ORTIZ RESORTS TO BOOGIEMAN TACTICS VS FARENTHOLD

By Juan Montoya
Despite his refusal to answer direct questions about his world-hopping jaunts on the lobbyists' nickel, perennial U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz is now resorting to ridicule in his quest to remain in his position for three decades.
Nowadays, Ortiz doesn't emerge from his cocoon of public relations flacks unless it is to have a school named after him or to put on a farce promising local veterans that he is fighting tooth and nail for a veterans hospital in the Rio Grande Valley.
I happened to see one of his TV ads against Republican Blake Farenthold today and he painted his adversary as a party animal born with a silver spoon who would do away with Social Security, give the U.S. Treasury to the rich, and destroy Western Civilization as we know it.
"Mai neim is Solomon Ortiz and I approve this mechach," Ortriz intones at the end.
I always wondered why Kika De La Garza, another worthless U.S. Representative from Mission, spoke like Jose Jimenez in public appearance and then in the most flawless English when one on one.
You remember Kika. His favorite speech was "Eet's hard to imagine a leetle choochain boy from Michion would one day become a congressman in Wachinton."
Kika would go on to become the chairman of the Agricultural Committee from 1981 to 1994, leading the way in passing bills that firmly entrenched agricultural subsidies for his bosses in South Texas and across the rest of the country.
Oh, those agribusiness boys loved little ol' Kika.
He also established the farm insurance system, the United States Department of Agriculture, and even found time to fight Cesar Chavez and watered down pesticide laws governing agriculture.
Talk about giving tax breaks to the rich. If anyone gave away the family farm, Kika was the man. As a result we continue to pay more for milk, sugar, bread, you name it. Price supports and guaranteed prices for surplus crops, if anything, is a real transfer of wealth for the rich. Isn't it Solo?
My memory may serve me wrong, but it seems to me that I've heard that Solomon has passed perhaps four or five legitimate bills while he has been in the House of Representatives. Among those bills was one naming the federal courthouse in memory of federal judges Reynaldo Garza and Filemon Vela.
Even then, Solomon flubbed the naming of the building and had to have Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson come and bail him out by showing him the proper way to do it. But not before Solomon went for a free trip to China on the Vela family's nickel.
Until he realized that he couldn't continue to push for more security for the ports while at the same time making a mint from investments he made to operate a security company on those same ports in his district, Solomon became a rich man.
His right-hand man, Lencho Rendon, had his brother placed as the president of the company para "taparle el ojo al macho."
After a while, under the constant scrutiny of the Corpus Christi Caller, Solomon relented and sold out his interest in the company to Lencho's brother (wink).
And do we need to recall his role in the disappearance of $21 million from the Port of Brownsville and his and Lencho's role in pushing contracts to Mexican-based corporations? After a while their demands become so persistent that the late Port Director Raul Besteiro threw up his arms and told Lencho to just come on down to Brownsville and run the port himself.
Just what business has Solomon brought home from China? Look at the Port. Amfels was already there in another form (Marathon) before Ortiz flexed his legislative muscle to lure trade from the Chinese here. Where is Waldo?
We understand that Ortiz has already purchased a home in Cameron County to be ready for the redistricting that might give South Texas another congressional district. Is there no rest for the weary?
And speaking of party animals, is it true that Solomon is quite the ladies' man and has procured an export fort himself? Has our rep been made in China?
With the Lucio plague entrenched in our midst, is it possible that we will have a Son Of Ortiz lurking in the shadows willing to sacrifice his good name to represent us unwashed masses?
God forbid.
Now with his latest barrage of ads ridiculing his Republican opponent, it is enough for me to switch parties and look elsewhere than this classless act who shows no respect for his opposition.
It's ABO for me. Anybody But Ortiz.