Cardoza, gutless wonder

The visit from Hoyer highlights Cardoza's pull in Washington at a time when he's facing vocal critics at home. It's also notable that he didn't invite San Francisco-based Pelosi, who could have tarnished his reputation as a Blue Dog -- fiscally conservative -- Democrat. -- Merced Sun-Star, Aug. 26, 2009

First, from Cardoza's twisted viewpoint, it would make more sense to bring the Majority Leader from Maryland rather than the Speaker from California, since Cardoza lives in Maryland.
Second, former Rep. Gary Condit, D-Ceres, brought Rep. Nancy Pelosi to one of his congressional breakfasts in 2000. She was just as liberal as she is now and wasn't even the Speaker yet. And she brought Dolores Huerta with her. Condit was one of the founders of the Blue Dog Coalition. So, once again, we have the Gutless Wonder in action.
Badlands predicts that any member of the Berryhill family capable of tying his shoelaces will take this bozo in 2010. Cardoza's elementary failure to show the minimal solidarity of continuing to live in the district he represents as it goes through massive economic trauma -- his whole cut-and-run attitude -- has made him despised by the people who voted for him. His idea of a district visit is meetings and calls with local fat cats and a drop-in to the editorial boards.
As far as getting more stimulus funds for his district, it probably didn't help us all that he expressed his contempt for the Obamas by not attending Michelle Obama's commencement address at UC Merced, choosing instead to go to the Preakness in Baltimore with Blue Dog contributors. It probably didn't help our cause when he, along with representatives Radanovich, Nunes and Costa, thugged around Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Interior's point man on California water, David Hayes, in Fresno in front of a crowd of farmers not even in our district (a place where water deliveries were just fine this year).
His major contributors of the moment are agribusiness (which established this dysfunctional economic base at the beginning), oil companies, bankers and medical PACs. At a time when real unemployment, as calculated by Great Depression measures, is closer to 40 percent than 20 percent, Cardoza is going to sell out the most vulnerable people in his district on health care and he doesn't have the guts to face them to tell them that. If there is any public option, it is beginning to sound like it will resemble the business model of a grain silo in Podunk, North Dakota or Dunkpo, Montana.

The meetings have become lightning rods, often filled with shouting that's highlighted on TV news networks. "We will not achieve a consensus that's good for the American people if we're all shouting at each other," he said.

Yo, Gutless. There is no consensus on healthcare and how dare you tell the American people what's good for us. You haven't a clue. We're just beginning the depression. The pain is still raw yet. We haven't yet succumbed to a zombie state of despair. There are people out there who still believe in democracy and its oldest, pre-Revolutionary, pre-federal government, pre-Congress institution, the town hall meeting.
The time and place for consent on health care is later and in Congress, where your job, which you have utterly failed to do, is to represent your constituents, not just a few deep pockets on the other end of the cell phone.
In times like these, the district can no longer afford a babbling coward to represent it in Congress.