Digging up the dirt so you don't have to

In between trying to find enough election workers in Travis County (there is still time! EMAIL ME!), I have had a bit of time to look in on what's going around the state as the election nears. Here's some of what I found.

I'm sure you've already heard this one: Kay Bailey Hutchison changes her mind on resigning, again! I expected this, but not until Wednesday at the earliest (I honestly think no one has ever known, or will ever know, what her plans are until she just leaves Washington, and even then!). Writing on the wall much? It makes no sense whatsoever, from the Senator's point-of-view, for her to make definite resignation plans until she knows how the primary shakes out, and even then, why give up a Senate job two years before her term is up? Sigh. I'll be glad when we can stop having this conversation, seriously (I think Kuffner and I might agree on this one). Incidentally, Senator Cornyn is not making any predictions in the gubernatorial primary.

If you haven't checked out the Statesman's "Truth-O-Meter" on campaign claims, you really should do so. Some enlightening vetting going on there. Recommend this, this, this, and oh yes,this. But really, the whole thing is worth it, just to keep your feet firmly planted.

I missed this earlier, but Robert Pratt (of Pratt on Texas, and the Empower Texans' blog), issued some endorsements, most important to Panhandle folks and those interested in state House races in general. Endorsements of note include restauranteur and homeschooling dad Victor Leal to replace David Swinford, and the redoubtable Jim Landtroop (running to oust Democrat Joe Heflin).

For those still smarting over the demise of voter i.d. legislation last session, here's some more truth for you. Via Texas Watchdog, State Rep. Betty Brown vs. State Rep. Todd Smith. A real fight is going on in Smith's district, one getting dirtier by the minute - one of the top five primary races to watch on Tuesday night, I'd say.

Another of the top five has to be HD-52, just over the road in Williamson County. The four-way primary to determine who will challenge weak Dem incumbent Diana Maldonado has been a colorful race to say the least. The Trib has a great story on it here.

In congressional primary news, it looks like Congressman Ron Paul might be the victim of tragic irony. Or so thinks the Politico.

Guess we'll see Tuesday night. I'm very close to saying I haven't looked forward to an election night like this in a long time - and not just because it means I don't have to try and coerce people to work for $8.50/hour for 12-14 straight hours!

I'll have more updates when I have a chance in the next two days. Please don't forget to VOTE on Tuesday if you haven't already! And if you still haven't decided who to support for governor, Lone Star Report has interviews with the Republicans here.

Election workers STILL NEEDED for Ds and Rs in Travis County

Want to earn some money to celebrate your candidate's victory in style?

Be an election worker in Travis County this Tuesday!

The Democratic and Republican parties STILL NEED your help at this late hour. Contacts:

Liz Tait (Republican): liztait@austin.rr.com

Cindy Flint (Democratic): Cindy@traviscountydemocrats.org

$8.50/hour for all positions. I know it's not much - but hey, 12 hours at that rate makes for a really nice dinner at Sullivan's later in the week. Alternately, it's good for paying your electric or gas bill this month.

Austin YRs: Candidate forum videos

The Austin Young Republicans had a candidate forum for CD 25, and HDs 47, 50, and 51 and got the candidates' speeches on video.

Good stuff - check it out here.

(Candidates: George Morovich and Donna Campbell for CD 25; Holly Turner and David Sewell in HD 47 [Paul Workman was not present as previously reported]; Patrick McGuinness and Ryan Lambert in HD 50; and Marilyn Jackson in HD 51)

Last day of early voting news round-up

We're almost at the 72 hour mark! Polls are still open until 7pm today. Get out and vote!

And now, some links from the election battlefield.

Texas Tribune: HD-52 is really down to two candidates. Call it "The Young and the Entitled."

Paul Burka: Is there going to be another knock-down, drag-out speaker's race in Texas?

Texas GOP Vote: Gauging the primary results so far.

Republican Liberty Caucus endorses Texas candidates.

The Red Travis Project: Travis County is turning red - or is it? Statesman's Postcards reminds us, it isn't just Republicans voting Republican this year.

News 8 Austin: Profiling the Republicans running in HD 50

Statesman and KUT: Handicapping the Tuesday primary

Disrupt the Narrative: Not a primary story, but timely nonetheless. Thinking about the federal government and Toyota.... (by the way, Disrupt the Narrative is one of the best blogs going right now. Check it out and bookmark it)

Postcards: Is Schwertner the guy to beat in HD 20?

Lone Star Report: Opinion about "unjust power plays" in the primary

More later, I imagine.

Trib: Don't Rock the Vote!

In all seriousness: if you vote in the Republican or Democratic Party primaries, you CANNOT participate in the Libertarian Party convention.

What they didn't mention, but is still pertinent, is that if you sign a petition for a third party candidate, you cannot participate in the Republican or Democratic primaries or convention processes.

This is Texas state law and there are penalties if you ignore it.

URGENT: Election Workers Needed

Wasn't planning on this kind of post for #1000, but it will have to do.

The Travis County Republican Party is seeking election workers for the primary election on March 2. These are all-day, paid positions ($8.50/hour). It's down to the wire and the party needs to fill these positions no later than Friday evening.

Email Liz Tait at liztait@austin.rr.com if you're interested. You do need to be registered to vote in Travis County.

(I know the Democrats are still looking as well.)

Gov's race polls, and crossover voters

As Election Day looms (just six days away!), new polls from Public Policy Polling and Rasmussen show that despite trouble resulting from her appearance on the Glenn Beck radio program, Debra Medina is staying about even in the Republican gubernatorial race.

Rasmussen: Perry 48%, Hutchison 27%, Medina 16%

Public Policy Polling: Perry 40%, Hutchison 31%, Medina 20%

Public Policy Polling did run some numbers to determine how the 9/11 Truther accusation is affecting Medina's support. According to them, her "negatives" are up: "Her favorability was 40/9 on the last poll but has now declined to 36/30. 50% of primary voters think that she does or might believe that the federal government was involved in the 9/11 attacks and with those voters she trails 51-30-7."

Back to the race as a whole, we're basically looking at a run off, and what happens from there is all up to the undecideds.

There are half-substantiated reasons to believe that Democrats may be crossing over and voting in the Republican primary. Travis County Democratic Party chairman Andy Brown felt so certain that this might happen that he wrote about it for the Statesman. Republican votes are up 146% in the fifteen largest counties in the state over 2006 (Travis is one of those), and in Travis County we're averaging 200-300 more voters per day in early voting over 2008 numbers (except yesterday, because of the snow). Taking a hard look at the numbers, only about 12% of the votes cast in the Republican primary in Travis County so far are identified "swing" voters (meaning they switch primaries), and so far about 37% are brand-new Republican voters (either never voted in a primary before, or voted Democrat in the past).

Hard to say if the Dems' version of "Operation Chaos" is really happening or not. Harder still to say if that will have the same kind of impact as, say, the tea party vote (which is so far difficult to substantiate). Paul Burka at Texas Monthly does think there is crossover voting happening where the local Dem primaries mean less. Not impossible, especially as he's right that Bill White's nomination is all but assured at this point, and even Dem statewides don't seem to rock their world as much as the Republican race for governor is rocking the whole state at this point.

Doesn't mean crossover voting is very smart. My number one reason for not voting in Dem primaries? I don't want to be on Dem call lists (even though, this doesn't stop the really hardcore Dems - I got a Farouk Shami doorhanger two weeks ago, and people, you can't come to my house and not immediately realize it's a Republican residence).

Thanks to Dan McDonald of the Travis County Republican Party for the stats on Travis County voting patterns.

Sarah Palin coming to Austin April 29

Click here to purchase tickets.

UT gets grant, tuition....still goes up

I know, I know. Grants for studies are unrelated to tuition costs. BUT STILL.

UT is getting a $25 million grant for....wait for it....evolution studies! Yes! The very thing I was hoping our Tier One schools would study! Wait, you mean, solving the mystery of evolution won't actually contribute to the health of society? It won't cure disease or create new innovations in business? Isn't that what "Tier One" schools are SUPPOSED to do?

And, of course, tuition will still go up, whether evolution is solved or not. $25 million would go a long way to shoring up the budget, don't you think?

Oh well. At least there will be people solving the mystery of evolution. I'm so relieved.

Travis Monitor: Local judicial races riddled by money influence

Honestly, this should surprise no one. And this candidate is right - these judicial seats, like all other elected offices, belong to no one except the people. Challenging an incumbent shouldn't just be the province of Republicans in Travis County, as it so often must be.

Over and over, when recruiting candidates for public office, the second most frequently cited reason why people won't run is because it would hurt their professional careers. Lawyers in Travis County won't challenge the judges here, especially as Republicans, because they fear retribution in the courts later. So why aren't there more "choices" for voters in November? Simply put, Republican lawyers won't own up to being Republican to begin with. The fact that there would be retribution in the courts is just one reason.

Per the request of JP 5 candidate Richard Glasheen, I'll post his letter to the Statesman here as well (it was written in response to this story)

I sent the following e-mail to the Austin American Statesman in response to their Feb 21,2010 story in Section B on page B1 titled "Candidate wrong on pleas for cash to support party". They will surprise me if they print it. So I am sending it to the Travis County Democratic Party, the Travis County Republican Party, the Travis County Libertarian Party,the Austin Chronicle,local TV stations,CNN,MSNBC, and Fox News. Please feel free to forward this to anyone that you choose. And remember to vote for the candidate of your choice.

My e-mail to the Statesman:

My name is Richard Glasheen. I am a candidate for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5. I am a political newcomer having never before held or run for office.I believe that the general public would be shocked to find out what goes on behind the scenes.

The shakedown of the candidates in the Democratic primary by the Democratic Party is the tip of the iceberg. The Democratic Party primary is a corrupt system.

To begin with, the majority of the candidates on the ballot are running unopposed. Sadly,in some cases, those candidates will not face any challenger in November.

In the nonjudicial "races", the Libertarian Party will field a candidate in every race. Good for them.

As for the Republicans, shame on them for not having candidates in every "contest". Sure, they would likely be the loser here in Austin,Travis County. But the people deserve a choice. Sometimes you have to fight a fight you are probably going to lose. Remember the Alamo?

What a coincidence that there is a strong correlation between those who pay to play and who gets the endorsements. Even more disturbing is the contamination of our courthouse by money flowing from lawyers to judges in the form of "campaign donations."

My opponent,for example,reported in his campaign report filed last month that he purchased a mailing list from the State Bar. He sends letters to lawyers asking them for money. Shameful. We have judges who ask lawyers for money. And my opponent is far from being the only one. It is rampant.

Read the campaign finance reports online at the Travis County Clerk website. They are shocking. Now I understand that this practice is legal. But it is wrong. The only people I've met who think the practice is acceptable are lawyers or judges.

Prior to the civil war, it was legal to own other persons. So if you bought another human being in 1850,a black one, it was legal. But it was wrong. And some chose to not participate in slavery because it was wrong. They didn't wait for a law to come along to tell them the difference between right and wrong.

Throughout history, there are those with integrity and those without. The stream of money that flows from lawyers to judges in Travis County runs fast and deep.

Why don't you reporters analyze the data? Do lawyers who pay judges in Travis County get better results in the courtroom than those who don't? Do candidates who pay a shakedown fee get more endorsements than those who refuse? Isn't it a strange system where a sitting judge asks lawyers for money, then turns around and pledges money to the Democratic Party, gets favorable endorsements, and gets reelected? And then they stay on the government tit for years or decades.

When I walked in to the Democratic Party headquarters in January to file to run against an unopposed candidate in the primary, who also has no Republican opposition in November, I was told "That's Herb's court!" I had to explain to the party hack who said it that the courthouse belongs to all of us.

There is plenty to report on in this primary. Follow the money.

Richard Glasheen

Travis County polling locations closed at 3pm

This only came from the Travis County Elections office at 4:45pm today, an hour and a half after the polling locations closed.

Travis County Announces Early Closure, Delayed Opening of Polling Places

Austin —Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir announced that early voting polling places will close early today due to hazardous weather conditions.

"After new information received from Travis County emergency services personnel, we have decided to close polling places at

3:00 PM today and will re-open at 9:30 am Wednesday, February 24.
DeBeauvoir said the early closure also was affected by independent decisions by facility managers at host locations to close private and public facilities in which the early voting polling places are located.

"Our primary goal is to ensure that polling places are open, but we must ensure that the hundreds of workers who support the elections are safe," DeBeauvoir said.

Early Voting continues through 7:00 pm Friday, February 26. The full list of Early Voting locations can be found on the Travis County Clerk's web site at www.traviscountyelections.org.

For further information, voters should contact the Travis County Clerk’s Elections Division at 854-4996.

-30-

If you need further information, please call Ginny Ballard, Public Information Coordinator at 854-4177.

City of Austin closing early today

From the City of Austin email list:

City of Austin closes early due to inclement weather

The City of Austin has issued an early closure of City offices effective at 3 p.m. today due to hazardous road conditions and inclement weather. City employees who are designated as non-essential are being released from duty effective at 3 p.m. and for the remainder of this evening and through the early-morning shifts.

An early morning weather evaluation will be made to determine the re-opening time for City offices for Wednesday, Feb. 24.

Contact: Communications and Public Information Office, (512) 974-22220

Gov't office closings in Travis/Williamson counties

Check KXAN for the complete list of closings/delays.

Government Offices/Community Centers and activities

• Williamson County offices will close at 3 p.m., Tuesday, February 23, 2010, due to weather related conditions. All county offices will re-open at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 24. Please check the Williamson County website at www.wilco.org for changes and additional information.
• The Austin Parks and Recreation Department has temporarily closed the following pools: Balcones, Dick Nichols and Stacy. These closures are necessary due to the safety hazard posed by the accumulation of snow and sleet on the pool's decks. The pools are expected to re-open tomorrow, weather permitting.
• Barton Pool remains open as long as the decks aren't frozen.
• All Eanes Community Education classes are canceled for Tuesday, Feb 23.
• TX Empowerment Academy is closing at 2pm today. School is still scheduled to start on time Wednesday morning.
• The Texas Lottery Commission closed for the day on Tuesday. They will reopen at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

Delays/closings: Williamson County election activity changes for 2/23/10

Important info for Williamson County voters and Republican activists!!

From WilCo GOP chairman Bill Fairbrother:

Essentially all Williamson County GOP and election activity is being cancelled today because of the threatening weather. Please see below for specific details. Those already in Georgetown, or who are willing to travel, can stop by party headquarters in Georgetown before 6:30pm to go over precinct convention or election judge training materials as Karen and Bill are already at Party Headquarters (716 S Rock St) in Georgetown.

Williamson County Offices - Willliamson County offices (including the location for tonight's Executive Committee Meeting) will close at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, due to weather related conditions. All county offices will re-open at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 24.

Early Voting - Williamson County early voting locations will close at 3 p.m., Tuesday, February 23, 2010, due to weather related conditions. All early voting locations will re-open at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 24.

February Executive Committee Meeting - Tonight's Executive Committee meeting originally scheduled for 7:30pm in the J.P. 3 Courtroom has been cancelled. The Precinct Convention training session scheduled for immediately after the EC meeting has also been cancelled.

Republican Election Worker Training - Election Judge training originally scheduled for Tuesday, February 23, 6:30pm has been rescheduled to Thursday, February 25, at 6:00pm at GOP Headquarters in Georgetown. Those unable to attend should contact Karen (512-863-8481 or tazdev14@sbcglobal.net ) to discuss.

Is UT engaging in sign stealing?

This from the UT Students for Debra Medina:

A University of Texas group, Students for Debra Medina, is seeking answers for a stolen campaign sign on campus outside of the Flawn Academic Center, a Travis County early voting location. Group leaders received a phone call Friday evening from Jeff Graves, a University of Texas attorney, saying that he removed the sign. The group has filed a criminal police report with UTPD and acknowledges that the situation could result in the group taking legal action against the perpetrators.

Prior to placing the sign, group leaders conferred with the Texas Secretary of State who confirmed that the University of Texas, being a public institution, could not restrict political sign placement outside of the prescribed limits of a public early voting location. The Texas Election Code section 43.031 states that, “A polling place may not be located in a building … unless electioneering is permitted on the building's premises outside the prescribed limits within which electioneering is prohibited.” Jeff Graves claim that, “[the] sign was placed in violation of the University's rules regarding placement of signs.” However, the group maintains that University’s policy does not supersede state law.

