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I don’t know whether this is more hilarious or pathetic, because it is just so much of both.
The news came out earlier this week that Rep. Ed Royce — friend to big bankers, foe to brown-skinned people proud of their ancestral cultures, and Little Napoleon of North Orange County politics — was scheduled to appear in Rowland Heights on Monday at 7:00 at a health care policy forum sponsored by the Rowland Heights Community Coordinating Council (the unincorporated LA County neighborhood’s equivalent of a City Council.) That’s fine — it made sense. Obamacare, after all, is in the news and is of great public interest. Might as well talk to the public about it, right?
Here’s the notice that came out last Saturday from Council President Beth Hojnacke:
Congressman Ed Royce to speak on the Affordable Healthcare Act at the August RHCCC Community Meeting
Do you have questions regarding how the Affordable HealthCare Act, which was recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, will affect you and your loved ones? Or what the 20 tax increases included in the Act are, when they will be effective and whether they will impact you? Congressman Ed Royce, the featured speaker at the August 13, 2012 Rowland Heights Community Coordinating Council community meeting will answer these and other questions you may have regarding the Act.
The meeting will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the community room at Pathfinder Park, 18150 E. Pathfinder Road, Rowland Heights. Residents from throughout the East San Gabriel Valley are invited to attend. Admission is free.
OK, fair enough. I’d want a focus on services and protections rather than just taxes, but still, this is good. And it’s good of Ed Royce to offer to do it, I thought — face the public in something other than completely controlled surroundings for a change! Maybe I’d even go ask him a question.
The campaign of Jay Chen decided to get people in the mood by having a showing of “The Health Care Movie,” which I showed at the campaign headquarters that Jay shares with the Democrats of North Orange County club (and where Sharon Quirk-Silva and I are also tenants.) That movie will be shown Sunday at 5; I’m to be a guest speaker before the event. Jay may be late because of the big $3900 per plate fundraiser he’s having with Bill Clinton earlier that day in Washington D.C.
(Note: that last sentence could, I suppose, be disinformation that I have just made up right now to give Ed Royce a jolt. Yes, that is a definite possibility. Could whoever’s next to him when he reads this check in on him and make sure he’s OK? You’ll see why I’m worried about Royce’s emotional fragility in a few more paragraphs.)
On Tuesday, word comes out that both Ed Royce and Jay Chen would be speaking at the Rowland Heights Coordinating Council event. Jay had run into one of the heads of the RHCC at the National Night Out Event and, I’m not sure exactly what happened, but the result was she said he could have equal speaking time. (My sense is that they had decided to avoid politicizing the event. Again — good for them!)
It was not exactly going to be a debate, but it would feature both candidates speaking to the same audience about the same issue — and that’s not bad. (It’s more than anyone has offered me with respect to my campaign against Senator Bob Huff.) This is not only fair — it does a better job of informing the audience about the issue. Everybody wins!
Well, maybe not everybody.
Word came down yesterday that Ed Royce got word that the dapper and erudite Jay Chen would be participating in the forum — right next to him!!! — and he emitted a couple of clucks and a “buh-CAW” and quickly crossed the road to get to the other side, because that’s where Jay Chen WASN’T! Seriously.
Brave Sir Ed Royce ran away.
When Jay Chen reared his fearsome head he bravely turned his tail and fled.
If Ed Royce’s fear of Jay Chen were any more transparent, you could read Mitt Romney’s tax returns through it. (Well, actually, you couldn’t because he won’t release them, but theoretically you could.)
Here’s the message we got after sending a “WTF? No, seriously, WTF???” message to the Jay Chen campaign. (That stands for “Where’s the Fullertonian?”, if anyone asks.)
So Royce was scheduled to speak at a non-partisan, non-campaign related event featuring an honest and open discussion of the Affordable Care Act.
However, upon hearing or knowing that Jay would attend as well, Royce decided not to attend due to “another commitment”.
Oh, stop — it hurts to laugh this hard! “Another commitment” when the event had already been advertised? Maybe that “commitment” is to not being videoed breaking down and weeping on stage. Honestly, political commentators pray for this kind of thing to happen, to show just how craven and afraid a given candidate is, but we rarely get our wish. Ed Royce: your new campaign theme song is below!
Now you may think that our humble blog is being a bit harsh on Ed “Chicken a la Orange County” Royce here — but there’s plenty more where that came from. There is hope for Royce to redeem himself, though! The message from the Jay Chen campaign continues:
This is not the first time he has refused to debate — the League of Women Voters has been trying to contact him over the last few weeks and he has not responded to any of their requests to participate in a candidate’s forum.
If you’d like to see Ed Royce debate Jay Chen, tell him so below. You may also want to (and I’m doing it without the campaign’s knowledge or approval) go to the Jay Chen for Congress Facebook page and post a notice there saying that you want to see Ed Royce debate Jay Chen!
I’m not asking you to do this as a partisan Democrat or as a candidate. I’m asking you to do this as someone who loves humor. I want to see what Ed Royce will do when the kid from Harvard lays into him. He’ll be luck if he does a quarter as well as D’Marie Mulattieri did debating Jay in the primary!
UPDATE: It has been pointed out to me that I haven’t given information about the showing of “The Health Care Movie” the previous day (i.e., Sunday) in Rowland Heights. My apologies! Here’s the flyer:
Yes! I want to see Ed Royce debate! Whats the big DEAL Ed???? Tell me what you
got to say about healthcare or anything for that matter. Stop hiding!
He’s perfectly willing to tell you what he thinks about health care and other issues, Inge.
He’s just not willing to do it when Jay Chen is right nearby ready to call him on his BS.
*Dear Friends, Congressman Ed….is exactly that – a Congressman, not the guy delivering the Pizza at midnight. In particular, Congressman Ed serves on some pretty prestigious committees which include the health, safety and security of our nation. You can obviously disagree with any of his positions on just about anything….but normally folks that feel strongly do one of two things: Write a letter (this blog entry counts – as long as it is forwarded directly to his local office with a request for an answer) or a simple follow up phone call…..asking whether those great guys in D.C.
got your communication and you would appreciate a definitive answer.
OK…we are neither chastising nor lecturinng here….we are only saying……do it the right way first. This is called in the military: Chain of Command and it is the proscribed method for everyone including civilians that have never served in the military.
What is he afraid of? Jay isn’t scary. I went to high school with him for four years and none of us ran away from him in terror. He is very smart though. Maybe Ed is afraid of someone with a brain. Go Jay!!!
Laurel – Ed is a Congressman……ask your friend Jay to make an appointment to see him when Ed comes back into town. Or maybe you could call his office and ask?
He’s ducking the League of Women’s Voters, what makes you think he wouldn’t duck Jay?
(Or maybe he’s willing to talk to Jay — so long as no one is watching or making recordings.)
He could still prioritize the event to which he had committed and show up where Jay will be next Monday!
“An appointment” to see the Great Man? Do you realize we’re talking about a debate? A public debate? Or do you really think the Blue-Eyed Warmongering Dwarf should be above that? His constituents don’t deserve that?
You make an appointment to see your doctor, counselor or boss. This is a public policy debate and you have to go through the right channels. Are you suggesting that because Ed Royce is a congressman that he is on a higher footing? I respect his office, but the constitution allows me to call him a chicken.
*A Sitting Congressman can do exactly as they please. They have to run every two
years and don’t necessarily have to engage in any public forums. Take a peek at
our old Congressman’s record on public feedback meetings. Not so many…….for
Congressman Campbell. Now we get Dana…..and Dana doesn’t mind mixing it up
every now and then., which we look forward to.
We don’t care about what may have been done in the past by certain lazy jerks who were lucky enough to get into Congress. This is 2012. We’ve had Tea Parties and we’ve had Occupy. The people are awake. We want debates!
Yep, Royce doesn’t have to debate. He doesn’t have to refrain from cancelling already scheduled and announced meetings with the public to discuss policy, simply because Jay Chen is there.
And I don’t have to refrain from calling him a chicken when he does it. Buk-buk-CAW!
Dr. D., call him what you wish…..but it is called “Congressional privilege”…..Davey Crockett did that…..back in 1835 when he said: “You gentlemen call all go to hell…and I’ll go to Texas!” Before the Alamo….of course!
And the only reason he gets away with that lazy-ass behavior is because he’s from one of the most conservative areas in the country. Put him in a more balanced district and he’d be out on his lazy ass faster than Davey Crockett at The Alamo.
I’m surprised you support him, given his history of supporting bank deregulation. Yeah dude, those banks LOVE to support Ed Royce.
Good news is he IS in a more balanced district and probably doesn’t even realize it – if not partisan-wise, certainly demographic-wise. Hopefully November is a big unexpected sucker-punch for Old Blue Eyes.
It’s called dipshit coward privilege, and he can use it all he wants.
And one of these days I’m gonna go down to Corona Del Mar, find you two, and show you how to use your reply button.
He IS now in a more balanced district! Multi-ethnic, too!
Winships, did you even read this story? I admit I hadn’t when I threw in my comments, I just thought it was another story of trying to get Cowardly Ed to debate. But no, he actually pulled out of an event when he heard his opponent was gonna be there.
And you dare to bring up the great Davy Crockett in the same sentence as this craven creature – Crockett who gave big Andrew Jackson the heave-ho over his treatment of the Cherokee?
Ed would have been cowering behind Andy’s uniform, wheedling on about the dangerous savage red man, not standing up to him. Never. Buk-buk-CAW! Buk-buk-CAW!
*Chairman Vern,
We get all that….if Lyndon Larouche was having a debate…do you really think that
George Bush would have attended? Same, same.. Look at it this way…..if something
positive is going to come out of a public meeting….then have one. If all it will do is cause animosity and hard feelings – no matter what the reason…..forget it. Some problems don’t need “The Judiah People’s Party” to show up to be viable.
*Yes, we love that remark…..you made….a lot…..from “Life of Brian”!
Very funny. Lyndon LaRouche, the criminal psycho. The “Judaean People’s Party,” the one-man parody of revolutionary schisms in Life of Brian. These are what you’re comparing serious Democratic candidate JAY CHEN to.
Ed is a dipshit coward and chickenhawk.
Oh, here’s what I keep wanting to say – to Greg and Jay as well:
For years and years, the only Congressional OC Congresscritter with the guts to debate their challenger when they didn’t have to was good old crazy Dana Rohrabacher. Loretta Sanchez wouldn’t either.
IN 2010, Van Tran’s people chased Loretta to every public appearance with a guy in a chicken outfit, holding a sign saying she was too chicken to debate.
Apparently that worked! The record shows (and our blog shows) that Loretta finally agreed to (I think) three debates with Van Tran. And look – it didn’t hurt her at all because Van was full of shit. And now we can welcome Loretta to the small (two-member) club of OC Congresscritters who are NOT chickenshit.
Maybe we need a chicken suit and a Royce schedule? Maybe that will work again?
Royce has a public schedule? I picture him as being at home in a fetal position until the evening of November 6. Like you, I’ve seen Jay debate. Royce wants no part of him — that’s why he outspent Jay 33 to 1 in the primary, $2,000,000 to $60,000. Apparently he thought that the victory margin that he bought would mean that Jay’s campaign would wither — pretty funny! To toss in a random Winships-style reference: “He’s not seen nothing like the Mighty Chen!” Royce’s refusal to debate is a sign of disrespect that is just going to help register Asians in the Valley and turn them out to vote.
I don’t know what the Chinese character for “chicken” is, but my bet is that you’ll start seeing it on some signs.
(How much does a chicken suit cost?)
Headline props: very clever!
Chairman Vern,
Nasty names are a sign of frustration. Just call Ed’s office and tell them what you think.
Then have Dr. D. ……do it too! But please try to restrain yourselves with a little decorum! Now you know how we feel about Mitt Romney! Luckily, the same as you do.
Pasadena Star News has caught on to Ed Royce’s turn tail and run:
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_21302495/rep-royce-will-be-no-show-at-healthcare
Ron and Anna Winship, this was a non-partisan forum hosted by the Rowland Heights Coordinating Council, the equivalent of the City Council. Ed Royce had agreed to the event and only backed out after learning that Jay Chen was given equal time as well. This isn’t the same as not agreeing to a debate beforehand, this is backing out of a commitment.
“Backing out of a commitment” — you mean like Royce’s position on Social Security?