In the SD17 Special Election, Republican Joan Huffman is now running advertisements on TV, and they give an in-substantial jab to Chris Bell. And Bell is quickly up with a quick response:
Huffman's ad accurately claims, "Chris Bell has run for office and lost again and again." That's surely an attack of "petty politics": who cares how many times someone has lost an election? It's not as if Bell has never won; he's served well on the Houston City Council and U.S. Congress.
Chris Bell, in some of his losses, has simply been less preferred than other good public servants (i.e. Al Green, Lee Brown). By all means, someone who loses can still be good. Bell has given some great public service representing Houstonians, and he is running for the Texas Senate because he wants to do so again. With Republicans who preach values unfit for Houston or Texas, I hope a majority of SD17 voters go with the man who has practiced strong leadership, instead.
John Culberson is looking a little bit desperate with a new ad that insinuates that Michael Skelly, the Democrat making his first attempt to become involved in public service, helped cause the financial crisis. While Skelly's wind energy company did get some tax breaks, I think it's pretty hard to argue that the 3rd largest wind company in the USA helped cause a financial CRISIS. We may have needed more Skellys to actually start booming companies in order to avoid such a crisis.
The local ABC 13 fact checked John Culberson and the results aren't pretty for the incumbent:
Early voting has started, and now more than ever is a time for political candidates and their campaigns to speak with complete integrity. We should have nothing less than the truth while we make our final voting decisions. Mr. Culberson's campaign, unfortunately, fails to understand this.
So far, among the Big 6 Texas metro dailies, we have a 2-2 tie in endorsements between Obama and McCain. Of course, the Houston Chronicle's endorsement of Obama is their first Democrat since LBJ in 1962 and the Austin American-Statesman endorsed Bush in both 2000 & 2004.
Houston Chronicle:Obama- Obama appears to possess the tools to confront our myriad and daunting problems. He's thoughtful and analytical. He has met his opponents' attacks with calm and reasoned responses. Viewers of the debates saw a poised, well-prepared plausible president with well-articulated positions on the bread-and-butter issues that poll after poll indicate are the true concerns of voters. While Arizona Sen. John McCain and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have struck an increasingly personal and negative tone in their speeches, Obama has continued to talk about issues of substance.
Austin American-Statesman:Obama- Each of the two major presidential candidates fill the air with different words that all say "change," but only Sen. Barack Obama defines change clearly and positively. It is a time of peril, both at home and abroad, and the nation needs the focused, energetic leadership Obama has projected and delivered since he announced his presidential candidacy in early 2007.
We are still waiting to hear from the El Paso Times and Fort Worth Star Telegram which appears to be the key in determining if there is a 3-3 split or 4-2 majority for Obama among the major Texas papers. There are, of course, plenty of other papers that will endorse.
The Associated Press reports that some places in Texas, especially Houston, are dealing with a backlog of last minute voter registrations. Beyond the October 6 rush, the backlog has also been exacerbated by the Social Security Administration closing down its computers for the weekend.
Basically, if you registered early this month, your name might not be on the voter rolls at the start of early voting. This is an unfortunate hassle that might cause some potential early voters to wait a week before voting.
Really, though, we should take this opportunity to remind you again to bring that voter registration receipt that you should have gotten if you registered with a deputy registrar. While you still might have to fill out a provisional ballot, it's an extra precaution that might be necessary with the backlog.
Was I the only one whose jaw hit the keyboard upon reading the Houston Chronicle's endorsement of Obama/Biden this morning?
After carefully observing the Democratic and Republican nominees in drawn-out primary struggles as well as in the general campaign, including three debates, the Chronicle strongly believes that the ticket of Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden offers the best choice to lead the United States on a new course into the second decade of the 21st century.
Health care. Mental health benefits. Adequate body armor and armored vehicles. A college education. These are just some of the necessities all of our service members deserve. But clearly, Senator John Cornyn doesn't think so.
Cornyn's rhetoric belies his appalling record in the Senate. The fact that Cornyn has stood with President Bush 95 percent of the time and has opposed our service members on more than 20 key issues proves he doesn't support our troops or veterans. It's a fact every Texan needs to know, now.
Let's make sure everyone knows John Cornyn is not giving our veterans and troops the respect they deserve.
John Cornyn would seek to be another George Bush in trying to manipulate voter registration as he along with George Bush and the Republican Supreme Court, did in the 2000, 2004 and 2006 elections.
Most Americans know George Bush basically stole the 2004 election and used Alberto Gonzales and the Justice Department, which became a wing of Bush's White House, made false and fraudulent voter fraud allegations.
While newspaper endorsements might mean little in the voting both, each candidate relishes every little push of help they can get if the race for their office stands extremely tight. Such is the case with Nick Lampson, who is defending a seat that our Burnt Orange Political Report rated a toss-up. A little help came today with an endorsement from the Houston Chronicle.
With looming national elections likely to cement his party's hold on Congress, constituents should carefully consider their community interest in choosing between Lampson and Republican Pete Olson.
[...]
He has also worked to create a presence in the district, attending hundreds of town hall meetings to convince constituents of his sincerity.
"I believed that if I could show people that I was going to be available and accessible to them differently than what they'd ever seen before," says Lampson, "then they would honor that and respect me enough to send me back as their representative."
Equally as important, if Lampson wins he will be in a position to use his accumulated seniority to head a key House subcommittee overseeing NASA during the next session. He holds a strong commitment to increased funding for manned spacecraft development in the future.
This is clearly one election where the district's pocketbook interests should outweigh partisan considerations at the ballot box.
Although many conservatives in the district might reprimand the idea of earmarks, the Chronicle reminds Houstonians of one important factor: it is one reason you might actually be able to vote for a Democrat even if you are voting your pocketbook. And since Nick Lampson has kept his job in mind since being elected to CD22, that makes him the best choice.
Vote Obama
Vote Blue
