A Response to a letter from the President of The United States The Honorable Barack Obama
By Gregory O'Dell July 4, 2011
Living in one of the hardest hit districts from the economic collapse of Fall 2008 in South Central Texas, a ride in the country side makes one's head hang low to avoid the view of every other farm an empty house with broken windows that once had children playing and a big yellow school bus that was forever in the way of traffic.
Taking a family ride south of San Antonio, the view out the window is of ghost towns in the Old West including an occasional tumble weed that rolls across "farm to market" roads in need of immediate maintenance.
These small Texas "farm to market" roads are the Royal Highways that makes mineral resources accessible and the trading routes of food producing farms trigger economic prosperity of Texas City States of the new millennium.
All Rural Roads lead to American prosperity including our South American neighbors. Not too long ago, one could drive safely from North San Antonio on the Pan American Freeway all the way to Chile in 1995.
I have seen this down turn before when the strength of the American dollar put travelers on airplanes that ruined 1000s of miles of the passenger rail all the way to Mexico City.
Not long ago, I could hop on train in one of two railway stations in Old San Antone with a backpack and a few hundred dollars in my pocket. The scenic view by rail was worth the few extra hours to visit friends living near ancient city ruins of the Aztec empire deep and safely in to what has become a DMZ zone 500 miles wide between our border and the main metropolitan areas of the Republic of Mexico.
You ask for my ideas to keep America moving forward. I can tell you that heads are up and people standing tall with the bustle of rough neck oil workers filling once empty cafes in small South Central Texas towns with just a dream- The American Dream!
Economic recovery may be years down the road, but you cannot tell it now on the faces of locals after the permitting opened for the Eagle Ford Shale drilling operations.
If we want to keep moving forward in South Central Texas, is to go back in time of conservative spending by state, government, and citizens. Invest some of the profits of oil wealth back in passenger rail that will make Argentina accessible to the average middle class family and heal relations with war torn Mexico which will strengthen our border security better than a battalion of Army Soldiers, Squadron of Surveillance Drones, or an impenetrable wall twenty feet high, stretching from Del Rio to Matamoras.
Some would say that would take a miracle, or a goal that is not obtainable within reason. While others before us such as Friar Bartolome de Las Casas wrote in his letters to the King of Spain "Apologética historia de las Indias" about the same Royal Highway made without heavy equipment or metal tools as follows:
"Then, there is that miracle -- such it may be called for being the most remarkable, singular and skilful construction of its kind, I believe, in the world -- of the two highways.... across the mountains and along the coast. The finer and more admirable of these extends for at least six and perhaps eight hundred leagues and is said to reach the provinces of Chile....In Spain and Italy I have seen portions of the highway said to have been built by the Romans from Spain to Italy, but it is quite crude in comparison with the one built by these peoples...."
A miracle is a positive event in our lives that seem to oppose the laws of physics or the natural order of things. We do not need to wait for a miracle, reinvesting in passenger rail, Rural Road maintenance, and Freight Lines from Del Rio, Laredo, and Eagle Pass, would just take an investment of profits paid by oil resources. The return on investment would not only save Billions is wasteful sending on border control but regain trusted relations with our South American Neighbors and a balance in economic trade.
The construction and new routes of roads and freight train rail are already in the works by oil companies to gain access to Eagle Ford Shale in South Central Texas. Why not keep on moving forward with rebuilding by laying new track where once the old systems lay, infrastructure lost by inexpensive fuel consuming air travel over the last 30 years in South Central Texas.
Eric Cantor, the Republic Whip in the U.S. House of Representative's is promoting a video of Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar.
Cuellar went on the GOP's propaganda cable channel Fox News, and rattled off his support for tort reform, the Stupak amendment, and a need for efficiencies in heath care. Needless to say, he went through the GOP talking points very nicely.
Tort reform happened in Texas nearly a decade ago and premiums and health care costs have still risen over 100% since the Republican's forced through the constitutional amendment that reduced tort litigation or damages for those harmed. This shows why we need massive health care reform. The only way we can get the efficiencies Cuellar wants is, wait for it, to actually pass reforms. The current system has few efficiencies and that's why we need reform.
