Former State Rep. Debra Danburg Endorses Clinton For President
February 29, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Former State Representative Debra Danburg of Houston today announced her endorsement of Hillary Clinton.
“Senator Clinton will deliver results on the issues important to Texans, including the economy, health care and our nation’s standing in the world,” Danburg said. “Senator Clinton has worked for 35 years to improve the lives of women and families, and I have no doubt that she will continue to do so starting on day one in the White House.”
“A cancer survivor and a public servant, State Representative Debra Danburg is a picture of courage, strength, and perseverance,” Clinton said. “I am so proud to have the support of a woman who has worked tirelessly to help the people she serves.”
State Representative Debra Danburg was first elected in 1980 and served for 22 years. The chair of the House Committee on Elections, and a member of the Appropriations, State Affairs and Calendars committees, Danburg held every leadership position in the legislature besides speaker.
Danburg is being honored today by the League of Women Voters as a “Political Pioneer.” A survivor of pancreatic cancer, Danburg is a strong advocated for universal health care. She continues to serve on charitable, educational and nonprofit boards, and on the volunteer board at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
TX HD 27: Dora Olivo’s Infusion Of Right Wing Cash Causes Concern
February 29, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
There have been some interesting developments lately in the House District 27 race between State Rep. Dora Olivo (D-Stafford) and challenger Ron Reynolds.
It appears that several sources of right-wing cash are being funneled into Olivo’s campaign.
According to her 8-day report, Olivo has received money from GOP lobbyist Bill Messer, former Craddick D Vilma Luna, current Craddick D Norma Chavez, and the Texas Right To Life PAC, which is itself flush from an infusion of $75,000 from James Leininger and Bob Perry.
After March 4, How Quiet Will November Be?
February 29, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Last week, we posed the question of whether or not national Democrats would be doing much in Texas after the primary.
Now, the San Antonio Express-News jumps on that bandwagon:
The national Democratic ticket has all but turned its back on Texas in almost every presidential general election since Jimmy Carter won the state in 1976. The Electoral College math was that Democrats could win without Texas, so why spend money in a very large state?
Neither Clinton nor Obama has said whether anything will be different this time.
Clinton, in an interview with Texas Monthly, already appeared to be writing Texas off in the fall: “I’d love to carry Texas, but it’s usually not in the electoral calculation for the Democratic nominee.”
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe also said it is too early to know whether the Illinois senator’s campaign will make a concerted effort in Texas in the general election.
Of course, Texas very well could be in the electoral calculation for the Democratic nominee as Dallas has gone blue and Harris County is steadily trending that direction. Of course, there is a catch-22 to that: you have to spend money to put Texas in play.
Whomever the Democratic nominee is should be able to look at the numbers of Democrats who voted in Texas in the primary and make a pretty quick determination that if all those voters–plus more–are energized by an active election campaign it will cause a couple of things to happen:
Obama Focuses On Christian Faith In Texas Push Card
February 29, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · 1 Comment
In the red state of Texas, not even presidential candidates are immune from the desire to remind Texas voters just how close they are to their Lord and Savior.
Case in point: Barack Obama’s “Faith. Hope. Change” push card being circulated in Texas. The front of the piece shows Obama at a podium in a church with organ pipes and a cross as a backdrop. The back notes in large letters that Obama is a, “committed Christian,” and talks about his conversion in language Texans are more accustom to seeing from Republican candidates:
“…he visited a local church one Sunday. That day Obama felt a beckoning of the spirit and accepted Jesus Christ into his life.”
The only phrase lacking to make it 100 percent typical of language used by Republicans is the lack of the evangelical-Christian concept of being “born again.”
Why Is David Dewhurst Running Voter ID Television Commercials During The Presidential Primary
February 29, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · 2 Comments
Last night, while half-listening to ABC News’ Nightline from the next room, I heard the familiar and unmistakable voice of Lt. Governor David Dewhurst come on the television talking about Voter ID. Evidently, Dewhurst is running a television commercial urging Texans to support voter identification laws.
Among other things (I didn’t have a pen handy to write down the script), Dewhurst harps on the issue of illegal immigrants voting, and says that we need to make sure that only “Americans are voting.”
Since Dewhurst isn’t required to file any reports with the Texas Ethics Commission until later this year because he isn’t up for re-election this year, it is unknown how many markets the ad is running in or how much money he spent on it.
Intersting Mailer In Travis County Constable’s Race
February 29, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
We at Capitol Annex are always pleased to get a peek at mailers circulating in races across the state–especially the hotly contested local races. In the race for Precinct 2 Constable down in Travis County, controversial candidate Adan Ballesteros, who is running against Paul Labuda, has issued a pretty bad mailer that has caught our attention. You can view the front and back here and here.
There are a couple of false and idiotic claims made in this mailer that we’d like to take issue with.
First, let’s address the claim that Paul Labuda doesn’t have a peace officer’s certification. That’s a huge lie. One call to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards And Education (TCLEOSE) and Ballesteros would have known that he was about to mail a complete lie across Travis County Precinct 2.
Second, we find another statement in the mailer highly suspect:
TX HD 61: Tison Slams King’s Cash From Austin Powerbrokers
February 28, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
A press release from the Tison camp that’s too good to pass up:
In Travis DA’s Race, Montford Takes Money From Leininger Political Operative
February 28, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · 1 Comment
In the Travis County DA’s race, there have been some alarming contributions to surface in Mindy Montford’s contribution reports.
The worst contribution in this bunch is from Bill Noble, a big-time GOP consultant and the main political operative for right-wing school-voucher kingpin Dr. James Leininger.
Equality Texas: Rick Perry Is Obsessed & Preoccupied With Sex
February 28, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
We missed this last week due to time constraints, but wanted to make sure we posted it, because it makes some great points about Rick Perry’s book on the Scouting movement. It’s destined to become a classic press statement. It’s from Equality Texas:
In an interview with Deborah Solomon in Sunday’s The New York Times Magazine, Texas Governor Rick Perry continued his preoccupation with sex, asserting that allowing gays in the Boy Scouts of America would subject boys to “a crash course in sexual orientation”. When asked why he supports efforts to keep gays out of the Scouts, Perry said, “I am pretty clear about this one. Scouting ought to be about building character, not about sex. Period. Precious few parents enroll their boys in the Scouts to get a crash course in sexual orientation.” When asked whether he believed that gay youth might also be interested in the character-building aspects of scouting, Perry replied, “The argument that gets made is that homosexuality is about sex.”
Statement of Paul Scott, Executive Director of Equality Texas:
Ruling Opens The Floodgates For Pro-Craddick Dollars
February 27, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
If you thought things might actually be winding down in state legislative races heading into March 4, think again. Thanks to a judge’s ruling yesterday, you can expect bucket, train, truck, and plane loads of cold, hard, cash to start flowing into the coffers of a few pro-Craddick House Members who might be in danger come March 4:
Citing the importance of free speech in the political process, a federal judge has opened the gates to allow outside political groups to spend money and lobby Texas House members on whom to support in the election for speaker of the House.
And, more:
