Big Jolly Politics

What a difference a year makes. That was my first thought when I arrived at Rep. Gene Green's CD-29 Town Hall meeting at San Jacinto College North last evening. Gone were the throngs of protesters, the multitude of signs, the passionate displays of "take our country back". Instead, we were back to the old days of town hall meetings, when a few elderly residents would come out to thank the congressman for his efforts on their behalf. Well, almost. There were a couple of folks that expressed their dismay with his votes on health care non-reform and his efforts to increase our energy costs while destroying what few jobs are left. But for the most part, it was just plain old, ordinary, re-election style politicking.

Assuming that his dear leader allows him to come back to Texas, Rep. Gene Green, D-29, will be holding a series of town hall meetings next week across his district. Here is his schedule:

I often talk about retail politics being the hard work that few candidates enjoy because it requires a ton of effort and energy. Some candidates hate it so much that their campaigns falter and wither away - think Fred Thompson. Republican congressional candidate Roy Morales is the rare bird that actually enjoys this type of campaigning and is quite good at it, which is how he slips under the radar of some of his opponents. Workers leaving the Lyondell plant on Sheldon Road in east Harris County were greeted with this yesterday afternoon:

Normally, I wouldn't bother to pass on stuff like this because there are way too many people talking about it that know a heck of a lot more about it than I do. Yeah, I know, sad but true. But somehow, I ended up on California Sen. Barbara Boxer's email solicitation list and it can be quite amusing. Or, as in the following emails, they bring me a little smile and a little bit of hope.