Thomas D. Segel
America's Leaders or Congressional Cowards?
August 20, 2009
 

They came from across the Rio Grande Valley. Citizens of every stripe, Democrats, Republicans, Independents and even non-voting youth from three counties were there. They gathered at a Town Hall meeting in Harlingen, Texas last night.

A meeting room in the city library was filled to capacity with a standing-room-only crowd of more than 150 people. Speakers were also placed in an outside patio area next to the meeting room, where another hundred taxpayers assembled to hear information on healthcare reform and other Administration proposals. Everyone showed up, except the two individuals elected to represent those same voters in Washington D. C.

"Here in Texas”, said one man, "we appreciate people with backbone, but that seems to be a missing body piece on the two members of Congress representing the southern tip of the Lone Star State.”

Though Texas is a very conservative state, the strength of the Democrat Party rests in the southern counties, all with majority Hispanic populations.

The 15^th Congressional District stretches from the Rio Grande Valley to the Coastal Bend. Voters have sent Ruben Hinojosa to Washington seven times since 1996, but he couldn’t be located to answer four separate Town Hall invitations, sent over several weeks to his office by constituents asking him to attend their scheduled gathering.

The Congressman, who is known for being a frequent flyer at taxpayer expense, was off on another junket to China.

When told of this latest "fact finding tour”, one Town Hall participant said we shouldn’t be too hard on Hinojosa. "After all” said the man from McAllen, "he is our best representative – for Nancy Pelosi.”

Representing the 27^th Congressional District of Texas is Solomon P. Ortiz. Though his district covers an area from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande Valley, he is rarely seen in Brownsville or Harlingen and only appears when he is handing out money from a pork laden piece of legislation or running for reelection. Still, voters have sent him back to Washington repeatedly since 1982.

Ortiz not only refused to attend the Town Hall meeting, but also had his aide, Jose Borjon, insist to the media that only a member of Congress had the right to schedule such an event. "We feel that town hall meetings should be held by elected officials,” said Boejon.

Borjon said the Congressman also objected to his political challengers being members of the Town Hall panel. "Why can’t the constituents just talk to the people who are going to vote on health care reform. What is the point of having others there? He later reversed himself saying, "We want to make sure all parties are included”. But, the Congressman still had no plans to attend the meeting.

Ortiz has also said that he might answer some questions via telephone, but would not be yelled at by voters.

How did this "no show event” come to pass? First of all, it did not happen for lack of trying. One man made repeated attempts to gain their participation.

Art Cohan served more than 20 years in the Marine Corps before retiring to help teach young men about leadership at the Marine Military Academy. He is now fully retired and spends his days making sure his 13 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren, along with everyone else he can reach, understand the Constitution of the United States of America. He feels it is his responsibility to educate everyone about the Constitution and how our elected officials, almost from its inception, have violated it.

On four separate occasions, Cohan and the other meeting organizers sent letters to the two congressmen who represent Cameron County. Because congressional mail takes at least two weeks to get into the hands of representatives due to security concerns, each mailed invitation was followed up with emails also requesting the elected officials to attend.

Congressman Ruben Hinojosa not only ignored the request from his constituents, but also refused to acknowledge the invitation and turn it down in writing or by telephone. He then had his aide call The Valley Morning Star newspaper to tell the editor constituents should not organize Town Hall Meetings and that representatives of other political persuasions should not be present.

The reason Republican candidates Willie Valden and Eddie Zamora along with Independent candidate Douglas Purl were invited was to make certain some panelists would be present when the elected representatives refused to acknowledge their invitations.

Says Cohan, "I do condemn the two representatives for hiding from constituents. I attribute part of it to arrogance, and a lot of it to fear. They simply do not want to face the music, and answer constituent’s questions. Perhaps they cannot.”