Guest Post From Barbara Radnofsky

[The following is a guest post from Barbara Radnofsky, Democratic Nominee for United States Senate]

Houston Aug 1, 2006 : Opponent fails on her chosen issues.
After a return speech to the Executive Roundtable, I spoke to people all day, by phone and in person. With school activities starting, and folks returning from vacation, more calls get through, and we are able to connect and schedule.  The feeling among people I visit is upbeat for change, with sincere concern for the direction our leaders have taken this state and country.
Read more

Guest Blog From Barbara Radnofsky: East Texas Counts

[A Guest Post from Democratic Nomine for U.S. Senate Barbara Radnofsky. For more on BAR's East Texas swing, check out the Tyler Morning Telegraph as well. It is so good to see a statewide Democratic candidate placing so much emphasis on East Texas, too.—VL]

East Texas Counts, May 25 2006
6 cities in just 18 hours.

Madisonville: we drove to Madisonville for a packed breakfast meeting with  press, with teachers, doctors, chamber of commerce, businessmen, veterans, lawyers and every Madisonville walk of life represented at the handsome Baker House on East Main.

Elkhart: thanks to Sharon Davis, candidate for State Representative and dedicated teacher and Principal Moon, I toured Elkart Elementary School and the Head Start program, meeting great teachers and hundreds of students. This school  is operating efficiently and to the great benefit of the schoolchildren of East Texas. The cuts in Head Start are a mistake. The testing of special ed children (whose teachers recommend against testing to failure) is  a mistake. No Child Left Behind and the Republican administration have deserted children.

The cynical votes by my opponent can best be desribed as anti-education, anti-Head Start, anti-vocational. We’ve added to our issues chart on the website the need for social sciences research and added to the list of outrageous postions taken by Sen. Hutchison: opposition to social sciences research and funding. We issued a press release today on the issue.

Palestine: We enjoyed a huge, packed crowd of supporters and press for a lunch meeting of Anderson County Democrats and County chair. I enjoyed the articulate Palestine mayor and so many local officals and candidates who are energized by the massive resurgence in the Democratic Party. Activists like the Davises make a difference. Media coverage from papers like the Palestine News Herald and the Madisonville Meteor demonstrates that East Texas Cares, as well as counts. We’ll proceed to Athens today, preceded by a front page article in the Athens Daily Review.

When I spoke in tribute to Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, whose Senate seat I seek, I met a lovely older woman and life long Democrat  who shared the same great grandmother as the admirable public servant, and we spoke of Sen. Bentsen’s  service in World War II (including 50 missions and a Distinguished Flying Cross). Her great grandmother lost her first husband in the Civil War, and married again. That’s how the two contemporaries came to share the same great-grandmother.

I predict Sen. Hutchison will shortly leave her home in Virginia to make a guest appearance in East Texas. She’ll want some photo opportunities (with no questions or debate).

Tyler: We visited Democratic headquarters for a  press conference and meeting with supporters. Thanks to thousands of people and county parties like the Smith County Dems, the distribution of our million flyers proceeds smoothly with an active base ready and willing to help. Here’s the brilliant coverage in the Tyler Morning Telegraph, a comprehensive look at the political change, and issues including veterans, health care, education and abortion.

The media also reported the debate issue, and the general public are beginning to recognize that Senator Hutchison is avoiding a debate. We’ve seen increasing calls, in small towns as well as big cities, for a debate on the issues. By way of example: the Lampassas media coverage, which we’ve been watching,  is a harbinger of things to come, with conservatives  understanding that Democrats in control is a viable alternative to the complete mess created in Texas by the senior senator on down.

Athens:  What a wonderful reception in a most exciting vibrant city center! The courthouse square was rocking with activity, and the large democratic headquarters was packed. This was a handsome rally, with a receptive, generous crowd who cares about the issues. As occurs so frequently here in this region, preachers and teachers are turning out in force. They want change. Thanks to Ray Smith for a special event in Athens.

