Senator, she is not afraid to ask the tough questions.

SPOTLIGHT: LLOYD BENSTEN REMEMBERED

LLOYD BENSTEN……The late Senator and Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bensten died this week. As a college student majoring in both Government/Communications and working as a reporter in the 1976 campaign, I had the opportunity to speak with the Senator via phone in an interview for a college radio station as well as the local NPR radio outlet. He was a well schooled man who had a great grasp on the issues. Bensten in the interview showed the future promise of a powerhouse Senate leader, Vice Presidential candidate and Treasury Secretary. Unfortunately his 1976 Presidential campaign ended before the primary season but that did not diminish his star power within the party.
Colorado Democratic Leadership Council official Jim Gibson had this comment on Bensten’s passing. “Sen. Lloyd Bensten was a great example of a bipartisanship and problem-solving public public official that we miss so much today. More people in elected office should follow how he governed.”
Lloyd Bentsen, was a courtly Texan who represented the state in Congress for 28 years and served as President Clinton's first treasury secretary. Bentsen, 85, who died at his Houston home, capped off a long political career as the Democratic 1988 vice presidential nominee, famously telling rival Dan Quayle during a televised debate: "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."
Bentsen's distinguished political career took him from the humble beginnings of a county office in the Rio Grande Valley in the 1940s to six years in the U.S. House, 22 in the U.S. Senate and two in the Clinton Cabinet, where he was instrumental in directing the administration's economic policy. A shrewd legislative operator, the silver-haired politician maneuvered with ease in Democratic and Republican circles alike on Capitol Hill, crafting deals behind the scenes in a dispassionate, reserved fashion. Chairman of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee for six years, Bentsen was a solidly pro-business Democrat who compiled a record as a staunch advocate of international trade and protector of the oil and gas industry.
The scion of a wealthy Rio Grande Valley family, Bentsen first distinguished himself in World War II, where he flew 50 bomber missions over Europe. Returning home as a decorated veteran, the 25-year-old was elected Hidalgo County judge in 1946. Two years later, he moved to the House. In his first House term, Bentsen was one of a handful of Southern congressmen voting against the poll tax, which was used to keep blacks from voting. Despite the prediction of one of his mentors, legendary House Speaker Sam Rayburn, that he, too, could one day become speaker, Bentsen decided not to seek re-election in 1954. Instead, he opted to return to private life in Houston and build his own fortune, using several million dollars in seed money from his family.
Flush with corporate success, the millionaire felt the call of politics anew and decided in 1970 to challenge liberal Democratic Sen. Ralph Yarborough. After winning a bitter primary, Bentsen went on to defeat his Republican rival, Congressman George Bush, for the first of four Senate terms. The moderate-to-conservative Democrat, who preferred to work away from the limelight, quickly built a reputation as a bipartisan coalition builder. National ambitions led him to seek the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination, a race he quickly abandoned after gaining little support. Returning his attention to the Senate, Bentsen cemented his expertise in tax, trade and economic issues as well as foreign affairs. By 1988, Bentsen was one of the Senate's most respected voices. That year, Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis tapped the elder statesman as his running mate. The Dukakis-Bentsen ticket went down hard, losing 40 states - including Texas - to the Bush-Quayle team.