stupid politician quotes for the day
Feb. 17th, 2006 09:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elizabearHeadline: Florida senators balk at offshore drilling plans
Quote: "The ocean belongs to the United States of America," said Senator Pete Domenici, Republican of New Mexico.
(I think the intent was that the drilling exploration would benefit the whole country and FL would just have to deal with the drilling being 50-100 miles off its shores, but geez does he come off badly with that quote.)
Headline: Md. official defends behavior toward woman
Story: February 16, 2006
ANNAPOLIS, Md. --
William Donald Schaefer, a former governor who is now state comptroller, ogled a young woman at a Statehouse meeting. And he made no apologies about it.
"She's a pretty little girl," the 84-year-old Democrat told reporters. "The day I don't look at pretty women is the day I die."
Schaefer stared intently at the woman -- an aide to Gov. Robert Ehrlich -- as she walked away after bringing him a beverage Wednesday during a Board of Public Works meeting. Then he summoned her back, as people waiting to testify watched and waited.
The aide, looking puzzled, returned to the table, and Schaefer told her, "Walk again," and watched her as she made the second trip to the exit.
He then went into the governor's office and returned to say the woman was embarrassed by the incident.
When reporters asked him about the incident, he called their interest "dumb." He said "this little girl" ought to be "happy that I observed her going out the door."
"The one who is offended is me," he said.
Shareese DeLeaver, a spokeswoman for the Republican governor, declined to identify the aide, saying the woman did not want to talk to reporters.
Schaefer is seeking re-election as comptroller in November and has spent 51 years in public service, including eight years as governor and 16 years as Baltimore's mayor.
Odd remarks and antics by Schaefer at meetings of the Board of Public Works are commonplace. He once complained about a Spanish-speaking fast-food worker and suggested creating a public registry of people with AIDS.
He also has referred to women as "little girls" -- a term celebrated by some women who have worked for him, who say he treated them with respect. After a campaign ad in 2002 suggested he was unfair to women, some former employees held a rally and waved signs that read, "Little Girls for Schaefer."
Okay, looking is one thing, staring is another, and having her come back and walk again moves it into sexual harrassment. He took advantage of his position relative to the duties of her employment.
Quote: "The ocean belongs to the United States of America," said Senator Pete Domenici, Republican of New Mexico.
(I think the intent was that the drilling exploration would benefit the whole country and FL would just have to deal with the drilling being 50-100 miles off its shores, but geez does he come off badly with that quote.)
Headline: Md. official defends behavior toward woman
Story: February 16, 2006
ANNAPOLIS, Md. --
William Donald Schaefer, a former governor who is now state comptroller, ogled a young woman at a Statehouse meeting. And he made no apologies about it.
"She's a pretty little girl," the 84-year-old Democrat told reporters. "The day I don't look at pretty women is the day I die."
Schaefer stared intently at the woman -- an aide to Gov. Robert Ehrlich -- as she walked away after bringing him a beverage Wednesday during a Board of Public Works meeting. Then he summoned her back, as people waiting to testify watched and waited.
The aide, looking puzzled, returned to the table, and Schaefer told her, "Walk again," and watched her as she made the second trip to the exit.
He then went into the governor's office and returned to say the woman was embarrassed by the incident.
When reporters asked him about the incident, he called their interest "dumb." He said "this little girl" ought to be "happy that I observed her going out the door."
"The one who is offended is me," he said.
Shareese DeLeaver, a spokeswoman for the Republican governor, declined to identify the aide, saying the woman did not want to talk to reporters.
Schaefer is seeking re-election as comptroller in November and has spent 51 years in public service, including eight years as governor and 16 years as Baltimore's mayor.
Odd remarks and antics by Schaefer at meetings of the Board of Public Works are commonplace. He once complained about a Spanish-speaking fast-food worker and suggested creating a public registry of people with AIDS.
He also has referred to women as "little girls" -- a term celebrated by some women who have worked for him, who say he treated them with respect. After a campaign ad in 2002 suggested he was unfair to women, some former employees held a rally and waved signs that read, "Little Girls for Schaefer."
Okay, looking is one thing, staring is another, and having her come back and walk again moves it into sexual harrassment. He took advantage of his position relative to the duties of her employment.
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-17 08:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-17 04:50 pm (UTC)Here's hoping.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-17 05:48 pm (UTC)However, I don't suppose they could have said that he sexually harassed the woman (which would be much more accurate than "ogled") without getting into libel issues. (OTOH, Schaefer is a public figure and so he would have to prove malice. However, IIRC, truth is an absolute defense>)
Schaefer ought to be ashamed of himself.
I lived in MD when he first got elected Comptroller. He is absurdly popular for some reason which completely misses me. (I didn't vote for him.)