dropzone
11-01-2004, 11:31 PM
With any luck Tuesday will mark the beginning of the end of the careers of two of Illinois' longest serving Congressmen, Henry Hyde and Phil Crane. Henry has been my representative for many years and before that I was represented by Crane, who replaced Don Rumsfeld in 1969, so you can see why I wince when I think about how much voice I have in Congress. Actually, Henry has mellowed some the past eight or ten years, but it's time for him to take his Jabba the Hutt impression to a permanent home in a coffee shop in Woodale. Hyde has become a national figure from his chairmanship of the Judiciary Committe, especially when he presided over the Clinton impeachment, but in recent years just hasn't been doing what a Congressman with rank and seniority is supposed to do: bring home the pork.
I take special, personal, pleasure in the though that Crane may actually lose in his heaviliy Republican district. Though my years as a TeenAged Republican corresponded with his first couple terms, I never worked on any of his campaigns. However, I recall how wet the Republican wimmins I knew got when they thought of how handsome he was and it nauseated me then and now. Now, though, the thought that anybody would be hot for him is preposterous because he apparently got hoodwinked when he tried to get the same deal as Dorian Gray because every debauchery of the past thirty five years, and there have been many, shows on his face while a portrait of him made in 1970 stays smiling, tan and handsome.
In his defense, though, Crane seems to have become a Libertarian because he does remarkably little considering his seniority. House leader Dennis Hastert, who should be looking out for Illinois' interests by top-loading committees with locals, passed over Crane in 2001 when he named a new chairman of the Ways and Means committee. Instead, Crane has developed a reputation for having never seen a free trip he wouldn't take.
Both men are opposed by bright, energetic women and it will be a pleasant irony to see women defeat those men, considering the womanizing reputations both have built up. I make no predictions that either Christine Cegelis or Melissa Bean will win but making those old goats sweat out an election for once has to be worth something.
I take special, personal, pleasure in the though that Crane may actually lose in his heaviliy Republican district. Though my years as a TeenAged Republican corresponded with his first couple terms, I never worked on any of his campaigns. However, I recall how wet the Republican wimmins I knew got when they thought of how handsome he was and it nauseated me then and now. Now, though, the thought that anybody would be hot for him is preposterous because he apparently got hoodwinked when he tried to get the same deal as Dorian Gray because every debauchery of the past thirty five years, and there have been many, shows on his face while a portrait of him made in 1970 stays smiling, tan and handsome.
In his defense, though, Crane seems to have become a Libertarian because he does remarkably little considering his seniority. House leader Dennis Hastert, who should be looking out for Illinois' interests by top-loading committees with locals, passed over Crane in 2001 when he named a new chairman of the Ways and Means committee. Instead, Crane has developed a reputation for having never seen a free trip he wouldn't take.
Both men are opposed by bright, energetic women and it will be a pleasant irony to see women defeat those men, considering the womanizing reputations both have built up. I make no predictions that either Christine Cegelis or Melissa Bean will win but making those old goats sweat out an election for once has to be worth something.