I Lied, Here's the Political Thingie

Diane suggests that by giving you an overview of the race I'm working on you might all be inspired to go out and do whatever you can to return this country to sanity and rational, competent, honest government.

In District 4, TX, since the stong ages we have had as successor to Sam Rayburn Democrat in name only, who in the last election finally re-registered as the Republican he'd always been in voting record and recidivism. Ralph Hall happens to be a father-in-law to a friend who worked on Capitol Hill with me, so I have a guilty feeling, but the Dallas Morning News summed it up in the editorial that appeared yesterday refusing to give him their usual endorsement:

'Mr. Hall, a Democrat-turned-Republican, has represented the North Texas district for more than a quarter-century. A fiscal conservative, he wisely favors entitlement reform and free trade, but he doesn't offer the district the energetic, progressive leadership it deserves. Many of his positions cause us concern, including his opposition to requiring Congress to pay for new tax cuts, and his support for renewing aspects of the Patriot Act we believe go too far in trampling civil liberties. Mr. Hall also voted to intervene in Terri Schiavo's end-of-life case and opposed expanding federal funds for embryonic stem cell research.

On foreign policy, a 2004 comment still troubles us. He told us that the U.S. military should have leveled Baghdad to show the Iraqis that they truly were whipped. As the chairman of the House energy subcommittee overseeing air quality, he hasn't provided the leadership required to clean North Texas' dirty air. '

that's in - http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-hall_10edi.ART.State.Edition1.3e0cd03.html

The News also didn't endorse my candidate, because: 'his positions set our teeth on edge. He's a protectionist who calls NAFTA a "failed policy" and says he would have voted last year against the Central American Free Trade Agreement. He opposes a guest worker program as part of immigration reform, opposes No Child Left Behind and would de-emphasize standardized testing of school kids. '

Yes, they had to call him a protectionist, because he's not on their team - but I also oppose NAFTA which has done none of the good things for our or Central America's industry that it was supposed to, and negates protection for workers in CA. NCLB is also opposed by every responsible person I know who's had any experience in education.

Dr. Glenn Melancon also is a history professor, and has learned from the get-go that our forefathers didn't intend this country to be run by corporations and turned against the public interest.

Further, the News points out;
'Mr. Melancon has made much of a trip Mr. Hall took 10 years ago to the Northern Mariana Islands that was indirectly funded by Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Normally, we might overlook such a dated action, but Mr. Hall's insistence to us that he'd take the trip all over again – even if he knew then what he knows now about the trip's true source of funding and Mr. Abramoff's lobbying tactics – gives us pause. His defense – that he's never personally met Mr. Abramoff – misses the point. '

So if you want to know more about my progressive Dem candidate, you can go to www.glennmelancon2006.com.

And what I've been doing is phone bank work, having the great pleasure of introducing registered voters to a hope for serving the public interest in D.C. once again, and the reactions I'm getting are mostly enthusiasticly grateful. And I get thanked a lot of times for doing the nitty gritty it takes to get a candidate out before the public.

So you interested? There's probably an opportunity in your area, too, to try and get the criminal element out of high office. Join in if you can. Please - for your grandchildren, if any, and mine (3).