Got this email today: The office of Gabrielle Giffords is hosting a town hall on the topic of deficit reduction --
Upcoming Event: Deficit Reduction Town Hall
Please join us for an interactive town hall event featuring a Fiscal Solutions Forum presented by the Concord Coalition. Leading experts, the Honorable David Walker and Robert Bixby, will discuss options for closing our budget deficit and restoring fiscal sanity to Washington.
What: Deficit Reduction Town Hall
When: June 30, 2011
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Where: University of Arizona
Student Union Memorial Center
North Ballroom
1303 E. University Blvd.
This event is hosted in conjunction with the University of Arizona. Special guests include the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
See here.
OKay, before I start, I feel I have to say that I was horrified at the events of last 8 January, and I truly wish Gabby all good things and a speedy recovery for her own self, and regardless of whether she can come back and represent me and my fellow Baja Arizonans.
At the same time, I would prefer to have a voting Member in the US House. And on the other hand, Gabby was somewhat of a Blue Dog, and more concerned about the infiltration of the US of A by "teh Illegal Immigranz" than I would have preferred. But still.
And I'll allow that it may be that Gabby isn't personally responsible for the choice of topic or guest speakers for this event. I'm pretty convinced it was put together by her staff on her behalf, so this isn't about Gabby as a representative, per se.
And so it's her office putting this together. And I'm not faulting her staff either. They may be acting completely in accord with her intentions. But it's the event itself that I have issue with. Look who's sponsoring this event: the Concord Coalition. And look who their friends are:
For extra bonus, look up the featured speakers: David Walker and Robert Bixby. And to round out the list, "Special guests include the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce." Oh, goody!
From the looks of it, this will be an event where people already caught up in the OMG, OMG THE DEFICITZ craze will get their shoulders patted in commiseration, and the unsuspecting passersby will be indoctrinated in the whole passel of debt & deficits lies. And of course, the cure for all of our ills is austerity for us plus (a BIG plus) tax cuts for people who don't need them.
If you buy that OMG, OMG THE DEFICITZ thing, then this is the event for you! Go to this event if it will thrill you to be in the same room as famous people who also think "OMG, OMG THE DEFICITZ".
For us normal people, I recommend that we boycott this event, and tell your amigos to shun it as well. We've already got too much of the debt & deficits lies, and the endless threats of government austerity (which will almost certainly ruin this country for normal folks). Why sign up for more indoctrination?
(Unless, of course, you feel up to publicly shaming them for their deceit and self-righteous miserliness. In which case, go, and let the snark fly!)
Meanwhile, why isn't Gabby('s staff) holding a JOBS Town Hall?