To the Editor:
I was mildly amused reading Chris Weeks’ letter to the editor in various newspapers over the last couple of weeks. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought I was reading a screen treatment for a sit-com for the fall schedule. But the sad thing is, Mr. Weeks was serious.
Weeks wrote that he was “concerned” that Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf was “forgetting that he first had to win re-election.” I can assure you that Pete has not forgotten that nor have those of us who serve on the 14th District Democratic Committee. Pete doesn’t assume anything – he has worked hard each and every time he has run for re-election, even when he was unopposed, as he was in 2008. Weeks is way off base in claiming that Pete takes the voters of the 14th District for granted. Pete is doing what he’s supposed to be doing right now – representing the citizens of the 14th District in the General Assembly while it is in session.
Weeks cited a “recent poll” that supposedly showed 64% of respondents “would not like casino expansion.” But he didn’t bother to explain who authorized the poll, where these “8000” respondents lived, or where this casino expansion was planned for. For all we know, it could have been Maryland or Pennsylvania. His failure to explain who paid for this poll is one example of Mr. Weeks’ and the Republicans’ propensity to play fast and loose with facts. My guess is that this poll was paid for by the three existing casinos in the state, which oppose any expansion because it would mean competition. Isn’t it ironic – a political party that prides itself for its support of free enterprise and capitalism has a candidate that opposes the very same things?
He also claims that he has been “consistent and clear” in his objections to casino expansion. My question is to whom? Has he ever spoken to Pete about this? I doubt it. Has he ever spoken to the principles behind Del Pointe? Again, I doubt it. I’ve never heard him talk about this and he only recently added something to his website about casino expansion. Actually, Weeks’ stance parrots almost word-for-word what Eric Bodenweiser has been crusading about since Del Pointe was first proposed. And since I saw Weeks and Bodenweiser together (almost attached at the hip) at the tea party “rally” in April where Bodenweiser was handing out his anti-Pete bumper stickers, perhaps Bodenweiser has been feeding Weeks talking points on Del Pointe. Bodensweiser also denies having anything to do with the “whenpigsfly” organization, except that he has gone on local radio boasting that he is part of the group behind the effort. Perhaps Weeks is also a part of this group, since he has yet to respond to media inquiries regarding it and has refused to denounce this anonymous group. We should also note that Bodenweiser doesn’t live in the 14th District – perhaps he should pay more attention to what happens in his own district than ours.
