Burnt Orange Report

get real, Bentzin wouldn't know a Pink Floyd song if it bit him in the ass.

Surprising, yet it's not all that surprising to read this extreme left-wing drivel called a post. Libs think it's unlawful and evil for TAB to influence elections, yet they think the AFL-CIO, under the watchful eye of Boss Sweeney, should have unlimited latitude in directing union dues toward the election of Democrats in legislative bodies.
Although union membership is now down to a scant 13 percent of the overall workforce, libs like to tout their urban legend that if it weren't for unions today, the workforce would go to hell in a handbasket (although we have legislative and regulatory oversight of safety and other workplace issues that occurs on a regular basis).
Which leaves unions to serve one purpose only: to elect more Democrats to office that the unions see fit to carry out their political agenda.

"Democrat" is a the noun, "Democratic" is the adjective. It is the Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee, the soon-to-be-real Democratic majority, and the Democratic Candidate for whatever office. I am a registerred Democrat. I ran as a Democrat. I only befriend Democrats.

Using "Democrat" as an adjective is a tool of the GOP. Why? Because the word "democratic" makes people think of things like fair elections, people power, and other warm and fuzzy things. Therefore, they slipped the whole "Use Democrat as a adjective" thing to slap us in the face. Get with the program. These women are the two DEMOCRATIC candidate for said office.

Trey,
As a union member, it is only in my wildest dreams that unions have the kind of money to put into elections that the TAB illegally poured into GOP coffers in the last election. Furthermore, it's illegal in Texas for union dues to go to political campaigns. Unions are required to set up PACs, and payments to PACs are voluntary. Since most union workers don't have the kind of cash required to lavishly fund them, most union PACs are woefully underfunded. So that "scant 13%" you mention can hardly have the kind of influence that your right-wing drivel called a post seems to infer.

Brian is dead-on. You can always tell a true-believer wing nut by the way they refer to the "Democrat" party. I have always thought the Republicans should in turn be referred to as the Publican Party, to associate them with the tax collectors of the New Testament (as opposed to tavern owners, a group I admire).

Davew: The way I know that unions somehow pull together millions is that my grandpa was part of UAW, and he explained that union members had the leverage to financially survive a strike. So if they have that kind of money tucked away, then surely at another date, they can just send it right off to the PAC in the event that there is no financially constraining strike for that year. And while it may be true that union dues can't be collected from non-union members in Texas, the money is still circumvented to Texas candidates.
And granted, a coalition of businesses may pull together more in $$ in a given period, but when did unions all of a sudden become the exception to the rule when it comes to spending money to get their own candidates in office?
Or are you going to give me some James Carville-esque line and tell me that "businesses are just plain evil, and that's all that matters"?

Hey Brian, as long as you're too busy harping about "democrat" versus "democratic" -- I'm pretty sure it's "registered," not "registerred."

That's OK, though, because misspelling words is a tool of the GOP -- it gives them reason to show why we should spend more money on vouchers, so that kids can afford to go to a school where they might actually learn how to spell.

Thanks, Phil, for this informative project and post. Some folks apparently prefer slinging teh usual caca instead of commenting with the intelligence this project warrants.

As for Bentzin, Colyandro/DeLay, and the TAB, the facts are there in plain English in the Statesman article, including Bentzin's (three years too late) "admission" that he didn't report his 2002 payments to Colyandro, who illegally coordinated candidate mailings, TRMPAC phone ID's, and TAB mail.

Some may try to make excuses calling that multi-million dollar effort a "technicality" or "drivel," but the facts are clear. One judge has already found the law was violated, and there is still more to come. But Trey, thanks for a big laugh with your attempt to equate the TAB-TRMPAC-RPT corporate millions with mythic labor programs elsewhere. The issue is what happened here, and the "everybody does it" excuse is both inaccurate and inexcusable. Face it, they can't hide Bentzin behind his non-speaking role in a TV ad campaign until November.

I was part of group that spent several hours with Ben, Donna and Kathy in separate interviews. We talked about the changes needed to improve the economy, health care, education, etc.
We talked about charter schools, reducing the number of school districts, lowering overhead with technology, attracting more technology industry to Austin, Reducing health care costs with standardized technology and billing systems. Limiting Tolls to new roads, Capping property taxes to control the amount they increase each year. Changing the tax system without scaring off new business growth.

We liked all the candidates. Our Small Business Group decided to endorse Ben.

If extreme left wingers post "drivel", as per Trey, people like Trey cannot even post logical conclusions. They would flunk basic logic, not having ever heard of the undistributed middle. They are fans of the. sentence. fragment.

This is why they do not rise to the dignity of a driveler - hey, what a neat word.

They simply manage, somehow, to drool in print.

This is why us bilingual types call them "babosos", and invite them to wear bibs when typing.