Travis County Commissioner, Pct 4: No Endorsement

Wow that's weak! (3.00 / 3)

What campaign are you guys watching?

Raul Alvarez sent out a position paper on how Travis County needs to help our community meet its 2040 zero waste goal and eliminate the need to expand and/or build landfills.

http://www.voteraulalvarez.com...

And one of his criticisms of Gomez has been that the city is always doing all the heavy lifting on economic development and housing issues. He wants county government to join the city in achieving the goals we have set as a community. Look at the other issue papers he has put out on his website.

And no mention of Raul's record on city council? When comparing two candidates who have both held public office, I like to start by comparing their records in office. Here, again, there is no comparison.

And what is it about this slow start bullshit? He has out-raised her in campaign donations, he has out-endorsed her about 2-1, and he has probably phone banked and block walked more than she has. He has probably had more events, too. Most campaigns pray for starts like that!

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by: el_longhorn @ Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 17:22:28 PM UTC

Again . . . (1.00 / 3)

. . .  no endorsement in this race seems like a bunch of white libs looking down their nose at the hispanics running for this office.  Your criticisms of Mr. Alvarez's campaign seem vague.  Moreover, while you choose not to endorse him because his campaign doesn't rise to your standards, BOR has repeatedly endorsed anglos who have run poor campaigns (i.e. Hank Gilbert).

Y'all can go back to listening to NPR now.

"Be kind to dogs - and vote Democratic!" -Senator Tom Eagleton

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by: mondalejones @ Sun Feb 21, 2010 at 14:27:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

BOR is pretty thin skinned . . . (0.00 / 0)

I have posted here three times pointed out the apparent double standard of BOR in endorsing hispanics vs. anglos.  Three times BOR has erased my posts, probably because the posts hit too close to home.  

Sometimes white libs have to confront their own double standards . . .

"Be kind to dogs - and vote Democratic!" -Senator Tom Eagleton

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by: mondalejones @ Tue Feb 23, 2010 at 04:51:54 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I'll respond (5.00 / 3)

First off, maybe you should take a quite hint and review of how this site works. There are Community Guidelines for comments, which you violated, not once, but three times, and apparently didn't pick up on and continued to post anyways.

Users who are bashing or attacking any other user on the site, especially authors of diaries and frontpage postings, will be warned and/or banned. Elected officials and candidates for public office are allowed a higher level of criticism as they are in the public domain (but that doesn't mean you can use inflammatory language against candidates).

When you, a white liberal hiding behind a username, attack the editorial staff as "a bunch of white libs looking down your nose at the hispanics", it's hardly surprising that your comments have been moderated, both by the community, and the site. And that's what they did, need you be reminded of the comment guidelines. There are more productive ways of standing up for a community than that.

1- Unproductive: A rating given by other users that indicates that a comment is inappropriate, lacking content or analysis, or unnecessarily abrasive. Average users are encouraged to give this rating to comments that violate the Community Guidelines. Comments with this rating can be considered flagged to TU's or site admins for moderation or deletion.

Your comments were hidden by both users outright, and in other cases by users and the site after your repeated spamming.

The irony of this is that the Hispanic member of our staff probably listens to more NPR than say, I do, since that is what you suggesting we all are doing while we "look down our noses at hispanics". And that's kind of sad that you would stereotype Travis County's Hispanic community as being too "low class" to listen to NPR as your original charge implies.

Consider this your warning as per the community guidelines. You've commented on BOR for a couple years now on a variety of topics. You're not a troll, but you're better than this.  

Please read the Community Guidelines and How to Rate Comments.

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Tue Feb 23, 2010 at 17:33:51 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Me thinks thou doth protest to much . . . (0.00 / 0)

Karl, as you knnow but you hide from your readers, I emailed you about you about being censored.  That's how you found out who I was, because I criticized you for hiding my posts.  So its disingenuous to imply I did this anonymously when I disclosed myself to you.

Second, I disagree that my posts violated the community guidelines.  As a Civil Rights lawyer, I routinely stand up to discrimination and call it when I think I see it.

My criticism obviously struck a nerve.  Moreover, you don't defend the accusation that there is a double standard for hispanic and anglo candidates, you just attack.

Finally, my suggestion that you could "go back to listening to NPR now" was not aimed at Hispanics, it was was aimed at the "white libs" that had an apparent double standard.  I made no comment about Hispanics listening to NPR, so it is inappropriate for you to say that I did.

