In California, conservatives get burned. We fight so hard,
and yet the scalding of Big Government getting bigger gets on our nerves. Those
are days when you just do not feeling like doing mornings.
Thankfully, January 9th 2016 was not one of the
days. Two days prior, I got an email from my fellow conservative activists “We
the People Rising”. Freshman Democratic Congressman Peter Aguilar (D-San
Bernardino) a small, unimpressive Hispanic version of Barack Obama, was hosting
an event.
Cough and spew. He sputters the same hollow talking points
about immigration “reform”, climate change, Obamacare, and Planned Murderhood,
er . . .Parenthood. He also voted for the Iran Nuclear Deal. He has no business
representing anyone in San Bernardino County. Despite the horrific Islamic
terrorist attacks on December 2nd , 2015, Aguilar never once
demanded a secure border or a robust foreign policy to destroy terrorists.
Instead, Aguilar called for. . .more gun control. Repeat
after me, liberals: guns do not kill people. People do, especially when
receiving funds and training from radical Islamists in the Middle East. Does any
of this sound familiar? And that is precisely part of the problem. I was not
going to pass up a Coffee with this Congressman. No way!
The drive from the South Bay to the Inland Empire offered me
time to pause and think. California residents have been asleep at the wheel. Wake
up! Despite Construction projects throughout the region, there is little job
growth, aside from some large grocers (like Stater Brothers) and federal
complexes. In general, the region is struggling, to put it mildly. The once
thriving rancho region is now decimated with fallow, broke up properties, gang
violence, and high unemployment.
 I also drove by the
site of the terrorist attack. The candles, pictures, and streamers rested in
quiet memorial to the senseless violence, and the insensitive pandering of an
accommodating Obama Administration. They refused to call evil what it is.
I was lucky this Saturday morning, in that a commute which
usually takes two and half hours facing heavy traffic either direction, I
arrived at Peter’s coffee event just in time with the rest of our team. Aguilar
has endured We
the People Rising for the entire year
. He also faces an insurgent rematch.
The National Republican Congressional
Committee is targeting the former Redlands
mayor. Aguilar’s Republican challenger Paul Chabot, a Naval
reserve and police officer, will hopefully get more money this year. Despite
the +5 Democratic registration advantage, and the overwhelming wins of the
Obama Administration during both cycles, Chabot came within three points of
winning two years ago. With a tremendous volunteer base behind him ready for
the win, Chabot is eyeing the prize.
Sadly, Chabot’s frustration in 2014 matches the outrage many
California Republicans faced that year. Despite an epic wave of Republican
victories across the country, Democrats gained
a house seat in California (Aguilar) and held onto otherwise winnable districts.
Organization and commitment have been flagging in the once Golden State.
Nevertheless, Republicans like Chabot and Co. are regrouping for 2016.
In California, Republicans enjoy ten – ten! – Congressional
opportunities for victory. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced: “I
am not ready to give up on California.” Now local activists must step up and
shout “Take back CA!” A major boon to our cause? The California Citizens
Redistricting Commission. Competitive Congressional and state legislative districts
have finally transformed into the norm. Democrats, long accustomed to getting
everything they want in Washington as well as Sacramento, scramble every cycle
to hold onto their seats. With more retirements from the liberal political
class (fed up with not getting all their federal freebies from a more
restrained (yet still far from perfect) Republican Congress, Congressional seats
keep opening up. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? Last time I checked,
the Constitution says “We the People” not “We the Perpetual Politicians.”
Which brings us back to Aguilar.
One has to wonder how much longer Aguilar will stay in
Congress. He faces relentless pressure from the illiberal interests propping up
his campaign, but also the strained populace struggling for work and praying
for safety. We the People Rising have crashed his coffee meetings a number of
times.
This time, we made sure that he heard us all loudly and
clearly.
About twenty people showed up to his January 9th, 2015
community event. One Californian drove all the way from Lake Arrowhead (an hour
commute for him, too). A somewhat Bernie Sanders supporter, he arrived half an
hour early, yet never spoke to the Congressman. He was even sympathetic to a
number of Aguilar’s causes, and yet nothing. In fact, two other
constituents who had arrived early
got NO face time with their Congressman.
“Coffee with Pete”? No wonder critics call him Peter
Agui-LIAR.
I spoke with a number of locals. One member of the Redlands
Tea Party patriots recognized us from our efforts in Huntington Park (Yes! Yes!
Yes!). Other attendees told me: “We never voted for Peter.” Awesome. One couple
really touched me. For fifteen years, the husband commuted to Torrance for
work. Then he was laid off. His wife sat nearby, had been listening to my
discussion with two other Bernie Sanders supporters. She was so inspired by
what I had to say, that we agreed to talk further in the near future.
As for the Sanders supporters, they mocked us because of the
“Trump for President” signs, even those held by the Hispanic residents hoping
to speak with Aguilar. We continued our efforts, including my infrequent
interjections
: why does he want to take people’s guns away? Why did he vote
against repeal of Obamacare, if he wants to help create jobs? And why did he
support the abortive Iran Nuclear Deal? The flustered incumbent fled. We
blocked him at the front door, and his staff directed him
into the kitchen
– like a cockroach fleeing an exterminator.

Who got burned at the coffee shop? Aguilar of course, and we will keep turning on the heat!
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x