Longview: This late evening fundraiser was relaxed and special. Here are friends who’ve been helping for two years, and ready to do more. As with each stop, field folks are poised to distribute flyers, and Juneau Embry has taken ten thousand for a quick distribution before another drop soon. Vik Verma, a major voice on the internet and in the print media, has articulately  set out issues here for some time, and hosted with our generous friends the Eimermens a wonderful well attended at their beuatiful home. We’ll enjoy an evening with supporters before proceeding to Tyler, Athens, Corsicana, Jacksonville and Marble Falls tomorrow. We are looking forward to intermediate short stops along the way, since you can’t drive east texas without stopping to admire the greenery, the lakes, and the wildlife. There’s a reason folks retire here in such massive numbers, and it’s the same reason so many people want to protect their region and conserve their environment.

BAR
www.radnofsky.com

Guest Blog From Barbara Radnofsky

[Another Great Guest Blog from Barbara Radnofsky, Candidate for U.S. Senate.—VL]

NASA/Galveston Bay: Today and this evening I spent in the Galveston Bay area speaking to residents near NASA who are outraged at the price of gasoline and Sen. Hutchison’s ranking as the number one recipient of oil lobby money.

Read more

Guest Blog From Barbara Radnofsky

[Here is the latest Guest Blog from Barbara Radnofsky, candidate for U.S. Senate in Tuesday's runoff.--VL]

April 7: After several radio interviews, we participated in several rounds of  meetings and a candidates’ forum (emphasis was on education). Democrats, Independents and Republicans alike are outraged by the revelation that the President of the United States was the source of national security leaks, and equally offended that no elected statewide officials have the courage to speak out against such treachery. It’s analgous to Sen. Hutchison’s embrace of perjury last fall, as the Libby indictments were anticipated and she proclaimed that perjury was a “mere technicality.”. There is no defense for perjury, covering up a crime so that the wrongdoer goes free.

And, people are offended by the actions of both of Texas’ Senators in thwarting the bipartisan Senate efforts to control our immigration problems, as Texas  senators ignore the huge, disrproportionately high burdens on Texas taxpayers. Even Michael Chertoff, in the current administration, concedes that the proposals pushed by Sen. Hutchison are not workable and would cost us billions of dollars. Meanwhile, our senators ignore education and health care and the needs of our veterans and military personnel.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Rev Lawson, Rev Wills, and Rev. Williams at three different meetings on Friday, and did some blockwalking in District 146. Rev. Lawson spoke of Upward Bound, when he found out that I taught in this great brogram. In the late 195’s, Rev. Lawson was involved in the precursor program to Upward Bound, and was then program director at TSU with the expanded program during the Kennedy administration, successfully overseeing more than 600 students.

Pres. Bush’s budget proposes to gut and cut Upward Bound, Head Start, student loans and other efficently run low budget programs which promote education, keep our high school students from dropping out and get them into college, allowing them to make their contributions to society. Sen. Hutchison has a terrible voting record on education which we document on our issues chart. Since the senate voted to reauthorize Head Start in 1994, KBH has since voted AGAINST it seven times. She needs to change her voting behavior. I predict she will, temporarily, because it’s an election year.

We continue to work on fundraising, are are just 18,000 short of raising one million dollars. We are asking for online donations of 18 dollars or multiples thereof if people can go online to www.radnofsky.com before Tuesday’s runoff.

And, we are getting great reports from across the state on the grass roots, volunteer efforts to spread the word, wonderfully coordinated by our volunteer coordinator Shellee O’Brian. We’ve posted copies of some of the recent endorsements and letters and e mails of support on the endorsement section of the website.

The band that recorded our song will be appearing at our victory party Tuesday night, at 7:30pm at Maria Selma’s Restaurant 1617 Richmond. The live webcast will start at 9 pm, with a pre-show starting well before with recent videos. The podcasts are available on line, and concentrate on issues and the issues chart has been updated to include recent developments and more information.

We’ve recorded radio spots in English and Spanish, produced by Scott Perault, and have appreciated the great lessons learned in media buying. Two massive sets of robocalls have interspersed with 3 pieces of dioect mail (750,000 total) and much blockwalking and volunteer phone banking.  As the Austin American Statesman has reported this is a massive grassroots effort, combined with unheard of energy together now with careful spending to target voters. Gene Kelly has actually been communicating to the press, and AP ran a story with quotations as he boasted that  his massive name recognition (which secured the 2000 Senate runoff nomination for him against a state represeantive with almost 60 percent of the vote)  would again secure him the runoff.

