Gohmert finds recipe for representation

Kiwanian Valerie Larsen with Congressman Louie Gohmert and Rusk County District Attorney Micheal Jimerson. Although U.S. Representative Louis Gohmert is serious about representing his constituents and helping build better government, he is not above poking fun at himself and some of those he works with the Washington, D.C. and has learned “you never know what will lead to what.”

Gohmert was the featured speaker at Friday Kilgore Oilpatch Kiwanis Breakfast Club.

“One of the things you can’t find up there (Washington, D.C.) is a decent place to eat,” he said. “You can’t beat the ribs at the Tavern but Louie Gohmert’s ribs run a close second.”

Gohmert explained that his fifth floor office featured a small ledge “wide enough for smokers to stand there and smoke,” he said. “Well, if they can do that then I figured I can but a barbecue grill out there and fix some ribs.”

Gohmert said the first time he cooked, he invited about 100 of his Capitol Hill friends and “the ribs disappeared rally fast. So, the next time I cooked 200 and they went fast.”

“I just got a call from the chef at the Capitol Hill Club who wanted my recipe... the Capitol Hill Club now served Louie Gohmert ribs.”

Gohmert said he has been notified that the featured entrée for the State of the Union meal is “Louie Gohmert ribs.”

“Like I said, you never know what will lead to what.”

Gohmert said when working in Congress it’s necessary “to keep everything in perspective.”

He said some congressmen will agree with a proposal and vote for it because it will help the county and then because of pressure from “the other side” will literally go and change their vote.

Gohmert noted that Congress did the Energy Bill in July 2005.

“Congress had been working on that for 15 years,” he said. “It wasn’t what I wanted but we got an Energy Bill passed,”

The congressman said “everyone knows one of our biggest problems is the shortage of refinery ... no new refineries have been built in over 30 years in the U.S. The big oil companies built overseas because it’s cheaper and they don’t have the environmental issues to face that they have here.”

Gohmert said because of this, the U.S. need to look to independent oil companies to build refineries.

“Everyone knows the Energy 2 Bill is needed,” Gohmert said. “You would think a bill that would support construction of new refineries, help oil and gas industries and help provide the additional gas the country needed would be a shoe-in; it wasn’t.”

The Congressman said party politics ended that bill’s future.

“The Democrats were saying the bill was a power play by the Republicans in light of Tom Delay’s indictment and called the Republicans ‘in disarray’,” Gohmert said.

The East Texas Congressman pointed out that legislation is needed to open more areas for oil and gas exploration.

“This is a matter of national security also,” he said. “During World War II, the Germans lost the Battle of the Bulge and eventually the war because they ran out of gasoline. We can’t let that happen to us.”

He said, although environmentalists protested drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the rigs have turned into artificial reefs.

The also noted that the Alaskan Pipeline was also highly protested by those who believed it would terminate caribou herds.

“Well, the oil has to be heated in order to keep it flowing,” he said. “And the caribou found out how nice and warm the pipeline is. For them it’s ‘date night at the pipeline’ and when they do they obviously get a little amorous because when it was started there were fewer than 3,000 caribou and now there are 30,000.”

Gohmert said he visited the Guantanamo Bay military prison last week.

“They (Iraqis, Afganistanians, etc.) want to destroy us,” he said. “They think freedom of choice leads to corruption.”

He said, “We have to work hard to make the (the prisoners) trust us. If they are used to a person then their demeanor changes -they play basketball and tell the military they don’t want to go home. But if they hear a different voice they think its the media and they start yelling about mistreatment.”

In other business Amelia Free, president of the club, reminded everyone of their participation in the Greater Lakeport Kiwanis Club’s chili cook-off in February and the Rod Run in March.

The Kilgore Oilpatch Kiwanis Breakfast Club meets Fridays at 7 a.m. at the Kilgore Public Library. Visitors are welcome.