Opinion: Slacking off in the Senate

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Sen. Wayne Allard, a Republican from Colorado, announced early this year that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection in 2008. And, perhaps not surprisingly, things seem to have gotten a little loose in his office.

Allard not so long ago introduced a resolution to tab Sept. 25 as ‘National First Responder Appreciation Day.’ Sounds innocuous enough. But, as the Rocky Mountain News recently reported, matters went awry with a May 31 release issued by the senator’s press secretary, Steve Wymer.

‘First responders in Colorado have recently provided critical services in the face of blizzards and tornados. Since I don’t think first responders have really done anything significant in comparsion to their counterparts who have dealt with real natural disasters, I have no idea what else to say here.’

Within minutes, an embarrassed Wymer sent out a message labeled ‘CORRECTION!’ with words attributed to Allard effusively praising first responders. Explaining his gaffe, Wymer told the Rocky (as Coloradans refer to the paper) that he had been ‘joking around’ with another staff member when he accidently sent out the first release. ‘Clearly, those aren’t the words of the senator,’ he added.

We can’t help but imagine that on Capitol Hill, more than a few press secretaries are thinking: ‘There but for the grace of God go I ...’

-- Don Frederick