| Then I found out that Noriega had taken money from Bob Perry. I was dumbfounded. How could this person be the choice of progressives. Then I had a chance to meet both candidates at the Brazos County Democrats Jefferson-Jackson banquet. Noriega presented himself in the same no substance motif that I was begining to expect from him. Furthermore, he was un-charming and his mere 10 minutes at the podium seemed to drone on endlessly with talk of family and war - no issues. Watts, on the other hand, was a captivating orator. most of the points that he hit on were about taking care of all the people of Texas and keeping lobbyist out of the halls of our state house - good progressive stuff.
When I had a chance to ask Watts about his stance on reproductive choice he was very straight forward. He did not try to alter his position even though he knew that I was a pro-choice voter. He was very likable.
Noriega...not so much. When I asked him about contributions from Perry he marched forward with indignation right into my personal space - He would have been in my face were he taller. He gave me this line of crap about how he had fought for his country and he deserved better than this. I swear he could have been mistaken for a Chihuahua. His handlers kept trying to get him away from me but he kept on yapping about his soldier entitlement to my respect. Once he was securely redirected his wife was brought in to do damage control. She was much calmer about the question, agreeing that they had had great reservations about Perry's money. She was even charming. She told of how this had been her harrowing decision. He had been away at war and she was terrified of distracting him with such issues. Charming as she was, it is unfortunate that she did not feel bounded by the whole truth. What she left out was that he had accepted money from Perry at other times while he was not in harms way from anything more menacing than the prying questions of people in his own party.
In case you don't know about Bob Perry here is a little from Wikipedia:
527 groups
In the 2004 election cycle, Perry gave $4.45 million to Swift Vets and POWs for Truth (formerly Swift Boat Veterans for Truth), a 527 group; he was the largest single donor.[4] In that cycle, Perry also donated $3 million to Progress for America Voter Fund. In all, he donated almost $8.1 million to 527 group in 2003-2004.[4] In mid-2006, Perry donated $5,000,000 to found a new 527 group, the Economic Freedom Fund. The $5 million makes the group one of the top ten in the 2006 election cycle.[5] He also appears to be the sole donor to Americans for Honesty on Issues. These groups have primarily paid for negative advertisements targeting Democratic Party candidates in the 2006 United States general election.
Other
Perry contributed $46,000 to George W. Bush’s 1994 and 1998 campaigns for Texas Governor. He was the largest individual contributor to the Texas Republican Party during the 2002 election cycle (calendar 2001 & 2002) giving $905,000.[6] Perry gave $165,000 in the 2002 election cycle to Tom DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee (TRMPAC) giving $165,000 in the 2002 election cycle. In October 2002 Perry and his wife contributed $95,000 to DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority political action committtee (ARMPAC)[7] They also contributed $10,000 to DeLay's legal defense fund.[8]. In 2006, Perry was the largest political donor in Texas. His donations included nearly $400,000 to the campaign of GOP Governor Rick Perry (no relation).[9] In March 2007, Perry was listed as a member of Mitt Romney's "Texas Leadership Team", indicating his commitment to contribute to and raise money for Romney's presidential campaign.[9] In December 2007, he donated $200,000 to the Club for Growth for advertisements against Mike Huckabee in the Republican primary.[10] So, how is it that Noriega became the candidate of choice for progressive Democrats? The best explanation that I can find is that it resulted largely from a brief encounter with Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos fame in early August at the yearly KOS convention. At the convention Markos had a Noriega badge pinned on him by Noriega's people and, when asked about Democrats in red states, he held the badge up and said here is a Democrat running in a red state. Not only was this before there was a race, it is hardly an endorsement. But some Texas Bloggers took it as words from God and began to act very much like people who hear words from God. In questioning His credentials I became a heretic. And if I was a heretic then, I am now the Antichrist. Because now we have a truly progressive candidate in the Democratic Primary, so I am more inclined to push the issue. Ray McMurrey is a great candidate. He promotes campaign finance reform, single payer health care, complete withdrawal from Iraq ... I encourage everyone who thinks of themselves as a progressive, or even if only as a Democrat, to check Ray's web site out http://mcmurreyforussenate.com. I do not work for Ray, nor do I agree with everything in his platform. I'm just a guy with a Ray McMurrey for senate sign in his yard. The Noriega People are chanting that McMurrey does not have enough money to compete against Cornyn. This from a candidate that has no platform. On principle I maintain that it is far more important to have ideas than money especially if you are a Democrat. But the reality is that politics takes lots of money. So much so, in fact, that the money that Noriega is currently touting as his big advantage is a fraction of what it will take to defeat Cornyn. The money that needs to be raised for this campaign is yet to be raised, and I assure you that, even without the support of Bob Perry, Ray McMurrey will be the man to do that. He is very articulate and is able to quickly clarify the complex problems that plague our economy and our foreign policy. Noriega seems unwilling to even talk about such things. Ray McMurrey has challenged Noriega to a debate on immigration reform in the valley where these issues are most vital; but Noriega has refused to debate him. What kind of soldier runs from a fight? Noriega has refused to these debates because it is obvious that McMurrey is better informed, more articulate, more charismatic and a better candidate to face Cornyn in November. McMurrey is a great candidate, a great progressive and a great Democrat. If you are not currently supporting him please take a look at his platform and compare it to his opponent's and then put your money where you mind is. |
