Lawmakers Who Won't Be Missed

[bertha katzenengel]

Lawmakers Who Won't Be Missed" by Colbert I. King

'Election night in the nation's capital was a pretty tame affair, given that most of the important local races were decided in the September primary. But for some of us who live in the District, the real action on election night took place far beyond city limits.

'My attention, for example, was focused on Big Sky Country, where three-term Republican Sen. Conrad Burns was locking horns with the president of the Montana Senate, Jon Tester. It wasn't until late Wednesday morning that we received the good news that Burns had been defeated. It was worth the wait.

'Burns lost his seat, in part, because of his ties to corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But Burns hit rock bottom with some of us 12 years ago when we learned about his slur against the District's African American population.

'At the time, Burns was the senior Republican on the D.C. appropriations subcommittee. A former livestock auctioneer and radio announcer, Burns liked to affect a folksy, aw-shucks manner. A Montana newspaper, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, reported that during a campaign visit with the paper's editors, Burns told an anecdote about an elderly Montana rancher who wanted to know how he could stand living in the nation's capital "with all those niggers." Asked how he responded, Burns reportedly said he told the man it was "a hell of a challenge."'

Be sure to read the comments!! At least one fab freeper, liberaldancer69, is quite, uh, liberal with his comments.

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[Phredicles]

1. Now with Burns I got the impression the tipping point was

his dissing of firefighters. At that point you may as well just take a dump on the flag while flipping off a nun on live TV.

[bertha katzenengel]

2. No kidding. He probably had a lot of tipping points. And I didn't close a flag.

Sorry, everyone. :blush: