Guest Editorial: The Gulf Between Us and Dan Lungren
By Dr. Ami Bera, M.D. Dan Lungren is out of touch. That’s the only way to explain why Dan stood silent in Congress while his colleague...
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2010/06/guest-editorial-gulf-between-us-and-dan.html
By Dr. Ami Bera, M.D.
Dan had a choice: Stand up for his constituents, American taxpayers and those in the Gulf affected by this disaster, or do nothing. After taking more than $75,000 from the oil and gas industry, and as a leading supporter of off shore oil drilling, Dan’s silence speaks volumes about who he’s working for.
The sad truth is this: it’s big corporations, not us.
As a doctor, I understand how actions can affect lives. What you say and do in a crisis matters. There isn’t the luxury of remaining silent, or standing on the sidelines. There is a need for clear and decisive action. If I was in Congress, I would act to protect taxpayers and the environment; Dan chose to stay silent and avoid upsetting his campaign contributors.
That’s the difference between Dan and me.
My campaign for Congress is about reaching out to our local communities to have a real, honest discussion about how to create jobs, improve our schools and make health insurance more affordable.
Dodging debate: What happened to Lincoln-Douglas?
To be blunt, Dan’s campaign is about taking care of his big corporate contributors. Instead of accepting invitations to debate the issues, he continues to hide behind handlers. Instead of saying where he stands and rising up to the challenges we face, Dan canceled joint appearances at the last minute – not once, but twice.
This is a far cry from the Dan Lungren who once said: “Let's have an old-fashioned Lincoln-Douglas style debate… Why can't we be without handlers? Why can't we just say who we are, what we are and what we stand for?” (Dan Lungren, Los Angeles Times, May 14, 1998 )
I agree with Dan on this point. That’s why I have challenged him to a series of five debates, one in each county of the Third Congressional District.
The people deserve an open and honest debate on the issues that illustrate the choice they will have this November.
Will Dan have the character to answer his own question? Or will he just keep hiding behind his handlers and their negative attacks?
Either way, I invite you to learn more about my campaign at www.BeraforCongress.com. Tell me what you think and I hope you can join us for a house party where we can discuss the issues.
Dan Lungren is out of touch.
That’s the only way to explain why Dan stood silent in Congress while his colleague, Texas Rep. Joe Barton, offered an apology to BP and as the Republican Congressional policy group he’s a member of called the compensation fund for victims of the oil disaster a “shakedown.”
Dan had a choice: Stand up for his constituents, American taxpayers and those in the Gulf affected by this disaster, or do nothing. After taking more than $75,000 from the oil and gas industry, and as a leading supporter of off shore oil drilling, Dan’s silence speaks volumes about who he’s working for.
The sad truth is this: it’s big corporations, not us.
As a doctor, I understand how actions can affect lives. What you say and do in a crisis matters. There isn’t the luxury of remaining silent, or standing on the sidelines. There is a need for clear and decisive action. If I was in Congress, I would act to protect taxpayers and the environment; Dan chose to stay silent and avoid upsetting his campaign contributors.
That’s the difference between Dan and me.
My campaign for Congress is about reaching out to our local communities to have a real, honest discussion about how to create jobs, improve our schools and make health insurance more affordable.
Dodging debate: What happened to Lincoln-Douglas?
This is a far cry from the Dan Lungren who once said: “Let's have an old-fashioned Lincoln-Douglas style debate… Why can't we be without handlers? Why can't we just say who we are, what we are and what we stand for?” (Dan Lungren, Los Angeles Times, May 14, 1998 )
I agree with Dan on this point. That’s why I have challenged him to a series of five debates, one in each county of the Third Congressional District.
The people deserve an open and honest debate on the issues that illustrate the choice they will have this November.
Will Dan have the character to answer his own question? Or will he just keep hiding behind his handlers and their negative attacks?
Either way, I invite you to learn more about my campaign at www.BeraforCongress.com. Tell me what you think and I hope you can join us for a house party where we can discuss the issues.
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2 comments
I don't understand how being beholden to big corporations is a "sad truth." How exactly are Elk Grovians not also silently beholden to the oil and gas industry? We Elk Grovians are pretty silent regarding our profligate use of gulf energy, aren't we? We were just as silent regarding our choice to live thirty miles from work, to require heroic quantities of oil for every facet of living. We now require offshore energy simply to buy a pack of gum or get a key made, because we elected leaders who built a city as energy intensive as possible...leaders who only followed the demands of their constituents, all of whom demanded incessant road building, cheap gasoline and even cheaper industrial food, and outsourced consumables. This has a cost, and that cost is deepwater oil -- along with the occasional accident. This spill, at 45,000 barrels per day represents two tenths of one percent loss against our twenty million barrel daily demand, well below electric power losses, construction material losses, and losses in any other endeavor. This is an acceptable loss rate, and we should expect more of this the more we demand two dollar gasoline and a new KB home nowhere near light rail or a bus stop or a store or a job.
Not a single one of us, including Bera, chooses to connect the actions of gassing up the Pacer or buying a Canadian hothouse tomato in January and the need to drill for energy under 5,000 feet of ocean to power these actions.
Really, you believe that when gasoline again rises north of four dollars that Bera won't join the thrum of "drill baby drill" from those across the aisle, and instead choose to 'stay silent' while his constituents scream bloody murder at the fill station? Please...
This is not just a "Guest Editoria". It is a political commercial written by a political candidate. In the interest of full disclosure it should be characterized that way, and not as if it were some sort of neutral editorial comment by a guest writer.
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