The Hispanic Comedian and the Environmental Lobby

Chuck DeVore, a politician from California who is running for the GOP nomination for Senate (to run against Barbara Boxer) tells this story about Hispanic comedian Paul Rodriguez and his battles with the environmental lobby and the Democrats they pay-off:

Paul Rodriguez wants water - and he’s angry enough to get some.

One wouldn’t immediately associate comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez with a serious issue such as water. But, as Mark Twain said: “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over.”

Rodriguez is so concerned about water that he helped create the California Latino Water Coalition, led marches with several thousand people in recent weeks, and spoke Saturday night to a convention of the conservative California Republican Assembly in Bakersfield. I addressed the convention goers about my U.S. Senate run against Barbara Boxer just before Rodriguez’ turn at the podium.

What has Rodriguez’ concerned to spark political action is the shutdown of water pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. These pumps move water from California’s wet north to the agricultural Central Valley and urban Southern California. A judge’s ruling switched the pumps off over a controversial U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report that declared a fish, the delta smelt, threatened. No one really knows if turning the pumps off will help the fish, but most can agree that California’s agricultural industry will take a big hit this year due to lack of water.

Rodriguez and his family own farmland in the Central Valley where, as the comedian said Saturday night, “We grow the sweetest oranges and sourest lemons.” But now, because of a judge’s ruling, the most fertile land on “this blue marble” will lie fallow. People will be out of work. Less food will be grown. And farmer and farm worker alike will be hurt.

Rodriguez had notes at the podium but didn’t refer to them as he spoke for 40 minutes, presenting a potent alternating mix of passion, humor, and fact. He recalled using his talent to help many prominent Democrats raise money only to have every one of them turn him a deaf ear when he asked them for assistance over the water issue. “What are they afraid of,” he asked, “fish can’t vote.”

He said many environmentalists are earnest people who are concerned that the delta smelt are “the canary in the coal mine” of the delta’s environmental health. Rodriguez said he asked his uncle who mined coal in Chihuahua about canaries and coal mines. The uncle said, “Yes, we used canaries. When the canary dies, you run like hell out of the mine!” The canary dies and the coal miners live. In the case of the delta though, “The fish lives and the farmers die,” Rodriguez observed.

There's more to the story here. I mentioned in a previous post back in March that while traveling through the Central Valley much of the talk on the local radio stations had to do with the massive unemployment hitting the farming communities now starved of water. Whole communities are being put out of business thanks to a tiny fish.

I say good luck to Mr. Rodriguez. He's on a mission from God. Maybe in the future he'll remember that when it comes to Democrats he's only as important as the lobby he represents.