Sen. Bennet is a coward!

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

Sen. Bennet(R) of the great state of Utah said on an interview on CNBC when asked if it was those preparing (hoarding) goods would be to blame for any negative impact on the economy replied "the more you are informed the less likely you are going to panic." Sen Bennet had the opportunity to set Wall street straight and inform the investing public that there indeed will be a fall-out due to y2k code failure. Instead. Sen Bennet gave a snide reply to the effect that the more you know the less likely you are to hoard. This is the state of our representation today, patronizing, duplicitous, and imperial.

-- PJ (iop4@hotmail.com), July 01, 1999

Answers

Um, wasn't it Bennet who has been trying to convince the government (unsucessfully) for the past 10+ years that Y2K was to be feared? You know, the guy who just wrote a book about it? The guy who staked his credibility on the line to tell people how severe the effects of Y2K could be? I think that is the same Bennet your criticizing for being snide.

-- (AtlantaAS@aol.com), July 01, 1999.

Bennett is between a rock and a hard place. He's presented the facts. He's told people he's storing water. He's told reporters that his son-in-law is burying propane tanks. He can't very well tell people to panic.

Besides, his statement is true. If you're well-informed, you're not going to panic. You're either going to prepare, or make the polly decision not to prepare. Either way, you won't panic.

It's the stupid public who will finally consider the issue too late to do anything meaningful about it that will panic.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), July 01, 1999.


Well,

Bennett has been trying to have it both ways. He submitted the Senate report about Y2K that should scare the hell out of any reasonable man. Then in the press conference outside the chamber, said Y2K will be "a bump in the road" [sic].

With this statement, he shows he is still a master at duplicity. The statement can be taken to mean two things nearly opposite.

1) If you're informed, you won't panic. Implying that prudent preparations are ok.

2) Don't "hoard" in a panic.

He's a standard politician.

Jollyprez

-- Jollyprez (jolly@prez.com), July 01, 1999.


Might want to review this site - Senate Special Committee on the Y2K Technology Problem - and then perhaps rethink your comments.

Senator Bennett (R-UT), along with Senator Dodd (D-CT) and Representatives Horn (R-CA) and Morella (R-MD), have done this country yeoman service in the thankless job of leading the effort to goad, cajole, and when necessary threaten the parties responsible for addressing Y2K problems. They've been "Paul Reveres" on this, and no matter what happens, I'm grateful for their efforts.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), July 01, 1999.


Bennett also stated that his daughter has a garage full of supplies. If hoarders are the problem, his daughter is in trouble!

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), July 01, 1999.


Jolly -

If he came out with anything much more forceful, he'd get undercut big time by the White House and/or the PR flaks for the associated industries. He can't PROVE it's going to be bad, any more than anyone of us can. For all we know, he did say something with just a tad more weight and it got "snipped" before hitting the airwaves. The message is being managed right now.

On a related note: I still find it odd that the Bennett entry for Yardeni's "T-200 Action Day" was deleted without any explanation. I'd sent the Webmaster e-mail about it, but no reply as yet. It was certainly most interesting to hear Bennett and Dodd handle some tough questions from the press. *sigh*

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), July 01, 1999.


Mac, I am very well aware of Sen. Bennets position and statements in regard to y2k. It is with this knowledge that I again call Sen. Bennet a coward. Courage is the ability or willingness to commit oneself to action or manner that complies with your values and belief structure. For Sen. Bennet to say one thing to one group is preaching to the choir. Sen. Bennet was faced with doing the right thing in front of the financial community and he balked, equivicated, and demured. That sir, is a coward.

-- PJ (iop4@hotmail.com), July 01, 1999.

peej you are pumped up, locked, and loaded. i just pray for his sake that there are at least several states between sen. b and yourself.

forge on brave soul.

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), July 01, 1999.


PJ -

(Gad, here I go, possibly being in "violent agreement" with someone on the forum again...)

Citation, please (URL, link or other reference to the quote) or a more complete quotation. Is it on CNBC's Website? I ask because I want to give the Senator the benefit of the doubt.

Are you one of his constituents? If so, you should certainly give him an earful. I'm not an Utahan (Utahite? Ute?), so I've focussed my "national level" efforts on my own Senators and Congresscritters.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), July 01, 1999.


I agree with Big Dog.

-- Linda A. (adahi@muhlon.com), July 01, 1999.


I agree with each of you, and I disagree with each of you. You're all right, and you're all wrong.

Do I qualify for the Senate now? :-)

-- Lane Core Jr. (elcore@sgi.net), July 01, 1999.


Just a quick note, I was watching C-Span live when the press conference was being aired. Therefore I saw an unedited version of the press conference, where he said the infamous "bump in the road" comment.

As I said, he is trying to be all things to all people, which makes him unprincipled in the nitty gritty.

Jolly

-- Jollyprez (jolly@prez.com), July 01, 1999.


I, too, saw the entire unedited conference and am tired of this statement being quoted out of context. His complete sentence went along the lines of "we expect Y2K to be a bump in the road...however, we expect there to be some serious disruptions in some areas." This is not an exact quote, because when he was speaking I never thought I'd be called upon the quote him word for word; his meaning was clear enough. I was appalled when his statement was edited that very day and forever after by the press. "Bump in the road" was not the end of the sentence, although it still quoted that way. Get beyond this, folks, and look a little deeper. Remember the spin the news media puts on these statements and do your own research. Read the reports, watch the conferences, and don't conveniently forget what people say if you're going to be so judgmental. You're just hobbling yourself if you depend on what the nightly news decides to tell you people say.

-- Quiet one (He didn't say @just .that), July 01, 1999.

Yes Linda, Big Dog took the words right out of my mouth too. Focus your rage at Clinton and his pig-sloppin'high-tech guru Gore. How would you like to be forced to work with those two? Heck, your private plane rubble might be found with your burnt corpse containing a bullet hole in the back of your skull...knowwhatImean?

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), July 01, 1999.

there's been closed door senate meetings,they all know what's up.for a career politition Bennet's done plenty

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), July 02, 1999.


All things considered, we have the best senators and representatives that money can buy. Of course money ain't what it used to be.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), July 02, 1999.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