Republican State Representative Todd Smith, architect of the 81st legislative sessions Voter Suppression Bill, is in the stiffest primary challenge of his legislative career as Tarrant County Republican Chairwoman Stephanie Click endorses his opponent, former Bedford City Councilman Jeff Cason. This from the Star-Telegram:
When asked whether she was endorsing Cason, Klick said, "I think that his temperament might be a better choice in this particular race."
Click's endorsement is a stunning example of how the Texas Republican Party continues to eat its own. Smith's opponent, Jeff Cason, is supported by Texas for Fiscal Responsibility, which conducted heavy recruitment efforts prior to the January filing deadline. Anti-Smith websites are up on the web as well. As the extreme element of the GOP becomes the mainstream, moderates like Smith are finding themselves without a home within the Republican tent.
At the center of Click's anger toward Smith is a voicemail, which was conveniently leaked, in where Smith chided the GOP chair for her efforts to encourage Republicans in Tarrant County to contact Smith in opposition to provisions of his Voter Suppression legislation. Smith left the following message for Click:
"This is the governor and the lieutenant governor's work, and I'm doing the work of the league of the Republican women, some of whom are too stupid to realize it and it's pissing me off, so bye."
Ouch! Not very statesman like now is it? Moreover, this message confirms what many of us were saying during the heat of the debate over the GOP's top manufactured issue---that Smith was doing the bidding of the extreme leadership of the Texas Republican Party.
Republican Smith, Representative for House District 92 in Bedford since 1996, has run unopposed from both sides of the aisle until the 2008 election cycle when Democrat Kalandra Wheeler challenged him. 2010 represents the first year in which Smith has had to fend off an opponent from the extreme element of his Party. Much like Smith did in the spotlight with Voter Suppression in which he folded like a house of cards, one wonders whether his house of cards will tumble at the expense of the extreme wing of his own political party. |
