Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Where's Gus?

When Gus Bilirakis was running for congress last year, we couldn't find him anywhere. We searched but we never were successful in our quest to actually hear him speak in person.

Then suddenly, last February, I accidentally stumbled upon Congressman Gus Bilirakis speaking on C-Span. Yep, I spotted Gus actually delivering a speech. Correction - I watched him read the White House talking points verbatim. At the time, he was reading the GOP party line against the resolution against the Iraq escalation.


I thought to myself, "Honestly, shouldn't he know them by heart now?"

Even though he should know them by rote, Gus read the usual Luntz speak and got louder as he climaxed with a list of terrorist attacks beginning with the World Trade Center in 1993 and ending with a big finale of September 11th. As Lil' Gussie read the usual crap, I was struck about how awkward and bizarre his delivery was. No wonder he was never available for speaking engagements before election day. Would any voter really have voted for him if they heard him read in person? Gus repeated a chopping motion with his hand as he read his script. Gus Bilirakis indeed voted no but I don't remember hearing about his service to our country. Where did he serve?

On Memorial Day, May 28, 2007, we finally spotted Gus in action. Susan S and I attended the Curlew Hills Annual Memorial Day Service in Palm Harbor, FL.

1 comment:

Susan S said...

I was mortified that this man is representing me in Congress. Granted, he has hearing problems which could affect his speech, but the CONTENT of his speeches shouldn't be so "rubberstampy."

My husband saw Gus at a local business event recently and was struck by the way he was "handled." He was (in the words of my husband) "shuffled in one door and out the other, without saying a word to anyone." His handler literally pushed him through the hall without allowing him to speak!

At yesterday's event, I was equally surprised to see that Gus wasn't mingling with the attendees before the ceremonies began. Instead, he was on stage chatting with the other speakers (retired major general types who--surprise, surprise--sit on his Veterans' Advisory Board. After Gus read his speech, he slinked out through the mausoleum leaving us to wonder, was he afraid of having to speak to actual voters?

We report, you decide.