From Primo's Editor Truby Chiaviello...

From PRIMO’s Editor Truby Chiaviello…

PRAGMATIC PELOSI
No matter what your view is about the recent financial bailout package that passed Congress and signed by President Bush, one thing is for sure: Italian American lawmakers had a considerable part to play in the passage of the historic legislation.

Italian American senators, congressmen and women were at the forefront of supporting and opposing the bill, titled the Emergency Stabilization Act of 2008.

Leading the fight for passage in the House was of course the Speaker herself, Nancy Pelosi. As the daughter of three-term Baltimore Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., and sister of one term Baltimore Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro III, Pelosi knows well the art of politics. She was the cover feature in the January/February 2007 edition of PRIMO where we highlighted her pragmatic style. We also noted that she is not one to repeat a mistake. A case in point: She failed at the first attempt in the bill’s passage by making a rare partisan speech on the House floor vilifying President Bush and conservative economic policies. By doing so, she alienated a number of Republicans and fence sitting Democrats. With defeat and the stock market tumbling, Pelosi acted differently when the bill came up again for passage. She was silent.

For Pelosi, pragmatism always wins out.


POPULIST DEFAZIO
If you think Pelosi’s major opponent in the bailout package debate was a conservative Republican from the Deep South, think again.

Fellow westerner, liberal Democrat Rep. Peter DeFazio was the most vocal of any who opposed the bill.

First elected to Congress 20 years ago, DeFazio is now the senior member of the Oregon delegation. Not one to shy away from casting a controversial vote, DeFazio has voted in the past to criminalize OPEC, legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes in the District of Columbia, and allow Americans to travel to Cuba, just to name a few.

Like all good populists, DeFazio can sometimes convey truth amidst a deluge of class warfare hyperbole. After voting “no” he said, quite perceptively I might add, “The golden parachutes…were exchanged for camouflage parachutes. The executives on Wall Street are still going to get millions.”


DOMENICI’S CAUSE
Like all things in Washington, this bailout package contained revisions and mandates not related to the main purpose of the bill.

Besides $700 billion to help banks and other financial institutions get back on their feet, the bill also included tax credits for wind, solar and alternative energy companies; tax deductions for college tuitions and real property taxes; limits on the reach of the Alternative Minimum Tax, etc…

And the bill was not all about finance. It mandates medical insurance companies to cover mental illness as they would other afflictions. This part of the bill was drafted by retiring Senator Pete Domenici, Republican from New Mexico and longstanding proponent of helping the mentally ill. It took over 10 years for Domenici to get this bill passed. He was the voice in the wilderness regarding the mentally ill. What kept him going? Love of family. Domenici and his wife have first-hand experience dealing with the mentally ill. Their daughter Clare, one of eight children, is schizophrenic.

ROLL CALL
Here’s how Italian American lawmakers voted regarding the bailout package. (For full disclosure: Congressman Mike Ferguson is my cousin once removed.)
Yes
Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY)
Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA)
Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA)
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA)
Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-NJ)
Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY)
Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO)
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA)
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH)
Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL)
Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT)

No
Rep. Jerry Francis Costello (R-IL)
Rep. Peter DeFazio (R-OR)
Rep. Nick Lampson (D-TX)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL)
Rep. John Mica (R-FL)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA)
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY)

***

RECONSIDERING AGE
A question that often arises when discussing 72-year-old John McCain’s presidential bid is whether he is too old to be president.

Actor Ernest Borgnine doesn’t think so. The living legend of Hollywood wants Americans to reconsider what age is.

The current edition of PRIMO contains a feature article on Borgnine. At 92, he just completed two films and is now promoting his new autobiography “Ernie,” an excellent book I highly recommend.

Like so many elderly people today, Borgnine is nothing like the 80 and 90 year olds we knew when we were kids. In speaking with him this past summer I found Borgnine energetic, articulate and insightful. He was full of new ideas and profound comments about fame, acting, what makes a great film and Hollywood’s future. He recalled at ease events from 50 years ago in his career such as the time he met Spencer Tracy or when he played opposite Bette Davis, one of my favorite actresses. Speaking with Borgnine was a highlight of my career. A fan of classic movies, I was enthralled conversing with a living link to Hollywood’s golden era.

Borgnine made me reconsider what age is. With new drugs, dieting and exercise, today’s elderly are perhaps 10 or 15 years younger than they were two decades ago. Like my father, now 86, and so many other PRIMO readers, in their 80s and 90s, Borgnine is working and living life to the fullest.

For him, McCain and others, age is no longer the obstacle it once was.

You have heard from me, now I want to hear from you. Please reply with your questions and comments. Thank you for reading PRIMO.