Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, in my continuing efforts to highlight the 23rd District of Texas, I would like to talk about one of my favorite and one of the most rural parts of the 23rd District, the ghost town of Terlingua. Terlingua, the ghost town, is located near Big Bend National Park. There are not a lot of ghosts there. There is a lot of history. There are very few people. The population is about 100 people or so. The name comes from tres lenguas, which is Spanish for three tongues because three creeks flow together nearby. It was founded in the mid-1880s as a mining town after the discovery of cinnabar. There are many things to do there every day. You can go rafting or kayaking on the Rio Grande, mountain biking, camping, hiking, motorcycling, and many, many other outdoor activities. On the first Saturday in November, more than 10,000 chiliheads convene for two annual chili cookoffs, the Chili Appreciation Society International and the Frank X. Tolbert/Wick Fowler World Chili Championships. In the 1970s, as a matter of fact, the chili cookoff also sponsored a Mexican fence-climbing contest to parody the U.S. government's plan to reinforce chain link fences along the U.S.-Mexico border. The other interesting thing about Terlingua is the unique politics of Terlingua. Clay Henry, the first mayor elected, was elected in 1986. Clay Henry was a beer drinking goat, and he defeated a local dog. Some of his campaign posters are still around, and now, they are worth a lot of money.…”