It’s barely election season, and you can already smell the piles of platitudes pouring out of the mouths of hopeful politicians, much like the manure scent that wafts off North County’s crops. Ah, breathe in the BS!
It doesn’t matter whether they’re Republican or Democrat—why do we hear the same tired words and phrases regurgitated over and over from candidates and politicians?
What are they going to do? Well, they’ll tell you they’re going to “meet issues head-on,” and “break up bureaucracy,” and do something about the “failure of leadership” in Washington. The “system is broken,” we’re in a “crisis,” and they’re the ones to fix it!
That’s exactly how all three Congressional candidates came across in a televised debate on KSBY News on May 20 (see page 6), when Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Republican primary candidates Justin Fareed and Michael Erin Woody all put on their best faces (aka makeup) for voters. They all want to represent the 24th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, with Fareed and Woody hoping to unseat the incumbent Carbajal.
Just about anyone in the district with a pulse could have quoted Carbajal’s debate points in their sleep. Let me guess, he’s proud of his bipartisan efforts to protect local jobs, protect the environment, and protect immigrants and women from the big, bad Donald Trump administration? Oh Salud, I do declare! Whatever would we do without you? (Waves handkerchief in general direction).
Ah, and Fareed, the self-described “third generation rancher” and “small businessman,” who thinks that he’s the “new generation of leadership” that will represent “our Central Coast values.” Yeah Justin, I remember when you said that in 2014 and in 2016. How did that work for you? The 29-year-old is a little less baby-faced than when he ran then, but he sounds just as rehearsed.
Then there’s Woody, who isn’t as easy to predict. Maybe I was just distracted by his long hair and piercing eyes. Get a haircut, buddy, at least if you want to run as a Republican!
Woody leds with his anti-sanctuary state and city policies, which is red meat for GOP voters, but then said he’s anti-offshore oil, pro-choice, and wants to continue the DACA program. Huh? It sounds like this dude talks like a Republican but walks like a Democrat!
I wonder how Central Coast Republicans will decide. Will it be “Babyface” Fareed or “Wild-eyed” Woody to face off against the “Liberal Puppet” Carbajal?
If you listened closely to Fareed, it seems like he thinks he’s already got the nomination. Throughout the debate he continually referenced Carbajal as “my opponent.” It was like Woody wasn’t even there!
First off, rude! Second, what makes Fareed any more qualified than Woody to run for office? Just because he’s run (and lost) before? Also, being president of a company mommy and daddy started doesn’t make you qualified, Justin, it makes you privileged.
Woody was elected to the Fresno City Council when he was 26. He was a “boy wonder” too, Justin, it was just in the 1990s.
When Fareed ran against Carbajal in 2016, the race was marked as one of the most expensive in California. Carbajal raised around $2.5 million, and Fareed raised around $1.8 million—that’s a lot of cash!
I guess there is one thing that stinks more than the same old crap coming out of politicians mouths—the piles of money they raise and spend while running for office!
The Canary’s eyes are still watering. Send your thoughts to [email protected].