Travis County is dealing with a lot of polling locations asking for no signs to be placed on the private property of said locations (HEB and Randall's stores throughout the city). This is the first I've heard of the Flawn Academic Center requesting the same thing; whose sign was stolen is not the issue, but rather all campaign signs being prohibited that is.

It also bugs me endlessly when the university simply says the sign violated their rules. Which rules? Can you say, exactly, which rule was violated? And can you explain how that rule is in compliance with the law stated?

The University of Texas is increasingly hostile to political electioneering. Remember this incident in October 2008?

Shocking severance package raises concerns

I don't want to steal the whole thing from Voice of the Taxpayer, but you should definitely check out this post about now-former University of North Texas president Gretchen Bataille's outrageous $1 million severance package.

The question is still out there: why is Bataille resigning? Why won't Chancellor Jackson answer this? Taxpayers (and students!) are footing the bill. Why not disclose the truth here?

As VotT puts it, tuition costs and the general cost of higher ed are going up all the time. Could it possibly be because of an utter lack of transparency? We're blissfully unaware of what transpires in university budgets - these state agencies that are subject to no state oversight, and yet beg for more money in each legislative budget cycle and raise tuition rates in the name of competition.

Why Texas conservatives need a Theo Epstein

Full disclosure: I am a Yankees fan. But, above that, I'm a baseball fan. And if there is one thing I appreciate in baseball, or in sports in general, it's good general management. Get a good GM, and you will start seeing things come together. Case in point, Boston's Theo Epstein. Now, again, the 2004 baseball season and World Series rankles me, but the baseball fan in me fully appreciates what the Sox did, and what Theo Epstein accomplished that year as GM. A conversation tonight about my two favorite topics of conversation, politics and baseball, led to an idea.

See, there are a lot of problems for the conservatives in the Texas House of Representatives. Almost all of those problems could be addressed in part by better leadership. And take a look at what's been happening in recent years.

1 - In 2006, conservatives lost committee chairmen, representatives with seniority, and general level-headed leadership. Elvira Reyna (Chair - Local and Consent), Bill Keffer (served on Public Ed and Insurance), Kent Grusendorf (Chair - Public Education), Mary Denny (Chair - Elections), Joe Nixon (Chair - Civil Practices ), Peggy Hamric (Chair - Administration), Terry Keel (Chair - Criminal Jurisprudence), Bob Hunter (Vice Chair - Regulated Industries), Suzanna Gratia-Hupp (Chair - Human Services), and Glenda Dawson (served on Higher Education) all come to mind immediately. (Travis County lost both Todd Baxter and Keel, killing off the last Republican representation for the county in the House - but that's a different conversation). We lost all of these people for varying reasons, from primary and general election challenges and retirement to, in Glenda Dawson's case, death.

2 - The writing was on the wall for Craddick following the 2008 general election, when conservatives further lost key seats (HD 52, 78, 96, 102 all flipped D; HD 73 went to a liberal Republican; Dianne White Delisi, chair of Health and Human Svcs., retired). We were down to a very slim majority, held by the grace of less than 100 votes in one race. The smart and measured move would have been graceful retirement as speaker by Craddick, to cultivate new leadership and move the conservative cause forward in a touchy climate. Instead, a gang of 11 was able to manuever without reference to the body, and conservatives (and Republicans in general) suffered the consequences through loss of committee chairmanships and leadership positions.

3 - In the final weeks of 2009, more conservative leadership and seniority faded away. Joe Crabb, Frank Corte, Carl Isett, Dan Gattis, and David Swinford all made the decision to retire. Gattis was the heir apparent to take conservative leadership to the Senate, but opted instead to leave politics. Corte, Isett, and Swinford startled many with their seemingly abrupt decisions. Furthermore, conservatives in key districts face real challenges, some in the primary, some in the general. Dan Flynn, Betty Brown, Linda Harper-Brown, Rob Orr, for starters.

We can't hold it against anyone for retiring or moving on with their lives, but the point here is that a lot of seniority, and therefore a lot of institutional knowledge and skill, is disappearing from the Republican side of the aisle, specifically the conservative portion of it. Right now the 10 most senior members of the Texas House are Tom Craddick (who is marginalized), Senfronia Thompson (a Democrat), Delwin Jones (a liberal), Al Edwards (a Democrat), Edmund Kuempel (Gang of 11 Republican), Harold Dutton (a Democrat), John Smithee (Craddick R), Rene Oliveira (a Democrat), Sylvester Turner (Craddick D), and Warren Chisum (Craddick R).

This should worry you, if you care at all about getting a good budget passed with minimal tax increases, for instance. The most powerful member of those 10 most senior House members is arguably Rene Oliveira - chair of the Ways and Means committee who has no opponent in the primary or general election (Jones is chair of Redistricting, but has two primary opponents). Smithee and Chisum are likely to stick it out through the 2011 redistricting session, Craddick may do the same. It's unlikely that any of the Democrats listed here will go anywhere unless taken out in an election - and of them, only Al Edwards is vulnerable (and not likely to be replaced by a Republican).

The conservative wing of the Republican Party in the Texas House of Representatives is now left with little collateral. We already do not hold many of the important committee chairmanships that are necessary for furthering our agenda. Furthermore, the speaker seems determined to keep it that way (witness the placement of Oliveira at Ways and Means, and the denial of senior members Warren Chisum and Sylvester Turner at Appropriations in favor of ABC Gang of 11 ringleader Jim Pitts specifically). Get a little deeper, look at the committee chair assignments for the 81st session. You won't find anything encouraging, especially in light of the recent retirements.

A lot rests on the 2010 election cycle. ABC Gang 0f 11 member Brian McCall is retiring, and there's a shot to replace him with a conservative in Van Taylor. McCall's hand-picked successor is liberal local gov't maven Mabrie Jackson, and a tough fight (and three-way primary) is underway there. Gattis, Crabb, Corte, Isett, and Swinford retiring leaves us with another five primary battles, and each one is as precarious as the last. The anti-incumbent movement stemming from the tea party, and the somewhat ominous Republican primary early voting turnout so far (176% over 2006, in the 15 largest counties), means that some of the conservatives facing primary threats (Flynn, Brown, and Orr) could be sweating a lot on March 2.

So what do Theo Epstein and the Boston Red Sox have to do with any of this? Simply this: conservatives need someone with the mentality of a solid, young, creative general manager to navigate the muddy waters. We're losing seniority and there isn't anything we can do about it - retirement is retirement - so we need to look at fresh faces and cultivate leaders from within (Tan Parker and Brandon Creighton both come to mind, as do John Zerwas and Tim Kleinschmidt; some slightly more seasoned help could come from the likes of Ken Paxton, Phil King, and Bill Callegari).

We also need to work on our farm team - by this I mean our staffers. More team-building, more education from the get-go, and why not train them as interns with a goal toward keeping them in the legislature instead of letting them leave after a half-hearted session answering phone calls from angry constituents?

There is, like with the Red Sox, a lot more than just getting a leader in there. We have make sure we're growing and cultivating good leaders. The anti-incumbent crowd gets this wrong. We can't just oust everyone. There are some good people in there who need to be encouraged to stay. I say this because the anti-incumbent movement seems more interested in targeting the good guys (again, Dan Flynn comes to mind, and Betty Brown) than going after the real problems

(specifically the liberal Democrats like Rene Oliveira). We can't build a good team from rookies in the first season. We have to have some veterans in the mix, someone who can tear an Achilles in the middle of the game and keep going.

Election season, for me, is elating and heartburn-inducing all at once, every year. Since 2006, as I watched good conservative Republicans lose races because of over-confidence, apathy, or plain mismanagement, and the party lose seats because members weren't coordinating or even discussing strategy with one another (not to mention the blame-shifting from the Republican Party), and I've been thinking about all of these problems. I don't have all the answers - but wouldn't it be wonderful if, like the traditionally hapless Boston Red Sox, we could admit that the bench needs work and that the bullpen needs depth? Maybe we could have our World Series victory if we could get our act together in the off-season. To do any of this, we need a Theo Epstein.

New TX House select cmte to address transportation funding

Via State Rep. Aaron Pena on Twitter (if you're on Twitter, you should definitely follow him), Speaker Straus has appointed a new select committee to address transportation funding issues. Interesting make-up, to be sure. Big government tax-and-spenders mixed in with some fiscal moderates. The committee's task will be to develop proposals to address transportation funding for the next legislative session (which begins in January 2011).

IMHO, it's a disingenuous statement to claim that the state doesn't have the money for new roads. The state has the money - it's just locked up in other places. TxDoT's accounting practices need to be examined, the diversions in the gas tax lessened or eliminated, and a serious look at the entire state budget needs to happen to determine where money can come from. New money isn't going to happen - and raising taxes in our increasingly bad economy is not an option. I know that Rep. Truitt would like "local option" taxes and fees, but even in a good economy, responsible spending in every area of government has to happen before considering tax hikes (incidentally, when she claims it isn't a tax hike and that it is putting "power" in the hands of voters, think of it this way - she's just pushing the responsibility for tax hikes and fee increases onto shoulders other than the Legislature's. Local government spending and debt is already completely out of control in Texas. We do NOT need to give them more excuses or options for increasing taxing and spending).

So, again, the House Select Committee on Transportation Funding:

State Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman - Chairman

State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin - Vice-Chairman

The Subcommittee on Funding:

State Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo
State Rep. Patricia Harless, R-Spring
State Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi
State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio
State Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso
State Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller

The Subcommittee on Planning and Accountability:

State Representative Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City
State Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas
State Rep. Bill Callegari, R-Katy
State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin
State Rep. Armando "Mando" Martinez, D-Weslaco
State Rep. Wayne Smith, R-Baytown
State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston

Election clerks, judges still needed for Republican Primary March 2

Want to see the democratic process from the inside? Want to serve not only the Republican Party, but Travis County and Austin?

The Travis County Republican Party is in need of several judges, alternate judges, and clerks for the March 2 primary. Training is provided for all positions. The rate of pay is $8.50 an hour for all positions (training is not paid). The hours are 7am to 7pm.

You have to be a registered voter in Travis County to be a judge or alternate judge, and at least 16 years of age and resident of Travis County to be a clerk.

Interested? Call Liz at 512-617-4168.

Plane crash in north Austin

I saw the smoke this morning on my way to the office; I was out running errands and passed by the general area where the crash happened, but from where I was it just looked like a fire. Which was alarming in itself, because there are a lot of apartments and small businesses in that area, not to mention three major highways converge there and the church I used to work at is located in the same parking lot as the building that was hit.

TXDoT is saying that 183 will remain open. It is confirmed that the pilot took off from Georgetown (north of here, in Williamson County).

The Dallas Morning News has a Twitter feed collection of all Austin news sources on this.

Via News8 Austin: The pilot wrote apparent suicide note for the incident at http://bit.ly/czr1nG The text of the note is now online at the Smoking Gun. Please be aware that it is very disturbing and it is still not verified if it is totally legit.

I was really hoping I wouldn't have to say anything, but since the fringe left has already decided this was an act of terrorism by the tea party crowd, just take a moment to read the suicide note and realize that the guy was simply deeply, deeply disturbed. The pilot clearly believed that big business was in collusion with the government, and went off on President Bush. There was nothing remotely "tea party" about what he had to say. Jammie Wearing Fool is dutifully cataloguing the madness and debunking as necessary.

Bill White: Bad for Houston, Bad for Texas

Polling indicates that Bill White, former Houston mayor and former deputy secretary of energy under Clinton, is leading the field for the Democratic nomination for governor. Republicans, conservatives, Tea Party activists, etc., listen up. Whatever happens in our own primary, it is vital that we remember who it is we're really fighting. Bill White is the best the Democrats can do, it seems, and here are some things you need to know about him.

1 - Bill White, while mayor, may have bankrupted the city of Houston. There is some fascinating information to be found on this. Not to mention, White stood against taxpayer protections and reforms in Houston, and rejoiced in finding a way to go around the will of the voters on the issue. From this Houston Chronicle story:

Does the city of Houston have a balanced budget? Like so many things in politics, it depends on whom you ask. For wealthy businessman Bill King or City Councilwoman Pam Holm, the answer is no, since Mayor Bill White’s administration is planning to spend about $50 million more from its general fund in fiscal 2010 than it will take in from taxes and other revenue streams.

2 - Bill White appointed a Planned Parenthood leader to his administration in Houston, and then the city got what may be the world's largest abortion clinic, built by Planned Parenthood. Bill White is no moderate on this or any other issue.

3 - Bill White's message of "Moving Texas Forward" means one thing: if elected governor, White would push us in the same direction as those other paragons of fiscal "responsibility": California, New Jersey, Michigan.

4 - Did you ever hear about Bill White and the downtown Houston developer? Texas Watchdog has a story that might intrigue you.

5 - Bill White and property taxation - the double standard. Sigh. From Bob Lemer's response to a July 30, 2006 Houston Chronicle column about White and oil company property taxes:

"It seems quite odd that White is out beating the bushes for more property tax revenues at a time when he refuses to give back to Houstonians the $8 million by which the city exceeded the mayor's own Prop 1 cap on total property tax revenues in the cap's first fiscal year, 2006. The $8 million violation is per pages II-7 and II-8 of his fiscal 2007 city budget document. That conclusively proves that White's Prop 1 was a fraud upon Houston voters and that he never intended to honor his own words uttered during the Prop 1 campaign."

"FYI, White's residence is taxed at an assessed value of $1,635,799 for 2006, while HCAD states its FMV is $2,895,916 (incredibly, this FMV figure is only 3.3% higher than three years previously). Thus the city is losing out on more than $8,000 in annual property taxes which otherwise might be collected every year from its very own CEO, mayor Bill White."

"The 1415 Louisiana office tower owned by White's old Wedge Group saw its 2000 assessed value continually drop until in 2004 it reached a low of 64.2% of its 2000 assessed value. It has now risen in 2006 to 80.6% of its 2000 assessed value, perhaps as a result of my publicly exposing the previous reductions. Here again, clearly the mayor and HCAD officials owe the public an answer."

"While they are at it, they can answer how the five largest property taxpayers in Houston had lower assessed tax values in 2004 than in 1994."

Disrupt the Narrative has more on why Bill White is bad for Texas.

Early voting locations in Travis County

CENTRAL/ CENTRAL

Travis County Airport Blvd Offices

5501 Airport Blvd

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

Fiesta Mart Central

3909 North IH-35 @ Delwood Shopping Center

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

University of Texas

2400 Inner Campus Drive

Flawn Academic Center Lobby, West Mall, UT Campus

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

Goodwill Industries

701 Newman Dr

Mon–Sat 10 am–7 pm, Sun Noon-6 pm

Lunes–Sab 10 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

NORTH / NORTE

Ben Hur Shriners Hall

7811 Rockwood Lane

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

MT Supermarket

10901 N. Lamar Blvd., Bldg G at Chinatown Center

Mon–Fri 10 am–7 pm, Sat–Sun Closed

Lunes–Viernes 10 am–7 pm, Sab –Dom cerrado

NORTHEAST / NORESTE

County Tax Office, Pflugerville (Community Room)

15822 Foothill Farms Loop

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

Goodwill Industries

1015 Norwood Park Boulevard

Mon–Fri 8 am–7 pm, Sat 9 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Viernes 8 am–7 pm, Sab 9 am–7 pm,

Dom Mediodía –6 pm

NORTHWEST / NOROESTE

Randalls Research and Braker

10900-D Research Boulevard @ Braker Lane

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

HEB Four Points, FM 620 and RR 2222

7301 FM 620 North (temp building in parking lot)

(edificio provisional en el estacionamiento)

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

SOUTH/SUR

HEB South Congress

2400 South Congress (temp building in parking lot)

(edificio provisional en el estacionamiento)

