This makes me happy on so many levels. As a recovering Aucklander, I know where we build our yachts, so go my old home town.
As an example of how to piss off your local constituents, it is brilliant.
New England boat builders wondering why, in times of hardship, Sen. Thurston Howell … I mean John Kerry, D-Mass., had to outsource his luxury, going halfway around the world to buy the $7 million luxury yacht he was berthing across state lines in tax-free Rhode Island:
New England boat builders say shame on Sen. John Kerry for buying a $7 million New Zealand-built luxury yacht while local ship makers struggle to find work.
“Darn, that would have been a wonderful job for a Maine builder,” said Jane Wellehan, president of the trade group Maine Built Boats. “If someone comes to build a $7 million boat that would employ half the population of some towns for a year or two. Boat building is such a critical component of our coastal economy.”
Oh, and for those Rhode Islanders — we were more high tech when we won the America’s Cup than you all, and we have got even better since.
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