Congress Needs Courage

Here in the Lone Star State, we're looking at a virtual sweep for incumbent Republicans and further marginalization and demoralization of the Democratic Party and the Independent movement.

Our mid-term gerrymander was so well-engineered by Tom DeLay that it will stand as a monument to him for years to come. It's certainly more fitting than the statues and elementary schools that will never be built in his name.

I don't think we'll see a better chance to replace our terrible Republican incumbents anytime soon. After the 2003 re-districting, my own neighborhood was split, literally block-by-block, between Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio). We were moved into Smith's district for the last term, but the courts have now moved us back into Doggett's for the next Congress.

In a way, I miss having the opportunity to work against Lamar Smith, who deserves to be sent immediately back to the private sector. Smith sits on the Ethics Committee, which means he actively ignored the dalliances of Tom DeLay, but also Bob Ney, Duke Cunningham, William Jefferson, and Mark Foley, to name just the more obvious cases. Smith was a recipient of DeLay's campaign money and a contributor to his defense fund.

I will vote to re-elect Lloyd Doggett and I will be happy to be Represented by him in Congress. But I will miss the chance to vote for John Courage, a genuinely good candidate and certainly not a professional politician. I really do believe that if the courts had not removed this largely progressive slice of South Austin from Smith's district, we could have defeated him. Now, it's up to the rest of Lamar Smith's constituents to fire Smith's sorry, enabling ass.