The Empower Texans U.S. Senate debate: no clear winner
Tom Leppert’s pitch was that when he became the mayor of Dallas, the biggest problem was crime, and he brought it down by 31%. “I’ve been there, I’ve done it.” Good talking point, but not what is uppermost in the minds of primary voters.
Craig James kept saying that he lived on “Real Street.” In a comment that I presume was leveled at Dewhurst, he said, “I don’t trust anyone who has been a politician.”
Ted Cruz had the most enthusiastic following. He staked out a position on the far right. “When the next senator gets to Washington, there is going to be pressure to compromise on Obamacare. I’ll throw my body in front of the train to stop it.” Cruz also promised to co-sponsor Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve Bank. “There is no reserve,” he said, “and it’s not a bank.”
Glenn Addison, a school board member from Magnolia, handled himself pretty well. He couldn’t resist going after the Federal Reserve too, calling it an “outrageous, outlandish, unconstitutional institution.”
And David Dewhurst, ever the wonk, attempted to explain that the Fed uses its balance sheet to buy bonds. I had no idea what he was talking about. His main argument was, “Some of us have led and balanced every single budget.” It’s true, but in Texas, the budget has to balance or the comptroller cannot certify that it meets our pay-as-you-go requirement.
To call this a debate is something of a misnomer. The candidates got to make opening and closing remarks, and they answered some broad questions from moderator Michael Quinn Sullivan. I think the format hurt Leppert the most. He really didn’t have a lot of chances to deal in issues. Cruz got in the best shot when he asked, “Who do you trust?” — the point being, if you are a conservative, it shouldn’t be Dewhurst.
James sounded more like a football coach than a politician. He talked about how he was given athletic talent and how hard he had worked to improve himself. “I was driven to succeed, it didn’t just come to me.” Then he tried to crack a joke, but it fell flat: “I won’t go with three points because I might forget the third one.” “The United States gave a guy like me who grew up in an apartment a chance. I was driven to excel, it didn’t just come to me. I coached my kids, I raised a family, now it’s time for me to become a public servant.” It may be unfair to blame James for being an amateur in a pro’s game, but he talked too much and strayed too far off topic.
Even Addison was more comfortable talking about issues than James. He was really quite engaging for someone who hasn’t spent a lot of time in the public eye.
If I had to name a winner, it would be the Dew. He was the favorite going in, and nothing changed the expectations. Cruz had an opportunity to hit him for not being a “real” conservative but the shot missed the target. In the end, I see no reason to change my belief that Dewhurst is going to win this race. He has the edge in money and in name identification. The fact that it is now a five-candidate race does raise issues for Dewhurst, because the bigger the field, the greater the likehood of a runoff. The worry for Dewhurst is a runoff between him and Cruz, in which conservative voters come out to vote but the mainstream Republicans stay disengaged.
Tagged: Craig James, david dewhurst, Glenn Addison, Ted Cruz, tom leppert, U.S. Senate
Cow Droppings says:
Did we watch the same debate? Dewhurst was terrible. His voice was weak, his tone was bizarre, his answers had a lot of strange pauses and awkward attempts at humor. And he was savaged by Cruz on taxes, spending and immigration.
Cruz’s arrogance and love of self will be his ultimate demise, but last night he did damage to Dewhurst.
I think you missed on James too. No mention of perhaps the most memorable moment of the debate, when embry played gotcha and he nailed the answer — not just by naming panetta and his predecessor gates — but by making it sound like he didn’t know the way he started, beating up on gotcha questions, then answering it, and then going back to beating up on gotcha questions. It was actually quite memorable, and surprisingly good for a rank amateur.
Leppert? Big city mayor. Can’t win in an R Primary.
Addison — drafting on Paul. Smart thing to do. But won’t win.
Might have to vote for Lela Pittenger. Oh the humanity.
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 10:58 am
gotta love Lela, she is what a conservative should be. Something many republicans know nothing about.
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paulburka Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:48 pm
I didn’t say Dewhurst did a great job, just that nothing happened to cause him to lose ground. Cruz could have hit him hard on his conservative record, but he didn’t do it.