Because I have fought with and for the Hispanic community in Texas for 23 years in Bexar, Lubbock, Tarrant and Travis Counties, so BOR's refusal to endorse a Hispanic candidate because it does not like his campaign looks fishy when y'all have endorsed plenty of anglo candidates who have run lousy campaigns.

BOR owes the folks in County Commissioner Precinct 4 (who are predominately Hispanic) better than this.  Maybe next time.


"Be kind to dogs - and vote Democratic!" -Senator Tom Eagleton

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by: mondalejones @ Tue Feb 23, 2010 at 20:58:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

There is only so much silly I can reply to in one day (5.00 / 1)

You commented on your facebook status about being disappointed in Burnt Orange Report and while that may not be publicly universal depending on your privacy settings, it is to me and I'm not even a confirmed friend. Your email was to an address I don't have attached to my facebook account and wasn't even in my inbox but rather a catchall filter I have. But this is a minor issue.

You can disagree on your interpretation of the guidelines, that's your prerogative and your right. That doesn't mean the rules get changed, though.

The only nerve you've struck is one of incredulousness. Your charge that this site has refused to endorse a Hispanic candidate (be their campaign stellar or lousy) falls on deaf ears. Apparently you missed the endorsement of Hector Uribe over Bill Burton (and forgot to call us out on being racist for not endorsing an African American candidate running a poor campaign!) or Linda Chavez-Thompson over Ronnie Earle and Marc Katz (even though all the candidates in that race have run quiet campaigns). Or maybe Rick Noriega for US Senate in 2008 for whom I moved back to Texas cross county to work for who we endorsed in the primary over a handful of anglo candidates.

Please. The only thing the folks in County Commissioner Precinct 4 are owed is renewed and reinvigorated leadership. Everyone wins when that is the message. May the best campaign win, because in that race, that's exactly what will and should happen. It's what the endorsement advocated for after all.

Please read the Community Guidelines and How to Rate Comments.

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Tue Feb 23, 2010 at 21:58:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

RE: The bill of rights . . . (0.00 / 0)

. . . protects our right to free speech from regulation.  I assume a real progressive blog would embrace this value.  The Warren Court told us that the remedy to speech you disagree with is more speech.  

So I am glad you reinstated at least one of my posts and then responded on the merits.  But hopefully BOR won't turn into an echo chamber and will be big enough to allow criticism, even criticism that points out apparent inequity in its decisions.  Otherwise, the will be no difference between BOR and the right wing blowhards like Limbaugh . . .

Buenas noches.

P.S.  I just sent my email to the email address for you forwarded to me by Mr. Glazer so . . .

"Be kind to dogs - and vote Democratic!" -Senator Tom Eagleton

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by: mondalejones @ Wed Feb 24, 2010 at 01:31:30 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

someone should tell Phillip (3.00 / 2)

That he's apparently not hispanic anymore, and that you guys didn't in fact endorse a hispanic woman over a white, liberal guy from Austin for the Lite Gov race.

And, as a hispanic, since the powers that be took away all of my Tejano and Hip Hop stations in Austin, I find myself listening to NPR alot.  I guess that relieves me of my hispanic heritage as well.  It's a shame, I really liked the food.

Meanwhile, Farouk Shami called, and he wants his deck of race cards back.

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by: Joe @ Tue Feb 23, 2010 at 22:47:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

RE: Funny . . . (0.00 / 0)

. . . except I don't think Farouk understands the game so he has no need for his cards . . . plus he could just buy a new deck . . . of gold plated cards with the Chi insignia embossed on each card.

"Be kind to dogs - and vote Democratic!" -Senator Tom Eagleton

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by: mondalejones @ Wed Feb 24, 2010 at 04:39:39 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

RE: Once again, . . . (1.00 / 3)

. . . y'all sound like a bunch of white libs looking down your noses at the Hispanic candidates because they don't campaign they way you think the ought to.

There are plenty of white candidates who don't run great campaigns that y'all endorse.

This no endorsement is an insult to the Hispanic community of Travis County.

Y'all can go back to listening to NPR now . . .

"Be kind to dogs - and vote Democratic!" -Senator Tom Eagleton

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by: mondalejones @ Sun Feb 21, 2010 at 04:58:22 AM UTC