I agree with Rick Santorum...
[Normally I don't give a damn at what passes for political accumen at the dkos/firedog/mydd/amerblah gang sites, but Dave and Michelle Harris are people good enough to be public servants, and they're running a campaign against Joe Barton, someone who really should be in jail, or selling used cars, and Dave keeps a journal on Marcos' site, content that Marcos neither pays for nor assists by fundraising for the TX-06. Here's his post. ebw]
I agree with Rick Santorum... by David T Harris for US Congress TX 06
Cross posted on Texas Kaos
David T Harris for US Congress TX 06's diary
***Disclaimer - I ONLY agree with him on this one issue and I still think he slithers when he moves. With that being said, read on...
I can't believe it, but I actually agree with Rick Santorum..."key provisions in the NIH Reform Bill missing... that are critical....Center of Excellence for Environmental Causes..." Joe Barton is holding the Combating Autism Act of 2006 hostage in Congress because he wants to pass the NIH Reform Bill in the Senate without language pertaining to investigating environmental causes.
In the three part series of videos, Rick Santorum stands his ground against Joe Barton and basically calls Barton a liar - which he is, but we will get to that later...
In Part One Santorum lays out the key differences between Barton's NIH Reform Bill that is in the Senate and the Combating Autism Act that he now holds hostage.
Part Two is Barton trying to counter Santorum. And Part Three is when Santorum just crushes Barton's argument and tells him he is basically full of it.
This issue is not about politics, it is about children. Barton knows that if the Center for Environmental Excellence mandates that the NIH investigates the environmental concerns surrounding Autism that most of his corporate donor list might be held accountable for making children sick. That is why he is fighting it and playing political poker with the Combating Autism Act. He is a disgrace to the district and a disgrace to Congress.
I need everyone out there the get behind the movement and bombard Barton's office between now and the election with calls. Here's how:
The Energy and Commerce Committee 2125 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-2927 Washington Office 2109 Rayburn Building Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-2002 (202) 225-3052 faxArlington Office
6001 West I-20, Suite 200
Arlington, Texas 76017
(817) 543-1000
(817) 548-7029 fax
Ennis Office2106 A W. Ennis Ave.
Ennis, Texas 75119
(817) 543-1000
(972) 875-1907 fax
Crockett Office
303 N. 6th St.
Crockett, TX 75835
(936) 544-8488
(877) 263-2833 Toll free from areas in the Sixth District
This is what happens to you when you try to meet with your "representative" if you have an Autistic child (Note: This guy is a registered Republican and a Barton donor)
Warning: This video will piss you off - hopefully enough for you to pick up the phone!!!
As you can see, Barton really doesn't care about Autism, its causes, or the families that it affects. His staffers lie right to the face of the gentleman in the video.
These are the members from Texas who have signed onto the bill. Barton is mysteriously absent...go figure.
Texas
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX)
Sen. John Cornyn (TX)
Rep. Green, Gene (TX-29)
Rep. Gonzalez, Charles A. (TX-20)
Rep. Jackson-Lee, Sheila (TX-18)
Rep. Neugebauer, Randy (TX-19)
Rep. Ortiz, Solomon P. (TX-27)
Rep. Poe, Ted (TX-2)
Rep. Reyes, Silvestre (TX-16)
Rep. Sessions, Pete (TX-32)
See if your member of Congress or Senate co-sponsored the bill here.
For more information about Autism you can visit Combat Autism or the folks at Autism Speaks
Autism Advocacy - see our good friends at Wampum.
Or to see the faces of Autism, please visit the The Imus Show Blog
This is a call to action. Please help us keep the pressure on Barton. Get calling now!
Comments
God, I would love to see good legislation on Autism come out. I wish that I believed that this bill represented that. *Disclaimer*- I am not and have never been a legal scholar or any sort of political wonk- This bill when I have read past the feel-good portions posted on various websites gives me the willies. I couldn't say why but every instinct I have is screaming that there is a poison pill buried in the verbiage. I wish I knew what it is that is making me feel like this. The feeling I have is that if this bill gets passed as is then something bad will happen.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that I feel that this current crew of legislators shouldn't be allowed to pass wind, let alone legislation that will affect the well-being of my family. They don't trust the NIH to deal with cancer, heart problems and a host of other serious illnesses but let them have the autistic children for free because this is now the feel-good issue. I know that just because I live in Canada, I am not free from this issue. A lot of the drug testing will be done on Canadian children because we have universal healthcare and you don't. If things go wrong then their liability is limited, if things go right then they pull out of Canada and only sell it in the US. That is how they work with most other ailments, why would it change for autism.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that so much of what passes as autism research is done by hacks and wannabes, or is designed to make the children conform to societal roles and images as opposed to giving them a fighting chance of living happy lives in their own heads.
Maybe I'm just becoming a cynic.
Posted by: Hawise | October 30, 2006 12:48 PM
Have you considered that Barton agrees with the scientific community in thinking that Autism is genetic in nature? It could be a perfectly legitimate position to hold.
If they are right, then mandating such an investigation would divert money from more fruitful investigations.
I don't think this is the case here, but I would personally have to consider it very hard, before being willing to mandate environmental investigation.
Posted by: Kristjan Wager | October 31, 2006 04:14 PM