# Congressman Pete Stark (D-Fremont CA), you are a moron. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 9, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366 "2004-05-09T23:55:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/21 "2004-05-11T15:18:14Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > Bullshit. No! I’m dead serious! It’s in Title XVII, “Regulations Concerning the Disposition of Surplus Government Cheese with a Comment on Letters from Constituents to Congress Members.” It’s in the subparagraph 3.2.2.3, right after “Acceptable Limits on the Moisture Content of Cheddar and Other Aged English Cheeses.” Wait, no, I’m only kidding. There is no such regulation. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/22 "2004-05-11T15:31:04Z")
Is it at all possible that Stark didn’t really leave the voice-mail? I find it hard to imagine a politician stupid enough to leave a record of such a ridiculous response. Might it have been a staffer, or a hoax? Or is Stark really that stupid, and represents a district that is so ga-ga liberal, that the voters would not think he was a flaming asshole for responding as he allegedly did? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/23 "2004-05-11T15:59:06Z")
I think Stark is pretty stupid, but that’s a matter of opinion. That his district is ga-ga liberal, though, is undeniable fact. From Stark’s website: > [@](#): > > California’s Thirteenth Congressional District is located on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay - commonly known as the “East Bay” - in the heart of the nation’s fourth largest metropolitan area. Rich in ethnic and cultural diversity, the Thirteenth District encompasses the southern and westernmost portions of Alameda County, including the communities of Alameda, Cherryland, Fremont, Hayward, Newark, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Sunol, Union City, and parts of Oakland and Pleasanton. The Thirteenth District also includes the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Port of Oakland, the fourth busiest shipping terminal in the United States. The Thirteenth District is also home to California State University at Hayward and Chabot and Ohlone Community Colleges. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/24 "2004-05-11T16:52:05Z")
**Shodan** : Stark himself has admitted to recording the voice message. He’s not exactly [repentant](http://www.trivalleyherald.com/Stories/0,1413,86~10671~2135823,00.html) about it, either: > [@](#): > > “I think I got the point across,” Stark, a Democrat, whose district includes Pleasanton and Sunol along with Fremont, said Friday after the voice-mail message had been posted online and become the topic of heated local talk radio; syndicated host Rush Limbaugh played it nationwide later Friday. > > “I probably would’ve left out the blasphemy … it was a poor choice of words,” added Stark, 72. “Other than that, I would stand by the entire statement that I made to him. We can’t call back our words. If that’s the part that offended him, I would humbly apologize.” So, he apologizes for blasphemy, but not for calling a constituent stupid. As i said before, i don’t think Dow is just any old constituent. He has been involved in Santa Clara County politics as a Republican for some time, and ran as a Republican candidate (losing) for California’s 20th District. His own campaign [website](http://www.dandow.com/) is now redundant, but still forwards browsers to [GeorgeWBush.com](http://www.georgewbush.com/). Also, when he was running for election, and his opponent was Democrat John Dutra, Dow [registered the internet domain names](http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/TechTV/techtv_cybersquattingpols020911.html) [JohnDutra.com](http://JohnDutra.com), [JohnDutra.net](http://JohnDutra.net) and [JohnDutra.org](http://JohnDutra.org), and used them to post criticisms of Dutra. Now it appears that this was legal, and it certainly falls well within the type of tactics that modern politicians frequently use, but for Dow to now turn around and accuse another politician of partisanship and politicization is pretty damn amusing, to say the least. Note, also, that Dow’s letter to Stark singularly fails to address the actual reasons that Stark gave for voting against the bill. Dow makes no effort to defend the language of the bill, or the exclusion from it of some of the issues that Stark and other Democrats called for. His letter is no more or less “politicization of this War” than Stark’s vote was. As for **Mr. Moto** : So, let’s review. According to your citation, Stark’s district is characterized by the following: [ul] [li]part of a large metropolitan area[/li][li]culturally and ethnically mixed[/li][li]has a wildlife refuge[/li][li]is home to a busy shipping terminal[/li][li]has a university and two community colleges[/li][/ul] From this, we are to conclude that the district is “ga-ga liberal.” Well, the district may well be one of the most liberal in the country, but i’m afraid that the logic of your argument is still pretty weak. You might want to tell all those poeple in South Dakota or Louisiana or Texas that the presence of wildlife refuges and community colleges are indicators of “ga-ga” liberalism. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/25 "2004-05-11T17:07:30Z")
Anybody who’s spent any time in the Bay Area knows that the area I referenced is very liberal indeed. I was just pointing out to **Shodan** where it was, and what towns it encompassed. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/26 "2004-05-11T20:23:26Z")
Ah, California politics! Always rib-ticklin’ good! 😃 * * * All time is lost time. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/27 "2004-05-11T21:13:52Z")
If it please the court any, Stark has a reputation as being a major-league asshole that dates back to at least the late 1980’s, if not earlier. (Don’t believe me? Look for older copies of “Politics in America”) ---
**Author:** ![county](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@county](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/county)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/28 "2004-05-12T03:23:38Z")
[QUOTE Wait, no, I’m only kidding. There is no such regulation.[/QUOTE] Oh, ok. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/29 "2004-05-12T06:20:36Z")
> [@Governor Quinn](#): > > If it please the court any, Stark has a reputation as being a major-league asshole that dates back to at least the late 1980’s, if not earlier. > > (Don’t believe me? Look for older copies of “Politics in America”) If he’s such an asshole, **Gov** , why is he still in Congress? Since the late 80’s he has to have convinced his constituents two or three times that he’s their man. I’m not saying you’re wrong, mind you. I live in _Southern_ California in a mostly Republican district. He doesn’t represent me, so I don’t know him very well. If he is a major-league asshole the only reason I can think of that he’s still a congressman is that his district couldn’t find a Republican that wasn’t a worse asshole. Just a theory. YMMV. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/30 "2004-05-12T10:07:47Z")
Oh, there are assholes that are congressmen. Trust me. The people of his district probably just decided, en masse, that he was _their_ asshole. Stark is a good lefty fit in a lefty district. I’m sure he does good constituent service - unfucks Social Security, gets Granny her check. He gets into the news all the time, though not always for the best of things. But it keeps his name fresh in his voters’ minds. I’m not sure, but I’ll bet he hasn’t faced a serious primary fight in a long while. And California districts are gerrymandered so they’re safe for either party. No Republican has a shot at winning the thirteenth. He’ll have his seat for as long as he wants it, provided he doesn’t do something really stupid. Although, with Pete Stark this is an outside possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/31 "2004-05-12T11:56:41Z")
> [@](#): > > He’ll have his seat for as long as he wants it, provided he doesn’t do something really stupid. Although, with Pete Stark this is an outside possibility. This is why I asked about his district. Apparently it is so safely Democratic/liberal/out-of-touch that even this doesn’t qualify as “something really stupid”. One wonders what it _would_ take. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/32 "2004-05-12T14:11:05Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > This is why I asked about his district. Apparently it is so safely Democratic/liberal/out-of-touch that even this doesn’t qualify as “something really stupid”. > > One wonders what it _would_ take. > > Regards, > Shodan Interesting that you seem to equate being a Democrat and/or a liberal with being “out-of-touch.” If you’re going to accuse voters of being out of touch for continuing to re-elect a politician who does stupid things, you’d better start looking well beyond the Thirteenth District of California. You want out of touch? Try a place where voters continue to re-elect a politician who believes that America would have avoided “all these problems” if a segregationist had been elected President in 1948. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/33 "2004-05-12T15:58:30Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Interesting that you seem to equate being a Democrat and/or a liberal with being “out-of-touch.” No, I said that this district was so Democratic and/or liberal and/or out of touch that they don’t think Stark’s mini-rant was stupid. > [@mhendo](#): > > You want out of touch? Try a place where voters continue to re-elect a politician who believes that America would have avoided “all these problems” if a segregationist had been elected President in 1948. Oooh, that was telling. By which I meant “dumb”. Now if Stark will apologize four or five times, instead of not even once, we could have a good analogy. But, as it stands, not very much. Besides, **DesertGeezer** would argue that any politician who gets re-elected must be A-OK. Like Stark, Nixon, Adam Clayton Powell, etc. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/34 "2004-05-12T16:10:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, I said that this district was so Democratic **and/or** liberal and/or out of touch that they don’t think Stark’s mini-rant was stupid. Please point out where the words “and/or” appear in your earlier thread. > [@Shodan](#): > > Oooh, that was telling. By which I meant “dumb”. > > Now if Stark will apologize four or five times, instead of not even once, we could have a good analogy. But, as it stands, not very much. Actually, i don’t think an apology by Stark would change the comparison very much at all. Lott can apologize all he wants; the meaning of his words was pretty clear. By apologizing, he gets the best of both worlds: the segregationists know he’s one of them, and he also gets to appease the moderates in his party. Similarly with Stark, it’s pretty clear that he meant what he said, and an apology would be mere window dressing. If he soes apologize, i won’t believe for a minute that he doesn’t still believe that Dow is an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/35 "2004-05-12T16:33:25Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Besides, **DesertGeezer** would argue that any politician who gets re-elected must be A-OK. Like Stark, Nixon, Adam Clayton Powell, etc. Hmmmm. You might have a point there. Nope! Re-elected doesn’t necessarily mean A-OK. It more likely means he’s the best (in the opinion of people who bother to vote) of the available lousy choices. (Hmmmm. Does “etc.” mean Reagan?) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/36 "2004-05-13T12:27:24Z")
> [@DesertGeezer](#): > > Hmmmm. You might have a point there. Nope! Re-elected doesn’t necessarily mean A-OK. It more likely means he’s the best (in the opinion of people who bother to vote) of the available lousy choices. (Hmmmm. Does “etc.” mean Reagan?) Fair enough. And yes, Reagan counts. He was obviously the best of the available choices. Of the last fifty years. 🙂 Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366/37 "2004-05-13T12:52:00Z")
Answering the question of “how does he keep winning re-election?”: 1. His district is solidly Democratic, and has actually gotten to be more and more so in recent years (demographic shifts, redistricting, etc.) 2. He’s independently wealthy (was a banker before entering Congress after the 1972 election). Any challenge to him would be rather expensive. As far as I can tell, his only real close call was in 1972, when he defeated an aging and fairly conservative incumbent in the Democratic primary, and had problems in the general election due to the Nixon landslide. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-pete-stark-d-fremont-ca-you-are-a-moron/244366.md?page=1)