Pete Stark Has Diarrhea of the Mouth

Matt Grills

U.S. Rep. Pete Stark, like most Democrats in office, needs to go.

Just as Bill Clinton couldn’t control his zipper, Stark can’t open his mouth and be civil — even when attempting to fulfill his official duties as a member of Congress.

A letter from a constituent who serves in the California National Guard fueled Stark’s latest hissy, which has been played multiple times now on national radio and the Internet.

Daniel Dow, 33, wrote to the Bay Area representative protesting his vote last week against a House resolution condemning the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

“This measure would have shown publicly that you condemn the abuse of the prisoners in Iraq while simultaneously commend the service of the fine men and women who are serving in Iraq,” Dow wrote.

“I urge you to stop your contemptuous display of bitter partisanship and your politicization of this war. Your actions are very divisive and destructive to the morale of our troops and the morale of our nation. ... you are way out of touch with the people of this district.”

Now, it’s no secret that senators and representatives receive hundreds of letters and e-mails of this sort every day. We’re the people they represent, so they expect and deserve to hear our rants and raves. Comes with the territory. In most cases, the response to our missives is a form letter that, in essence, says, “Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I don’t give a fat fig who you are or what you think, but thanks.”

Not Stark. He’s a class act all the way. He called Dow, a 2002 Republican Assembly candidate, and left the following message on the Guardsman’s voice mail:

“Dan, this is Congressman Pete Stark, and I just got your fax. And you don’t know what you’re talking about. So if you care about enlisted people, you wouldn’t have voted for that thing either. But probably somebody put you up to this, and I’m not sure who it was, but I doubt if you could spell half the words in the letter, and somebody wrote it for you. So I don’t pay much attention to it. But I’ll call you back later and let you tell me more about why you think you’re such a great goddamn hero and why you think that [these] generals and the Defense Department, who forced these poor enlisted guys to do what they did, shouldn’t be held to account. That’s the issue. So if you want to stick it to a bunch of enlisted guys, have it your way. But if you want to get to the bottom of people who forced this awful program in Iraq, then you should understand more about it than you obviously do. Thanks.”

Wow. Exactly how painful was Stark’s wedgie when he made that call?

I’ll be fair to Stark, giving him credit for apologizing for using a blasphemous term in his message. Gabriel, bring this saint a white robe and halo.

Other than the blasphemy, Stark is standing by what he said. Let’s run through it again just so we’re clear on why this man needs muzzled:

* Stark accused Dow, a Guardsman, of not caring about enlisted men.

* Stark accused Dow of not having written the letter, saying somebody probably put him up to it.

* Stark accused Dow of being unable to spell half the words in the letter he wrote. Dow served in the Army as a Korean linguist in the Military Intelligence Corps.

* Stark charged Dow with being an arrogant soldier who considers himself a hero. Strangely, Dow didn’t even mention in the letter his service overseas post-Sept. 11.

* Stark accused Dow of not wanting to see generals and the Defense Department called to account. Again, Dow did not say any such thing.

It’s foolish to think our elected representatives don’t have private opinions they share behind closed doors. But when they are responding in written or spoken word to constituents, it goes without saying that they should be, well, polite.

Apparently raised by wolves — or worse, raised in a hotbed of left-coast liberalism — Stark doesn’t seem to know polite.

Remember last summer when Stark called the very married Republican Rep. Scott McGinnis a “fruitcake”? That’s “fruitcake” as in gay, for Red State readers who are unfamiliar with that term apart from what they use as a doorstop during the Christmas season.

Stark also lobbed a gay slur at House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas. I won’t print the vulgar term here, but let’s just say it starts with “c” and ends in “sucker.”

Stark also is known for calling Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson a “whore” and former Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan “a disgrace to his race.”

It’s bad enough Stark doesn’t have an ounce of respect for his congressional colleagues, but he slammed one of our soldiers. Dude, that’s not cool.

Stick a fork in this guy, because he’s done. Or should be, anyway.

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Matt Grills is a writer and conservative activist living in Indianapolis, where he works for a nonprofit organization. In 1997, he earned a bachelor's degree in religious studies from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill. He has written for a handful of Hoosier newspapers and is a member of the Indiana Leadership Forum, a program that encourages emerging community leaders to increase their involvement in the Republican Party.
darthgrills@hotmail.com