Parenting books are filled with examples of how children learn by watching and imitating their parents. So it should comes as no surprise to anyone when elected officials like Congressman Fortney Hillman “Pete” Stark treat them like fools or mock them for having the effrontery to question the work they are doing in Washington D. C. After all, Stark was just following the lead of his Speaker and even the odd Senator or two.
When the Healthcare Bill was making the final lap we were told by Speaker Pelosi that “We have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.”
Really? That’s how government works? We elect folks to represent us and they do whatever they want and deliver legislation like it’s a big surprise filled package to “We the people?” I did not think that was the way government operated, but very few in the MSM media seemed to object to this effrontery from the Speaker’s office. After all — they’re on her side!
I guess that’s why we should not have been surprised when the 2000-plus pages of a “financial reform” bill came lumbering down the pike and one of the architects of this bill, outgoing Senator Chris Dodd (D, Countrywide) was quoted as saying, “”No one will know until this is actually in place how it works.”
See what I mean? The big people are doing it… why not a Congressman from California?
Last Saturday in Fremont, CA there was a town hall meeting held by Pete Stark and this 38-year veteran of Congress displayed some rather interesting respect for the people who pay his salary. Instead of answering questions in a helpful and informative manner, or even showing that he cared about the questions or the people asking them, Stark spent much of the time deriding his constituents, calling them names, and mocking their questions.
When the topic turned to the topic of border security, Stark really turned on the charm asking “Who are you going to kill today?” Literally accusing some of those attending the meeting of shooting people who try and cross the border illegally.
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Just for the record, are the papers filled with stories of Minutemen gunning down illegal aliens? Nope.
At one point in the exchange the Congressman pulls a reverse Louis XIV and actually says to the questioner, “I’m not the government.” So why were you elected to serve and what are you doing in Washington?
About 3:45 into the clip, Congressman Stark references the Bracero Program (a temp guest worker program started in 1942) saying “we still have the Bracero Program.” One small problem here, Bracero was formally ended in 1964, a full nine years before Stark took office. He also says:
One of the reasons, I think, you have such a low incidence of crime among those people who are here without documentation is they’re scared, they know that if they are arrested for a crime, they will be turned over to the immigration authorities, which they try to avoid.
Congressman Stark’s problems with logic, the facts and the truth are not new. In an August 2008 interview about the rising deficit with journalist Jan Helfeld, the Congressman schooled Mr. Helfeld on the economic principles that he believes we should all know by now: “The more you owe, the wealthier you are.” Pay close attention to the snarky tone throughout the interview, which is cut short by Stark’s threat to throw Mr. Helfeld out of his office window. (Caution – there is language from the Congressman which would not pass FCC standards for broadcast.)
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The MSM doesn’t view Stark’s behavior as offensive — although Glenn Beck does — and his rude and dismissive comments have not received much attention on any of the liberal cable outlets. As the old saying goes, “silence = consent.” At least we know where they stand.
Congressman Stark faces election this fall, but judging by his demeanor or “swagger” he’s not very concerned about any opposition. And why should he be worried? Stark has won his seat 19 times, with an average margin of victory at 68%!
Thirty-eight years ago the Congressman won his seat by defeating a candidate he claimed had been in office too long. . . and that guy, George Paul Miller had only served 28 years. You would hope the people of California might catch on to someone like Stark, but if nobody in the press reports on behavior like this, maybe it never happened. After all, if a clown falls in the forest and there’s nobody there to witness it, does he make a sound?
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