Who Is Congressman Davis Working For?

I guess it isn't news when a congressman grossly distorts the facts or even lies about events as he seeks to please his masters.

But the recent comments and distortions of fact by 1st District Congressman David Davis were printed as fact and never challenged by the press in a report from the Kingsport Times News. Why would the newspaper ignore realities?

Here are some comments as reported by the KTN on Feb 10, 2007 :

"Some of the things that come across from the (Democratic) majority party sound very good on a bumper strip - providing prescription drugs for everyone, raising people's payroll, becoming less dependent on foreign oil, ... but you've got to look at the reality of each one of those pieces of legislation," Davis said.

Davis told chamber members "don't be fooled" when Democrats go on national television and claim credit for raising America's minimum wage."

Ah, but the Congress did vote and approve all those agenda items. How awful. Approving increases in the minimum wage, as more than half the states in the nation have, is an action that has improved business growth and job growth in those states.

"Davis was also critical of Pelosi using a government plane to fly back to her West Coast congressional district from Washington.

"We are starting to see that arrogance coming out of Washington," said Davis. "I don't think people voted for change where you have a speaker of the House who wants a plane that holds 45 people and costs $22,000 an hour to fly cross-country. Most people in the 1st District, after four hours of flying that plane, could pay off their home. ... I think the American people will hold that type of arrogance accountable in the next election."

Davis says this even though the White House had already said this is a non-issue, that the Speaker of the House is required to have more security as a result of changes after 9-11, and that the Speaker did not make the request for the plane. But what do facts matter.

And notice that Davis ignores the fact that workers in his District earn less than national and state averages. It's as if he prefers that your income remain low. Does he announce any effort on his part to improve the earning power of those in his own District? No. He's just mouthing typical Hate-The-Democrat rhetoric.

"Davis also called for Bush to pardon two Border Patrol agents who pursued and shot a Mexican drug smuggler ..."

Another hot-button issue, but based on a lot of false assumptions. While hysteria surrounds this issue, even the Wall Street Journal notes that crimes were committed by these border agents and that it was a Texas jury which convicted these men.

"Agents Ramos and Compean were guarding the Mexican border near El Paso, Texas, on Feb. 17, 2005, when they encountered a van driven by Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila. When the driver saw the agents he sped off, eventually abandoning the vehicle and fleeing toward the border on foot. At one point, Aldrete-Davila stopped running and raised his empty hands to surrender. But when the first border agent to approach him stumbled, Aldrete-Davila took off again toward the Rio Grande.

At this point, Agents Ramos and Compean opened fire, shooting at the back of a suspect who they knew was unarmed. They fired 14 rounds in all--Agent Compean even paused to reload--finally hitting Aldrete-Davila in the buttocks. The suspect was wounded but still managed to make it across the border and escape.

It later was determined that Aldrete-Davila was in the country illegally and smuggling drugs. Nearly 750 pounds of marijuana were found in the van. But Ramos and Compean didn't know the suspect's immigration status when they shot him. Nor did they know the contents of the vehicle he was driving. What the agents did know is that they had broken any number of border patrol policies.

So Compean and another agent returned to the scene to gather shell casings and discard them in a drainage ditch. Compean and Ramos, who'd been disciplined for past conduct unbecoming a federal officer, then filed a false report. The only reason their cover-up didn't succeed is because an honest border agent who learned of the shooting eventually reported it.

After a trial lasting nearly three weeks, a federal jury in El Paso convicted both agents on charges including assault with a deadly weapon and obstruction of justice. As Johnny Sutton, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, put it: "The simple truth of this case is that former Agents Compean and Ramos shot 15 times at an unarmed man who was running away from them and posed no threat. They lied about what happened, covered up the shooting, conspired to destroy the evidence and then proceeded to write up and file a false report."

Too bad Davis doesn't read the news, opting instead for following someone else's talking points. Here's to hoping the congressman starts to address issues and needs of the First District.