There is still time to tell Henry Cuellar to vote for health care reform. Call his Washington D.C. office at 202-225-1640 or toll-free at 877-780-0028.
And feel free to tell him you are calling because of his ridiculous appearance on Fox News.
Today members of the Dem's Café and allied groups visited with Congressman Cuellar's aide to thank the Congressman for his support of the health care reform bill HR 3962, we also let him know that we weren't happy with his vote in favor of the Stupak amendment eliminating insurance coverage for abortions. We also delivered the following letter.
Congress is elected represent their district and represent their ideas and beliefs in Washington. Right now, some elected members think they know what is best for the people in their district with out ever asking them. DailyKos decided it was time to ask what the people in Henry Cuellar's district actually think.
The Research 2000 poll asked a few key questions about health care, Henry Cuellar, President Barack Obama and the 2010 election.Henry Cuellar has gone as far to The Hill he can't support any bill with the public option due to current costs structures.
A quick break down on the top lines of the poll indicate Cuellar's district does not feel the same way as Cuellar. When asked, "Do you favor or oppose creating a government-administered health insurance option that anyone can purchase to compete with private insurance plans?" 53% favor creating government administered health insurance options, 40% oppose the plan and 7% were not sure. The numbers change slightly when asked about a vague plan and attaching Barack Obama's name. When asked, "Generally speaking, do you favor or oppose Barack Obama's health care plan?" 51% of all respondents still favored the plan, with 42% opposed and 7% still unsure.
It's important to point out again, Cuellar is opposed to a public option and stand on the fence of health insurance reform as it is now in the House.
Another interesting question asked to the good people in Congressional District 28 was a question on trust. Republican's have been making the case that they are winning the debate on health care and are earning the average American's trust. Again, the top line results challenge this myth. When asked, "Overall who do you trust more on the issue of health care, the Democrats or the Republicans?" 44% favor Democrats and only 35% favor Republicans. Not quite the hearts and minds the Republican Party would have you imagine.
The poll finally shows that 49% of all respondents do not favor Cuellar's positions on health care and 41% do. Keep this number in mind because 22% of respondents also said they would be less likely to vote for Cuellar if he opposed a public health care option.
There is substantial more to this poll, and I encourage you to look at the whole thing, but with 1 in 4 Texans and 1.5 million children without insurance, maybe it is time for our elected officials to listen to their districts and fight for a public option.
Update: Just finished talking with Congressman Cuellar's office. The congressman stands in support of the public option but his staff has indicated he is not a strong supporter of the current House bill as indicated in the Hill article. A public statement is coming soon and we will get that up as soon as we get it.
Update:As promised, the Cuellar office released this statement to clarify the Congressman's position. Ashley Patterson, Cuellar's press secretary, e-mailed me. This is statement is unedited and is the entire statement.
"Congressman Cuellar is an advocate for health care reform and he has gone on the record supporting the public option. In fact, this August one publication in the 28th district referred to Cuellar as "Defending the Public Option". Another said Congressman Cuellar "maintains" that a vast majority of his uninsured constituents could be covered by the proposed House plan. The Congressman indicated last month that he could not support the bill in its current form, because he wanted to ensure Congress amended H.R. 3200 to ensure the plan's cost-efficiency. President Obama echoed similar cost concerns during his address to Congress earlier this month.
Congressman Cuellar has supported health care since serving in the Texas State Legislature. He coauthored the pilot program for what's now the Children Health Insurance Program in Texas. He hasn't wavered from recognizing the need for reform nor does he plan to in the future. He's asked honest questions about how this plan will affect the nation's deficit, but he hasn't pointed to the public option when asking these questions."
I'll take a Blue Dog over a Republican any day in a conservative district. You can't purify what you don't own!
Rural Democrats in Texas are a tough breed. They are always going to have a tough challenger. They are always targeted. They live and vote under a microscope. They are good, proud Democrats, but they are usually under siege by both sides of the electorate-- Democratic Primary voters and Republicans.