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

Randalls Ben White and Manchaca

2025 West Ben White Boulevard @ Manchaca Road

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

SOUTHEAST / SURESTE

Dan Ruiz Public Library

1600 Grove Blvd

Mon–Thur 10 am–7 pm, Fri Closed, Sat 10 am–5 pm, Sun Closed

Lunes–Jueves 10 am–7 pm, Viernes cerrado, Sab 10 am–5 pm, Dom cerrado

Fiesta Mart Stassney

5510 S. IH-35 @ Stassney

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

SOUTHWEST / SUROESTE

Randalls South Mopac and William Cannon

6600 South Mopac @ William Cannon

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

Randalls Brodie and Slaughter

9911 Brodie Lane @ Slaughter Lane

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

EAST / ESTE

Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center

2608 Gonzales Street @ East 7th

Mon–Fri 10 am–7 pm, Sat 10 am–5 pm, Sun Closed

Lunes–Viernes 10 am–7 pm, Sab 10 am–5 pm, Dom cerrado

Carver Museum

1165 Angelina Street

Mon–Fri 10 am – 6 pm, Sat 1 pm–5 pm, Sun Closed

Lunes–Viernes 10 am–6 pm, Sab 1 pm–5 pm, Dom cerrado

WEST / OESTE

Flagship Randalls at Westlake Hills

3300 Bee Caves Road

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

Randalls Lakeway

2301 RR 620 South

Mon–Sat 7 am–7 pm, Sun Noon–6 pm

Lunes–Sab 7 am–7 pm, Dom Mediodía –6 pm

Texas AFT, teacher union, endorses R and D candidates

Well, this is telling. Frankly, I don't feel real comfortable with a teacher union making an endorsement in, oh, the Land or Ag Commissioner races - neither of those positions make any decisions whatsoever regarding education - and, any group that thinks Bill White has all the answers for education really shouldn't come over and make choices in Republican primaries. And these House race endorsements should definitely give you pause. Here's the list if you're interested:

Governor (Democratic): Bill White
Lieutenant Governor (Democratic): Linda Chavez-Thompson
Attorney General (Democratic): Barbara Ann Radnofsky
Land Commissioner (Democratic): Hector Uribe
Agriculture Commissioner (Democratic): Hank Gilbert

State Board of Education District 5 (Democratic): Rebecca Bell-Metereau, San Marcos
State Board of Education District 5 (Republican): Tim Tuggey, Austin
State Board of Education District 9 (Republican): Thomas Ratliff, Mount Pleasant
State Board of Education District 15 (Republican): Bob Craig, Lubbock

State Senate District 19 (Democratic): Carlos Uresti, San Antonio
State Senate District 22 (Republican): Kip Averitt, Waco
State Senate District 29 (Democratic): Jose Rodriguez, El Paso

State House District 7 (Republican): Tommy Merritt, Longview
State House District 20 (Republican): Stephen Thomas, Cedar Park
State House District 27 (Democratic): Dora Olivo, Missouri City
State House District 39 (Democratic): Armando Martinez, Weslaco
State House District 43 (Democratic): Tara Rios Ybarra, South Padre Island
State House District 45 (Democratic): Patrick Rose, Dripping Springs
State House District 76 (Democratic): Norma Chavez, El Paso
State House District 83 (Republican): Delwin Jones, Lubbock
State House District 84 (Republican): Mark Griffin, Lubbock
State House District 99 (Republican): Charlie Geren, Fort Worth
State House District 127 (Republican): Dan Huberty, Humble

U.S. House District 15 (Democratic): Ruben Hinojosa, Edinburg
U.S. House District 18 (Democratic): Sheila Jackson Lee, Houston
U.S. House District 23 (Democratic): Ciro Rodriguez, San Antonio
U.S. House District 28 (Democratic): Henry Cuellar, Laredo

East Austin Republican Club Candidate Forum, 2/17

Heads-up! The East Austin Republican Club is hosting a candidate forum this Wednesday, 2/17, at 7:00pm at the Travis County Republican Party headquarters (7901 Cameron Rd., Bldg. 3, Suite 202).

Candidates scheduled to appear include Marilyn Jackson (HD 51), Mike McNamara (County Judge), Mary Lou Serafine (SD 14), Melissa Goodwin (Third Court of Appeals), Donna Campbell (CD 25) and more!!

More information here.

Early voting begins tomorrow!!

Early voting begins at 7:00am tomorrow, and those of you in Travis County can vote at any one of the early voting locations if you're registered to vote here.

Take your pick.

Early voting goes until February 26, and both Republicans and Democrats have pretty good lists of candidates to choose from on their respective ballots.

Republicans in Travis County are here. Democrats in Travis County are here.

10th Amendment Town Hall streaming live now

Check it out here. Governor Perry is on at 12:15pm CST.

Texas Conservative Review endorsements

Mostly relevant if you are in Harris County, but Gary Polland does offer up choices for statewide Republican primaries as well.

Interestingly, this marks the first endorsement I've seen for Kay Bailey Hutchison from this kind of group.

Check out the list here.

More endorsements from the Travis County Republican Liberty Caucus

The latest from the Travis County Republican Liberty Caucus (see previous):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Austin, Travis County, Texas.

February 12, 2010

The Travis County Republican Liberty Caucus has endorsed the following candidates for office:

• Joe Petronis for Representative, Congressional District 10
• Melissa Goodwin for Justice, Third Court of Appeals
• Holly Turner for Representative, Texas House District 47
• Ryan Lambert for Representative, Texas House District 50

The Travis County Republican Liberty Caucus is an organization dedicated to preserving and restoring the Country's foundational principles of individual liberty and limited government. It strives to endorse candidates who support these principles. More information on the Travis County Republican Liberty Caucus can be found at www.tcrlc.org.

McGuinness gains key endorsements

From the Patrick McGuinness campaign:

Patrick McGuinness, candidate for State Representative district 50, garnered the endorsement of the Central Texas Republican Assembly (CTRA) on Tuesday, February 9th. This endorsement success follows on the heels of three other key organization endorsements for Patrick McGuinness in recent weeks: Young Conservatives of Texas, Empower Texans, and Texas Alliance for Life PAC have all endorsed Patrick McGuinness for State Representative, District 50, for the Republican primary.

McGuinness is also winning the sign war among Republicans in the HD 50 area of Travis County.

He faces off with opponent Ryan Lambert on March 2, and the winner of that race will face down Democrat incumbent Mark Strama in November.

R.I.P. Charlie Wilson

My husband got to meet former Congressman Charles Wilson in December of 2008. He managed to get a picture with this legendary gentleman of East Texas, which I've included below.

Sad to learn of Congressman Wilson's passing this week. Our prayers are with his family.

This is why I am involved

If you haven't ever seen HBO's Iron Jawed Angels, well, you should rectify that. Especially if you are a woman. Of any political persuasion. Some days I need a reminder - why do I do what I do? Why do I care at all?

Maybe it's feminist of me and I don't care. I do what I do because the women (and men) who came before me worked so that I could. I feel as passionately about this as I do about the liberties fought for in the Revolution (both of them).

This is a music video made from clips of the film. Don't worry - the only spoiler you need to worry about is that we won.

Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault

Now, if you watched that, and you're registered to vote, you better show up at the polls. Early voting starts February 16 for the Democratic and Republican primaries.

I don't have patience for apathy.

Feb 28 enrollment deadline for prepaid tuition

REALLY IMPORTANT! News courtesy of State Rep. Ken Paxton:

Enrollment Deadline Nears for Prepaid College Tuition Program

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs recently released a reminder that families have until February 28 to lock in college tuition and required fees at current rates for our State's public colleges.

The State’s pre-paid college tuition program allows families to prepay for undergraduate tuition and required fees. They can prepay for a four-year degree, a two-year degree or for just a few classes or semesters. The prices based on 2009–10 academic year costs for the State’s public colleges are as follows:

• Type I units, priced for tuition and required fees for up to the most expensive public four-year school in Texas, cost $103.40 per unit.
• Type II units, priced at the weighted average of tuition and required fees across all Texas public four-year schools, cost $71.75 per unit.
• Type III units, priced at the weighted average cost of tuition and required fees across all Texas public two-year schools, cost $17.78 per unit.

Under the plan, 100 units equal one academic year of tuition and required fees. Families can buy up to six years (600 units) worth of undergraduate education. The plan offers several payment options, including lump-sum payments, pay-as-you go or the installment payment option, which includes an annual interest rate.

While benefits are geared toward Texas public colleges and universities, the plan value can also be used toward the cost of private or out-of-state schools. Unused units can be transferred to another qualified beneficiary or refunded.

After February 28, the Texas Tuition Promise fund will close enrollment until September, when the program will re-open with new contract prices based on college costs for the 2010-11 academic year.

For information about the prepaid tuition program, including a college cost calculator, go to www.TuitionPromise.org or call (800) 445-GRAD (4723).

ABC News: Bill Clinton hospitalized

It's all over Twitter. ABC News is reporting that former President Bill Clinton has been hospitalized in New York.

Prayers going out for him and his family.

More details coming....

Medina on Beck - how about we run those polls again?

Check out Twitter right now; a search on @debmedina shows a lot of reaction, some of it pretty damning to the campaign, to Medina's appearance on Glenn Beck's radio program today.

What happened? Beck asked Medina about the rumors that she's a "9/11 Truther" (someone who believes that the 9/11/2001 attacks were orchestrated by the U.S. government), and she didn't outright deny it. I say this is damning because, well, Medina has been doing well in the polls in the last week, and a lot of the undecideds may hear this and think twice.

Didn't hear it? Check it out here.

UPDATE: Medina has issued a statement, which amounts to "I am not now, nor have I ever been, a 9/11 Truther." Click to read the whole thing.

UPDATE 2: Governor Perry responds, via Lone Star Report. "President Bush worked tirelessly to protect our nation from additional terrorist attacks and anyone who would suggest 9/11 is a conspiracy involving the Bush administration should be ashamed."

UPDATE 3: Senator Hutchison chimes in, via PoliTex. "I know exactly who was responsible for the horrific attacks on September 11th – Al Qaeda terrorists who declared war on America. To suggest otherwise is an affront to the men and women who are sacrificing their lives to root out the terrorists in Afghanistan and around globe." Hutch's campaign is also making calls today to voters exposing what Glenn Beck said about Perry last week.

(H/T Kathleen McKinley, Michelle Malkin, Texas Tribune, Austin American-Statesman, National Review Online, The Right Scoop, and Twitter users)

Bataille resigns as UNT president

Didn't expect this.

Dallas Morning News story.

Be sure to read the comments. And no, I have not commented on that thread.

Past:

Ridiculous salaries for public employees

Economy slows, university presidents' salaries grow

UNT gets in the taxpayer-funded lobbying business - for TLOTA

Educrats for Mabrie Jackson

The latest is in from the Texas Parent PAC - they're endorsing local gov't proponent Mabrie Jackson in the open seat being vacated by State Rep. Brian McCall (HD 66). This is in Plano, in north Texas, for those watching at home.

Jackson's opponent, Van Taylor, has the support of fiscal conservatives (Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Young Conservatives of Texas, and Cong. Jeb Hensarling, among others). The other candidate in the race is local businessman Wayne Richard.

Texas Tribune's Reeve Hamilton did a great write-up of this race here.

Another poll: Perry ahead with 49%, Medina at 19%

Texas Credit Union League Poll of Texas Primary Voters has been released, and the results are pretty different from other polls we've seen in the last 24 hours. Perry at 49, KBH at 27, and Medina at 19.

Again, this is of just 400 likely Republican primary voters, so take it as you will.

More interesting things from this poll, emphasis mine regarding Republican legislative races:

• In a hypothetical run-off between Perry and Hutchison, the Governor prevails handily 58% to 34%.
• 62% of Republican primary voters say they are “much more” (36%) or “somewhat more” (26%) likely to support a candidate who considers themselves to be a “tea-party” activist.
• The poll indicates that incumbents of either party should not take this election for granted if they have an opponent, the lead for incumbents is remarkably low.
• For state legislators, Democratic primary voters prefer the incumbent to a challenger by a 39% to 29% margin (a 10 point spread), with 32% undecided.
• Republican state legislative incumbents, voters prefer the incumbent to a challenger, 44% GOP incumbent to 37% GOP challenger ( a 7 point spread), with 20% undecided.
• 76% of Democratic primary voters and 65% of Republican voters say they would be “much more likely” or “somewhat more likely” to support a public supporter of credit unions.

Well, there you go.

Collin County poll has Hutchison, Medina tied

More news on the polling front. Paul Burka is saying there's a Collin County poll with Perry at 43, and Hutchison and Medina virtually tied at 22 (the difference was .7 between them). No details on the poll beyond the sample (300 likely Republican voters).

So, yesterday's PPP poll showed Medina at 24, versus Hutchison's 28. Today we get a smaller poll, in the solidly Republican turf in Collin County, showing Medina and Hutchison much closer.

It is looking more and more like we could be talking about a Medina/Perry runoff, and this has to have Hutchison's camp scratching their heads. Though, if all you have to say about your candidate is that she isn't Rick Perry, you really have to expect that all candidates who aren't Rick Perry have an equal shot.

Medina's surge is impressive, and Burka's read on the race (he predicts that if Medina can raise $2 million, she'll be the next governor) has been pretty wise to date.

In my post on the PPP poll, Greg commented that it isn't a question of whether Republicans unite behind a candidate, it's whether we enthusiastically unite. Which is an excellent point. In 2008, on the national level, until Sarah Palin got in the race, we had a lot of apathy, a lot of "at least he's not Obama" moaning. Even yours truly felt pretty ambivalent about getting behind John McCain. But the lesson we ought to take from 2008 is that we can't afford (literally!) to not put as much energy as possible into defeating the liberal Democrat in a race. I am very much not in the camp that thinks the best thing to happen to the Republican Party is Barack Obama - because I'm in the camp that thinks the worst thing to happen to AMERICANS is Barack Obama. I feel much the same way about the possibility of electing Bill White in November. Worst possible outcome for TEXANS.

Remember, the Democrat answer to every problem is always the same: MORE GOVERNMENT.

But the elephant in the room (excuse the expression) that the ambivalent Republican voters who aren't sure what they would do in November keep not mentioning is redistricting.

I know that it may not matter to many, but if Republicans want to make sure that the Obama Justice Department, and the liberal entrenched Democrats in Texas, don't have control over the redistricting map and draw many of our good members into electoral oblivion, we need to elect a Republican governor. And more importantly, a Republican Texas House of Representatives.

Also, I've heard a lot of people, all over the Republican primary gubernatorial support field, say they want to get rid of local property taxes. Great, fine, I'm with you there. But if you elect a Democrat governor, and consequently a Democrat state House, through your apathy? Watch your dreams of eliminating the property tax become the institution of a truly regressive statewide income tax.

That's just for starters, and if you need me to spend every blog post between now and November writing about the reasons why less than enthusiastic support for candidate for governor will damage Texas, don't worry - that's the general plan.

You may not "enthusiastically" support Perry or Medina or Hutchison come the fall. Fine. But don't let your non-enthusiasm damage your full-throated support for Republicans down-ballot.

So do I think that "Gov. Gardasil" (or for that matter, "Gov. Nationalist" or "Gov. Washington") is better than a Democrat?

You bet your freedom-loving rear-end I do.

Central Texas Republican Assembly endorses in R primary races

The Central Texas Republican Assembly released their endorsements in select Travis County and surrounding area races this morning.

The CTRA endorsements for the 2010 Primary are as follows (“I” indicates Incumbent):

• Patrick McGuinness for Texas House of Representatives, District 50
• Ken Mercer (I) for Texas State Board of Education, District 5
• Michael T. McCaul (I) for U.S. House of Representatives, District 10
• Lamar Smith (I) for U.S. House of Representatives, District 21
• Donna Campbell for U.S. House of Representatives, District 25

From the press release:

The CTRA is one of six chartered chapters of the Texas Republican Assembly (TXRA), which itself is affiliated with the National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA). Cast in the mold of President Ronald Reagan, the Assemblies aspire to remain the “Republican Wing of the Republican Party”, meaning they consider themselves to be fiscal and social conservatives and they seek to endorse candidates who they consider are fiscal and social conservatives.

Regarding the endorsement process, Bradberry said, “Many candidates seek our endorsement. To get that endorsement they present themselves to the membership at forums, undergo scrutiny by an endorsement committee and ultimately must garner the votes of two-thirds of the members at an endorsement meeting.”

Bradberry also said, “In the Primary we identify and support conservatives. We wholeheartedly back the candidates we endorse. In the General Election we support the Republicans, meaning that the CTRA will respect the will of the Republicans who vote in the Primary even if our endorsed candidate is not the chosen one. After all, we are Republicans.”

Austin Comprehensive Plan feedback due March 1

From the City of Austin:

Deadline near for Meeting-in-a-Box sessions

The deadline for Austin residents to participate in the Imagine Austin comprehensive planning process by hosting their own Meeting-in-a-Box is quickly approaching, with March 1 being the last day to return completed materials to the City.

Meeting-in-a-Box allows community members to conduct their own small meetings, compile their vision of Austin’s future and send their findings to the City. These findings will assist the City in determining how Austin grows, spends and conserves its resources.

Participants simply request a Meeting-in-a-Box package; invite friends, coworkers, neighbors or other associates; and walk through the Imagine Austin exercise. The Meeting-in-a-Box package contains an invitation, script, questions and directions for returning the results.

Those wanting a Meeting-in-a-Box package from the City must pick it up by Feb. 19 at One Texas Center, located at 505 Barton Springs Rd., 5th floor. Contact Kathleen Fox at (512) 974-7877 or kathleen.fox@ci.austin.tx.us to arrange for a kit.

Meeting-in-a-Box materials can also be downloaded online from the City’s Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan Web site at www.cityofaustin.org/compplan/getmeeting.htm

Approximately 200 Meeting-in-a-Box participant responses have been received.

Contact:
Larry Schooler, Communications and Public Information Office, (512) 974-6004
Kyle Carvell, Communications and Public Information Office, (512) 974-2220

PPP poll: Could it be a Perry/Medina runoff?

By now you probably have heard, Public Policy Polling released results that seem to give Debra Medina a much higher chance of radically affecting the Republican gubernatorial primary - so much so that, if the trend is real and continues, she could push Hutchison out of contention and force a runoff - a Perry/Medina runoff. The PPP only polled 423 likely Republican primary voters, but the margin of error accounts for what we're seeing on a larger scale in other polls, and I don't think what we're seeing in the PPP results is outside the realm of possibility.

So. Could it be? Great question. And the bigger question, surely, is that if Debra Medina were to pull this off, will the Republican Party unite behind her?

Personally, I think the poll shows one important thing - Hutchison's negative campaigning is not really helping her or hurting Perry. Instead, the anti-Perry rhetoric is making undecideds who aren't predisposed toward supporting Perry take a hard look at Medina, whose rhetoric has been conservative and consistent (if not a wee bit on the radical side). I say this doesn't hurt Perry because poll after poll, he comes in pretty consistently - his support is holding steady. I don't think most of the votes Medina and Hutchison are jockeying for were ever Perry's. It's just a matter of how Medina and Hutchison split the remaining vote, and will either of them draw a significant number of new Republican primary voters to push a runoff (or win outright).

The Anybody-But-Perry vote is unpredictable, and the PPP poll shows that it is still up in the air. All we can do is speculate. And, of course, vote, beginning next Tuesday.

(Given that liberal Bill White is the likely Democrat nominee in November, I really really hope we can all put our differences behind us. A smart Republican friend of mine is fond of saying that we get three days to lick our wounds and mourn our primary loss, and then we link arms and move forward - I think that's more than generous. And I want to make it clear now - I will support WHOMEVER comes out of the Republican primary)

Is the Bicycle Boulevard Project in trouble?

Gosh, I hope so.

The Travis County Sheriff's office claims that the letter Sheriff Greg Hamilton wrote to Police Chief Art Acevedo is not proof that the sheriff is against the Bicycle Boulevard Project, which is planned to run from 3rd Street to MLK, Jr. Blvd. But the sheriff is reminding people, that's a dangerous area.

Full story over at KVUE. Meanwhile, some of us hope that the sheriff's concerns do torpedo the plan - we're just asking for more accidents and more traffic issues in Austin.

Lago Vista Republicans endorse in primary

The North Shore Republican Club in Lago Vista has released 2010 primary endorsements. Those are:

U.S. Representative, District 21: Lamar Smith

Governor: Rick Perry

Railroad Commisioner: Victor Carrillo

Justice Supreme Court Place 3: Rick Green

Justice Supreme Court Place 5: Eva Guzman

State Board of Education, District 10: Brian Russell

Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals, Place 4: Scott King Field

More Educrat PAC endorsements

Some updates on Texas Parent PAC primary endorsements. There is not a running list anywhere that I can find; I found the information below from other blogs like Off the Kuff, candidates' websites, and Ethics Commission reports. Hard to say if and when they'll announce more endorsements. I previously wrote briefly about their endorsement of Thomas Ratliff for SBOE Place 9.

Richard "Link" Linkenauger - In addition to the Texas Parent PAC endorsement (presumably because he is in favor of throwing money at education), Linkenauger has received the endorsement of several local government officials in HD 2 and is advocating for local option tax increases. Linkenauger is running against proven conservative incumbent Rep. Dan Flynn.

Tim Tuggey - Tuggey is running for SBOE Place 5 against incumbent Ken Mercer, and has come under fire from Republicans for donations to prominent liberal Democrats. Parent PAC's endorsement here, in addition to their support of Ratliff, raises a question about the PAC's connections to the electronic textbook lobby. More digging on this is necessary, but it is clear from the PAC's record of endorsements what kind of candidate they'd be looking for in the SBOE.

Rebecca Osborne - This is Cynthia Dunbar's open seat, SBOE Place 10, and a three-way primary between Osborne, Marsha Farney, and Brian Russell. Osborne received $1000 from the Parent PAC on 1/12/10, according to Texas Ethics Commission filings - so far, the only other candidate to receive money from the PAC is Thomas Ratliff over in SBOE 9.

I'll try to update this list, in a new post, as information becomes available.

Why aren't primary ballot props binding?

I had a comment from Michael earlier, stating the following:

"And that being said, that is the problem for the Republican Party. More poles [sic], please contribute, but no proposal for a Texas Constitutional Amendment. That is why so many party and ex-party members are so un-enthused and looking for independents not the party for a hope of change. If the party were serious they would have this at the poles as a petition to put this on the election ballot. We see no bold action only rhetoric. No contract with America only fingers in the wind of popular opinion."

I think that some clarification is in order.

First of all, the primary election is simply a process by which Republicans and Democrats choose their candidates for the general elections held in November. When we choose a candidate in the primary, we are not electing that candidate, we are simply putting their name forward in nomination for the party's place on the November ballot.

What goes on the March primary ballots is important mostly for the parties. But both parties have mechanisms for creating and amending their platforms that are separate from the primary election - that's what happens at the conventions, starting at the precinct level and going up to the state convention. In terms of having petitions - issues that can be brought forward for elections by petitions are very small in number, and this is in the law. City charter issues come to mind. But take the Texas Constitution - in order to change it in any way, a bill must go through the Texas Legislature and be brought to the voters through that process. Same goes for the U.S. Constitution. A republic is meant to handle things in this way - it's what your elected officials are for. And I can't help but recommend that a concerned citizen with a petition for a local grievance would do best by showing up at precinct conventions, club meetings, and the like to speak out and gain support for a petition.

There is a misconception here, I think, about the role the party actually plays in setting an agenda. We want, and need, a conservative platform from which candidates can gain the basis for positions on issues that are not expressly spelled out in the U.S. Constitution or other governing documents. The ballot propositions on the primary ballot allow the Republican party to gauge very specific interest in certain issues - with critical numbers of primary voters, who represent the grassroots of the party, supporting or not supporting the issues on the ballot, it is much more clear not only to the committees forming the platform but also the candidates chosen what the major issues are in the districts they are chosen to represent.

It is totally up to the candidates the voters choose as the party's representatives in the primary process to set an agenda. The Contract with America pushed by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich wasn't a party platform plank but a legislative agenda totally separate from voters' decision-making processes (elections). If you want a specific agenda pushed or opposed, you need to choose candidates who will do that.

The party's function is to provide a jumping-off point for its elected officials' agendas, and an organizational structure by which those candidates are elected.

I am a little disturbed by something lately. Independent grassroots activists who disparage the party seem to want a monolithic entity to enact their causes and beliefs - not seeing that their continued separation from the party structure means they throw away the best mechanism for promoting their agenda. The message that we don't need top-down organization is a good one - but you still need SOME organization, and it only works if the grassroots, the people, actually involve themselves in the process at every step. Apathy, and unchanneled anger, don't work and never have.

