Thursday, September 25, 2014

So Who Does Congressman Culberson Represent; Constituents or Colleagues?

"Working in Congress is like standing under Niagara Falls"-John Culberson (R) Texas said repeatedly during a town hall meeting on September 22, 2014

Really?  Sounds like a problem to me.  The button on the pants of the federal government has officially shot off into the atmosphere as the bloat and the sheer girth of government has increased to sizes previously unknown.  Houston, we have a problem.

Thankfully we have John Culberson fearlessly representing the good folks of Congressional District 7!  Um, scratch that.  Thankfully we have John Culberson representing the good folks of Congressional District 7!    Nope, wouldn't even go that far.  I think we can boil it down to 'we have John Culberson representing the good folks of Congressional District 7'.

I am not new to blogging about my Congressional Representative, Congressman Culberson.  I have written about him numerous times regarding his voting record, his lack of town hall meetings and about some follow up conversations that we've had about those posts.  Yet here we are once again talking about a town hall that he held here in Houston, this past Monday night.  Except this time, I made it interesting and I hijacked the town hall meeting.

The most recent blog I posted I titled Is John Culberson a Jeffersonian Republican...Or Not?  was about his voting record and his low scores with some of the top freedom groups, groups like Heritage Action, Eagle Forum and Freedomworks.  His score was the lowest with Freedomworks, a 53% rating, which is technically an 'F'.  So in order to make a point, I made copies of his Freedomworks score card and handed them out to the people who were attending the town hall.  Heck, I even handed one to the Congressman himself.  Yeah, I don't think he saw that coming.  Neither did his staff, because when the Congressman showed up, one of his staffers stuck her head out the door and said to him, "We need to talk!".

I could go on and on about the different questions that were lobbed in the direction of the Congressman that evening, but I won't.  I'll spare you and get straight to the point.  I was able to ask him a question about his self-proclaimed Jeffersonian-Republican affiliation and how he reconciles that ideology with all of the votes he's cast to increase or maintain spending on a wide range of programs.  He immediately reached inside his jacket for the Freedomworks Score Card I'd handed him and proceeded to go down the list to explain why he voted for each one.  After hearing his responses, I am personally not satisfied with the idea that there isn't anyone else out there to better represent the voters of CD-7, and here's why.  Each of the reasons he gave for a vote he'd cast were  boiled down to the fact that he'd listened to another Congressman or colleague that he trusted.  

Okay, I guess we all might run our options by another person for their opinion, but ultimately the choice we make is our responsibility.  Same with a vote that's cast; shouldn't the Congressman or Congresswoman be required to stand on his or her own to answer for the consequences?  I mean, have they forgotten the magnitude of their actions and the fact that they are spending our children's and grand children's money?  I think accountability is key to the relationship between a congresscritter and his or her constituents and I for one will not let up until I am heard.  




4 comments:

  1. Thanks for attending this meeting so I didn't have to. It sounds like you did a great job getting his attention. As far as I can tell, what Mr. Culberson is best at is wrapping his poor voting record in position statements that hit all the right notes in an attempt to make you believe he is on our side. He is not. Every time I send the Congressman a note, in addition to whatever topical point is at hand, I ask him when he is going to cut the $2 Trillion that needs to be cut in the budget. Somehow he never actually addresses that particular concern.

    By the way, the real reason I don't go to Culberson townhalls is that he ALWAYS holds them in the gun free victim zones otherwise known as public schools. Perhaps he and his staff feel safer there. I feel excluded. Go out to a public place in Houston in the evening unarmed? That's just not happening.

    Cheers.

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  2. I attended this meeting. Thank you for cutting through the 50 minutes of BS and highlighting the most indicative exchange of the evening.


    This man is clearly NOT a leader. He seeks the opinions of colleagues and votes they way they tell him to vote. Never mind that his voting record for the last year has totally angered those of us in his district.

    "The Speaker said he would not allow any amendments to that bill, so I didn't offer any amendments." Are you kidding me????

    He may need to memorize one of Margaret Thatcher's best quotes. "If you set out to be liked, you would be willing to compromise on anything at any time. And you would get nothing done." Culberson keeps compromising (selling us out) without realizing that each capitulation makes us like him even less.

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  3. Thank you for attending, I"m sorry I missed the event. He's been too complacent for too long.

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  4. He seemed to have such potential...so much time wasted.

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