Money Drives the Senate

They Shot the Wrong Lincoln; By Ann Coulter; Thursday, August 31, 2006

It's hard to figure why Bush would support a half-wit like Lincoln Chafee. Maybe he believes his own poll numbers and is trying to help the conservatives by endorsing their opponents.

After Chafee's family money got him into Andover and Brown, he made his living shoeing horses for seven years. In fact, I've often wondered if an errant kick to the head by one of his charges would account for Chafee's rudimentary cognitive abilities.

That remains Chafee's only professional accomplishment -- unless you include the "fun zone" for kids on his official Senate Web site. Perhaps we could install a "play zone" like they have at McDonald's in the Senate well to keep Chafee occupied while the real senators go about their business.

When the farrier business proved too taxing for Chafee's intellect, he went into the family business -- politics. His father died in office, and Lincoln was appointed by the governor to serve out the remainder of Pop's term in the U.S. Senate. (I know Rhode Island is small, but couldn't they find someone who reads books right side up to fill the seat?) In terms of qualifications for the job, Chafee makes Michael Brown look like Donald Rumsfeld.

Comment: Aside from Ann Coulter’s annoyance with President Bush, too many Senators like Lincoln Chaffee (R-RI) have been elected through deep pockets rather than climbing of the legislative ladder. This is not to say the rich shouldn’t hold office in the Senate; they should. Obviously only the best qualified candidate should serve no matter the economic strata…however this could certainly unravel into a discussion of the characteristics of what a good candidate is or isn’t.

Nonetheless, since the 17^th Amendment was enacted, the Senate has become the highest office in the U.S. Government that can be purchased without some basic legislative attributes. Consequently, Senators almost uniformly act out of complete selfish motive rather than what is best for their individual States. Obviously this is an empirical statement because who can say what action taken by a specific Senator was motivated by something other than the State’s need; however in my life adult life it’s hard to say anything different.