From "The Red State": Gen. Wes Clark and Lt.Cdr Juan Garcia: Kick Off Rally
By Eddie at The Red State
January 26, 2006
Sometimes technical difficulties turn out to be a good thing.
Many of TRS’s reader were expecting a play by play of Juan Garcia’s Campaign Kick-Off Rally with Gen. Wesley Clark. We were intending of broadcasting the event with the help of Corpus Christi’s citywide WiFi network. Much to my chagrin, the signal was sporadic at best so I decided to post later and walk the crowd to get a sense of the energy.
It was the best thing that could of happened. I met a friend of the campaign who was filming and needed some help transporting video equipment throughout the night. He asked me to help “produce” and of course I agree to help.
Walking through a crowd of 200+, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a lot time: optimistic hope. I really believe it came from the presence of Clark and Garcia.
I saw people who are natural skeptics smile and nod their head in agreement because they knew that they had in front of them a rebirth of Democrats. Candidates like Garcia and Clark is how Democrats earn back the trust of the voters.
Clark shows what true patriotism is. It is placing the welfare and safety of our county first and above party and personal benefit. The current administration places party above country. This will be our undoing unless we change it now. Clark spoke of the days after 9/11 when he went to the Pentagon to offer his help. Donald Rumsfeld all but completely blew him off. When he sought an understanding of what we were to do next, he found out that they were planning to attack Iraq. He asked, “Why would we do that?” As we know now from Richard Clarke and others, the President had always planned on attacking Iraq before 9/11, no matter what the evidence said.
Clark said this was wrong war at the wrong time. He described Saddam Hussein as a two-foot copperhead sealed in a box. He was contained and not a threat to anyone. Clark made it clear that Saddam is a bad person and that he was part of the bombing of Saddam in the No-Fly Zone. We have wasted our global currency of good will on an unnecessary war and we have caused terrorism to have a new rallying cry in Iraq.
I followed Clark and Garcia to two events at homes in Corpus Christi and on Padre Island. The speeches were the essentially the same but more forceful and personal as the night went on.
Juan Garcia spoke about how after five special sessions (three of them specifically dedicated to education), the Texas Legislature has failed to provide any solution for our children’s school. Texas has some of the lowest SAT scores with the second highest high school dropout rates. He also spoke of some the highest property taxes with nothing to show for it.
Garcia is seeking true accountability from our government. At one of receptions, he talked about how the Texas Legislature is one of only a handful of states that do not record the votes of State Representatives.
Why would you hide from your vote? So no one could track it? Juan Garcia will never be afraid of his vote. Transparency in government is what we have been lacking at the state level and federal level.
He closes by talking about seeing the Coastal Bend from 10,000 feet in the air and from that altitude it is easy to see the spectacular potential of our communities. He believes that so much is possible from us.
Everyone is tired of the politics of wedge issues. The real challenges of today wait for true leadership: education, health care, investment in communities.
Clark and Garcia are the best of best. Trained at some the best schools in world, they chose the life of service to us first. This is the future of the Democratic Party. True men of courage and service not incompetence and corruption….
Postscript: At the end of the night, the campaign me asked for a huge favor. The general was already running late, as these events usually go, and needed a ride to the airport. As soon as I knew what they were asking, I said, “Absolutely, I will take him.”
Thank God, I just had my car detailed. I had some time to talk to Wes Clark and personally he is really nice guy. We chatted just a little bit about what I did and reminded him where we first met. In 2003, my boss along with a bunch of other state reps came out and publicly supported Clark in his bid for President. We had a rally in Austin and I had a short time to visit with him. His staffer rode along with us and we had him on his plane in no time.
Overall, this was a historic night for me. I expect great things from these men. I am proud have met them and helped in my own little way.
