It is hard to tell who Steve Neal dislikes more: Durbin or Fitzgerald. But for the next two years, Fitzgerald will face his wrath because he will be up for election and Neal starts the barrage today.
Fitzgerald has made a Senate career out of going it alone. He has abused his office to prevent a federal endorsement of the expansion of O’Hare Airport. His folly could have cost this region more than 100,000 jobs and an annual loss of more than $10 billion. He is unique among U.S. senators in working against the economic interests of his home state.
To the astonishment of colleagues in the Illinois delegation, Fitzgerald last year declined to sign a letter with other delegation members seeking President Bush’s help for Illinois projects. He wrote a silly letter back that "the mere fact that a project is located somewhere in Illinois does not mean that it is inherently meritorious and necessarily worthy of support."
Fitzgerald has sought to undercut House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Yorkville). He recklessly accused Hastert of moral and ethical misconduct because Hastert outmaneuvered Fitzgerald in protecting funds for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
It is fine to piss on people’s legs, but don’t expect them not to do it back to you. What is amazing about the letter is that he didn’t write a letter that specified specific issues he had a problem with and then supported the portions of the package he supported.
Maybe Pete has fashioned himself as a Paul Tsongas type of character. "I’m not Santa Claus," was one of Tsongas’ themes in 1992. He isn’t President either. Pete won’t be Senator in 2005 either.