Where Were YOU, Rep. McCaul?

After hosting a Town Hall event in District 10 last Saturday, today we hand-delivered the following letter to Rep. McCaul, written by our very own Allison Lowery:

Dear GOP U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul:

This past Saturday on a lovely spring morning, more than 125 concerned citizens and District 10 constituents gathered in Austin to hear one another’s stories and to pose hard but fair questions to “Cardboard 'Caul,” the life-sized cardboard cutout who sadly had to stand in for you, the real McCaul. 

Had you accepted our invitation to join us for this spirited, bipartisan town hall -- held in your district during the congressional recess -- you would have heard several members of Austin's Ukrainian community sincerely thank you, as their representative, for your long-standing, staunch support of their beleaguered home country.  

You also would have heard them tearfully lament that you had yet to denounce Trump's sham "peace plan" for what it is -- an utter capitulation to Putin that even fails to require that the tens of thousands stolen Ukrainian children be returned from Russian camps to their homes and families. These children, they told the cardboard version of you, are non-negotiable. 

Had you joined us, you would have heard from Ashley, whose son is actively deployed in the U.S. Army. As his mother, she takes personally the chaos and damage the dangerously unqualified Pete Hegseth is inflicting; the gutting of the VA; the mass firings of loyal veterans who worked in good faith for our federal government; and the undercutting of national security alliances that have stood our nation proud for 80 years.

Ashley thanked you for your longtime support for veterans and our military – for your previous strong leadership on national security and foreign affairs – and then she turned to the cardboard version of you. She implored you to find your moral courage, denounce these ongoing threats to our national security, and call for Hegseth to be replaced as defense secretary with a qualified, experienced, and yes, sober leader. And she noted that her son’s career of service and his very life depend on powerful men like you speaking up. 

Now. Not after Trump’s approval ratings descend into the ‘30s. 

Now.

Had you joined us, you would have heard from two other D-10 constituents – a UT scientist who runs a research lab dependent on federal funding and a respected, retired neurologist, both of whom spoke eloquently about how Elon Musk’s slashing of federal funding for science and medical research is literally going to cause countless people to get sick or die. How this is setting back by decades our scientific community’s efforts to discover cures for diseases from ALS to cancer to Alzheimer’s – diseases that will affect us, our loved ones, and yours.

Had you joined us, you would have heard Mary, your constituent who conquered her fear of public speaking to list the too-many-to-count, ongoing horrors of the Trump administration. She smiled when her nerves gave way to confidence as the audience cheered her on and took to its feet in support.  

Had you joined us, you would have heard a librarian -- trembling and tearful – discuss the devastating local impacts of draconian budget cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, a small agency that funds museums and libraries across our country. Summer reading programs. Aides to help children with disabilities learn to read. Basic library functions like e-books and computers. All now being eliminated or at grave risk.

Had you joined us, you would have heard our fear and anger about:

• Your support for a GOP budget scheme that would gut Medicaid and food assistance solely so the wealthiest Americans can get tax cuts.

• Threats to Medicare and Social Security.

• This endless, needless global trade war that is destroying our once strong economy and alienating our closest allies.

• Our tanking retirement funds.

• The ongoing assault on reproductive rights and women’s health.

• Food and health safety, including the spread of measles in Texas.

• Your recent vote in favor of the suppressive SAVE Act, which you proudly touted in a press release.

• How the gutting of USAID is damaging our humanitarian efforts and global soft power.

Had you joined us, you would have heard from an Indian American and longtime D-10 constituent who was pulled over by law enforcement and then questioned about her citizenship. She told the cardboard version of you that she now carries her U.S. passport wherever she goes.

Had you joined us, you would have heard several constituents turn to the cardboard version of you to voice their profound concern – maybe more accurately described as terror – about individuals being disappeared to gulags or foreign countries without a shred of due process. About ICE arresting university students and immigrants. About an executive branch that is openly defying our courts at all levels — including the Supreme Court — and arresting judges. About how it is threatening the media, big law firms, universities, and any other entity it sees as a threat to its power and corruption.

Had you joined us, you would have heard a constituent powerfully read the oath of office – the one you take every two years. The one where you put your hand on the Bible and solemnly swear to honor our Constitution and protect our country from “all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

Had you joined us, we would not have needed the cardboard version of you, the one where you are smiling warmly and wearing a patriotic pin on the lapel of your very nice dark suit.

Your constituents and your country demand more than this version of you. We need the real Michael McCaul, the patriot, to be one of the Republicans in Congress who goes first. Who simply says, “This is all going way too far.”

We call on you to put aside your fear for your political career, to think how history would judge your bravery, and to stand up for what we know you truly believe -- that this administration, now more than 100 long and dark days in, is deeply damaging our great country and must be stopped.

Sincerely,

Concerned Citizens and District 10 Constituents

P.S. We recorded a video, too: