Near Bakersfield, Calif., a farmer posts a sign blaming Congress for a sharp drop in water supplies that has slashed farm output.

This is a picture from yesterday’s Investors.com website.  The picture was included in an article about Congress shutting off the water to the Central Valley in California. 

The article states:

“Instead of pink blossoms and green shoots along Highway 5 in April, vast spans from Bakersfield to Fresno sit bone-dry. Brown grass, dead orchards and lifeless grapevine skeletons stretch for miles for lack of water. For every fallow field, there’s a sign that farmers have placed alongside the highway: “No Water = No Food,” “No Water = No Jobs,” “Congress Created Dust Bowl.”

“Locals say it’s been like this for two years now, as Congress and bureaucrats cite “drought,” “global warming” and “endangered species” to deny water to this $37 billion breadbasket through arbitrary “environmental” quotas.”

The consequences of this man-made drought are unemployment rates of as much as 45 percent, an increase in mortgage foreclosures, California having to import vegetables rather than growing them locally, and increased food prices for the rest of us.

The really aggravating part of this water shut-off, however, is the politics involved.  The article points out:

“Take the three congressmen who represent the valley and how they were pressured to vote for President Obama’s health care bill. It didn’t go without notice by farmers like Jasper that the 5% water allocations announced in February for all three congressional districts were lifted to 25% for the two whose Democratic representatives, Jim Costa of Fresno and Dennis Cardoza of Modesto, switched their votes on health reform from “no” to “aye.”

“Devin Nunes, a Republican from Tulare, wouldn’t sell his vote, and parts of his district had to make do with the 5% allotment.”

This is not regular ‘hardball politics.’  This kind of political move hurts everyone.  I understand the Congressmen caving into that kind of pressure, but we need people in Congress who will stand up to the bullying that is going on from Washington.  Until we put men of integrity in office who will stand up for what is right, this kind of nonsense will continue.