We had the pleasure of ringing in the new year by attending our new congressman's swearing-in ceremony today -- the first time I've ever been to such an event. The location was the Harlandale Civic Center on the south side of San Antonio -- the same place where Ciro Rodriguez's victory celebration was on the night of the runoff election just a few weeks ago. The crowd was similar, perhaps even larger. The place was completely packed by the time Ciro took the oath of office and then spoke to the crowd. The media presence was quite a bit smaller, though -- no TV trucks parked outside, this time, though Univision did send a cameraman, and there were clearly other reporters present as the San Antonio Express-News filed a report.
The atmosphere was festive, celebratory, and optimistic. In 2007, we are looking forward to a new congress, with a new Speaker, and we all have great hope that some of the abuses and misplaced priorities of the Bush administration can be curtailed or even corrected. Ciro spoke in that vein, going through the agenda for soon-to-be-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's first 100 hours -- including making sure all the recommendations of the 9-11 commission are implemented, raising the minimum wage, and ensuring the the government can negotiate with drug companies for lower prescription drug prices for Medicare recipients.
Personally, this was a fitting wrap-up for a very exciting campaign, and a great send-off of our new congressman to Washington. I am eagerly anticipating the actions of our new congress in the coming days, weeks, and months. Our government needs to be put back on the right track.
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