Hey Michael L. Williams, I Think Dr. King Would Have Told You To Shut The Hell Up

I continue to be amazed by Republican politicians who try to misuse and manipulate the words, teaching, and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This time, there is a little irony involved, because the Republican manipulating and misusing the teachings of King is an African American: Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael L. Williams:

He also said he shares all black Americans’ pride in Barack Obama’s nomination. But he quoted a Martin Luther King Jr. speech about how young black Americans must always be prepared.

“We must call attention to the fact that [Obama's] record is enormously thin,” Williams said. “That’s what Dr. King would have asked me to do.”

How dandy. Another Republican elected official thinks they can light a candle and channel Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

You know what I think? I think if Dr. King were around today, he’d tell Michael L. Williams to shut the hell up. Maybe not the ‘hell’ part, but you surely get the idea.

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Technorati Tags Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr., Michael L. Williams, Republican Party, Texas, Texas Railroad Commission

Random Thoughts On The Republican Party Of Texas Convention

No, Capitol Annex did not get credentials to blog the Republican Party of Texas 2008 Convention. In fact, we didn’t bother to apply. Even if we got them (perhaps in return for a right-leaning site getting credentialed at the TDP Convention?), there isn’t enough anti-nausea medication in the would that would have kept us from repeatedly vomiting all over the convention floor.

We found no small amount of irony in the fact that the first day of the convention coincided with the first day that CVS pharmacies started selling over-the-counter paternity tests in Texas ($29.99!!!).

Luckily, we have a couple of first hand reports from bloggers that were credentialed for the event. Pondering Pengiun tells us:

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State Senator Dan Patrick Downplays Seriousness Of Colonias Problem

I’m not sure how I missed this, but late last month, Texas State Senator Dan Patrick (R-Houston) appeared on CNN’s The Glenn Beck Show to offer his special brand of asshattery on Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) and House Speker Nancy Pelosi. Here’s a video clip, with more analysis to follow:

If you don’t watch the video or miss it, let’s take a look at some tidbits from the transcript:

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Technorati Tags Dan Patrick

Ambassador Garza To Be Named Distinguished Alumni Of SMU

Via Overheard, the blog at Park Cities People, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and former Texas Railroad Commissioner Tony Garza will be named a Distinguished Alumnus of Southern Methodist University:

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Heflin Named GOP’s Executive Director

Talmadge Heflin, a former State Representative from Houston, has been named Executive Director of the Republican Party of Texas, via QR.

No word on what is up with Jeff Fisher, the RPT’s previous ED.  More as it develops.

Texas House Republican Caucus Has A Blog

Be sure and give a big “welcome” to the Texas Blogsphere to the Texas House Republican Caucus, which now has a blog.

Muse has some additional commentary on the subject.

GOP Chair Benkiser Sings Praises Of Voter ID

Republican Party of Texas Chairwoman Tina Benkiser was singing the praises of Voter ID bills last Thursday in Sherman.

This from the Sherman Herald-Democrat:

Republican Party of Texas Chairman Tina Benkiser spent some time in Sherman Thursday talking about a bill that could require Texas voters to show photo identification when they cast a ballot.

Grayson County Republican Party Chairman Clyde Siebman introduced her at the party headquarters and said her topic was, “a very important issue to Grayson County and the State of Texas.” Benkiser said the handful of bills seeking to require voters to provide photo identification when voting are aimed at “safeguarding (our) right to govern (ourselves) specifically concerning election integrity.”

She said this nation’s right to choose its own leaders is “really the strength of who we are as a people and the growth that we have had as a nation.”

Evidently, Benkiser was asleep a few weeks ago when studies showed that Voter ID significantly hampered voter turnout, especially for minorities.

Of course, Benkiser thinks Voter ID “safeguards our rights:”

“It is just common sense that when someone comes to the polls, they should present a photo identification,” Benkiser said.

She reminded those who attended the early morning stopover that they probably have to provide a photo id to rent a movie or cash a check, yet they don’t have to do so when exercising one of the most basic rights American citizens claim.

I don’t know what turnip truck this lady fell off of, but this analogy has got to be the worst Voter ID analogy in the history of Voter ID analogies.

First of all, renting a damned video at Blockbuster is not a constitutional right. Voting is a constitutional right.

So why, pray tell, should we be required to show ID to exercise a constitutional right? You don’t need an ID to exercise a myriad of other constitutional rights. Last time I checked, free speech didn’t require an ID. And, I’m sure they’re not asking for a driver’s license when you head on into First Methodist (or wherever) to exercise your freedom to worship on Sunday morning.

So, why in the hell do we need a Voter ID bill? A voter registration card is enough.

Oh, wait! I remember! It’s that “voter fraud” argument. Evidently, Tina Benkiser loves flying in the face of reason, because there is no evidence to suggust that Voter ID will do anything to combat “voter fraud,” which isn’t exactly a mammoth problem anyway:

Mounting evidence, however, suggests that voter ID laws actually do very little to ensure polling-place integrity, while very clearly suppressing turnout among constituencies that have traditionally struggled to gain a voice in the democratic process.

