Quicker is Better – Senate slow-down makes no sense

During the first two years of the Civil War, the Union Army was camped on the banks of the Potomac River. General Robert E. Lee’s army was embanked on the other side, at times, almost within site of the Union Army observers.

President Lincoln’s chief General George McClellan repeatedly asked Lincoln for more troops and more horses and more guns and ammunition.

At one point, shortly after disastrous losses inflicted on Union troops by Lee’s army, Lincoln went to McLellan to ask him why he was refusing to engage Lee’s army.

“I need more troops,” he said to Lincoln in answer.

However McLellan already had about 160,000 men under arms who were bivouacked on the edge of the Potomac.

Still, he refused to engage Lee.

Lincoln became furious.

He made the famous observation about McLellan before removing him that, “He has the slows.”

To our way of thinking, it is the senate president who now has the slows after letting it out of the proverbial Beacon Hill tricks bag that the House bill passed last week on expanded gambling would be going through a slowdown on the senate side.

It would have been far simpler for her to be honest and forthright – but she wasn’t.

Instead of telling the House leaders that she doesn’t want slots in the final bill, instead of telling the House that the Senate is going to create its own bill, instead of telling the people of Massachusetts that the new jobs, new building contracts, new revenue streams and new business totaling at least $700 million is about to be slowed down or brought to a halt, she gave us nothing but the stale political message which has caused a near revolution among democratic voters.

A slowdown of the expanded gambling bill is about the last thing this state needs right now.

If she has something to say, then say it.

If she has something better to offer, then offer it.

But to slow down an important bill to let Speaker Robert DeLeo know that she thinks she’s the boss, is an absurdity.

There is presently not one meaningful business proposition being considered in this state that comes close to producing the jobs and revenue streams offered by expanded gambling.

Once again, people who wouldn’t know how to run a corner store are making decisions that affect jobs, revenue streams and the future – all of it financed with private money.

What a shame and what a waste her inaction is.

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