Burnt Orange Report

More Good News for Martin Frost

By Byron LaMasters

I wasn't paying too much attention over the weekend, but Martin Frost scored an interesting endorsement on Friday in Ed Smart, father of the kidnapped Elizabeth Smart:

Ed Smart is best-known as the father of kidnapped Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart, whom authorities found alive and safe after nine months in captivity. He's also a Republican.

But Mr. Smart traveled to Dallas on Friday to endorse Rep. Martin Frost, D-Dallas, in his contentious fight against Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, to represent Texas' 32nd Congressional District.

Mr. Frost, he said, should be rewarded with re-election for advocating a federal Amber Alert system – named for an Arlington girl who in 1996 was kidnapped and murdered – that broadcasts emergency messages when authorities suspect someone has abducted a child.

Mr. Frost also wrote a bill that created stiffer penalties for sexual offenders.

"This man here made it happen," Mr. Smart said, placing his arm around Mr. Frost. "He's someone who's responsive, who's dedicated to the betterment of our society."

Pete Sessions, on the other hand, opposed the Amber Alert system.

Houston Chronicle columnist Craigg Hines also noted this weekend that Republicans are increasingly concerned about the Pete Sessions campaign:

An equally nagging worry for the GOP is that their candidate is Rep. Pete Sessions, whom some North Dallas Republicans find it easy to dislike. Sessions, 49, began his House career in a district that stretched from East Dallas 200 miles into the hinterlands. Tired of the rural schlepping, Sessions, after the initial redistricting that followed the 2000 census, hopped across town (against the wishes of some North Dallas Republicans) to claim what looked like a more securely Republican (and certainly more compact) district.

When Boss Tom DeLay ordered up a new map from his girlie men in the Legislature, a top priority (other than just gaining Republican seats) was to nail Frost to the mast. The obedient Republicans in Austin tried (and eventually the plan may have its desired effect). But Frost, not taking the hint, launched a savage onslaught against Sessions, not a very nimble campaigner.

Frost, no fool, plays down his Democratic ties and pictures himself as a more ardent supporter than Sessions of President Bush's war on terrorism. Frost emphasizes a Sessions post 9/11 vote against increased air security.

In what was, at best, insensitive phrasing, in a debate last week Sessions said Sept. 11, 2001, was "a home game" and the attack Iraq a preferable "away game." Rushing into the opening, Frost turned on his opponent: "Pete, this is not a game."

In speaking of the war on terrorism, Frost points out that his wife, an Army major general, is on assignment in Iraq and that he, unlike Sessions, served in the military.

Charles has more on this as well as some other election news that came out over the weekend elsewhere.