If you have an issue you want addressed by the government - well, these are YOUR elected officials we're talking about, whether or not you voted for them. Call them, show up at their offices and speak with their staffs, make sure you are speaking out about what it is you want. And get to know the process for petitioning, and for getting your legislators to introduce legislation.

And if you want the Republican Party to know whether or not the issues in the March 2 ballot propositions matter to you, show up and VOTE in the Republican Primary!

Republican Assembly endorsing convention results

The Texas Republican Assembly met on February 6 to make endorsements in statewide races and races not covered by individual Republican Assembly chapters (currently: Dallas County, Tarrant County, Denton County, Williamson County, Concho/Tom Green Counties [Concho Valley Republican Assembly], Travis/Hays/Bastrop Counties [Central Texas Republican Assembly]).

The following decisions were made. "No Endorsement" means that the group did not achieve a 2/3 vote for any candidate. We do not release the exact numbers in these races. If a race is not listed, it is because it was not considered by the body. Central Texas Republican Assembly will have an endorsement meeting this week, covering Travis County races and CD 21, CD 25, CD 10, and SBOE 5.

Governor: No endorsement.
Railroad Commissioner: Victor Carrillo
TX Supreme Court Place 3: No endorsement.
TX Supreme Court Place 9: Eva Guzman
State Board of Education Place 9: Don McElroy

State House of Representatives District 2: Dan Flynn
State House of Representatives District 4: Betty Brown
State House of Representatives District 7: David Simpson
State House of Representatives District 11: Michael Banks

Williamson/Central Texas/Concho Valley caucused to consider one race and made the following endorsement:

Third Court of Appeals Place 4: No endorsement

Williamson/Central Texas caucused to consider one race and made the following endorsement:

State Board of Education Place 10: Brian Russell

More on March 2 Ballot Propositions

On March 2, Republican primary voters will have the opportunity to vote on five ballot propositions. There are some things you need to know about these propositions, especially in light of information being passed around via email right now.

1 - These propositions are not binding on any entity. They are ways for the Republican Party in Texas to get specific feedback on issues that the State Republican Executive Committee deems important. These propositions are NOT laws or constitutional amendments and will not affect any entity of government.

2 - Only the Republicans have propositions on the ballot. The Democratic ballot does not include any propositions.

3 - There are five ballot propositions for Republicans to vote on. Those are available to read on the sample ballot your county provides (click here for Travis County .pdf file), on the complete statewide list provided by the Texas Secretary of State, and also on the Travis County Republican Party website. I also listed them out in a previous blog post.

4 - It appears that the controversy, or curiosity, is centered on Proposition 4. It reads:

Proposition 4: The use of the word God, prayers, and the Ten Commandments should be allowed at public gatherings and public educational institutions, as well as be permitted on government buildings and property.

I want to stress one more time - and please tell everyone you know - that this is a NON-BINDING proposition. If it passes it will not become law, it will simply give the Republican Party an idea of what Republicans want elected officials to focus on.

RPT Chair race getting interesting

Steve Munisteri, a candidate for chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, just finished addressing the Texas Republican Assembly, and Russ Duerstine, campaign chairman for Tom Mechler, also addressed the convention. Current chairman Cathie Adams addressed the convention during lunch (she was appointed by the SREC to fill a vacancy left by former chairman Tina Benkiser, who resigned last fall).

This post is just FYI. The Republican Party of Texas will vote in this race at the state convention in Dallas, June 11-12.

Want to have a say? Vote REPUBLICAN on March 2, show up for your precinct convention and become a delegate to your senatorial district or county convention, and get nominated as a delegate to the state convention. Hope to see you there!

Does Fort Worth ever cross your mind?

Spending today at the Texas Republican Assembly endorsing convention in Fort Worth. Right now, State Senator Jane Nelson (R-Lewisville - YAY, HOMETOWN!!!) is speaking about the need for spending restraint in Texas and at the federal level.

She's also talking about redistricting - and how important the legislative and statewide races are to that. People keep wondering why I'm concerned about making sure we have a Republican majority in the Texas House. Aside from the dozens of issues that depend very much on that, the fight over state and Congressional redistricting in 2011 is a crucial reason why (I assure you, it will be a fight, and Senator Nelson is reminding us of that right now).

EDITED TO ADD: Senator Nelson just told the Texas Republican Assembly that Young Conservatives of Texas has great legislative ratings for people to start figuring out where their state legislators stand on the issues. Check out ratings from the 2009 session here.

Ilya Somin on Eggers and O'Leary: Libertarians and Government

Deeply interesting debate happening right now, concerning whether libertarians ought to learn to "love" government. It started over here at Reason, with the article "Five Reasons Why Libertarians Shouldn't Hate Government". The Library of Economics and Liberty's Bryan Caplan responded, and so did Isabel Archer. Ilya Somin brought together a lot of this over at Volokh Conspiracy (the best policy blog you probably haven't read before).

Frankly, I'm just playing messenger. I don't want anyone to love government. I'll settle for people learning to accept politics. Either way, I think we can only take the necessary sledgehammer to things we don't like if we do some heavy lifting first.

Meh. Just enjoy the links above. I'm cranky because I have been dealing with local government bureaucracies and trying to drum up the sleepy, complacent masses into a victory-hungry fury. Believe it or not these things are more related than one would think.

March 2 - NO Constitutional Amendments, JUST Ballot Propositions

Hey EVERYONE. I noticed I got about 53 hits just in the last 24 hours on a post I made concerning Proposition 4 on the November 4, 2009 ballot. That was a constitutional amendment election and Prop. 4 was one of the eleven constitutional amendments that passed in November.

Gang, there are NO constitutional amendments on the March 2 ballot. Really. I promise.

You can find out what IS on the ballot at the Secretary of State's website. Or, if you live in Travis County, you can find out what's on the ballot here.

On the Republican ballot only, there are five ballot propositions that are the Republican Party's way of gauging the importance of certain issues to Republican voters. These ARE NOT constitutional amendments. NONE of them relate to Proposition 4 dealing with Tier One universities.

These are the propositions on the Republican primary ballot (which are binding on no entity):

Proposition 1: The Texas legislature should make it a priority to protect the integrity of our election process by enacting legislation that requires voters to provide valid photo identification in order to cast a ballot in any and all elections conducted in the State of Texas.

Proposition 2: Every government body in Texas should be required to limit any annual increase in its budget and spending to the combined increase of population and inflation unless it first gets voter approval to exceed the allowed annual growth or in the case of an official emergency.

Proposition 3: In addition to aggressively eliminating irresponsible federal spending, Congress should empower American citizens to stimulate the economy by Congress cutting federal income taxes for all federal taxpayers, rather than spending hundreds of billions of dollars on so-called “federal economic stimulus”.

Proposition 4: The use of the word “God”, prayers, and the Ten Commandments should be allowed at public gatherings and public educational institutions, as well as be permitted on government buildings and property.

Proposition 5: The Texas Legislature should enact legislation requiring a sonogram to be performed and shown to each mother about to undergo a medically unnecessary, elective abortion.

Activist Training, Feb. 20

If (and ONLY if) you aren't spending your Saturdays blockwalking for candidates in Travis County, I highly recommend the following training session.

But if you are supporting a candidate - or if you ARE a candidate - in a contested Republican primary, you better be blockwalking on Feb. 20. And every other available day between now and March 2.

American Majority is holding an Activist/Candidate Training in the Austin Area on Saturday, February 20th. The event will be held from 10am - 3pm at the Texas Capitol Extension Auditorium in room E1.004. The registration table will open at 9:30am. Public parking is available.

Topics Include:

* Building Coalitions and Reaching Your Community
* Utilizing New Media to Promote Freedom
* Hardwiring Your Precinct
* Building an Effective Candidacy

The event will cost $10 if you pre-register and $20 at the door. Registration includes resources and training. Lunch will not be provided, please bring your own.

Online pre-registration is strongly encouraged to insure that your seat is reserved! (Click Here to register) Space is limited and seats are expected to fill quickly.

American Majority is a non-profit, non-partisan organization committed to empowering citizens, activists, and candidates with the necessary tools to successfully engage the political process furthering the cause of individual liberty and limited government. American Majority believes that all change begins on the local level. This training will equip citizens to be an active voice for change in their communities and the nation.