Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/377929
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In Texas, our most abundant resource is ludicrous politicians (see also: Gohmert, Louie), but as much as it pains me to admit it, the craziest congressional candidate this year comes from California where Carl De- Maio is in a tight race to become the latest lunatic in the asylum we all call Congress. Therearetonsofcandi- dates running around with their crazypants falling down about their ankles. There's the one in Illinois who blames tornadoes on gay rights. And preacher Jodi Hice, who will represent a rural Georgia dis- trict, thinks homosexual- ity "enslaves" gays and lesbi- ans. It's usually the "blame the gays" with these folks, which might get folks to talking if they weren't such good Chris- tians. DeMaio is not a fringe can- didate, and he's running in one of the few swing districts in the country, this one lo- cated in San Diego. The in- cumbent, Scott Peters, is one of the 10 most-vulnera- ble congressmen in the coun- try largely because, well, he's a Democrat, and his voters can't be counted on to show up. The Rothenberg Political Report calls this race a true "toss-up," which means the campaigns, parties and super PACs will probably spend more than $3 million on this one race before Election Day. DeMaio also differs in an important way from those fringe candidates who blame gay people for the weather. For one thing, in San Di- ego they don't have weather, just perfectly temperate sun- shine. For another, DeMaio is gay. If elected, he could be the only openly gay Republican in Congress, and if his being gay has any effect on the lo- cal weather, every chamber of commerce in America is going to want a gay congressman. But being gay is about the least weird thing about De- Maio, just as being black is no big news these days. What would be weird is if a black candidate supported segrega- tion, which is the best way to describe DeMaio's stance on gay rights. Long story short, he's not for them. When it comes to civil rights for gays and lesbians, DeMaio's a mass of walking contradictions. He once gay- baited a straight opponent in the 2012 mayoral race. Re- cently, he appeared in a cam- paign commercial with his boyfriend. But he tells LGBT groups that their civil rights are a "social issue" and have no place in politics. With all that, he acts offended when gays don't rally to his side. "I've found more tolerance, acceptance and inclusion from social conservative groups who have to reconcile that I'm a Republican who happens to be gay... versus the intolerance the LGBT leaders see me as a gay man who happens to be a Republican," DeMaio said. But that's not what's weird about him. You might think it's that time when a city council colleague caught him masturbating in a city hall bathroom in 2009, but whose thoughts haven't turned to love when hearing those mag- ical words, "this city coun- cil session stands in recess?" That's not it. No, what is truly weird about DeMaio is his model for good governance. His district is evenly split between Dem- ocrats, Republicans and inde- pendents, and California Re- publicans are a tolerant if not moderate lot. But when asked in 2013 how he thought a ju- nior congressman could make a difference, he cited Texas' Ted Cruz as his model. "Take a look at what Ted Cruz is doing," DeMaio told a tea party audience. "He's a freshman senator. He's cer- tainly creating a lot of stir. So I do believe one individual can make a difference. And it's a question of whether you're willing to stand your ground." These days, being a tea party gay Republican who puts his boyfriend in an ad and then back into the closet is unusual, but thinking Cruz is an example of how to get something done in DC? That's downright aberrant. Congratulations, Carl De- Maio, you're the weirdest con- gressional candidate in Amer- ica. If you get any more suc- cessful, Rick Perry will probably go out to California and offer you tax incentives to move to Texas. But if Cruz is your model on what to do in Washington, there's proba- bly no chance of that, now is there? JasonStanfordisaregu- lar contributor to the Austin American-Statesman, a Dem- ocratic consultant and a Tru- man National Security Proj- ect partner. You can email him at stanford@oppresearch.com and follow him on Twitter @ JasStanford. Jason Stanford The craziest congressional candidate Cartoonist's take The 9/11 commemoration of the most devastating attack on America's home soil in our history, inspires me to offer sev- eral quotes and thoughts from pa- triotic sources. From Ronald Rea- gan's "A Time for Choosing" speech, we have an alter- native paradigm for dealing with America's mor- tal enemies, compared to mak- ing them a "manageable prob- lem" (President Obama). Reagan: "Now let's set the re- cord straight. There's no argu- ment over the choice between peace and war but there's only one guaranteed way you can have peace—and you can have it in the next second—surren- der. Admittedly, there's a risk in any course we follow other than this but every lesson of history tells us that the greater risk lies in appeasement and this is the specter our well-meaning lib- eral friends refuse to face—that their policy of accommodation is appeasement and it gives no choice between peace and war, only between fight or surrender. If we continue to accommodate, continue to back and retreat, eventually we have to face the final demand—the ultimatum. "And what then? …(Enemy leaders) have told them that we're retreating under the pres- sure of (the then-cold war; now, the Islamic terrorist war) and someday when the time comes to deliver the final ultimatum, our surrender will be voluntary, be- cause by that time we will have been weakened from within spir- itually, morally and economi- cally. They