As I stated in my previous "Blog Housekeeping" post, a respected blogger shared with me some thoughts and suggestions on how to go about blogging.
He suggested that if I make fun of something or someone to make sure I also
make fun of myself. Tell a story, what did I learn from the experience…how does
it apply to a blog post. And so it is in the spirit of telling a story, that
I comment and tie my “U R not my friend” story to the current scandal between
County Judge Veronica Escobar and
one of her prominent Democratic constituents Alejandro “Alex” Guzman.
Technology has certainly altered
communication, especially for politico’s and politics. My last year serving in the Texas
legislature, I was involved in the “shorthand” text messaging scandal known as “U
R not my friend”. To tell this story, I
must first share that I was never part of the Alicia Chacon/Paul Moreno political faction. They never asked me to run for public office.
And after I beat their candidate Nacho
Padilla, I was never able to develop a good relationship with Paul because
of his sister. Making a very, very, long
story short, I eventually got involved with the opponent that would defeat him
and that would be the beginning of the end of my legislative career.
Lilly Ruiz, my at the time District Director, was anxious to introduce me to a young woman she said would be an
excellent candidate against veteran Paul Moreno. And so I met Marisa Marquez at Carlos and Mickey’s for a vetting session. After
the initial meeting, I decided to get involved in her run to defeat Paul. I
took her to Austin, set up her meetings with key individuals in the lobby, introduced
her to Bob Hoy, Maria Teran, Robert
Brown and others, and suggested her to people who would eventually
introduce her to her political deep pockets the Texans for Lawsuit Reform . They funded most of her campaign, aside
from the initial seed money her father gave her, and funded the TV scripts I
wrote, the radio spots I wrote and produced, and ¾ of her political mail I
developed (I have the computer files if she says otherwise). She was a quick study
but through that campaign both Lilly and I recognized she was less than
honorable and that we had done a big mistake helping her. She treated us both so poorly, but I insisted
we stay involved because my political capital was at stake (little did we know
what was at stake taking him out).
Every beginning of a legislative session, the Latina senior members of the
House have an informal dinner to meet the incoming freshmen Latinas. A meet and greet. In 2009, we went to the Fonda
San Miguel and in a private room we conversed
with our colleagues. I sat at one corner of a long table, Marquez at the
other. As the evening went on and as the
wine got to her head, she started to make fun of an extra credit class project
I had asked her to help me with during her campaign because I needed extra
points for a test. In front of all the
Latina women colleagues, she made fun of my class and the extra credit project.
The women legislators closest to me were shocked and tried to talk over her
loudness and increasingly drunkenness. I
said nothing. That is how we started our
session together.
In May, as I reached the end of my last legislative session, and as I reached
my higher education goal and was getting ready to “walk”, I made arrangements
for my family and close friends coming to Austin and accommodated my colleagues
who wanted to be a witness at the ceremony. It was going to be the most
important ceremony in my life, second to my first swearing in ceremony. And seeing Marisa Marquez on the House floor,
I was reminded of her laughing at me after asking her for help. I sent her a
text, “U R not my friend” I don’t want you at my family event please. And from there it was a story in the El Paso
Times, and blogged here and there. I’m
not proud of that. It was my mistake, but Marisa Marquez dishonoring me again,
now by giving the text to the press, was equally wrong and unforgiveable.
We all know Facebook is a social media networking system that crosses all lines
of communication. If you are not on
Facebook, you know someone who is. Universities are now studying the
implications of social media, where a few short years ago most political
consultants said, “don’t worry about blogs – no one reads them” and most
politicos didn’t have Facebook pages. Now members of Congress, and elected
officials in all levels of government have a Facebook page of some sort and all
political consultants suggest a dedicated political person to deal with social
media and blogs. Candidates for office
use it widely and President Barack Obama is probably the trend setter on social
media political outreach.
I didn’t really use Facebook, as an open discussion forum until I was no longer an
officeholder. There are too many
opportunities to establish a permanent internet footprint and to write the
wrong thing, or possibility to have something taken out of perspective. So I used it as a cautious “hello” type tool
until I was no longer in office.
So it is with amazement that I witness County
Judge Veronica Escobar with her very
own social media scandal. She has de-friended
Alejandro “Alex” Guzman calling him
a “liar, bully, and stalker” on FACEBOOK. She is very dismissive of a hard working, well
respected Democratic social political activist and Gay Rights advocate. Further, on her wall and post, coming to her
defense is the County “Ethics” Attorney Michael
Wyatt, who was her immediate past campaign treasurer, and who had to resign
from being her treasurer, in order to be nominated, hired, and paid a six figure
salary funded by the taxpayers of El Paso.
The reason that Alex is being “de-friended” by
Judge Escobar on Facebook, is not because he ridiculed her, but because he has
pointed out her political policy mistakes.
He is being de-friended by Judge Escobar because Alex will go head-to-head with
her on the issues and has bluntly stated that her political standing for a
Republican created Redistricting map is wrong, and because he calls her
political pandering of the map she favors for her political ally, as self
serving and not in the best interest of the overall County she represents, nor is it good for
Democrats statewide. He points out that she is willing to pontificate for her
political BFF’s (best friends forever) at the expense of the taxpayer and her
constituents .
He was de-friended after posting videos of the disabled community and ASARCO
workers picketing a political forum and her BFF, Baytoe O’Rourke, at a Congressional
forum. He was de-friended because he has
called her out for her blatant mistake pushing and screaming, that all of Ft.
Bliss was going to be awarded to a San Antonio Congress person, which she
publicly learned was FALSE!!
He was de-friended because he pointed out to her that Ft. Bliss has always had
dual representation because it crosses over into New Mexico. He was de-friended
by Judge Escobar because he stated how ridiculous she looked to the state and
national Democratic Resdistricting attorneys including the Civil Rights legal
team MALDEF, after she commanded County Attorney JoAnn Bernal to be directly involved SUPPORTING the gerrymandered
Republican map that violates the Voting Rights Act, suppresses Latino voters, and
removed the vitally important Lower Valley from being represented by an El Paso
Congressman.
He is being de-friended because he called her out when she made fun of the
Democratic Party “enchilada” fundraisers and because she marginalized the
Democratic Party banner she runs under.
He is being de-friended because his Facebook wall became a memory wall
of her unflattering Playboy Magazine
interview with her other BFF playmate, Rep. Susie Byrd, calling rolled
tacos at an El Paso favorite eatery “Chicos
Tacos” a unique delicatessen for locals because of the “good welfare cheese”
flavor.
Alejandro “Alex” Guzman, even though you helped and campaigned for her – “U R NOT HER FRIEND”. County Judge
Veronica Escobar and her political faction the “Veronicuns” (named for their politically cunning and deceitful ways)
are not your friends! I cannot
imagine a County Judge in anywhere Texas un-friending a CONSTITUENT who has simply
pointed out political policy errors and boondoggles that could hurt a constituency
and the County she leads.
###
