Capitol Annex Readers’ Choice Best & Worst Of 2006

The voting is over and you have spoken: Capitol Annex readers—several hundred readers, in fact—have decided what people and events from 2006 make up the “Best & Worst” of one of the most bizarre years in Texas political history.

All winners selected below may feel free to take the logo at left and put it on their websites or blogs. I’ll do a separate graphic for nominees runners up, honorable mentions and finalists later that will be “blog sized.”

Now, a word on the results. Please keep in mind that, in the first round, people were asked to make nominations. The people/blogs/commercials/etc. with the most nominations made it to the finals. In some categories, in particular the blog categories, there were some very close votes and even ties which resulted in more finalists than in some categories.

For today’s results, there are “Winners” in all categories, “Runner Ups” in most categories, and “honorable mentions” in some categories. Runners up received the second highest number of votes; in instances where voting was very close, “honorable mentions” received the third highest number of votes.

So, without further DeLay (ha, ha, ha ha ha, fa la la la la, la la la la), here are the winners:

Best Frequently Used Quote By A Candidate: During the 2006 election cycle, one slogan stood out to our voters above all others. In fact, it stood out to a lot of people: even a sports columnist borrowed it in one of his columns. The winner? None other than Texas’ own progressive populist firebrand, David Van Os, Democratic Nominee for Attorney General for his memorable, “Fight Them Till Hell Freezes Over, Then Fight Them On The Ice!”. Runner Up: Democratic Gubernatorial Nominee Chris Bell’s frequent use of “Texas has become the ‘Thank God for Mississippi state,’” or some variety thereof.

Best Candidate Website: During Texas’ last gubernatorial contest in 2002, the word “blog” had not yet come into common usage. This year, however, you were hard-pressed to find a candidate who didn’t have one. There were some great political candidate websites this year. And, even Rick Perry’s campaign started blogging (without an immediate Armageddon following). But, for Capitol Annex Readers, the winner in this category was far and away Democratic Gubernatorial Nominee Chris Bell’s ChrisBell.com. Runner Up: Hank Gilbert, Democratic Nominee for Agriculture Commissioner. Honorable Mention: U.S. Senate Nominee Barbara Ann Radnofsky’s Radnofsky.com, complete with that issue chart (which itself was complete with more footnotes than a church organ).

Best Political Advertisement Exhibiting A Political Candidate In A Positive Light: I must admit, the winner in this category somewhat surprised me. I liked the ad in question, but I know some felt it was a little “off beat.” However, it’s that off beat, unique style that earned “Think Big“ by the Chris Bell for Governor Campaign the winning spot (far and away) in this category. Runner Up: The runner-up spot in this category goes to a spot that was very illuminating and touching at the same time—“Daughters” by Mary Beth Harrell for Congress, produced by Rindy Miller Media.

Best Negative Political Advertisement Of 2006: This was a category in which voting was very close. It’s interesting, too, that ads by Republicans received enough initial nominations to make it into the finals. This is a testament to the fact that blog readers, as political activists and media savvy folk, recognize that even though a negative ad may sometimes hurt a Democratic candidate, there are simply some negative advertisements that are out of the ordinary and not at all typical. Winner: “Sick” by Chris Bell for Governor. This ad truly summed up much of what is wrong with the Perry administration. Runner Up: “Mr. Way Too Liberal For Texas Guy“ by Texans for Rick Perry. Let’s face it: we have a love-hate relationship with this ad. It’s terribly misleading, but it is also funny. Ripping off the “Bud Light ‘Real Men of Genius’ ad campaign was pretty funny, even though I cussed my car radio using about half a dozen nasty cuss words the first time I heard this ad. And, it’s an effectively produced concept. In fact, similar ads were run in the race for Minnesota governor. Honorable Mention: “DeLay’s Dollars,” an interactive Web-based game, by Nick Lampson for Congress.

Worst Political Advertisement of 2006: Voting was even closer in this category. In fact, less than one percentage point separated places each one through four from each other. Winner: “Protecting Texas Children,” by Texans for Greg Abbott. I suspect that a large part of the voting for this ad was based on the allegations that it used video shot by AG’s office employees, making it one of the most controversial ads of the election cycle. Runner Up: The runner-up spot goes to one of the two most tasteless ads produced this election cycle by any candidate in Texas, “Say No To The Tax Lady,” by Martha Wong’s State Rep. campaign in HD 134. Let’s face it: making fun of Canadians is hilarious on South Park, but tacky, tacky, tacky in a political ad. Also, the fact that a man’s mouth was superimposed over Ellen Cohen’s mouth; the fact that the faux Ellen Cohen sounds more like a character from the motion picture Fargo than a Canadian; and the fact that Big Ben is not, in fact, a Canadian landmark all add to the many, many problems (not to mention lies) in this ad. Runner Up: The runner up in this category goes to possibly the single-most tasteless and misleading ad of the entire election cycle, “Ciro & The Shiek,” also sometimes called “The Ciro Rodriguez Summitt” by Henry Bonilla for Congress. Watch this ad and you’ll see why.

