I Guess They Haven’t Seen Mark Williams’ Commercials

In a year when Tommy Merritt has been called everything including a do-nothing legislator and Roy Blake, Jr. has even mentioned James Leininger–by name–in a radio commercial, some people in the GOP are actually pissed off about the “tone” of one of their primaries.
Down in CD 17, the Waco Tribune reports, Republican leaders are gosh darned upset about the tone of the Congressional Primary between Van Taylor and Tucker Anderson, both of whom sound like characters from Walt Disney Movies:

Recent negative TV commercials from both sides before Tuesday’s primary election are angering GOP leaders who had lobbied for a less combative race.

…

Republican Party leaders across the district had hoped both candidates would avoid personal attacks and most leaders say Anderson shoulders the responsibility for taking the race negative.

…

McLennan County GOP leader M.A. Taylor, no relation to Van Taylor, said Anderson has been campaigning negatively the whole race. Taylor has not endorsed a candidate in the race, but urged county voters not to support negative campaigners.

“The first time I met Tucker, he was talking about Taylor moving into the district with his big bankroll trying to buy a congressional seat. That was happening last spring,” M.A. Taylor said. “That just turns me off.”

M.A. Taylor said Anderson’s argument won’t have merit because Edwards repeatedly moved to run for Congress.

“I don’t think residency is an issue in this campaign because Chet moved three times. He moved from Dallas to College Station to run for Congress. He moved to Duncanville to run for state Senate and from Duncanville to Waco to run for Congress,” M.A. Taylor said.

Brazos County Republican Party Chairman David Kent said Anderson “started it and both of them are doing it now.”

Good thing they’re talking about negative campaigning and not pot smoking or something, or this race would have the makings of a great After School Special.
And, what are these two young whippersnappers fighting about, well, residency and property taxes, it seems:

Anderson, who has repeatedly highlighted Taylor’s lack of roots in the district, is now on the receiving end of criticism as Taylor questions Anderson’s residency and campaign style in recent ads.

Ads released Wednesday suggest Anderson is not paying taxes on the Calvert home where he lives about 50 miles southeast of Waco and claim Anderson has used newspaper letters-to-the-editor written by liberals to promote his campaign.

Anderson, who is a former congressional staffer running on his roots in the district, said the Taylor ads make it appear like he is not paying property taxes while he is renting a home owned by his parents.

Anderson showed a tax bill and a deed for a separate Calvert ranch he owns with his brother at a Waco news conference Wednesday and accused Taylor’s campaign of using “falsehoods” to confuse voters.

Now, if he had cried, his wife had given a tearful demand to “stop telling lies about her husband,” and he had filed a lawsuit, I’d have been impressed.

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