Give The Governor A 'Hurrumph'

On Wednesday they held the National Governor’s Conference in the City of Brotherly Love, however, Governor Ed Rendell (D) of Pennsylvania inadvertently chose not to spread that love to one of his fellow Governors.

Unaware of an open microphone (how many times have we heard that one), Governor Rendell made, in what he felt was off the record, the following gaffe in speaking about Barack Obama's Homeland Security Secretary pick, Arizona Governor. Janet Napolitano: "Janet's perfect for that job … because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family, perfect. She can devote, literally, 19 to 20 hours a day to it."

Now I’d love to take this opportunity, as a red blooded conservative, to jump all over the liberal Governor, however, while some are insinuating the remarks to be “sexist”, I believe the Governor did not mean for his remarks to sound the way it came off. Although his point was a good one, he just chose a poor way of making it.

There are plenty of Governors to rake over the coals these days, nothing mind you in comparison to the likes of former Governors Eliot Spitzer (D-New York) and Bob Wise (D-West Virginia), but some legitimate questions and concerns.

Speaking of Janet Napolitano … aside from her stance (or lack thereof) on Illegal Immigration, (and correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t she help pave the way for an Illegal alien passing lane on highways that runs from the Mexico/Arizona border through her home state?) … seems I recall a number of questionable moral and ethics violations. But none more memorable then her advising and corroborating on the Anita Hill farce.

You remember, the theatrical storyline, that is, that Ms. Hill had been sexually harassed by her boss, Clarence Thomas. When Susan Hoerchner originally testified that she heard Hill's account of being harassed during a time period that turned out to be before she ever worked for Thomas. Hoerchner’s testimony not only didn't corroborate Hill, it undermined her. But in the middle of this testimony, Napolitano (who was advising Hill) took Hoerchner off the record, and a few minutes later, return to the hearings and testified that she couldn't remember the timing. As David Brock put it in ‘The Real Anita Hill’, “Hill’s attorney Janet Napolitano asked to go off the record, and Hoerchner came back suddenly struck with amnesia.”

I’m afraid that now Barack Obama, and those on the left, have the case of amnesia.

Then there is the case of Governor Ted Strickland (D) Ohio (beginning to notice a trend here?) Seems Governor Strickland has a plumber problem. Specifically, ''Joe the Plumber,'' aka Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher. And if Strickland is not careful, his plumber problem could undermine everything he wants to do in the remaining two years of his term.

In late November, Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles opened his own inquiry into the matter. In addition State Republicans are seizing on the issue, and why not? Strickland set the ethical bar high for his administration when he ran for governor in 2006, and Democrats have justifiably criticized President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for not respecting privacy rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The pressure applied led Strickland to place Helen E. Jones-Kelley, director of Ohio's Department of Job and Family, on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The governor also issued an executive order to all state agencies to review and report back within 30 days on their policies regarding access to private data.

"In the absence of credible evidence of fraud or a reliable accusation of delinquency, no Ohioan should be subject to a 'witch hunt' on the whim of a public official,'' State Rep. Bill Batchelder (R) says in his open letter to Strickland. Governor Strickland has tried, unsuccessfully, to convince Ohioans that he had nothing to do with the background checks on Wurzelbacher. And now he faces legal challenges from Joe the Attorney.

Sure hope the governor realizes that it was the cover-up, not the crime that forced Richard Nixon to resign from the highest office in the land.

And from the department of ‘Last But Not Least’, one of my favorite Governors for taking to task, Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) Michigan. It seems that the Cato Institute, a Washington D.C. based and well respected organization nationally, recently took a crack at analyzing the fiscal situation in all 50 states.

The Cato study found that Governor Granholm has presided over one of the slowest-growing states in the nation, “and her tax increases have not helped matters.” The biggest tax change in recent years was to the Michigan Single Business Tax. The tax was generally hated by businesses, and there was wide agreement that it should be repealed.

Michigan’s economy, next to Massachusetts, continues to be the worst in the country. Even so, Granholm continues to drive small business away, as well as, many of its citizens.

In the words of Governor William J. LePetomane (Mel Brooks character from the movie ‘Blazing Saddles’):

'The affairs of state take precedent over the affairs of state.'