Rep Jim Costa, you DON'T speak for the rest of us.

An excellent montage of conservatism versus liberalism and socialism.

My Conversation with Mr. Cardoza

In August 2009, by random chance, I ran into Congressman Cardoza. If you will recall, this was during the congressional summer recess and many representatives were holding town hall meetings in their districts. Not ours. He stayed away from what he most certainly knew would be a public gathering of opposition to his party's policies.
I, however, was one of the fortunate few who had a chance to speak with Mr. Cardoza. After months of leaving messages with his office, I now had the opportunity to briefly discuss with him what was on so many of his constituents' minds: the Government takeover of healthcare will be a bureaucratic mess, it will cost too much, and it will lead to far less freedom for the average American. Each of these points was communicated to Dennis Cardoza. He was cordial and--truth be told--seemed to agree with much of what was said.
At the end of the conversation, Dennis Cardoza looked me in the eyes and told me that "as the bill currently exists", he would be voting no. I shook his hand and went away encouraged. Albeit, I was skeptical, but I was encouraged. I had seen so many congressmen on TV arguing with their constituents about Obamacare, trying to shove it upon them and make them agree. I was glad that this wasn't happening in our district.

On March 21, 2010, Congressman Cardoza joined with Nancy Pelosi in voting to approve the massive government takover of the American Healthcare system. Very little had been altered since the time Mr. Cardoza had told me he would not vote for the bill. In fact, much of what had been "changed" was window dressings; promises of reforms and amendments to be made AFTER the bill was passed. Furthermore, much of these, such as the limitation on abortion funding, will be bogged down in courts for years. Many predict the limitations will ultimately be struck down by the court system.

Given the fact that so little changed with the legislation from the time of my conversation with the congressman, there is one of two conclusions to be made:
1) Mr. Cardoza lied to me.
or
2) Mr. Cardoza was telling the truth and opposed the bill at the time of our conversation in August 2009, but was then compelled by some sort of political pressure to change his previously honest and sincere vote.

I'd like to think that the first conclusion is not the case. But the second conclusion is not much better. It is a sad realization, but based on my personal experience, our Congressman is either a liar or he lacks the character to stand by his personal political convictions when he is pressured by party thugs in Washington D.C.

Whichever conclusion is the case, there is a greater truth to be realized: Whether a liar or a person lacking character and political backbone, neither is a man we should send to Washington to represent our valley and our values.

I have not spoken with Mr. Cardoza since he changed his mind in March and voted to approve Obamacare. On November 2nd, I hope you will join me in communicating my disappointment.

Cardoza Take Note

It's finally up and this picture confirms it. Cardoza campaign take note. You cannot stop, or outmaneuver a grassroots movement. The roots are too deep -- going back five generations of farmers, ranchers, doctors, pastors, teachers, surgeons, contractors, businessmen and stay at home moms.

We've had enough of your bay area liberalism here in the valley.  We called and asked you multiple times to not vote for cap and trade, the stimulus, and the healthcare bill. We told you we would have to campaign arduously against you if you did.  Well here we are...and in the end, it was YOUR choice.

Cardoza's Vote On Healthcare Calls Into Question His Judgement

I am a primary care physician who was born and raised in California's Central Valley and who has returned here to practice rural Family Practice medicine. Daily I find myself confronted with the fact that our healthcare system is broken and in need of reform.

During 2009, while the debates raged on in the halls of Congress over what was the best action for our government to take to reform American healthcare, I called the offices of Dennis Cardoza multiple times and wrote him two letters. I urged him strongly to vote "No" on the bill that was coming up for a vote for several reasons: it had a huge price tag that has the potential to tank our economy, there was an egregious absence of tort reform, it had the potential to create a vast expanse of inefficient government bureaucracy interfering with the private sector, and it would likely push thousands upon thousands of patients from their private health insurance plans that they are pleased with.

Although I did receive a listening ear during the times I strongly urged Dennis Cardoza to hold strong with his fellow blue-dog democrats and vote "No" on Obamacare and search for much better and cheaper solutions, I still always felt like they were not giving me the whole truth:

"I see...I will pass that on to the Congressman."

"But...can you please tell me how he plans to vote? The vote is coming up in just a few days and certainly he must know by now which way he is leaning!"

"I'm sorry...he hasn't made a formal public opinion yet. We will let you know as soon as he has decided."

It always baffled me that he was having such a difficult time "deciding" on which way he was going to vote for this controversial bill. And deep down I feared that what I suspected all along would prove true: he already knew that he was going to be a "Yes" vote and would continue to faithfully tow Pelosi's liberal party line and would end up voting "Yes" to Obamacare...just as he had for the pork-laden, ineffective stimulus package and the job ruining cap-and-trade bill.

My suspicions proved true: Dennis Cardoza voted yes on Obamacare and became one of only sixteen blue-dog democrats (out of 53 members) to vote for all three unpopluar bills, calling into question if there is a Conservative bone left in his body.

http://sonoranweeklyreview.com/democrats-for-sale-blue-dog-votes-on-stimulus-cap-and-trade-and-healthcare-targets-for-2010/

Already we are finding out just how wrong Barrack Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Cardoza were when they said that Obamacare would lower the deficit, help with job creation, and become more popular after it was passed. I forsee this massive, complex abomination producing disastrous consequences both with our economy and in our medical system in the years to come.

Having voted for this unpopular bill, I would like to ask Dennis Cardoza one question: Was it a crooked back-room deal that led you, a self-proclaimed blue-dog democrat, to vote for this massive expansion of government? Or was it just very poor judgement when you were tricked into voting for what you had thought would lower the defecit and improve our health-care system? For me--whether the answer is corruption or poor judgement--either answer leads me to conclude that Dennis Cardoza is no longer fit to serve as our representative to the US Congress.

I would much prefer a newcomer to Washington like Mike Berryhill who we can trust will fight with integrity for smaller government and wiser fiscal policy than a career politician like Dennis Cardoza. While he may have clout and power in Washington, Dennis Cardoza has proven that he will use it in very damaging and irresponsible ways, while continually bowing to the orders of Nancy Pelosi and Barrack Obama.

Dennis Cardoza: much too liberal for the Central Valley.

Cardoza's Record Proves His Loyalty to Pelosi - Not The Valley

“Citizens For The Valley is a group of ordinary people who love the Central Valley. We’re teachers, farmers, business people, doctors and stay-at-home moms. With life and work and family, most of us are juggling too much to be involved in politics. But we care about our community deeply. And we’ve come to realize that our member of Congress reflects our values in his words much more than in his votes. The simple truth is, Dennis Cardoza represents San Francisco more than he does the Central Valley. Posturing and rhetoric aren’t enough to make a person a ‘blue dog’ moderate. The proof is in the votes.

Dennis Cardoza voted with Nancy Pelosi 96.9% of the time. On the government take-over of health care, cap and trade, explosive government spending on stimulus, higher taxes, entitlements, and on just about every other significant vote.

As political observers know, Speaker Pelosi is willing to allow her loyal members ‘passes’ to not vote with her on occasions when the outcome of a bill is not at stake. Dennis Cardoza has taken some of these passes, and he highlights them as evidence of his self-described “blue dog” status. But the truth is, whenever his vote was needed by Speaker Pelosi, Dennis Cardoza gave it. He voted with Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco, and against the values of ordinary Central Valley residents like us.

We care too much about the values of our community to sit by silently. So, we thought we’d at least let our neighbors know the reality of the situation so we can all make an informed vote in November. It’s time for us to stop voting with San Francisco and Nancy Pelosi. It’s time to start voting for the Central Valley.”

See the facts for yourself at The Washington Post: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/c001050/