Paul Rodriguez: ‘The fish lives and the farmers die.’

Paul Rodriguez wants water – and he’s angry enough to get some 

One wouldn’t immediately associate comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez with a serious issue such as water.  But, as Mark Twain said: “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over.”  

Rodriguez is so concerned about water that he helped create the California Latino Water Coalition, led marches with several thousand people in recent weeks, and spoke Saturday night to a convention of the conservative California Republican Assembly in Bakersfield.  I addressed the convention goers about my U.S. Senate run against Barbara Boxer just before Rodriguez’ turn at the podium. 

What has Rodriguez’ concerned to spark political action is the shutdown of water pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.  These pumps move water from California’s wet north to the agricultural Central Valley and urban Southern California.   A judge’s ruling switched the pumps off over a controversial U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report that declared a fish, the delta smelt, threatened.  No one really knows if turning the pumps off will help the fish, but most can agree that California’s agricultural industry will take a big hit this year due to lack of water.  (more…)