Best Attention-Getting Tactic Or Slogan By A Candidate: The 2006 election cycle was full of great attention-getting tactics and sloagns. Readers judged as the best, however AG Candidate David Van Os’s slogan combined with an attention getting tactic, “Notice to Big Oil: I’m Coming After You!” Billboards. Runner Up: While other candidates received nominations across numerous categories, no candidate (or their ad or tactic) was actually competing against their own campaign in the finals…except David Van Os. His 254-County Whistle Stop Tour garnered the votes to land the runner-up spot in this category. Not only was it an attention getter, but it’s a great “earned media” concept and something that more candidates should seriously consider. Honorable Mention: One of the most blogged-about things of the election cycle was Chris Bell’s discussions about electric rates and the Governor’s Mansion Electric Bill. It was a reader favorite as well.
Biggest Upset Of 2006: From the Primaries to the General Election, ‘06 was a year of upsets. Which upset was the “Biggest,” however, is a tough call, hence another close race. However, Juan Garcia’s General Election defeat of Gene Seaman in House District 32 is what readers judged as the Biggest Upset of 2006. Runner Up: The HD 94 Republican Primary upset of Dianne Patrick over Kent Grusendorf, for which no small amount of credit goes to Texas Parent PAC. Honorable Mention: In House District 85, Republicans thought they had a “sure thing” when former Speaker Pete Laney announced he was retiring in redder-than-red West Texas. However, Joe Heflin’s defeat of Jim Landtroop was judged by readers as upset-worthy.

Biggest Political News Story of 2006: Not even Democrats picking up seats in the Texas House or Kinky Friedman’s “N-Word” scandal could hold a candle to the far-and-away winner in this category: Tom DeLay’s Resignation & The Events That Followed, from the court battle to the Replacement Players to Shelley Sekula-Gibbs and her now-infamous gingle, nearly 40 percent of readers judged this as the biggest political news story of 2006. Runner Up: Dallas County Going Democratic was judged by readers as the second biggest political news story of 2006. And, that in and of itself is a hell of a political news story.

Most Over-Rated Thing In Texas Politics In 2006: In this category, Kinky Friedman was far and away the winner—perhaps because of that “youth” vote that never materialized or those “millions of new voters” who still still haven’t popped their collective electoral cherries. Either way, say it with me: “O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D!” Runner Up: For all her millions, and her well-produced television commercials, Carole Keeton Strayhorn failed to really ever get out of the gate this cycle. Perhaps it was all those lawsuits…we’ll never know.

Biggest Political Prostitute: A lot of things can define a “political prostitute.” For our readers, it seems that one who will do and say anything to get elected or those with serious cases of blind political ambition qualify. Winner: Carole Keeton Strayhorn. Runner Up: Shelley Sekula Gibbs. Honorable Mention: Greg Abbott.

Biggest Political ‘Bomb’ Of The Year: We all know what happens when being over-rated is combined with lackluster performance, political gaffes and night club routines from the 1980s that come back to haunt you: It’s the winner of this one, Kinky Friedman. Runner Up: It’s no surprise, given that she was initially considered to be a real contender, that Carole Keeton Strayhorn came in second. Honorable Mention: Shelley Sekula Gibbs. Need we say more?

Dumbest Statement By A Politician During The 2006 Election Cycle: Let’s face it: politicans said a lot of dumb things during 2006. But, Kinky Friedman’s statement on CNBC (which actually happened in 2005, but technically during the ‘06 election cycle) about sexual predators, “Throw them in prison and throw away the key and make them listen to a Negro talking to himself,” was judged by readers as the dumbest.
Best Political News Coverage By A Mainstream Media Outlet: This was another close race. But, in the end, the Austin American-Statesman came out on top. Runner Up: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has become one of the leading newspapers in Texas when it comes to covering state politics and was voted second by our readers. Honorable Mention: This one is very, very wierd given the results of the next category, but readers voted The Dallas Morning News into third place.

Worst Political News Coverage By A Mainstream Media Outlet: Somehow, the Dallas Morning News managed to get ‘honorable mention’ in the “best” category and win the “worst” category. Sometimes, things like this happen in Texas politics. Runner Up: The Houston Chronicle. Perhaps they should have paid more attention to the Henley/Culberson race and they would have beat the DMN in this category.
Best Texas Politics Blog or Non-Commercial Political Website : I joke sometimes that Houston’s Charles Kuffner is the Godfather of the Texas Blogsphere. Of course, he has neither the ring nor the Mafioso accent, but the Godfather’s Off The Kuff won a very close race in this category. Runner Up: Karl-Thomas Musselman, Matt Glazer, Phillip Martin, M. Eddie Rodriguez, Ryan Goodland, and the crew of regional writers, diarists and commenters at Burnt Orange Report are well-deserving of their high marks in this category and were the source for many breaking news stories this cycle well before the MSM got them. Honorable Mention: Boadicea, KrazyPuppy, dksbook, Annatopia, lightseeker and the cast, crew, and commenters at Texas Kaos (formerly Texas KOS) have in a short time created one of the most vibrant and vocal progressive communities in the Texas Blogsphere and earn the Honorable Mention in this category in a very close race.
Best Political Blog Or Website Covering A specific Region: This was the closest race of any race in the Best & Worst Readers Choice Awards. It was a nail-biter until the very end, and votes rolled in until the deadline. The winner is a new blog that has gained much notice since its start in April for its coverage of the political scene in Fort Bend County and Congressional District 22. Musings and its author, Martha Griffin, were judged by readers as the best in this category. From her fashion policing of Shelley Sekula Gibbs over-pinkness to her excellent analysis and “in the trenches” reporting on the CD-22 race and Fort Bend County politics, this blog has become a must-read for Texas bloggers, political junkies and political insiders. Runner Up: The runner up in this category actually resulted in the renaming of this category because the site previously included a disclaimer that it was *not* a blog, but rather a Professional Political Organization. Susan DuQuesnay Bankston of Juanita’s: The World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon (now Kiss My Big Blue Butt) was a clear reader favorite in this category. Blogging, nay, operating from Richmond—the county seat of Fort Bend County— Susan has been offering her political commentary on the Web for some time and is a longtime local political insider in FBC. But with all of the uproar in CD 22 this year, many around Texas found themselves visiting a beauty salon for more than a perm or color…we were heading to the beauty shop for a unique political experience. Honorable Mention: Calling yourself a “liberal” in North Texas could probably get you shot, but Bradley Bowen and Texas Toad at North Texas Liberal do so with pride and have made quite a mark on the North Texas Blogsphere with their political insight and commentary. Of particular note was their dogged coverage of Republican Congressman Michael Burgess (R-Flower Mound) and the uphill battle of his opponent, Tim Barnwell. It is interesting to note that, aside from North Texas Liberal, the final nominees in this category were dominated by blogs/sites in West Texas [Blue 19th and Panhandle Truth Squad] and Congressional District 22 [Half Empty, Musings, Juanita's, View From 22 and Bryan's Blog]. Clearly, we know where some of the “emerging areas” of the Texas Blogsphere are.

Best Texas Republican Blog: You know you read Republican blogs. When no one is looking, you sneak a peak and see what they are saying about us and our candidates. And, evidently, you have your “favorite” Republican blogs as well. In a close race, Rick Perry vs. The World won this category. Begun back when it appeared as though Kay Bailey Hutchison would challenge Perry along with Strayhorn and others, Perry vs. World emerged to become one of your favorites this year. Runner Up: A transplanted Virginian (we’re sending him a ham to give to Kay Bailey Hutchison), Baylor University student and political activist Vincent Harris propelled Right Of Texas to emerge as the “breakout” Texas Republican blog of 2006. From his custom maps and insightful analysis of the state’s various congressional districts to his on-the-ground coverage of the CD 17 race, he was a clear reader favorite.
Worst Gaffe By A Political Candidate: There is no million-dollar prize for a trifecta, but Kinky Friedman and his various racially charged remarks were readers’ clear favorite for the “best gaffe” by a politicial candidate this year.
You will also recall that, during the nominations round, we asked our readers two questions to create an additional slate of “Honorable Mention Best & Worsts”:

What did we miss? What other category and event/happening/whatever do you believe deserves a place in the “Best of 2006″ list?

What did we miss? What other category and event/happening/whatever do you believe deserves a place in the “Worst of 2006″ list?

There were a lot of nominations for these. Some people nominated a category…others nominated a category and their choice. In a couple of cases, we had slightly differently-worded categories but the same nominee(s) popping up multiple times, so we took a little bloggy liberty and combined those when it was evident that the voter’s intents were similar and made the category names a bit more “award show” friendly. We’ve picked the best ones from this list which we believe deserve recognition and belive our readers would agree, hence their nominations:
Worst Dressed: Shelley Sekula Gibbs

Worst Political Campaign Sign: “Encourage Terrorists. Vote Democratic.” [Fort Bend County]

Best County Political Website: True Blue Travis

Most Handsome Candidate: Juan Garcia [HD 32]

Best New Political Tools: Texas VAN; Online Phone Banking

Most Spunky Political Candidate: Barbara Ann Radnofsky

Best GLBT Political Effort: Houston GLBT Political Caucus in HD 134 Wong/Cohen Race

Best New Blogger: (each of these received multiple nominations, and the category received several nominations sans naming any potential recipients) Ryan Goodland (Burnt Orange Report), Martha Griffin (Musings).

Most Flagrant Abuse Of The Color Pink: Shelley Sekula Gibbs

Biggest Political Comeback: Ciro Rodriguez

Best Advocacy Organization: Drive Democracy

Most Innovative Use Of Socks: Barbara Radnofsky for U.S. Senate
Best Fee-Based Political News Service: Quorum Report

Best Texas Candidate To Achieve National Recognition: John Courage

Person Who We Would Least Like To Ever See On A Ballot In Texas Ever Again As Long As We Live: Gene Kelly.

Best 2006 Election Document Or Opposition Research Tool: Barbara Radnofsky’s Issue Chart

Best Blog Video: “A Prairie Dog Named Randy” from Blue 19th.

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