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Drazen Petrovic says:
If Cruz were successful at getting Dewhurst to engage in a Romney-like $10,000 bet moment, he could have at least had something to show for his performance.
For all of Cruz’s bluster, he could not once get Dewhurst to take the bait.
Dewhurst is not the debating champion, but he did himself no harm in this debate.
Cruz looked impertinent.
Addision was hilarious.
James’ answers seemed focus-grouped.
Leppert was well-rehearsed and talked most about specifics.
Dewhurst may not have had the best performance, but he is the clear winner because he did NOT lose.
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Anonymous says:
I didn’t watch the debate. I will venture a guess that 99% of the Republican primary voters didn’t view it either. In the end these debates are graded on a pass/fail basis by the media, who report to a largely disinterested public. Frontrunner Dewhurst didn’t fail the debate so media has nothing of real interest to write about…just like this column.
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Vernon Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 10:09 am
What would you expect?
This is Texas. Voters don’t pay attention.
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garvin Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:52 pm
So true. Outside of Dewhurst, who is barely acceptable this is a slate of dummies. Craig James is a joke, Cruz and arrogant scare tactic type and I alreday forgot who else is running.
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Goo says:
Paul, correct me if I’m wrong – and maybe some other readers can opine – but if i remember correctly, it was not Ted Cruz who said “There is no reserve,” he said, “and it’s not a bank.” I’m pretty sure that was Addison. Ted did say he would sign on to Paul’s Fed bill, though.
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paulburka Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
Goo is correct. I looked at my notes, and it was Addison.
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Texian Politico says:
Cruz will win this race, especially as it will go to a runoff and the primary calendar is all messed up. He has strong grassroots support and it is growing. Dewhurst is the next Charlie Crist in this senate race. His fame and fortune won’t be able to save him. The only difference is I don’t expect Dewhurst to bolt and run as an independent as Crist did.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:22 pm
Nonsense – I have seen a number of statewide polls. You cannot win when your name ID is 4% among likely republican voters(Ted Cruz). Not against someone who has a name ID of 76%(David Dewhurst). And don’t tell me Ted can make up the difference, not in a state as big and expensive as Texas.
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Texian Politico Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
Where were Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist in name ID this far in front of the primary? Cruz is going to force a runoff with Dewhurst and then he’ll win it. You think all the Ron Paul voters will go for Dewhurst? You don’t think the grassroots will have an impact on this race? The Rose Garden strategy Dewhurst has been using won’t work this time. Cruz will have enough funds by primary time from the Club for Growth and other such groups that he’ll be able to get his message out. Then, in a low turnout runoff its game on.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
You mean all those Washington, DC groups that are supporting Cruz? All those special interest groups are going to pour money into Cruz’s campaign and are going to make the difference? Cruz has never won a race for anything and this won’t be his first.
WUSRPH Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Rubio was quite well-known in Florida having been a powerful Speaker of the Flordia House and active for many years. Cruz, on the other hand, has no record other than a few months in a job the Abbott created for him and ghostbraining Rick Perry’s book….
Robert Morrow Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 11:54 am
That is an excellent strategy for Cruz. Just force a run-off. Do I think the Ron Paulers will vote for Dewhurst. ha ha ha ha
My advice to Cruz is to start channeling Ron Paul especially on foreign policy and anti-Fed, and pro-liberty.
You will need those voters in a run-off, which will probably happen with so many candidates.
Opposite Day says:
Well, that must mean Cruz won if you are saying that Dewhurst did. You havent been right about a thing in months.
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J Jesse says:
For the record- Craig James’ “Real Street” ends at a mansion….and his first campaign event was at the Driskill Hotel. I would say he is more uptown and real street.
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TexasImport says:
My two takeaways were that 1) Dewhurst did exactly what he needed to: stayed on topic, discussed his plans and ideas and defended his record when he had to and 2) Cruz looked like a jerk with no other options but hurtling borderline and sometimes outright disrespectful attacks.
Time to come up with a record of your own to run on Ted because you’ll run out of steam quick running against Dewhurst’s. Oh wait. You don’t have a record of your own?
Dewhurst wins.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:11 am
Exactly right. Cruz is really running on Abbott’s record and alternatively relying on lobbing bombs at Dewhurst. Like Perry, he naively thinks he can control the tea party, he and his cfr wife no doubt secretly loathe.
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anita says:
Can someone provide a link to the video of the debate?
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John Johnson Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 10:40 am
http://www.livestream.com/texaspublicpolicyfoundation/video?clipId=pla_ebb8a220-b8f1-4765-80ed-a67d841db365&utm_source=lslibrary&utm_medium=ui-thumb
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John Johnson says:
Rusty the Fort Worth longhorn has picked more winners by randomly dropping cow patties on squares than those of you who are paid to evaluate and prognosticate. You guys are worse than the meteorologists.
Dewhurst sucked in this debate. Maybe you can pick him, Paul, as the eventual winner, but it will only be because of his name recognition and money…not because of this debate performance. If the public actually watches him in one of these, it will cost him more money to win.
Cruz was way too personally confrontational and Addison’s comment about his representing a foreign company accused of infringing on a U.S. tire company’s patent didn’t help. This will come up time and time again…and it should.
Leppert is qualified, but fails to excite.
Listening to James caused me to get lockjaw and bumped my blood pressure up. He is everything we don’t need in Washington. More Perry like bluster with nothing to back it up except whatever he is pushed, prodded, cajoled, and some would say, paid to do. He is about as qualifed to run as anyone with looks, money and name recognition would be…but he is lacking everything else. If Mike Leach moves back and votes for him, I will, too.
That leaves Addison. Never heard of him before watching the debate. What a hoot. Sharp, knowledgeable, witty, with original ideas and answers. A breath of fresh air. The voters of Texas will take a hard look at this guy if he has the money to get his word out, and if the media picks up on him.
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Pony Depress says:
So Craig James wants to do for DC what 20-plus year politician Rick Perry has done for Texas, but he doesn’t trust politicians? Got it.
James is the Texas Eddie Haskell of this group. He is a kiss up to the talking points of his perception of who will vote.
Perhaps James is the best qualified to be a senator. He has already demonstrated as far back as college that he will accept pay under the table and against the rules. Dew and Lep are rich and don’t need payoffs, so that is really only a head start on Cruz.
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garvin Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Agreed.
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Can't make this up Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
James said his campaign will be based on three things.
“God is god. Family is family. And the Constitution is the Constitution.”
Remember the Five!
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Yellow Armadillo says:
I attended the debate, though not as a supporter of any candidate. Though I doubt this debate influence 0.01% of GOP primary voters, Dewhurst was clearly the winner in my opinion. He had a solid command of the issues, looked attentive (he was the only candidate taking notes), and didn’t step in it, as he has been prone to do in big events frequented by the grassroots.
I was underwhelmed by Cruz. I was fully expecting him to score some big shots against Dewhurst, but he was underwhelming. That is certainly partially the result of the format, but given his deserved reputation as a skilled orator, he has to be slightly disappointed with his performance.
James looked very out of his element, but he did provide some comic relief. The righteous indignation at the “gotcha” question regarding the secretary of defense was a bit over the top, and to add to the awkwardness of it all, he stopped himself mid-thought and just blurted out “LEON PANETTA.” No substance, not ready for prime time.
Leppert was solid, but you have to wonder about his campaign organization. Granted, the Austin crowd is not his base, but his allotted seats for supporters was virtually empty, and though he clearly was knowledgeable and substantive, he didn’t manage to connect with his audience.
Addison was entertaining, as the non-political funeral home owner would be expected to be. He might have scored some zingers, but some of his ideas, such as passing laws to allow all citizens the right to detain individuals suspected of being illegal aliens and eliminating all taxes save an import tariff, are just too out there to be taken seriously at all.
All in all, Dewhurst went in the frontrunner, and nothing that took place last night changes that at all.
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shasta says:
James an amateur at a professionals game? Seems only right since at SMU he was a professional in an amateur’s game.
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Texian Politico Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Nice line! Ha.
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Blue Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Well played.
