Wednesday, December 23, 2009

No Hooch for the Gooch? I Doubt It..

I knew something didn't look right when I caught a line in this morning that said (to paraphrase), "As per the terms of his probation, he'll only be allowed out of his house to attend church or to participate in State Senate votes."

You definitely don't read that every day in your morning paper.

But you also don't see gems such as the defense that State Senator Anthony Galluccio failed a court-mandated breathlyzer test due to the presence of sorbitol in his morning toothpaste. To me, that's the worst excuse offered in public life since Pastor Ted Haggerty's great line about "just wanting to know what possessing crystal meth in the company of a gay prostitute would feel like."

Senate President Murray did the right thing by taking away Galluccio's committee powers, and saying very politely that it would be, well, incumbent upon him to tender a resignation letter.

My purpose in life is NOT to judge Anthony Galluccio as a human being. His chemical dependency is his own issue. Slamming into a family's minivan and then leaving the scene, much like his other vehicular infractions, is between him and the police.

But as a taxpayer who pays this man's salary (and who will be paying for his generous retirement package for most of the rest of my life) I do maintain the right to weigh in on whether he should continue to be served by the people of this great state (yes, that phrasing was intentional) in his current capacity.

And on that note, yes Mr. Senator, it's time to make a quick exit and make room for someone who can hold the public's trust.

No comments: