A few weeks ago, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) angry over the fact that President Bush was going to sit by and allow Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean go to prison told Bush: “We’re going to find out whose side you’re on...the American people or the side of our enemies. If you let these two men go to jail for defending us, then we’ll know you’re on the side of our enemies.” Recently, I confirmed that my own Congresswoman has also chosen the side of our Mexican enemy.

I noticed that my self-described ‘conservative’ Congresswoman who often claims in her literature to be “a strong advocate for a robust border security strategy,” had not signed onto H.R. 563 sponsored by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA). The legislation would offer a pardon to Agents Ramos and Compean and is currently supported by 87 Republican members of the House.

Surely, someone who supports “a robust border security strategy” would support releasing men from prison whose only crime was aggressively pursuing a Mexican drug smuggler!...Could it have been the proverbial ‘oversight’ so often reported by our politicians, or could the reason for her inaction on behalf of the brave agents been of a more deliberate nature?

For the past several weeks, I have contacted the office of Rep. Thelma Drake (R-VA), in an attempt to clearly establish her position on the issuance of pardons for Agents Ramos and Compean. I sent several emails, faxes, and placed phone calls to both her district and Washington offices.

My question for the Congresswoman was very simple...Will you support a pardon for Agents Ramos and Compean? If not...Why not?

The phone calls always went the same way, I would simply be shuffled from one bootlicker to another. Her staff continuously offered ignorant and phony excuses. On one occasion, Drake’s legislative aide said that the letter drafted by Rep. Duncan Hunter had already gone to the Attorney General’s office and Drake could not sign it in time! She went on to say that “Congresswoman Drake would continue to monitor the situation.” The emails and faxes never yielded any response until yesterday.

Yesterday, I received a letter from Drake’s office. The body of the correspondence contained a great deal of lip service about how much respect she has for “those who stand watch over our borders on a daily basis.”
However, when the Congresswoman finally made her way to the issue of the pardon, she explained her performance with the following excuse: “I am hesitant to support legislation that seems to contradict the separation of powers outlined in the U.S. Constitution.”

She went on to say that she “will continue to monitor the situation.”

Unfortunately, I now live in a Congressional district represented by someone who just as President Bush, now places the needs of Mexican drug cartels before those of the American people. I have cast my last vote for Rep. Thelma Drake and will begin searching for a truly conservative and independent candidate to oppose her in 2008.

We must work with dogged determination to remove every traitor from the U.S. Congress!