Central Coast congressman visits car show, says Republicans ‘need to get their crap together’

Kathe Tanner
·2 min read
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A Central Coast congressman visiting a San Luis Obispo County car show this weekend talked about the Israel-Hamas war and condemned Republicans’ actions to block the appointment of a new speaker of U.S. House of Representatives.

On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta chatted with several people at the Cambria Car, Truck & Motorcycle Show, including De Roy Jensen, who was exhibiting a 1934 Ford and a mid-1950s Thunderbird at the show.

Both men were in the Middle East on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas launched attacks against Israel.

Neither man was directly in the impact zone, but the ongoing armed conflict altered their travel plans.

Panetta and the rest of his bipartisan congressional delegation wound up in Israel, where they met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders.

Jensen said his tour group canceled the rest of its trip.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, left, is greeted at the Cambria Chamber of Commerce’s 23rd annual car show on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, by the chamber’s Executive Director Lorienne Schwenk. The congressman, who had flown back to California from Washington D.C. earlier that morning, spoke briefly to attendees before heading to another function in Paso Robles.

Central Coast congressman condemns Republicans over speaker search

During his visit to Cambria on Saturday, Panetta called events such as the Cambria car show great institutions that pull diverse people together.

Saying that the stories about the 30 vehicles on display were as important as the cars themselves, Panetta urged people to vote for their favorites — and in upcoming national and local elections.

Panetta, who represents California’s 19th congressional district, also spoke about recent events in the House.

A coalition of hard-right Republicans forced out House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3 in a historic vote. They then convinced enough representatives to vote against two replacement candidates: Republican congressmen Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.

Without a speaker, neither the House nor the U.S. Senate can proceed on crucial issues such as aid to Israel and Ukraine, the country’s debt limit and a looming budget battle that could shut down the U.S. government by Nov. 17.

Panetta had strong words for his Republican peers who’ve halted the speaker seeking process so far.

“They need to get their crap together and get back to the business of the House,” Panetta told The Tribune.

Panetta said that Democrats in the House “stand ready to work with them in a bipartisan way so we can get back to leading again.”

For now, he added, “It’s up to them who they want to lead because they’re in the majority party.”

After speaking with attendees at the car show, which is sponsored by the Cambria Chamber of Commerce, Panetta headed to another function in Paso Robles.