Commentary

The Pete Olson Fight Club

It’s not that Congressman Pete Olson of the 22nd District doesn’t want voters to know how well things are going in Washington D.C. but, he usually does so in a controlled manner. Something he probably learned from his mentor and previous boss Senator Cornyn. Olson’s regular town halls are really town calls where constituents can phone in to hear the Congressman rattle off his latest accomplishments – so many in fact that there is never any time for questions. So, who knows what compelled Pete Olson to hold a series of public town hall meetings throughout his district - which stretches from Fort Bend County to the Bay Area. Peer pressure? Campaign fever? The 106◦F heat? Whatever the reason he must have had second thoughts as soon as he walked past the protestors outside the Clear Lake High School auditorium where his town hall was being held today.

Olson knew the event would be a challenge. Besides the protestors outside handing out flyers listing his dismal voting record, he had to contend with a multitude of recently laid off NASA workers inside. To soften up the crowd of approximately 500, Congressman Olson passed out a multiple-choice quiz as part of his “No Voter Left Behind” program. No sooner had he started to review the first question than the heckling started – “Where are the jobs!” and “Medicaid Killer!” Olson acted as if he hadn’t heard anything and went on to question #2 on the quiz. From the back of the auditorium came - “ I’m a Republican and I’m ashamed of you!” With that several people in Tea Party t-shirts shouted back- “Shut Up! Let the man speak”. By the 3rd question Olson had lost total control of his carefully orchestrated town hall. But, he continued with his civics test and followed that up with a short power point presentation. The heckling and respondent tea party threats never stopped. “Where is my job!” versus “Where is your green card!” Even with a microphone Olson had to scream over the caterwaul among the spectators. The town hall had quickly achieved World Wrestling Championship status.

In between rounds the crowd quieted down enough for Olson to take a few questions submitted to him via post cards that had been passed up from the audience. Most questions where either of the “Why don’t millionaires pay taxes?” kind or of the “Where is my job?” genre. However, my heart skipped a beat when I heard Olson read a question that dealt with air quality – very similar to the query that I had submitted, now lost somewhere in the growing pile of post cards. Olson immediately complained that EPA was trampling on state’s rights by interfering with the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality. The jabs started again – “Houston’s air quality sucks!” from the right. “That’s not EPA’s fault!” from the left. Now hoarse from yelling, Olson further explained that since he moved into the district the air has so improved that - “I can see downtown from my house”. And, in order to throw the presently unemployed a bone, he reminded them that he is currently pushing for the approval of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline that will eventually transport tar sands oil from the boreal forests in Canada to the environmental justice communities of Port Arthur and Houston for refining, creating 50,000 jobs for Texans in the process. This was met with a mixture of boos and applause which introduced another round in the screaming match amongst the audience. But, despite the barroom brawl atmosphere, there was no attempt to rush the stage or each other. The only one that was in any real danger was the Clear Lake High School podium. In frustration over the situation or in his zeal to get his point across, Olson would thrust his hips into the podium moving it each time closer to the edge of the stage. I imagined the podium falling into the front row like a rock star giving himself up to the adoring fans below.

The town hall ended none too soon. By the end of the ordeal, Olson was visibly sweating and his suit was crumpled. The Congressman stayed on the stage to catch his breath and shake hands with some supporters while the auditorium emptied out into the hallway where impromptu debates would break out among people that wanted to prolong the experience. And, as I walked past the protestors on my way to the parking lot I couldn’t help but wonder if what I just witnessed was a knee-jerk reaction to hard times or the first tremors of revolution in Congressional District 22. If anything, maybe a jobs based upheaval in the district could lead to a more honest appraisal of our region’s environmental and air quality challenges. Even more fitting when Clear Lake, site of the town hall, is on a string of four consecutive orange ozone days.