washington in brief

0 Comments | Insight on the News, April 16, 2001 | by John Elvin

And the Patriot of the Year Award Goes to: Benedict Arnold!

The alleged logic behind the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's decision to award its "Spirit of Enterprise" recognition to U.S. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota invites a bit of ribbing. The prestigious award was given, so we understand, because it was thought that the recipient, in his gratitude, might be influenced to mellow out a little in his notorious antibusiness positions. Of a multitude of possible parallels to this sort of "logic," it could be recommended that the farmer give a "good-neighbor" award to the fox that turns the henhouse into a holocaust of feathers and squawks.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) found the logic somewhat flawed and, in mm, issued an award to the Chamber of Commerce: "Sellout of the Month." CEI said that "few members of Congress in recent years have been as hostile to enterprise as Daschle." CEI went on, quoting a Chamber source, to explain how the honor to Daschle had been rigged, based on selected "important" votes that showed him favoring the business position 70 percent of the time. "Preposterous!" said CEI.

One Washington observer with a memory dating back beyond this morning's newspaper expressed only mild shock at the Daschle award, recalling that the Chamber "embraced (then-president) Bill Clinton with cheers in 1993 until all hell was raised." The hoped-for positive effect on the South Dakota Democrat and mastermind of that party's legislative agenda is difficult to discern. He didn't bother to show up to claim his award, preferring to devote his energies to denunciation of President Bush's proposed tax cuts.

Keeping Up With the Kennedys

So, how are things going with America's other first-family of politics? According to press reports, Max Kennedy, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, is "thinking about" running for the seat to be vacated by retiring Rep. Joe Moakley, D-Mass. Max heads up the Watershed Institute, a nonprofit outfit devoted to educating inner-city youngsters on environmental issues. Former representative Joe Kennedy, the eldest of Robert's sons, was considered a front-runner for the Democratic nomination for governor of Massachusetts but says he's happy running Citizens Energy, also a nonprofit, this one said to be a provider of low-cost heating oil to poor people in the Bay State.

Mark Shriver, son of Ted Kennedy's sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, plans to run for Congress against moderate Republican Rep. Connie Morella in Maryland. Shriver currently is in the Maryland Legislature. Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is going for the governor's office and causing a bit of a stir in the process. Philip Merrill, publisher of the Washingtonian magazine and the Annapolis Capital newspaper, was quoted in the Washington Post as loudly denouncing Townsend for her family's alleged connections to rumrunners, mobsters, assassinations and other nefarious activities. "If she's elected, the headline in my paper will say: `(Bleeping Bleep)damn Crook Elected Governor of Maryland,'" Merrill reportedly announced.

Save the Iraqi Spotted Owl?

Should it be necessary to file an environmental-impact statement before going to war? That would seem the logical next demand by environmentalists and peace groups intending to sue the Navy for disregarding requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). They hope to delay deployment of Trident II missiles to submarines being refitted for the new weapons at the Naval Submarine Base at Bangor, Wash.

The coalition contends the Navy has not fulfilled its obligations under ESA to consult with various federal agencies about potential harm to salmon, Hood Canal summer chum and other endangered species. That harm might come in the form of accidental explosions or spilled chemicals, they said.

The groups want the Navy to "disclose the full impacts of its D-5 (Trident II) missile program and to take action to reduce or eliminate threats to salmon and the Puget Sound environment."

One More Star for WWII Hero

One of the two or three most significant battles in naval history was the battle of Midway in the Pacific during World War II. It involved a Japanese armada, including four aircraft carriers, bent on finishing off what was left of the U.S. Pacific Fleet after Pearl Harbor. Under the direction of Rear Adm. Raymond Spruance, U.S. bombers destroyed the attacking carders and changed the course of the war in the Pacific, putting Japan on the defensive.

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., has offered legislation to award a posthumous fifth star to Spruance. The admiral was from Lugar's home state. At present, there are only four Navy slots for the five-star rank, held by Chester Nimitz, Ernest King, William Daniel Leahey and William "Bull" Halsey. Spruance was in contention for one of the positions, but he lost out. Likely, that was because he avoided self-promotion and was publicity-averse, as Lugar notes.

"No one lived the values of freedom and service more fully or nobly, and with less thought of personal fame, than Raymond Spruance" Lugar said. "It is fitting and proper for us now to award him rank commensurate with his character and contributions."