Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Thankful for Venezuela

Hat tip to The Impolitic for bringing this to my attention:
The White House and its allies love to trash Hugo Chavez but back in the Commonwealth of Mass, one Congressman is willing to give the President of Venezuela the respect he deserves. Rep. William D. Delahunt met with Chavez in August, to take him up on his offer and now will be delivering discounted oil to the poor shivering masses in New England.

Rep. Delahunt helped broker a contract between two nonprofit Massachusetts groups and Citgo (an American subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company) to provide discounted home heating oil to thousands of low-income residents. Citgo will supply more than 12 million gallons of heating oil at 40 percent below market price for the next four months. That deal gives poor people in Massachusetts something to be thankful for this winter.

By the way, Rep. Delahunt - who happens to be a Democrat - drew lots of criticism for his efforts.
Asked if he was subverting State Department policy toward Chávez, Delahunt said, ''I don't work for Condoleezza Rice. I don't report to the State Department. I report to the people who elected me in the state of Massachusetts. I belong to an independent branch of government."

Amen. That's something to be thankful for too.

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