On This Page
Flyer for March 19, 2006, Farmers Market
Here is the first section of the flyer.
The Democratic Club of Claremont (DCC) respects honest differences of opinion among the people of our country's various political parties. However, the President, his Administration, and the Republican Congress, including David Dreier, have abandoned the values of the American people and even of the Republican Party.
Examples of David Dreier's Votes against District 26 Constituents:
The notes are taken from various media on the voting record of Congressman Dreier.
AGRICULTURE
Dreier Opposed Country of Origin Labeling on Meat Products.
[HR 2744, Vote #231, 6/8/2005]
Dreier Voted Against Millions To Help Family Farmers.
[HR 4766, Vote #369, 7/13/2004]
Dreier Voted For Tobacco Buyout.
[HR 4520, Vote #259, 6/17/2004]
To see the Adobe PDF copy that was distributed, click: Here
The actual flyer is black printing on blue paper.
* * * * *
Dreier and 'Reform'
Largely written by Gar Byrum but submitted by Bob Gerecke the following letter was published in both the Claremont Courier and the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
Putting Congressman Dreier in charge of coming up with legislation to squelch the burgeoning Abramoff scandal is like asking the fox to clean up the hen house . His political coffers are overflowing with corporate contributions. What has he promised these companies, many of which are not even in his district, in return for all of this money? I am afraid that instead of cleaning up this mess, just a few feathers will be moved, and most of this disgrace willl just be swept under the proverbial rug.
We need real reform! Lobbyists are filling the pockets of too many politicians. We the people need to have our representatives represent us, not special interests. Rep. Dreier, who wants to "get this behind us" has a dilemma. He along with other House members are constantly raising money for reelection. How can we expect him to author reform legislation while he still accepts money from lobbyists? Money corrupts, and a lot of money corrupts a lot!
David Dreier, the 26th Congressional District, and Watership Down
By Merrill Ring
David Dreier’s run as our congressional representative reminds me of a story from Watership Down, the 1970’s novel about a group of rabbits whose warren has been bulldozed and who are traveling across the South Downs in England to find a new place to live.
The rabbits happen upon a warren with lots of empty burrows, but inhabited with fat, obviously well-fed, rabbits. Their well-being is easily explained. The warren is next to a luscious garden, well supplied with carrots and lettuce, in which the locals eat well, without being chased out by the gardener.
But why is the warren under-populated in view of the excellent situation? Our heroes finally figure it out, just before they decide to become permanent residents. The garden is frequently booby-trapped with snares. The gardener enjoys a meal of rabbit. He is willing to trade some of his crop to ensure that the rabbits he takes are as juicy as possible. The resident rabbits know just what the situation is. They know that they are trading probable death for their immediate well-being, for their full stomachs. But they prefer to look the other way, though an air doom hangs over the warren. The travelers are not willing to make that tradeoff and refuse to stay.
Dreier and the 26th Congressional District have a similar arrangement. Dreier is like the farmer. He assiduously provides a variety of goodies for the locals, taking care to be very responsive to the immediate needs of his constituency. The district, enjoying the goodies provided them, is willing to turn a blind eye to what Dreier is up to at the national level. He can support policies and politicians who not only cause great harm to the nation (and the world) but also to his constituents although these are harms which are not immediately obvious as are the goodies he also provides.
Dreier plays a subtle hand in hiding the snares he lays. He does not trumpet his views, his votes, what he believes and supports. Rather, like the farmer, he carefully tucks them beneath a lovely head of lettuce (figuratively speaking). It is not that residents of the district don’t know what he is about in Washington. A vague awareness of his harmful influence on national policy floats around the district. But, not wanting to face up to the trade-off being made, residents allow him to be silent about his record and try to avoid looking into the details themselves.
It is time for the district to reconsider what is going on. As with the heroic rabbits of Watership Down, it is necessary to leave what can look like a wonderful arrangement but which is a trap.
Note: The chief goodies which Dreier provides are to individual constituents and to organizations within his district. I.e. if a student at one of the Claremont Colleges is having, say, visa, problems, Dreier hops right up to help, usually successfully. However, it is not so clear how successful Dreier is to providing his form of lettuce, i.e. pork, to the district. He makes it appear that he is efficient on this score, but effectiveness is very hard to determine.
The harms to the district are clear: for example he has failed to do anything effective about polluted water supplies in the San Gabriel Valley. What Democrats need is a means of documenting the extent of those kind of failures – which Dreier hides behind the bland public pronouncements at which he is so good.
Note: the following piece is from the very widely read blog DailyKos.
Note 2: any Democratic candidate challenging Dreier will receive equal space on this page.
CA-26: Russ Warner Challenges Dandy Dave Dreier!
by goldstone
Sat Nov 12, 2005 at 09:23:06 AM PDT
Yesterday, on Veteran's Day, before a warm, supportive crowd at a local VFW, the father of an Iraq war veteran declared his candidacy for Congress.
His son, Sergeant Greg Warner, stood proudly in full dress uniform to introduce him.
Wes Clark, Jr. rose to support him.
And the crowd loved him -- because when Democratic candidate Russ Warner spoke it was clear that he is everything David Dreier is not: a principled family man; committed to responsibly ending the occupation of Iraq; determined to do right by the district he and his family call home.
Russ Warner isn't a corrupt career politician. He's trying to do the right thing, because his son returned from the horrors of Iraq and asked him to do something about it.
Bad news for hypocrite David Dreier. For him, yesterday was the beginning of end.
Russ Warner is the real thing: a soft-spoken, self-made businessman who has stepped up to challenge one of the most powerful Republicans in the House of Representatives.
People are ready for a change. The VFW hall was crowded with representatives of the district's Democratic clubs -- all of whom are ready to do whatever it takes to send Russ Warner to Washington.
Dave Dreier has got to go: He's a hypocritical gay man who has worked to defeat gay rights -- and allegedly keeps his lover on government payroll; he has earned a ZERO RATING from the League of Conservation Voters, The Alliance for Retired Americans and Disabled American Veterans, among many others.
And just this week, Dreier proved to the world once and for all that he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about when it comes to government. "We are not cutting Medicaid for those truly in need,"said Dave, alarming every millionaire in the country who depends on Medicaid.
Remember when Dreier was abruptly passed over for the position of House Majority Leader? Here's Barney Frank's response, compliments of Suburban Guerrilla:
Reporters were asking the openly gay congressman Barney Frank if David Dreier was denied DeLay's leadership position because he was too moderate - or because he was gay. Frank said it was because Dreier was too moderate, and then quipped, "And I'm going to a moderate bar after work tonight."
Dandy Dave Dreier has got to go!
Please visit his new website: http://www.warnerforcongress.com.
(909)-626-8100
P.O. Box 1201, Claremont, CA 91711