Poe does something right — for a change

It is no secret to many who know me that I am no fan of U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas. The former Texas criminal district court judge has become a darling of the right wing, showing up on Fox News shows such as that of Sean Hannity’s or just about anywhere he can make his reactionary credentials known. Part of my dislike of the congressman, who represents the Southeast Texas area in which I live along with heavily-Republican-infested northern Houston suburbs, is personal although most of my ire for him is politically based.

But when even those politicians who irritate the living hell out of me do something noteworthy, I hold my nose and type them a congratulatory message. Well, that is just being downright figurative. It would take forever for me to get through typing with one hand while holding my nose with the other and, sorry, but Ted Poe just isn’t worth the hassle. Kudos are due, nevertheless, for Poe and Vermont’s at-large congressman, Democrat, Peter Welch for leading the opposition to a Wal-Mart proposal to place one of their Superstores on the site of a significant Civil War battlefield in Virgina.

Wal-Mart announced today that they would abandon plans to build a Superstore on the site of The Wilderness, where some 29,000 U.S. and Confederate troops died in a bloody stalemate. The Texas Brigade under Gen. James Longstreet suffered some 500 casualties among the 800 troops who fought off Union soldiers in Spotsylvania County, Va.. The First Vermont Brigade lost nearly a third of their more than 2,800 Union soldiers by  the end of the first day of fighting in that battle.

Both Poe and Welch took to the floor of the House in March to voice their opposition to the mega-retailer’s plans.

“The Wilderness Battlefield is a sacred site for Vermonters, Texans and all Americans. The site marks the sacrifice of so many soldiers, whose memory we must cherish,” Welch and Poe said in a joint statement. “We appreciate Wal-Mart’s decision to build elsewhere and we applaud the leadership and advocacy of those who fought to preserve this important national landmark.”

Of course, it didn’t hurt in quelling Wal-Mart’s thirst for another store that a trial was soon to begin in a Virginia court which sought overturning a special use permit the retailer had received. Local citizens groups had fielded the legal challenge and was assisted by a national coalition supporting Civil War battlefield sites in their efforts to stop the giant corporation from building the store.

“We stand ready to work with Walmart to put this controversy behind us and protect the battlefield from further encroachment,”James Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Trust, stated. “We firmly believe that preservation and progress need not be mutually exclusive, and welcome Wal-mart as a thoughtful partner in efforts to protect the Wilderness Battlefield.”

Both congressmen’s efforts cannot be discounted as helpful in getting Wal-Mart to change their minds and it is certainly good to see Poe doing something for Texans, even if it is a battlefield in Virginia. With congressmen and a lawsuit on their plate, no doubt the better part of valor for Wally World is discretion. Or something like that.

As both Union and Confederate troops realized after the bloody battle at The Wilderness, sometimes you just have declare a draw and I guess one might have to say that is what the gigantic retailer did — this time at least.