Nemeth on Kerry

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/08/nemeth-on-kerry

This is a week old but good: How the Kerry Yacht affair is playing in Worcester. From Robert Nemeth's column in the New York Times Company-owned Sunday Telegram:

I reject class warfare and believe in the free enterprise system that rewards people for accomplishment. But I'm sickened by the thought of my senior senator, a public servant, spending $7 million on a boat with "Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage."

The arrogant display of such a sybaritic lifestyle in the midst of a historic recession is unforgivable.

The late Ted Kennedy was an avid sailor all his life, but was content with a relatively modest boat that he kept in Hyannis. His successor, Scott Brown, is noted for driving a pickup truck and wearing a barn jacket. Most of John Kerry's constituents don't make $7 million in a lifetime of hard work....Undoubtedly, Sen. Kerry will be able to write a check for a half-million bucks without being forced to mortgage any of the family's five homes or the $35 million private jet. Just as the exclusive, multimillion-dollar wedding of Chelsea Clinton the other day — complete with a no-fly zone for security — and other extravagances enjoyed by the political elite, the Isabel affair underscores the dizzying distance between ordinary citizens and those who are supposed to represent them.

Ruling class versus country class strikes again.

Thanks to reader-participant-watchdog-community member-content co-creator A. for the tip.

by Ira Stoll  |  Aug 14, 2010 at 10:49 pm Related Topics:  Income Inequality, Politics, Press receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list