With your help and the massive grassroots effort, and with our campaign doing our job statewide, the result will be different. We are asking voters to please not be deterred from voting Tuesday. Bravo to the Ft. Bend County and Lampson people who are daily fighting DeLay’s goons and thugs who would thwart the democratic process.

April 8: After spending the morning in College Station, we are now headed to the opening of Ft. Bend Democratic Headquarters, where I’ll be speaking at 4pm. This is perfect Texas weather, with the bluebonnets in bloom despite the dry weather. The two and a half hour drive between College Station and Rosenberg is beautiful.

Guest Post From Barbara Radnofsky (& Texas Federation of Teachers Endorsement)

[We're honored here at the Annex to have another guest post from Barbara Radnofsky, candidate for United States Senate.—VL]

April 3: I finished another radio interviiew and was leaving a second reception tonight when word came down that Tom DeLay would not be running again, and this has dominated  the news. We are in the midst of massive change in extraordinary times. President Bush has a 41 percent approval rating in Texas in the March Survey USA Poll, an eight percent drop and the worst number in Texas in his presidency, I’m informed. Sixty five percent of moderates disaprove and 64 percent of independents disparove

The focus of the country will be on Texas in the next days.

My US Senate race in Texas is a referendum on President Bush and his failed policies. The  Senate election in Texas is the place for Texas voters to express their  concerns about the direction this country is taking, and they camn start in this runoff. This runoff also allows the democratic party of Texas to organize.

I spoke with the Chairman today and learned that my runoff opponent Eugene Kelly has been repeatedly approached by the media for contact with little success.

He is extraordinarily non-responsive. The most effective means to draw a contact, we’ve learned,  is by the media going to his home and slipping a note under his door. This bizarre form of communication has not been publicizied anywhere, to my knowledge.

We need an informed electorate voting in the next 4 days in the early voting and on election day, April 11.

Endorsements for me have been coming in at a steady clip, and the grass roots efforts to educate our voters, combined with the campaign’s investment in direct mail and other forms of communications, are working.

People understand the extraordinary times and needs for citizens to step forward.

On Health Care, we need a senator who will fight for true reform, including single risk pool, preventive care and prompt pay, to fix the mess in Medicare, delivering a real prescription drug benefit.  For Veterans we must guarantee the health care our veterans earned and were promised by the country they served. Specific proposals (and contrasts with the outrageous comments and votes by our sitting senior senator) are featured at www.radnofsky.com, and include a section on corruption, with quotes exposing Sen. Hutchison’s deep ties to both Tom DeLay and failed administration policies.

There’s a lengthy section on education in the issues chart at www.radnofsky.com, as well as many other key issues. Education and children are dear to me, and I wanted to share the enclosed  endorsement from the Texas Federation of Teachers/American Federation of Teachers, which will be circulated tomorrow:

Regards,
BAR
Read more

In DFW, On Immigration: A Guest Post From Barbara Radnofsky

March 27-28: We enjoyed a well-attended fundraiser at the law firm of Cagle-Boiles, co hosted by Dorothy Dubose Scherr and others.

Bob Gammage introduced me and explained his view on the importance of the top of the ticket and the effect of a non-campaigner like Kelly on downballot races. He analyzed Kelly’s shenanigans over the years and their harmful effect on the state party.

We then traveled to the TCU Women’s forum, where I spoke in a non-partisan presentation on women in politics, joined by a representative of the White House project. Sen. Hutchison, who had accepted initially, declined after I accepted the invitation to appear together, postponing the looked-forward-to day when we’ll be able to share a forum.

In the meantime, I answered a Houston Chronicle questionaire on immigration as follows:

Read more

Guest Blog From Barbara Radnofsky: On Conventions

Saturday was spent at  senatorial district conventions, which were better attended than two years ago.

These conventions represent the best and brightest activists in the party, and I was glad to see young people, bloggers and the diverse, loyal base which fueled my primary win.