That's one reason I expected to see a few Texans on the list of the Blue Dog Caucus released by Huffington Post 2 days ago.
In the list of 51 members, there is only 1 Democrat.
The only Texan on the list is Henry Cuellar (TX-28), who is a Democrat who represents a very Democratic district.
In 2008 Cuellar won re-election by an impressive 40 points against Jim Fish. In 2006 Cuellar didn't even have a challenger. Cuellar will never be on the NRCC target list and that is probably even more true now that Pete Sessions is running the show.
The other surprise was not seeing Chet Edwards on the list. Edwards is having a great session already and his influence has only been bolstered by being on the Obama short list for Vice President. Perhaps that is the reason Edwards has left the Blue Dog caucus. In either case, the list is interesting for a number of reasons.
The full membership and it's leaders are below the fold.
Update: From a friend and former staffer to some Blue Dogs.
Chet has never been a blue dog, but there have been some significant blue dogs from Texas. One current congressman, ralph hall was a blue dog before he switched parties. Lampson was a blue dog on both of his runs in congress.
Also Charlie Stenholm and Max Sandlin were both Texans and Blue Dogs early on in the Blue Dog history - in fact, i believe stenholm was a founding blue dog.
To Congressman Edwards, sorry for giving you the label. The national online folks tend to tag Edwards with the Blue Dog label and I was wrong and passing the title.
Although U.S. Reps. Gene Green, Sheila Jackson Lee, Charlie Gonzales, Al Green, Ciro Rodriguez and Henry Cuellar, all Democrats from Texas, stressed that they "support President Obama's goals to end our addiction to foreign oil, invest in clean, renewable energy and transition to a low-carbon economy," the five congressman warned that the President's proposals could curb domestic energy production.
The group, who were joined by six other House Democratic colleagues, sent a letter yesterday to U.S. Rep. John Spratt, chairman of the House Budget Committee. The committee is expected to begin considering President Obama's budget today.
Obama’s budget would bar deductions for intangible drilling costs, block oil and natural gas companies from claiming domestic manufacturing deductions and repeal the percentage depletion for wells. It also would impose new use-it-or-lose-it style fees on inactive drilling leases on public lands.
Administration officials have argued that the incentives encourage reliance on polluting fossil fuels while draining federal coffers.
... they told Spratt [that] the U.S. needs an all-inclusive energy policy that recognizes the role of natural gas and oil. And they are concerned that some of the proposed tax increases could hurt “domestic energy production and job growth,” while disproportionately affecting small and independent producers.
Do you think these six congressman are right or should they have stood with President Obama on his energy proposals?
I read in the Rio Grande Guardian where Henry Cuellar accompanied, and introduced, former President Bill Clinton on his swing through east Texas yesterday. This in spite of the fact that Cuellar's Laredo-based district is hundreds of miles from the Piney Woods.
“I don't know why they asked me to go, but I'll be happy to support the Hillary campaign whether it's in South Texas or whether it's in East Texas,” said Cuellar. “It's an honor that they've asked me to do this."
Maybe they wanted to use Cuellar there because nobody in east Texas would know or remember that ... well, to put it kindly, Henry Cuellar is not exactly from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. He's like Joe Lieberman, with less charisma.
I mean, seriously, are the Clinton people aware of this? Paying attention? I'm a little mystified.
One of the most important developments in the effort by border residents to combat the national effort to secure the border using a wall or fence is gaining traction.
Developed in Texas, the concept of a border levee system is gaining significant traction with Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, approving the levee concept in Hidalgo County.
The border wall (as originally proposed) will have a severe negative impact on border communities in Texas without any promise of actually making the border more secure or reducing the influx of illegal immigrants.
The border levee concept enhances existing barriers along the border while minimizing the impact to counties, cities and private property holders.
Having qualified my conclusions, it's still subject to lots of legal interpretation, a few more decisions still need to be made, and then a plan will be executed. By someone(s). At some near or not-so-near point in the future.
Blogs and listservs are ablaze with translations. Here's a few of mine. First, the facts:
