Right Of Texas

ROT Moving to WordPress

2006-04-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who are reading Right of Texas thus far.

It has been a great 3 weeks so far.

I am moving the site to wordpress, as the features are much, much better than blogger.

I'd encourage others who are using blogger to do the same.

The new address is...

www.rightoftexas.wordpress.com

Thanks for continuing to read ROT!

Annex's "From The Blogs"

2006-04-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

Head over to Capitol Annex and check out their "From the Blog" segment today.

Go Sessions Go

2006-04-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

"There are not a lot of other things on Americans' minds today" besides the immigration debate, Mr. Sessions said, warning that if Congress legalizes the current group of illegal residents without tightening borders first, the nation should brace for 25 million more.
"Without these parts being in place, we will find that we are overrun," he said.

-Great Quote.

I still am amazed at the protests going on around the nation. If all peoples who called themselves "immigrants" protested this...270 million people would be out there.

There should be no question here:ILLEGAL is ILLEGAL.

Tens of thousands come across our unsecured border everyday. In some states 1 in 3 of all of those incarcerated are illegal immigrants.

To be fiscally responsible, and to secure our country we need to fix the problem now.

Strayhorn Complains Again

2006-04-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the teacher from the Snoopy cartoon? The teacher whose voice would always be "wamp, wamp , wamp" and no clear sound would come out?

That's beginning to be all I hear out of the Strayhorn campaign.

Embattled in two lawsuits, without a definite number of petition signatures, and now she is complaining about something else...

You're about to get the hard-sell on Gov. Rick
Perry's school finance tax plan.
Some say his sales pitch could be illegal. This is just days before lawmakers kick off another special session on school finance.

Perry is getting help to promote his tax plan from a group you've probably never heard of. It will get its money from companies with millions of dollars at stake in tax reform.

"If he is not breaking the letter of the law, he is breaking the spirit of
the law," Strayhorn said.

...and as usual....Chris Bell follows Strayhorn's attack.

"Even if they've found some type of loophole to allow it that makes it legal, it's certainly not ethical," Bell said

If Bell wants to stay in this race, he needs to be going after Perry himself, instead of just waiting to jump on the Strayhorn bandwagon every chance he gets.

I don't dislike Ms.Strayhorn, but come on...lets talk about issues.

Taylor Keeps Trucking Along

2006-04-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

While In the Pink, and Capitol Annex seem pessimistic about the recent Cheney event with future Congressman Van Taylor, I have heard from various sources that it was a big success.

As I stated on Capitol Annex, in the end of the day...Edwards has to be shaking in his boots.

Check this site out.

I knew that the 17th was Republican, but I had no idea that is was the most Republican district in the country(according to '04 results) to have a Democratic Congressman.

Chet's on his way out guys.

KXAN Has Update on Petition Gathering

2006-04-12T12:32:00.000-07:00

From KXAN News:

Carole Keeton Strayhorn has no idea what number Ruben Sosa's signature is in her month long petition drive to get on the November ballot for governor.
" Carole is straightforward," Sosa said.
"We've literally got tens of thousands. We can't even stop to count them," Strayhorn said.
Neither
can the volunteers at Kinky Friedman's campaign headquarters where they're downloading signatures for verification as fast as they come in.
"I'm fully confident we'll get on the ballot. I'm not worried about that. But exactly how many, I really don't know," Friedman Campaign Director Dean Barkley said.
Both independent campaigns need more than 45,000 signatures to get on the ballot, neither will say if they've got enough yet.

I think Strayhorn, but not Friedman, will get on the ballot.

Edwards Takes Money From Ethically Challenged Colleague

2006-04-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

From the NRCC:

Will Chet Edwards Return Campaign Check from Ethically-Challenged Rep. Mollohan?

Rep. Edwards took $6,000 from West Virginia Democrat Alan Mollohan, a congressman now in the center of an apparent congressional ethics scandal

WASHINGTON – With national Democrats talking about cleaning up Washington, DC, will Rep. Chet Edwards (TX-17) only talk the talk on congressional ethics and cleaning up Washington, DC, or will he walk the walk?

Rep. Edwards took $6,000 from scandal-plagued West Virginia Democrat Rep. Alan Mollohan (WV-01) from 2002-04. But will he return the campaign contributions?

As reported in both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, federal authorities are investigating a complaint laid upon Rep. Mollohan, alleging that he may have profited off of legislative favors given to friends in West Virginia, in the form of federal money directed at non-profit organizations.

Ironically, Rep. Mollohan is the highest-ranking Democrat on the Ethics Committee. The non-partisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Roll Call newspaper, and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert have all urged Mollohan to resign his position.

Meanwhile, Rep. Edwards has to decide whether to keep the campaign cash given by his ethically-challenged colleague.

"There's a lot of talk by Democrats about cleaning up Washington and getting rid of 'dirty money' — until it's their dirty money," said National Republican Congressional Committee press secretary Jonathan Collegio. "Now's the time for Rep. Edwards to walk the walk on ethics by returning the money given by Alan Mollohan, instead of talking up a lot of hot air."

" It is outrageous that the Democrats will talk endlessly about corruption until it affects them. Then, they have no comment."
– Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) ( CNS News, 3/10/06)

Remember...

2006-04-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

From the Harris County GOP:

If you have not already voted early, this Tuesday is the Republican Primary
Runoff Election.
You can vote in person only at your local precinct.
Polls are open from 7am to 7pm.
Click here for a list of voting locations
Please make certain that you turn out for this important Republican election. Just a
handful of votes could decide these races and determine which candidate
will represent our party on the ballot this fall.
Remember that you can vote
in the runoff even if you did not vote in the March Primary. Only those
who voted in the Democrat Primary are ineligible for this election.
Please encourage your family and friends to vote on Tuesday!
Click here to forward this message

From the RPT:

Dear Fellow Republican,
Please don't forget to cast your vote in the
Republican Party Primary Runoff Election for the candidate(s) of your
choice!
Election Day is Tuesday, April 11th. Polling locations are open
from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. To find polling locations in your county contact your
local Republican Party County Chairman.
Sincerely,
Tina BenkiserChairman, Republican Party of Texas

I have to do a little traveling over the next couple of days, but will still be updating..just not as often.

When I return, I will make some maps of the various election results.

Dick Cheney Event

2006-04-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

Any word on the Cheney Event?

A Look Into Texas' 24th Congressional

2006-04-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

In 2004 Kenny Marchant was elected to Congress to represent the new 24th Congressional which was previously held by Democrat Martin Frost.

Frost went on to run against Pete Sessions, losing by 10 points.

He beat Democrat Gary Page and Libertarian James Lawrence with 64% of the vote.

See Marchant's campaign website here.

Other ROT Congressional Maps:

1st
6th
17th
22nd

Caption Contest Winner

2006-04-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Caption Contest Winner:

Sedosi "Shortly after the signing Kinky went on to demonstrate
"de-wussification"

Honorable Mention:

Texas GOP"Why the Hell Not"

Great Website

2006-04-09T12:34:00.000-07:00

While searching the net I found a website that should be interesting to all politicos.

It is a "neutral predictor" for races across the country.

The organization itself makes a prediction..and then lets the readers have an impact.

Here's a few of their graphs:

So for this graph, they believe there is a 54% chance that Edwards retains his seat.

They believe there is a 90% chance Rick Perry will hold onto the Governor's mansion.

Head on over here, sign up and start putting up your estimates.

The percentages really aren't based on anything..but it's a little fun.

Edwards Wants His Cake...

2006-04-09T00:34:00.000-07:00

From the Waco Tribune:

Their intended audience includes Waco’s Democratic congressman, Chet Edwards, who voted last December for
a House immigration bill that has stirred outrage by seeking to criminalize
illegal aliens and those who aid them.
“I hope Congressman Edwards and the rest of Congress start
paying attention to the will of the American people,” said Ernesto Fraga, the El
Tiempo publisher and an organizer of the march. “They need to be aware that a
vote like last December’s cannot happen again without an outcry from the
community.”

Congressman Edwards wants to have his cake and eat it too. He voted for the bill, but when the pressure is on now says

"The House bill went too far in making it a criminal penalty for Catholic
charities to provide soup and food for hungry children and families,” he said.
“I didn’t vote for the House bill because I supported every provision. I voted
for it because I think it’s important that we provide congressional legislation
to secure our border and have an immigration law that is enforceable.”

In the 17th race, only Van Taylor has stuck to his position. Sometimes I think we forget the key word in the phrase "illegal immigration"is ILLEGAL.

In November’s election Edwards
is facing a Republican opponent, Van
Taylor, who supports a crackdown on illegal immigration by
building a wall, beefing up border patrols and punishing illegal
immigrants.

Congressman Barton Gets Upset at the Justice Department

2006-04-09T00:03:00.000-07:00

The Gadsden Times reports:

"We keep trying to cooperate with the Justice Department and the F.B.I.," said
Representative Joe L. Barton,
Republican of Texas, the chairman of the full committee. Speaking directly to
William W. Mercer, a United States attorney for Montana who testified at the
hearings, Mr. Barton said: "You
folks seem bound and determined to be as uncooperative as possible. I'm going to
call the attorney general one more time, and we had better get the people we
want to testify."

I agree completely with Congressman Barton. The exploitation of children online is a serious domestic issue in this country. Trash websites are too easily available to America's youth, who are easily enticed into a secret online world.

The Bush administration needs to be cooperation on this issue...

1st Weekly Caption Contest

2006-04-08T00:34:00.000-07:00

I want to start something this week, a Caption Contest.

Every weekend I will put up a picture, and leave up the picture until Monday.

Monday, the best caption wins!(you win nothing except self-satisfaction)

Leave captions in the comment section.

This is Getting Ridiculous

2006-04-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn is now suing Attorney General Abbott.

From News 8 Austin:

State Comptroller Carole Keeton
Strayhorn filed a lawsuit against state Attorney General Greg Abbott.
The lawsuit involves Abbott's decision that Strayhorn must turn over state employee
birth dates under the Freedom of Information Act.
The question arose in
November, when the Dallas Morning News asked the comptroller's office for a
database of state employees—including names, job titles, salaries, and birth
dates.

First she sues the Secretary of State, and now this!???

Texas' First Congressional in '04

2006-04-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

In 2004 Louie Gohmert won with 61% of the vote against Democrat Max Sandlin and Libertarian Dean Tucker.

Gohmert is running this year against "Southern Democrat" Roger Owen.

Owen, who has quite possibly the worst website I've ever seen, has little chance of beating Gohmert in the far Eastern portion of the state.

Other ROT '04 Maps

The 6th
The 17th
The 22nd

Budget Plan Finds Little Support

2006-04-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

From the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram

A proposed state rule that would require public school districts to spend
at least 65 percent of their budgets on instruction would do little to punish
noncompliant districts.Some area educators also say the proposal released
Thursday by Texas Education Commissioner Shirley J. Neeley is a waste of time
and creates needless interference in local school districts.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued an executive order
in August requiring that all public school districts meet the 65 percent
spending threshold, criticizing the state Legislature at the time for not
enacting such a rule on its own.

A Conservative's Thoughts on DeLay

2006-04-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the second part written by me:

Republicans Will Hold the 22nd

Congressman DeLay's
rapid fall from Majority Leader, to a regular Congressman, to citizen of
Alexandria was a Christmas gift for the far-left throughout Texas, and America.
While DeLay's actions and associations with
Jack Abramoff are inexcusable, the fact remains that Abramoff associated with
many in Washington. If we are to be fair, and sink
DeLay with Abramoff, why not also Senate Majority Leader Nevada
Senator Harry Reid who was also in dealings
with Jacky boy? Or Former Senate Majority Leader Tom
Daschle?

With DeLay stepping aside, I have no doubt
that a Republican will continue to represent the 22nd District of Texas.

Polls in the district continued to indicate that the constituency would support
Lampson, or another candidate over
Congressman DeLay. These poll results
should not be mistaken to mean that the district is Democratic, or liberal
. In a Zogby poll conducted in DeLay's
district within the past year, when asked if they would vote for
DeLay or another candidate, the constituents
responded 38% for DeLay and 45% for another
candidate. In the same poll, questions were asked about Terri Schiavo. The
country as a whole agreed with the removal of the feeding tube by a large
margin, but Texas' 22nd District did not. DeLay's
constituents said 44% to 35% that they opposed the removal of the tube. When
asked if DeLay's religious faith should play
a major roll in shaping policy, 48% felt it should, while 45% felt it shouldn't.

This district has a huge base of Born Again
conservative Christians, who will come in droves to vote for the candidate of
higher "morality". I believe the reason Congressman
DeLay was not doing well in the polls, is because his actions (the
suspected bribes ect.) were seemingly un-Christian to his hard-right
constituency.

Former Congressman Steve Stockman , and
Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace are already
eyeing the seat, as well as former primary opponent Tom
Campbell. I don't believe the Republican base will support
Campbell, as running against incumbent
DeLay was a slap in the face. I think party
leadership will turn their heads to Campbell
also, simply on his previous run. I believe DeLay's
war chest will go to his handpicked successor in the district, as well as spread
across different races in the nation (or into his legal defense fund!)

I can only imagine Former Congressman Nick Lampson's
reaction to this was not a happy one. While open seats are usually harder to
defend, in this case it's easier to defend for Houston area GOPers. The district
was designed for the purpose of electing a Republican, and the results have
proven so. It has gone Republican in the past, and it will go Republican
again in November.

A Liberal's Thoughts on DeLay

2006-04-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Vince Leibowitz and I both wanted to let Texas readers see two differing opinions on Tom DeLay's resignation, and the possible outcomes.

Here's A Liberal's Thoughts:
Tom DeLay's Stunning Announcement: What Will The Aftermath Bring?

Though the media continues to examine the "whys" related to Tom DeLay's recent announcment that he will end his campaign for another term in Congress and resign from that body, the real question on the minds of most people in Texas isn't why DeLay did what he did. It is, rather, what the aftermath of the announcement will bring.

I suspect two things: First, that any coming special election will be an expensive, multi-candidate battle. I would not be surprised to see five or more total candidates vying for the seat. Second, I don't believe that DeLay's impending departure from the political scene will truly make a difference in whether or not Democrats win in CD-22 or in other districts around the nation where DeLay allies are being hounded because of their connections to the indicted soon-to-be-former Congressman.

It is already rumored that the field to replace DeLay will include candidates ranging from now independent former conservative Republican Congressman Steve Stockman to the mayor of Sugar Land and State Senator Kyle Janek. A bloody special election battle (including a likely special election runoff) will leave whomever the winner is bloodied, bruised and vunerable going into the November elections.

Why do I think this will not make a difference for Lampson in CD-22 or others? Because, just as the Republican Party continues to tie Democratic candidates to the shenigans of Bill Clinton, Texas Republicans of the present political era will not be able to wiggle out from under the mantle of being the party of DeLay for years to come. Whomever among them that attempts to assume DeLay's seat (and there are rumors that a hand-picked successor exists), they will have to spend more time proving they aren't made in the DeLay mold than they will spend expounding upon their own ideas.

DeLay very well may have made his decision to resign in an attempt to thwart Lampson's campaign. In fact, he probably timed it in order to have the maximum negative impact on Lampson: funding three election day campaigns is far more expensive than just paying for a general election campaign. But, though the district does lean Republican, it has become clear that the people in Congressional District 22 want new leadership. And, by new leadership, I don't mean another Republican. DeLay and his party have proved to the residents of this District (and, indeed, to everyone in the nation) that they are not effective leaders and that their entire party is tainted by a "culture of corruption" not seen on either side of the aisle since the days of Watergate.

Will Lampson have a tougher time against another candidate? Perhaps. However, all he must do is effectively coin his new opponent as DeLay's successor, and do everything he can to paint him or her as a continuation of the "same old, same old," DeLay machine.

No matter how pristine the replacement player for DeLay may be, he will have difficulty recovering from having his photo side-by-side with DeLay's in dozens of mailers and television ads—especially if DeLay shares some of his million-dollar campaign warchest with the new nominee. If there is one thing that can taint a DeLay successor faster than anything, it's money. Any dollar from DeLay, and indeed any dollar from major DeLay contributors, can be used to Democrats' advantage.

It will be a slippery slope for both parties leading up to November. But, I believe, in the wake of the DeLay departure, Democrats can and will prevail.

Progressive Site Names Edwards In Weak Bunch

2006-04-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

According to veteran DC prognosticator, Charlie Cook, there are 36 House seats
in play. In order to prevail, the Democrats will have to hold onto 11 shaky
seats and win 15 of the 25 tenuous GOP seats. Here’s my look at how the Dems
are doing in close races.

The progressive site OpEdNews.com then broke down the tough Democrat seats into two categories.

1) Anti-War
2)Incomprehensible-
The candidate’s web site simply avoids talking about Iraq,

or says something so vacuous that I can’t figure out where they stand.

I’ve listed the candidates involved in tight races alphabetically.

On Texas' 17th:
Chet Edwards (Texas, 17th) is facing his

usual stiff opposition in a gerrymandered

district that is more Republican than it was before.

GOP Donor Discloses

2006-04-06T01:30:00.000-07:00

From the AP Wire:

Major Texas Republican donor Bob Perry gave a state board appointee a gift of $50,000 in 2004, both men confirmed, revealing for the first time the amount of the money that's described only as a check on ethics forms.Bill Ceverha, a member of the board overseeing the state Employees Retirement System, also received another gift of $50,000 from Perry in January 2005, The Dallas Morning
News reported in Wednesday's editions.

Lampson Will Run If Election in May

2006-04-06T01:22:00.000-07:00

From the Houston Chronicle:

Former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson,
the Democratic nominee hoping to succeed outgoing Republican Rep. Tom DeLay next year, says he also will run in a special election to complete DeLay's current term if it is held on the earliest possible date.
That would be the uniform Election Day on May 13. But DeLay says he intends to resign officially sometime in June, making a May election impossible

A Look Into Texas' 6th Congressional

2006-04-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

Democrats save your money in this one, as it will be squandered away.

Congressman Barton's district stretching from the suburbs of Dallas , East to Trinity County, is perfect for the election of conservatives.

In 2004 Congressman Barton destroyed lefty Morris Myer, winning 66% of the vote.

Congressman Barton's new opponent, David Harris, has an impressive record as a veteran and now professor at UT Arlington.

Harris' website can be found here.
It is a step up from Congressman Barton's which can be found here.

I don't think his military service will be enough to overcome to hardright leanings of the district, and Barton's consistent great services to the citizens of the 6th.

Past ROT '04 Maps:

The 22nd

The 17th

Muslim Attacked at Baptist Baylor University NEW

2006-04-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

The Council of American-Islamic relations is angry:

The coed was attacked from behind Saturday evening as she walked to her dorm
from the Student Union Building.

She told News Ten that her attacker was
a white male who appeared to be in his 30s. She said she didn’t think the man
was a Baylor student.
She said the man grabbed her headscarf and threw her to
the ground, yelling profane ethnic and anti-Muslim slurs while threatening to
kill her if she made any noise.
The man pinned her to the ground, she said,
and dug his nails into her chest until she screamed.
When she screamed, she
said the man slapped her in the face and kicked her twice in the ribs before he
fled.

This is a tragic story, and I hope her attacker is caught.

I can't understand why Muslims pick to attend Baylor...as it is a Baptist school...a VERY Baptist school...for Christians....

...but there is no excuse for this kind of attack.

NEW
Baylor issued this on the matter.

Apparently the attack occured by Draper Hall, towards the South End of campus. The FBI Is now involved.