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Bean Counter says:
Cruz got screwed earlier in the week when Huckabee came out for Dewhurst – that’s code to a bunch of wingnuts (i.e.: you can’t trust Cruz).
What is being overlooked is James’ announcement release where he did an about face and admitted he DID take some payments while in college. The guy has been lying about this forever and comes cleam, sort of.
Craig James cooked his own goose in his own stew. We’ll all hear more about this in the coming days, but the guy is a 2-3% performer. Addison may get more than James just for being the two drink minimum entertainer (along with the help from Paul-Medina Voters).
By the way, Cruz was the only one using notecards up there – I thought the debate rules said “No Notes.”
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Texian Politico Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:56 pm
Huckabee only endorsed Dewhurst because he hates The Club for Growth and Cruz is one of their biggest stars in this election cycle.
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Slim Shady says:
Tim Dunn encouraged Craig James to run as he is supposedly a major TPPF and probably TFR donor. Dunn must have decided this was a good idea after analyzing his ET Research robocall results. Apparently Cruz is not enough of a puppet for the Texas Taliban, aka Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.
Sane Republicans such as Dewhurst only give these guys credence by participating in their debate. I can’t believe this state is being run by weird Midland recluse whose house looks like crap. Dunn should invest in some grass before throwing more money at state politics. Poor Mrs. Dunn. Further, most of the Republicans in Midland think he’s radical and out of touch with reality. It’s no wonder he wants to completely fund the state budget through a state sales tax: there’s no restaurant in Midland that is worth the extra sales tax! Nor can you find a suitable wine list to enjoy and if you do, you’ll be subjected to a two-glass limit. Ha! How’s that for small government?
For all of you sane and rich Republicans out there who can literally poop $300,000 a year to play monopoly with the Texas Capital, please WAKE UP and help our state.I’m good for $50,000. Tim Dunn is strangling this state and its potential for growth. Help.
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Tellnitlikeitis Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Craig James has served on the TPPF board of directors.
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Robert Morrow says:
Ted Cruz won national championships as a debater while he was in college at Princeton and a member of the prestigious Whig-Clio debate society.
George P. Bush, the son of Jeb Bush, grandson of GHW Bush has endorsed Cruz while Poppy has endorsed Roger Williams.
Here is a year 2000 bio on Cruz: http://www.princeton.edu/paw/archive_old/PAW99-00/10-0223/0223cns.html
I would vote for Ted Cruz over Dewhurst, but I am still looking for my liberty candidate in that race.
The Texas GOP needs to be cure of its addiction to endless war, imperialism, militarism, attacks on our liberties, privacies.
If Cruz is smart, he will adopt much of the Ron Paul agenda. He can start by coming out for normalizing relations with Cuba.
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Texian Politico Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Sens. Rand Paul, Jim DeMint, and Pat Toomey have all endorsed Cruz. He is also literally a National Review cover boy. He’s going to surprise all the folks that think Dewhurst can win on money and name ID alone.
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Tellnitlikeitis Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
The problem that Cruz has in 2012 is limited name recognition and no geographic base, which Leppert, at least, can claim in north Texas.
Out of state endorsements won’t count for much. Cruz has never been on the ballot. Now, if $10 million parachutes in from some Super Pac, all bets are off.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
No one who thinks of themselves as smart supports or endorses the egomaniac Ron Paul. Along with nonexistent name ID, Ted has the wrong name for a Republican primary. And for all the talk about Cruz shrinking the Federal Government someone needs to ask him how he paid for Princeton and Harvard…
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paulburka Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Cruz should have said, “Dewhurst is not a real conservative” about twenty times. That is the whole ball game from Cruz’s viewpoint. He has to cast doubts on Dewhurst’s bona fides. He might have mentioned the TSA bill, when Dan Patrick attacked Dewhurst for not supporting it. (Lest anyone think I’m a complete idiot, I thought the TSA bill was totally nuts, not to mention unconstitutional. No way state law can override federal law.) Everybody is against Obamacare, so Cruz can’t differentiate himself from Dewhurst that way. He can say that Dewhurst’s conservative credentials are all based on his support for Rick Perry’s policies.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 11:50 am
A huge chunk of Federal law is unconstitutional because it was not passed with a Constitutional Amendment authorizing it.
I wish more Texans and Texas governors would adopt that attitude.
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Anon says:
The timing of the primary will mean EVERYTHING in this race….there’s a reason Dewhurst was pushing so hard to keep the date in March. The later the TX primary/more decided the GOP presidential field is, the fewer “casual” voters will turn out later in the spring/early summer (the assumption being that casual voters would vote for Dewhurst). A late primary date = higher percentage of passionate, grassroots voters, i.e. Cruz’s base.
It’s still Dewhurst’s race to lose, but with the primary date so up in the air, he certainly doesn’t have it in the bag. His debate performance last night was subpar at best, and he’d be wise to brush up on his debate skills before the next one. He really stumbled on the income tax issue, and leaves much to be desired as far as engaging listeners is concerned.
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AreYouKiddingMe says:
Sadly, in a State of Republican sheep, like Texas, Dewhurst will likely win easily. He can pull a Perry-move and not have any more debates, ignore media requests, go get his picture made in a field holding a shotgun and a bible, and run a bunch of ads with his name all over it. Unfortunately, that is all you have to do when you have name recognition in this state. Sad, but true…
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paulburka Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:39 pm
I think Dewhurst has agreed to two more debates.
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anita says:
Is there a reason why Paul Sadler, who is running in the Democratic Primary for the seat, was not invited?
We all know that TPPF and Empower Texans are Republican party shills, but how do they justify overt partisan activity, excluding candidates in the Democratic primary?
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
I dunno why isn’t Pres Obama invited to the republican debates?
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Anonymous Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 6:05 pm
Primary debate?
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anita says:
Because he hasn’t filed to run for the US Senate from Texas.
Serious responses only, please . . .
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
Sorry lemme draw a picture. I’m not sure why Pres Obama isn’t invited to the republican debates along with Romney, Santorum, Perry, Paul, Gingrich, and Huntsman.
Because its a republican debate.
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anita Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:55 pm
They weren’t sponsored by non-profit organizations accepting tax deductible donations.
Again, serious responses only, please.
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 6:26 am
@Anita
What did you miss about the word republican?
If your guy wants to debate then he can challenge in the general.
At least thats how it used to be, till the entitlement mentality got ingrained.
AreYouKiddingMe says:
Probably a Republican debate only, due to Primary election. I am sure after the Repubs elect a nominee, Sadler will have his chance to debate Dewhurst. My prediction: Sadler will demolish Dewhurst in every debate, have great ideas, and Dewhurst will win by 12 points. Sad but true. Texas voters have to be the most un-informed (or mis-informed) voters in the nation.
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anita Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
That’s not good enough. They are organized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan research organization. They solicit donations and claim they are tax deductible. Why are they engaged in overtly partisan activity?
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garvin Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
They are crooked as a dogs hind leg?
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:42 pm
you do understand republican debate?
If dems want to have a debate then they can organize it. Do dems invite republicans to their debates? If so when?
Anita you get goofier everyday.
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anita says:
I watched the debate. What a bunch of clowns. They’re all speaking to an echo chamber. Ted Cruz takes serious liberties with the truth. They know that there’s no way that any of the whack proposals that they offer will ever be enacted.
Cruz, amazingly, says he supports repeal of the 17th Amendment — so he wants to take away the right of the very people he’s asking to vote for him. Bizarre.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:50 pm
Repeal of the 17th Amendment (the direct election of senators) is bullshit. And that is a big mark against Cruz. It reveals an elitist mindset, someone who wants to be picked by insiders in a state legislator.
Not good at all.
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anita Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Agreed. It was a trip to crazy town, with each candidate trying to out-do each other on the wacky scale.
We have a long history of electing pragmatic senators who work hard to protect Texas interests — if you listened to the rhetoric last night, you’d think our state had been represented by crooks and scoundrels. When asked to name senators that they admire, it was the extreme wing nuts — DeMint, Cogburn, Paul. Seriously? Texas doesn’t need an extremist wing nut — we need someone who is willing to work with others to make sure Texans have a voice.
Crazy town.
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:42 pm
Dems cannot understand republican debates they’re like foreign languages to dems.
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"Red Dirt & Sand," blog. Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:59 pm
Some of the right leaning Republicans are wing nuts. Maybe not as near the edge as a certain commenter or so on this blog. What happened to center right or sensible Republicans? Too much of the kool-aid or was it Koch made tea?
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 6:28 am
name one moderate dem in the Texas or US lege.
Col. Mike Kirby Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 10:16 pm
gibberish is a foreign language??
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 6:29 am
and look who gets it wrong.
Goo says:
Anita let’s suppose a Democrat was invited to a GOP primary debate. Do you honestly think Sadler would be willing to be thrown into a lion’s den and debate a bunch of Republicans at an event that only Republicans attended? Come on. TPPF/Empower Texans did the poor guy a favor, if anything.
The debate was for the GOP primary – if you want TPPF/Empower Texans to sponsor a debate for the Dem primary, give them a call and suggest it. And please let us all know what you hear.
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anita Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:34 pm
No, why should my tax dollars subsidize overtly partisan activity?
Every candidate on the stage last night claimed he either wanted to scrap the tax code or outright abolish the IRS. But the very organization that’s providing the forum is abusing the charitable exemptions available under the code, by engaging in overtly partisan political activity. They should either not do it, or invite all candidates.
Kinda funny to watch the crowd cheer the stem-winding speeches about how government should stay out of their lives, how taxes are out of control — when they are abusing a tax exemption and shifting more of the burden to all of us.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 6:07 pm
So how are your tax dollars funding this?
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paulburka Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:54 pm
Actually, I think Sadler would have accepted in a heartbeat, and I bet he would have won the debate. None of the Rs could match him.
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Its hard to take dems seriously with statements like that Burka.
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anita says:
Revenue Ruling 86-95 lists the legal test for determining whether a 501(c)(3), when holding a candidate forum or debate during an election, is engaged in illegal political activity. The first element is that “all legally qualified candidates were invited.”
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donuthin Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
surely you are not suggesting the self-righteous, right wingers would bend the rules. OMG, all this time I thought they were all about sticking to the law.
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 6:30 am
Name one democrat who hasn’t bent the rules in the Texas and US lege.
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Bean Counter says:
Craig James – NFL road warrior. How soon will it be before before Gloria Allred is standing in front of the camersa with some young thing and her mother with the news: “Craig James is my Daddy and I my mama never got child support.”
We should start a pool to see how long it takes before she shows up.
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garvin says:
James sucked in the NFL. He’s been a con since the Pony Excess. Imagine haveing a guy that did what he did at Texas Tech representing you…
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Robert Morrow Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:51 pm
Question – how many * white* running backs even make it to the NFL … how did YOU do in the NFL… or Division I football … or did u even make your high school football team?
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Goo says:
Paul, maybe Sadler would have, maybe he wouldn’t have. That’s not the point. Why would he bother to spend his evening speaking in front of an audience filled with people won’t support him? It’d be a complete waste of his time. The debate wasn’t even televised, it’s not like his words would have reached his target audience.
And Anita, does “election” refer to a general election where candidates for each party are recognized, or a primary election? longshot Lela Pittenger wasn’t invited either, from what I understand. Again, please call TPPF/Empower Texans and get back with us on when they’ll host a debate for Dems. But I’ll go ahead and give you my humble thoughts: we won’t see Sadler on stage for a big debate until the general.
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anita Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
Sounds like you are an insider at TPPF, if you know who gets invited and who doesn’t.
If TPPF doesn’t want to recognize Democratic candidates, that’s fine — just quit accepting tax deductible donations. Pretty simple solution.
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:45 pm
file an ethics complaint anita its what dems do best.
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Jerry Only Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 8:37 am
probably because republicans are the ones making all of the ethical violations.
JethroBurnedallhisBooks Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 8:17 am
Anita, thanks for commenting on this blog.
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donuthin Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 8:20 am
Agree, Anita is probably one of the best informed and insightful to post here.
"Red Dirt & Sand," blog. says:
Except, Democrats do win the Presidency every now and then and are likely to do it again this year.
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Johnbernardbooks Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 6:32 am
and that has what to do with the Sen debate?
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Goo says:
I’m interested to see how the ethics complaint goes, Anita. Or are the previous posts just internet bluster?
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anita says:
The complaint would not be “an ethics complaint”. It would take the form of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. Under rules revised last decade, the penalty is no longer simply losing the tax deductible status, but civil and criminal penalties, including liability extending to individual board members.
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donuthin says:
Anita simply raised the question, which I think is a good one. I would suppose that each of the primaries are separate elections so that only those who are entered into the individual primary would have the privilege of being included. No matter, TPPF serves no public good and should not have tax exempt status.
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Robert Morrow says:
Speaking of Texas senators… I googled “Lyndon Johnson psychopath” to see what would come up.
Lyndon Johnson, imho, personified what a psychopath is – a person, usually a pathological liar, who ruthlessly uses others with absolutely NO guilt or empathy. Think serial killers, serial rapists or serial con artists. We know from the testimony in the 1980′s from Billie Sol Estes that LBJ had a personal hitman, Malcolm Wallace, who he used to kill multiple people who posed problems to him (US Ag official Henry Marshall, 1961, a prime example).
Not to mention LBJ’s critical role in the JFK assassination & coverup.
Well, what do you know, Lyndon Johnson is listed in the “Handbook of Psychopathy” by Christopher Patrick (p.11). 2 sentences later the author is talking about Hitler and Stalin.
http://books.google.com/books?id=OuNdrmHcJlgC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=lyndon+johnson+psychopath&source=bl&ots=mw-76CoImb&sig=LSlRGNlftKOolIAQ_wk1LtP3VFE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1WsST5WzILCJ2AWN_aGECg&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=lyndon%20johnson%20psychopath&f=false
I think LBJ’s basic personality and character would be very close to Hitler & Stalin, just his kill totals were lower.
Robert Caro, whose 4th book on LBJ, is due out May, 2012, just has not come to the realization just how evil a man LBJ was. “Corrupt” and “vulgar” are far from adequate when describing Johnson.
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Hispanic says:
Paul Sadler is an anti-Hispanic clown. He will never get large scale Hispanic support by the time info comes out.
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ConsDem says:
Roberto morrow, a rice university prof ranks the most cons/liberal republicans and most cons/liberal dems. List is out on the Texas trib. Look it up. He who questions out of ignorance is unquestionably ignorant.
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longleaf says:
No one ever gets “large scale” Hispanic support in terms of Texas politics. Hispanics don’t vote.
“Who cares what you think?” as Dubya liked to say to his critics.
It IS ironic, though, that the GOPers are the ones who are most venomous against them right now. I think that if they ever did start voting, they would be more naturally sympathetic to the GOPer line if the GOPers, led by their TeaOP hard core, would just stop labeling them ALL as subhuman aliens.
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TexasTea Reply:
January 15th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
But as for Paul Sadler, it sure is sad when as a dem, you cannot even get Hispanic support
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longleaf says:
There may be a way for Lord Dewhurst to be seated in D.C. yet and I base this on an exchange of views I found while searching Cruz’ stand on the issues. It’s from this very blog:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:54 pm
anita says:
I watched the debate. What a bunch of clowns. They’re all speaking to an echo chamber. Ted Cruz takes serious liberties with the truth. They know that there’s no way that any of the whack proposals that they offer will ever be enacted.
Cruz, amazingly, says he supports repeal of the 17th Amendment — so he wants to take away the right of the very people he’s asking to vote for him. Bizarre.
Robert Morrow Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:50 pm
Repeal of the 17th Amendment (the direct election of senators) is bullshit. And that is a big mark against Cruz. It reveals an elitist mindset, someone who wants to be picked by insiders in a state legislator.
Not good at all.
+++++++++++++
So there you have it. Cruz gets the 17th Amendment repealed as his first order of business and we go back to the way the Constitution intended it and that was for the Austin insiders to seat Dewhurst instead of having to endure the choice of the populist mob.
Cruz is an honorable man. He’ll have no problem resigning his seat and giving it over to the choice of the Texas Legislature.
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