Just last month, the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University presented new research findings to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission that suggest Latinos, Asian Americans and African Americans are less likely to vote as a result of increasingly restrictive voter ID requirements. The Eagleton study examined the 2004 election and concluded that in states requiring voters to present an ID at the polls, voters were 2.7 percent less likely to vote than in states where voters were merely required to state their names. Latinos were 10 percent less likely to vote, Asian-Americans 8.5 percent less likely to vote and African Americans 5.7 percent less likely to vote. Since the research depended on the November 2004 Current Population Survey (CPS), a data set that has been criticized for its small sample size of minorities, it may actually understate the impact of ID requirement on minority voters.

The Eagleton Institute research is supported by findings from a poll conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law in November 2006. Their poll, “Citizens without Proof,” found that as many as 11 percent of Americans—more than 21 million individuals—do not have a current, government-issued photo ID. Elderly, poor and minority Americans are more likely to lack government-issued ID. Polling results suggest six million elderly Americans do not possess a government-issued photo ID, 15 percent of voting-age citizens earning under $35,000 a year do not possess such ID and fully 25 percent of voting-age African Americans do not possess this ID.

While proponents of restrictive voter ID requirements argue that they are needed to combat voter fraud, there is no evidence that the type of fraud that these requirements address—voters who misrepresent their identity—has occurred at any point since records have been kept. In fact, since 2002, the Department of Justice found only 38 cases of any voter fraud worthy of prosecution in the entire country. According to Barnard College Professor Loraine Minnite, the available state-level evidence of fraudulent voting, culled from interviews, reviews of newspaper coverage and court proceedings, yields similarly negligible results. Minnite’s comprehensive analysis, “The Politics of Vote Fraud,” was recently released by Project Vote.

Sadly, I don’t even need to go read that report to know the real reason Texas Republicans want Voter ID: they want to disenfranchise the poor and minorities.

There. I said it. But, damn it, someone had to, since people have been pussyfooting around the argument for two legislative sessions now.

In a state where our minority (and, sadly, our working poor) population is continuing to grow, and in a state where those groups are voting Democrat, it is to the Republicans advantage to make it more difficult for them to vote.

Why? Simple: so Republicans can continue to win elections. That is the cold, hard, reality.

Texas Youth Commission: Why Did It Take Perry So Long To Act?

Texas Governor Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, and Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick all knew about the acts of sexual violence being perpetrated on youthful offenders at the Texas Youth Commission as early as last fall.

But none bothered to act until this week.

I find it amusing that, though this was the lead paragraph of a Houston Chronicle story on Thursday, that the following fact seems to have been generally swept under the rug:

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Abbott, AG’s Office In Hot Water For Removing Files, Missing X-Rays From Federal Depository

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and his office are in hot water over the removal of records and missing x-rays relating to a fraud investigation into silicosis litigation.

Federal District Judge Janis Jack has chastied Abbott for sending four armed agents to a private, federally sanctioned depsitory in Corpus Christi last month to sieze thousands of records held for the federal courts.

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The Dragon Lady Is Back

Just when we thought we’d heard the last out of Arlene Wohlgemuth for all eternity, she shows up…again.

This time, she’s teamed up with another ex-legislator—Talmadge Heflin (who is running against Hubert Vo in HD 149 this year after being defeated last cycle)—to raise funds for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a think think founded by James Leininger.

Regardless of whether or not you believe that “Republicans” an “think” belong together in the same sentence, you can probably guess what, according to Capitol Inside (sorry, sub. required) they are using as their battle cry to raise money.

Yep. You guessed it. The woman who left CHIPs on life support believes that the state is spending too much money.

In the fund-raising letter the pair claim that TPPF must raise $292,700 this year:

“to prove to policymakers that OUT OF CONTROL spending doesn’t have to be the rule!”

Does anyone else think the song “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette should be playing right about now? Of course, lobbyists like The Dragon Lady talking about “out of control spending” is as ironic as a fly in your chardonnay. She also mentions “bloated budgets and reckless spending.” Silly me, I thought lobbyists made their livings off of bloated budgets and reckless spending.
Heflin, whose website shows you what kind of campaign he’s running to unseat Vo, is actually on the TPPF payroll warns about how

“the forces arrayed against us grow more powerful each year. These days there is a great incentive to spend whatever comes in; and there is always `something else’ to spend tax dollars on.”

I’m sorry. Are we talking about state spending or Armageddon? I get a little confused some times.

Here’s some more from Capitol Inside:

Wohlgemuth says that TPPF doesn’t receive any public funds and is outspent as a result as much as one thousand to one by special interest groups that she contends are armed with taxpayer dollars in their fight for bigger government and more spending.

“These include teacher and administrator associations, other public employee unions, advocates of universal health care, extreme environmental groups, radical left wing activists, and a host of other special interests who believe government’s role is to take the money of hard working Texas families and redistribute it to pet causes,” Wohlgemuth asserts in the fundraising letter.

Ahhh! Conservatives should be quaking in their boots! We all know that when teachers pair up with radical left wing activists there’s going to be bloodshed.

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