These folks have been helping this camapign for well over two years now. We visited, camapigned and spoke at  Senate District 6, held at  Communication Workers of America Local 6222 Union Hall; Senate District 7, Location: Houston Community College, West Loop Campus; Senate District 13  Houston Community College, Central Campus, San Jacinto
Building, Auditorium; and Senate District 15 Location: Carver High School, 2100 Victory in Acres Homes .

Everywhere I went I saw DNC representative Betty Richie, local candidates and folks more excited than I’ve seen in years, sensing winning in the air. Here are the first two reports from friends across the state, and we’ll post resolutions on the campaign website.

From Guy Stuart:  As individuals all in attendance  at the Burnet  County Democratic Convention voted to endorse
Barbara Ann Radnofsky for Senate.

From Chris Bates: Dallas County SD-23 stand firmly behind
BAR.  Bill Howell spoke on your behalf, he did a great job.  The first resolution that was passed was that the state party join BAR united after the run off election with Kelly.

From South Texas, late night reports were phoned in last night with the exciting news that Senate Districts 20 and 27 and Hidalgo County Democratic Party all passed reoslutions strongly supporting my candidacy.

We have reports of new volunteers, many takers of our yard signs, and several supporters who came to conventions with drafts of supportive  resolutions, so that conventions were able to debate alternate language. BAR

Guest Blog from Barbara Radnofsky

[Here is another wonderful Guest Blog from Barbara Radnofsky!]

Houston: Unusually, the entire day was spent in Houston, on the phones in the morning, including some interviews before the 1pm opening of our campaign headquarters and press conference, where Chris Bell, Charles Soechting, Ben Grant, David Van Os’ Representative Stan Merriman, Gerry Birnberg, Al Edwards, Melissa Noriega,  James Wright (Speaker Jim Wright has already endorsed),  DNC Committeewoman Bettie Richie,  and 60 other friends attended and announced their endorsements.

We will show the video before our April 11 webcast, which will start live from Maria Selma’s at 9pm the
evening of the election.

We read some of the greetings and names of endorsers across the state, from Congressman Lloyd Doggett and Liz Carpenter, El Paso Mayor Cook and State Senator Shapleigh,  Aaron Peña and the Statewide Tejano Dems, former state
party chair Molly Beth Malcolm, many county chairs and state
representatives, Olympic athletes, farmers and ranchers,  ministers, VETPAC and many veterans, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and and teachers and physicians and nurses and peace officers and cooks and bookeepers, and
lawyers from all sides of the docket. The press seemed to recognize the unity of the party behind the Radnofsky senate candidacy, and the extraordinary help and coming together which is making this candidacy viable.

Folks enjoyed small group issues discussion (and many members of our woman’s roundtable attended) and the poll numbers showing Sen. Hutchison’s highest disaproval ratings in history.

We’ve posted some of the endorsing names and letters on the website, and will catch up with more names in the days and weeks to come.

The people attending believe that one person can make a difference, understanding the importance of every vote on April 11. Many will be attending their senatorial district conventions, and I’ll be speaking at four of the conventions during the day tomorrow.

We’re seeing the comments on the blogs of people who are not aware of the diversity of my law practice, and we’ve encuraged folks to read about my mediation, defense and plaintiff’s work, and my endorsements from a range of
well respected defense and plaintiff’s lawyers. The website also discusses my advocacy for children, as does the issues chart, which, at page 10, describes my successful petitioning to the Consumer Product Safety Commission to prohibit defective barbeque lighters which had caused numerous
child play fires. The Rule, according to government statistics, saves both lives and many millions of dollars.

BAR

Friday’s Guest Post From Barbara Radnofsky

[Barbara Radnofsky is one candidate who knows how important the Netroots are! I was very excited to view my inbox this morning and find another Guest Post from her, with a press release. If you are a Texas Blogger, please link back to this post or excerpt it on your blog--VL]

March 23: We began today began with a news release, attached below, emphasizing the importance of continuing research on health care research, the funding of which could support our Texas pharmacy and medical schools and the much-needed VA Hospital south of San Antonio—which I’ve been advocating for two years of campaigning.

We also issued a newsletter posted at www.radnofsky.com with a status report. We’ll be issuing more before the April 11 election, encouraging early voting starting April 3 and asking people to send letters and e mails on the risk posed by Gene Kelly, who won the democratic runoff for Senate against a member of the Texas House, with sixty percent of the vote.

Our victory party, to be webcast,  is planned for the evening  of April 11. If you’d like to host a watch party and interact with us from the event at Maria Selma’s Restaurant on Richmond in Houston, please contact Chris. If you can help advocate for us at one of the SD [or County] conventions, please contact Shellee.
Today’s presentations in Houston to a networking group was a great opportunity to talk to aggressive, connected business people with widely divergent political views. We found common ground, particularly in the desire for health care reform (we need insurance reform, including preventive care, “prompt pay”, and single-risk pool), the unfairness of burdening Texas taxpayers and law enforcement with border and immigration costs, the importance of legal trade and economic development at the border, the costs of corruption and the need for a two party system. These folks recognized the economic burdens placed on Texans by the current system.

At the Texas State Teacher’s Association Regional Meeting this evening, we discussed the fact that Sen. Hutchison has not supported education reforms or the Social Security Fairness Act of 2003. The Government Pension Offset reduces public employees’ Social Security spousal or survivor benefits by two thirds of their public pension. Most public employees so affected end up losing their entire spousal benefit. In our veterans’ roundtable in San Antonio (minutes available on request) we discussed the unfairness of requiring offsets. Educators, police officers and firefighters, if uncovered in their job by Social Security are harmed by the government pension offset. The so-called “windfall elimination”—brainchild of Tom DeLay—has been disastrous for Texas schoolchildren, and schoolteachers who are cheated out of their social security benefits.

I  also devoted time to answering issue questions from interested persons, more questionaires and several interviews. We’ve again added new footnotes and comparisons to the issues chart and have directed people to the issues archive, containing more detail on positions, and detailed interviews.

Lastly, here’s the press release from today with solid ideas for supporting our medical institutions while aiding  important scientific research.

Read more

A Guest Post From Barbara Radnofsky

[In anticipation of the April 11 Democratic Primary Runoff, I've asked U.S. Senate Candidate Barbara Radnofsky to guest blog from time to time here at the Annex. Here's her latest.—VL]

Week of March 20-22: Highlights of this week so far included a spiritied discussion with the Blackdems in Houston, and receiving their endorsement; many talks with vibrant and educated teachers; and planning for the opening of our office and endorsement announcements on Friday at one thirty.

I hope you’ll come! Chris Bell will lead off with his endorsement at one thirty at our new campaign office in Houston at 1770 St. James Place just off of San Felipe and Chimney Rock.

I greatly enjoy discussing issues and wanted to update you on some. We’ve revised the issues chart at Radnofsky.com, and if it’s not on the home page, we keep a .pdf copy in the press kit on the right handside and in the issues archive.

Education:

As a volunteer teacher, I’ve seen the effect of the federal legislation denying Texas (and ten states’) teachers their Social Security spousal benefits. The forced early retirements deprived texas schoolchildren of a generation of experienced teachers. We must reinstitute the provision allowing teachers to work to qualify for SS spousal benefits, the same rights a stay-at-home spouse has.

We must restore the important programs on the chopping block in this proposed budget, including college loans, Pell Grants, Upward Bound and Head Start. Just last week, Sen. Hutchison voted against the key amendment which would have restored these and job training. President Bush, rubber stamped by Sen. Hutchison, turned his back on his Pell Grant campaign promises. This devastates Texas, leading the nation in high school dropouts.

The way to counter the war on children is to recognize the importance of children. You don’t see children lobbying the halls of Congress. Sen. Hutchison voted last December for the budget bill stripping children of child support which could keep officials in Texas from collecting two billion dollars in child support owed to Texas children.

These cynical votes against children must be countered. We need efficiently run, pro-children programs, like peer mediation in the schools. These inexpensive programs reduce violence and keep kids in school. We all benefit.

I recognize I must beat Gene Kelly, and am working as hard as I know how to do it. But, I never lose sight of the fact that beating Kay Bailey Hutchison and removing her extremist voting record is truly the goal. Her recent votes against women, children, education, health care and veterans, and her inability to bring home any meaningful, fair share of our tax dollars is hurting Texas. I can’t stand by and watch her do it.

Thanks, Vince for the opportunity to post. I’d like to cover a number of issues in the future.

Next Page »