believe this because from our side they've heard voices pleading for peace at any price…And therein lies the road to war because those voices don't speak for the rest of us. "You and I know, and do not believe, that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be pur- chased at the price of chains and slavery. If nothing in life is worth dying for, when did this begin—just in the face of this enemy? Or should Moses have told the children of Israel to live in slavery under the Pharaohs? Should Christ have refused the cross? Should the patriots at Concord Bridge have thrown down their guns and refused to fire the shot heard 'round the world? The martyrs of history were not fools and our hon- ored dead who gave their lives to stop the advance of the Nazis didn't die in vain. Where then is the road to peace? Well, it's a simple answer after all. "You and I have the courage to say to our enemies: 'There is a price we will not pay.' 'There is a point beyond which they must not advance'… Winston Churchill said, 'The destiny of man is not measured by ma- terial computations. When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we're spir- its—not animals.' And he said 'There's something going on in time and space and beyond time and space which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.' "You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We'll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness." If you go to Powerlineblog. com, look up the September 3 post, "A Word from Ronald Rea- gan," to see the moving juxta- position of scenes of America's military and the men, women and children who comprise that vast family of heroes, as well as the weapons upon which their success, and our collective free- dom, depend. Another more recent perspec- tive from then-President George W. Bush: "We have learned that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness. And the surest way to avoid attacks on our own people is to engage the enemy where he lives and plans. We are fight- ing that enemy in Iraq and Af- ghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities." Also posted at Powerlineblog. com on September 3 was "Par- ents of Navy SEAL Ask Obama to Resign," a letter by Billy and Karen Vaughn, parents of Aaron Carson Vaughn, member of SEAL Team VI, killed when his Chinook helicopter, carry- ing thirty Americans and eight Afghans, was shot down on Au- gust 6, 2011. It should have been covered and talked about on ev- ery news broadcast and cable show (hint: if it had been ad- dressed to Bush from antiwar mom Cindy Sheehan, it would have been). Excerpts: "(Upon viewing the beheading of James Foley) I have been left with a level of rage known only to those of us who have sacrificed unspeak- able offerings on the altar of world peace. My offering was my only son…I have been asked what drove my son to choose his particular career (to become a Navy SEAL). Aaron Vaughn was a man who possessed the courage to acknowledge evil. And evil, once truly acknowl- edged, demands response…so few are willing to look it in the eye. It is much simpler—much safer—to look the other way. "That is, unless you are the leader of the Free World…Your cowardly lack of leadership has left a gaping hole—not only in America's security—but the se- curity of the entire globe. Your message has come across loud and clear, sir: You are not up to this job. You know it. We know it. The world knows it. Thanks to your 'leadership'…the world is in chaos. What's been gained, you've lost…You've demolished our ability to hold the trust of allies…America has always been exceptional. And she will be again. You, Mr. President, are a bump in the road." Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@ yahoo.com. The way I see it Thoughts and quotes from patriots The incumbent, Scott Peters, is one of the 10 most-vulnerable congressmen in the country largely because, well, he's a Democrat, and his voters can't be counted on to show up. Sounding off A look at what readers are saying in comments on our website and on social media. My name is Stacy Owens, I am in the Shasta College nursing program and will graduate with my RN in December. I want to thank the Emblem club for recognizing me with this scholarship. Stacy Owens: On receipt of the $3,000 Dorothy Minch scholarship to study nursing Hooray for her! She is a very nice young lady,too. Grace got to meet her once by accident when we went by to look at some bantums for 4-H. She was practicing and Grace had just got her bow. Grace was very inspired by her and didn't want to leave. She said come by any time and she'd give her pointers. Very nice young lady. Jennifer Pilkington: On Paige Pearce winning International Filed Archery championship Assemblyman Dan Logue, 150 Amber Grove Drive, Ste. 154, Chico 95928, 530 895- 4217 Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 879-7424, sena- tor.nielsen@senate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sac- ramento 95814, 916 445- 2841, fax 916 558-3160, gov- ernor@governor.ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug LaMalfa, 507 Cannon House Office Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Fein- stein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 94104, 415 393-0707, fax 415 393- 0710 U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, 1700 Montgomery St., San Francisco 94111, 510 286-8537, fax 202 224-0454 Contact your officials Tom Purcell "We have learned that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness. And the surest way to avoid attacks on our own people is to engage the enemy where he lives and plans. We are fighting that enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities." — George W. Bush OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, September 9, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6