A Westport lawmaker who voted to hike the state sales and alcohol taxes was spotted brazenly piling booze in his car - adorned with his State House license plate - in the parking lot of a tax-free New Hampshire liquor store, the Herald has learned.Here's the pic:
Michael J. Rodrigues’ blue Ford Crown Victoria, emblazoned with his “House 29” Massachusetts license plate, was parked outside a Granite State liquor store on Interstate-95 South over the weekend, according to a witness who provided pictures to the Herald.
(just in case this disappears down the memory hole. Not that a MA pol might try something like that...)
The hypocrisy is nothing short of breathtaking on this one. I mean, he even uses the car with the state license plates on it to drive to New Hampshire to buy booze. And then BLAMES THE REPUBLICANS for it:
He also blamed the brouhaha on “Republican demagoguery.”
“Unfortunately, I think that’s why the Republican Party is in such bad shape in Massachusetts,” Rodrigues is quoted as saying. “The electorate here is smart enough to figure out what they’re up to.”
Are you for real? The Republican Party of Massachusetts is responsible for you taking your state-tagged car out of state to buy untaxed alcohol? Is that really what you're saying? Does this guy expect us to believe that his buying booze in NH is some sort of dastardly Karl Rove trick?
I am honestly and truly stunned here. There's a layer of smug arrogance on top of a thick coating of hypocrisy, all with a perpetual victim chewy center. This guy voted to raise taxes, then goes out of his way to avoid paying for them. In a state-tagged car. And when caught, blames the opposition party for making an issue out of it.
The real joke, and by "joke" I mean sickening reality, is that he'll get re-elected by a wide margin in 2010...
That is all.
Special thanks to brad_in_ma for e-mailing this story to me!
9 comments:
Did you see the Connecticut lawmakers playing solitaire during their session? I am amazed, and of course, you are right, they will all be reelected.
"Do as I say, not as I do."
What, you did not honestly expect your local overlor... er... politician to be detrimentally affected by the same laws he is forcing on his subje... er... citizens, did you? And you did not honestly expect a politician to take responsibility for his actions, did you?
I mean, Lord knows what would happen if our overlor... er... politicians started doing things like that!
Have you seen the letter posted with the pictures at the Citizens for Limited Taxation site? It says this jerk bought "a couple of cases of booze." Meself, I don't drink alcohol, so I don't know how much is in a case ... but Massachusetts law says that if you transport more than 3 gallons of liquor into the state without a proper license, even for personal use, it's bootlegging, punishable by a fine of up to $2500 and/or six months in jail.
Given that it appeared in the Herald and his local paper, I wonder if Rodrigues will be able to sweep this under the rug?
Jay,
Glad to have provided you with some, ahem, entertainment for the morning. It's all part of the service. Figured you could use a laugh. I heard about this last night listening to Michelle McPhee while coming home from my session with the Physical Terrorist. [aside]To those reading this, do NOT blow your ACL. Bad stuff. [/aside]
Westport, where Rep. Rodrigues lives, is not close to NH -- maybe 70 or 80 miles. So we're talking about a Crown Vic, which *maybe* gets 20mpg on the highway. Doing the math, Rep Rodrigues burned about $25 in gas for the round trip. I can't wait to see if he submits the mileage from this trip to his expense account. Think he filled his tank in NH where the gas tax is lower than MA? I do.
Wolf, you bring up an interesting point. I'll bet dollars to donuts that while Rep. Rodrigues may have destroyed his sales receipt, the NH store still has record of the purchase. It would be very easy to determine just how much he purchased and whether or not he was over the 3-gallon limit. I think I'll email Ms. McPhee and point out the 3-gallon limit you cite.
One last note about Rep Rodrigues -- he's the same pol who filed a bill in the state house requiring that pigeons appearing in movies filmed in Boston need to be registered with the local pigeon union. I'm not kidding. What a maroon. [/bugs]
Gah. I need a drink. ;)
Well, Rodrigues claims he stopped on the way back from a weekend outing in NH. That makes the dynamic a little bit different from "he drove up there specifically to get the drinks". But it's still dodging the tax, and it still might be bootleggin'. Who'd-a-thunk it -- even a Masshole Democrat can have a bit of redneck in him.
As for gas, despite the difference in taxes, there is often very little different in price-at-the-pump between NH and MA.
libertyman,
I managed to miss that one. How infuriating.
I mean, if they abstained from voting on whatever it was they missed while they were "otherwise occupied" that would be one thing, but...
And yes, that's the worst part. It leads to a definite feeling of hopelessness when you realize that there is, quite literally, nothing these clowns can do that will get them thrown out of office...
Linoge,
It's very much like John Kerry claiming that the rich should pay higher taxes - even though he and Teresa OPTED OUT OF the higher bracket. Y'see, in MA, you have the OPTION of paying more in taxes - there's the standard rate of 5.3%, or you can check a box to pay 5.8%. Kerry did not check that box even though he advocates raising taxes...
wolfwalker,
Generally a case is 24 12 ounce bottles, or 288 ounces of alcohol (2.25 gallons). If he bought two cases he's over the limit.
Of course, I expect him to be prosecuted for this about the same time as the sun burns out and the planet turns into a lifeless ball of ice...
brad,
Thanks again for the link, even if it does push my blood pressure up... :)
Damned shame, Mike Rodrigues enjoyed an A rating from the NRA in 2008. Let’s hope the candidate defeating him in the next election supports a similar view on 2A issues. Perhaps Rodrigues was just on a ‘fact finding mission’ in New Hampshire. You know, exploring a possible bid for Massachusetts’ recently vacated U S Senate seat?
Even worse this dude lives on the South Shore, and likely had us Massholes pick up the tab (and tax) for his Gas and tolls!
Weerd,
According to the lying, cheating, thieving, stinking and steaming, fetid and festering pile of shit also known as Rep. Rodrigues, with apologies to piles of shit everywhere, he & his wife were returning from a 2-day trip to NH and decided to stop for 3 bottles of hooch. Yeah, right. I'm not buying it, at least not completely. Sadly, he'll probably be reelected in Nov. '10. Gah.
- Brad
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