OPINION | Ken Pittman: Senator Warren Gets Another ‘Late Hit’ Flag

Most years in New Bedford, Massachusetts, one would have heavier odds of seeing a white whale in the city's harbor than seeing Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey standing on the waterfront. During election years, one would be able to equally predict their dependable photo opportunity and trip to the 'Whaling City' by either.

Once again, Senator Warren piles on to the tackle after the whistle has been blown. So I'm throwing the yellow flag.

This is classic Senator Warren in action. Make a bold statement or position well after others have led the charge. Well after companies have left her representative jurisdiction ,you'll find her saying "We need to do something." Well after the White House under Donald Trump is changing the course for the better for New Bedford, Warren comes down for a fact finding mission for her peeps.

Personal foul: late hit.

But Mayor Jon Mitchell will put the flag back in my pocket and ask you to vote for her, despite her epic failings.

Don't fault her completely. She may need New Bedford's votes, but she needs money from environmentalists more.

Actblue is a Democratic political action committee, based in Somerville, to promote progressive candidates who push for clean energy and environmental causes, among other items on the agenda. A PAC that has raised $2.2 billion dollars since 2004, and has contributed to Warren's campaign coffers every year.

Demos is a New York City think tank calling for "global governance,” major redistribution of wealth, and significant restrictions on political speech. Demos is heavily behind her and funded by many radical environmentalist groups, including the Tides Foundation, who gave us the tyrannical reign of NOAA's Dr. Jane Lubchenco (cue the horses neighing).

Lubchenco was put in place by President Obama, based on Senator Kerry's recommendation. Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, was an enormous supporter of radical environmentalist groups, and the Tides Foundation was at or near the top of her list annually. The Tides Foundation and Dr. Lubchenco, both who target the fishing industry, and both propped up to hurt New Bedford by then-Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and his wife!

The farce of a debate that took place soon after Obama's destruction of the fishing industry through Dr. Lubchenco and NOAA was quite a spectacle. It took place in New Bedford. John Kerry "representing" the fishing industry, and his brother, General Counsel of the Commerce Department Cameron Kerry somehow (ahem) appointed by President Obama, defending the measures taken by NOAA to limit the gross tonnage of fish and limit the amount of time fishing vessels could stay out-at-sea from year to year. Small world, or big joke?

* Edited 5/15/2018 originally I posted that Dr. Lubchenco selected Cameron Kerry. He politely wrote to me telling me of the incorrect path to his office as he was appointed by President Obama...which I suggested was a result of his brother being John Kerry. He didn't see the humor in that. Nice guy though)

Warren still supports the Antiquities Act, which President Obama used to shut down vital fishing regions off of our local shores. She did not speak out once against Obama’s September 2016 designation of nearly 5,000 square miles of ocean as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument, using his unilateral authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906.

* Edited 5/15/2018 -  Senator Warren has muted her caveat but has apparently uttered in the circles that preferred to hear this, that she believes the Magnusen Stevens Fisheries and Management Act trumps the Antiquities Act.

The website opensecrets.org shows Environmentalist groups being a top donor for Warren annually.

Nice of Senator Ed Markey to scratch Warren's back and join in at the town hall-style meeting at Pier 3. After all, only Congressman Keating and Senator Warren are running for re-election this year. Markey has made it clear he would rather drink a gallon of Steve Bannon's bath water than have to suffer the trip to New Bedford.

Edited 5/15/2018 - A trusted source has told me that Senator Markey was not willing to put anything in writing but is alleged to have made a phone call said to have been instrumental in the "carve out" of the area banned for fishing. The source indicates that this call "bought" seven years for the fishing fleet. I am not able to verify any of that since Senator Markey was too afraid of his environmental pimps to leave any signature or record if this is the case.

I had to laugh at Senator Warren's description of her working on behalf of the embattled fishing fleet that calls New Bedford, Gloucester, Plymouth, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket home.

""There are a lot of steps to go through to get Sector IX back up," Warren told WBSM News. "And NOAA seems committed to move forward on those. Senator Markey and I are pushing. We don't want to turn this into politics. We want to facilitate this. We want to make it move forward."

A yellow rubber ducky powered by a watch battery has pushed harder than these two AWOL representatives. I will put Congressman Keating in a slightly different category, and not give him a failing grade here, but he's not getting any scholarships, either.

Warren also commented on the importance of yesterday's gathering on New Bedford's waterfront.

"We're there. We're going to be strong. This is just one meeting that helps make sure that we're fully informed and got all the ammunition we need when we go into these fights."

Out her own mouth, folks. She was elected in November of 2012, and now that she needs the votes of New Bedford in less than six months of her six year term, to continue as U.S. Senator, she is gathering your information on May 12, 2018. Pushing? Elizabeth Warren has never pushed anything in her life, except her questionable Native American Indian heritage to get ahead in her career. Even that seems bogus.

The only reason NOAA and the Commerce Department are about to change things for the better this fall, is the ouster of their anti-fishing industry operative, former Regional Administrator (and former New Bedford Mayor) John Bullard, and the change from President Obama, who has all but ruined the lives of the fishing fleet here, to President Donald Trump.

It is ironic that the chief economic engine for New Bedford is only going to vastly improve soon based on New Bedford's losing vote for President of the United States.

Even the progress of the North Terminal construction is only going forward because President Trump replaced President Obama. The Obama administration was a millstone tied to a chain for this project, as it was for the fishing fleet. Trump's White House immediately told New Bedford to basically "go for it."

You will not learn this from our 100 percent Democratic representation here in Greater New Bedford. They all bite their tongues and fear the repercussions of speaking out against the Democratic legislative triumvirate of Warren, Markey and Keating.

New Bedford City Councilor Brian Gomes is the one exception to this. Brian may be singly responsible for at least getting this 11th hour meeting, even if it was an epic photo bomb of New Bedford by Warren. He has publicly decried the obvious: they don't help.

As elected officials go, staunch Democrat and current New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell has fought this fight alone since he's been in office, and everyone reading this knows I'm right, even though they may hate this truth.

Elizabeth Warren may hold the seat once shared by Senator Kennedy, but she seems to have learned nothing from him about properly representing loyal voters in New Bedford.

She has instead studied from the John Kerry school of representation, that a live shot photo is worth a thousand words.

Ken Pittman is the host of The Ken Pittman Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Contact him at talkerkenpittman@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @RadioKenPittman. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.