You know I love me a good knock-down, drag-out political fight. I watch El Paso City Council meetings, I get on my soap box about bonehead moves that our local elected officials make. I don't mind a little mud slinging with my politics, but I'm getting sick and tired of the 'too Mexican/not Mexican enough' nonsense that seems to be the overriding theme of El Paso politics lately.

Jaime Abeytia, who writes The Lionstar Blog, wrote a blog about Dori Fenenbock holding a menudazo for Lower Valley voters. Fenenbock is running against former El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar and Norma Chavez for Beto O'Rourke's congressional seat. Only one of the three women isn't Hispanic. Guess which one.

Abeytia got an invitation to the event and wondered if Fenenbock had any brown friends who told her that it might be a bad idea to hold such an event in the Lower Valley because, well, you know, Fenenbock ain't from around there.
Abeytia likened the menudazo to the kind of pachangas that Chavez used to hold. Chavez would offer free tacos and beer to voters in the Lower Valley then drivers would take them to the polls where they would, presumably, vote for the candidate who supplied the free eats and drinks.

Personally, I don't plan on voting for Fenenbock, but the fact that she is having an event to meet voters in the Lower Valley and serving menudo doesn't bother me. What bothers me is Abeytia giving her crap for doing so. I've got a couple of questions for Abeytia:

1. What would you have said if Fenenbock held a quiche brunch in the Lower Valley? You would have given her crap for her Anglo-ness and said she was tone deaf for not serving something that people in the Lower Valley would want to eat.

2. Why do you assume that because she is serving menudo that she is pandering? Maybe she likes menudo. Maybe she knows that there is nothing better on a cold El Paso day than a bowl of menudo. Maybe she has embraced the culture in El Paso and is trying to fit in.

3. Why is it pandering in the first place? If Fenenbock didn't try to embrace the culture, you would have skewered her for it. If she does by holding a menudazo, she gets crap for being a white girl holding a menudazo.

You can't have it both ways, Jaime. Either you want elected officials to embrace the culture and the people of El Paso, or you don't want elected officials who aren't Hispanic to try and become a part of our city. Decide which one, but please stop being as bigoted and tone deaf as you insist on calling Anglo candidates who are running for office in El Paso.

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