Pallone For The People? NOT!

By Grace Cangemi

Frank Pallone, the ultimate insider, believes that the people’s business should not be done in front of the people. What an outrageous insult.

Pallone continues to hide from his constituents – when he’s not blatantly disregarding their opinions in order to advance his own political agenda. Pallone’s ongoing attitude of “I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t care” has become increasingly obvious since the last Presidential election. His defense of all things Obama might stand him in good stead with Democratic insiders. For many of us on the outside who are always picking up the check but never invited to the table, the outrage is building.

Between the thousands of pages in this Health Care bill and his support of closed-door dealings, one has to wonder what Pallone thinks he’s hiding. People who would watch the hours of debate about this or any other bill on CSPAN are likely to be smart enough to sniff out the pork wherever it may be.

Perhaps Pallone doesn’t believe that he could conduct a compelling public debate on legislation that he has presented. Perhaps he doesn’t believe that he and his fellow insiders would put the good of their constituents ahead of their political agendas. Perhaps the Beltway culture is so deeply ingrained in Frank Pallone that he doesn’t think his constituents deserve accountability and transparency. Perhaps he has spent so much time in Washington that he just can’t support a change in the way business gets done.

As municipal and state governments strive for Sunshine laws that seek to keep taxpayers in the loop, Pallone wants to keep the Beltway closed to his constituents. And I can’t help but wonder why.