Lesson number one to all current and future candidates, don't lie to voters.
Lying Lyle Larson, Republican Candidate in Texas' 23 Congressional District, can't seem to keep his term limits promises, but that doesn't stop him from making them.
Last week, Larson wrote on his campaign blog and sent out an email to supporters pledging to only serve six terms if elected this November.
Larson also said he would support a constitutional amendment which would limit the terms of Members of Congress. Yet, Larson already broke the term limit promise he made back in 1996 during his first run for his Bexar County Commission seat, by running for a third term after pledging not to.
"Lying Lyle should stop making promises he doesn't intend to keep," said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie. "Let the voters beware, Lyle Larson will go back on his word about term limits and say he simply changed his mind."
Sleuthing from the Texas Democratic Party found the details.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, Larson said "he would serve no more than two terms." [San Antonio Express-News, 10/24/96] But in 2004, Larson broke his promise, running for a third term. Larson also went back on his word that he would resign from his post on the Bexar County Commission to run for the 23rd District Congressional seat, because he "changed his mind" and is now staying on as Commissioner. [San Antonio Express-News, 5/21/08]
"Texans in Congressional District 23 need a congressman they can trust to stand up for veterans, children and hard working middle class families," added Richie. "That's why I'm confident voters will re-elect Congressman Ciro Rodriguez and reject Lying Lyle's most recent false promises."
Not only is Larson not telling the truth is blatantly breaking the law.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced today that it has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Republican (TX-23) for his clear failure to follow FEC regulations in his first television advertisement.
Not sure how you can trust a guy to write laws when he doesn't even adhere to them. Jennifer Crider, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said simply, "Voters in Texas' 23rd district can't pick and choose which laws they follow and neither should political candidates. Lyle Larson chose to break the law by failing to take full responsibility for his political ad's claims. We are filing this FEC complaint to hold Lyle Larson accountable for his clear violation of federal law."
Ciro's ad on the other hand touts real achievements and follows the letter of the law by having all disclaimers.
The DCCC has reserved $35 million in 31 congressional districts nationwide. While $22.5 million of the $35 million is allocated to seats currently held by Republicans, the only Texas seats in the buy are held by incumbent Democrats Nick Lampson and Ciro Rodriguez.
The buy in Lampson's district is one of five nationwide that is over $1 million, which could be a product of the expensive Houston media market as much as anything else.
Ciro Rodriguez will have $707,000 worth of ads in his district.
Ideally, I would have liked to see the DCCC make buys to support both Larry Joe Doherty and Michael Skelly. The reality is that, at this point, the high costs of running ads in the Houston area (coupled with the fact that Doherty's district spans both the Austin and Houston media markets) means the DCCC may continue to focus only on Lampson and Rodriguez.
The quickest way to change that, however, and to show the DCCC that both Doherty and Skelly are extremely viable candidates is to contribute to them.
It was Skelly's stellar fundraising numbers that allowed him to make the DCCC's Red to Blue List, as KT reported last month.
Americans United for Change, a non-profit progressive issue-advocacy group that recently launched its Bush Legacy Project, today unveiled its latest TV ad series called 'Break' which recognizes U.S. Reps. Nick Lampson (TX-22) and Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23) for their work towards a stronger economy, especially their success in passing meaningful legislation to provide immediate tax relief for hard working Americans - $1,200 for most families - including vital relief for seniors, veterans and families with children.
In addition to Lampson and Rodriquez, AUFC also began airing ads recognizing Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1) and Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-20). All four ads are running on a mix of cable and broadcast in these Members' districts and will run through the rest of the week.
Congressman Ciro Rodriguez, whose spokesperson cited the district's vote as a primary reason, announced an endorsement for Hillary Clinton. As a United States Congressperson, he is a superdelegate to the DNC Convention.
What say you? How significant is it that the district's support is the primary reason?
The Republican Party must be desperate. In a press release from earlier this week, the Republican Party of Texas asked Ciro Rodriguez to announce who he supports for President and then proceeded to attack him for endorsing Barack Obama (something he hasn't declared).
The press release simply titled, 'Ciro Rodriguez Should Step Up to the Plate:
Time for Democratic Superdelegate to Say Whom He Supports" is one of the most libelous releases I have read in some time. That's right, libelous. Why?
Congressman Rodriguez (TX-23), a superdelegate who's been elusive in his support of Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee, has been called on to denounce Sen. Obama's statement...
After hours of searching this week and requests into multiple offices, it doesn't appear Ciro Rodriguez has expressed his presidential preference. How then can Congressman Rodriguez denounce a person he hasn't endorsed? Let's go one step further, why is the Republican Party inserting itself into our Democratic primary and demanding a Democratic incumbent to endorse either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama.
Hans Klingler continues to write press releases blindly attacking Democrats that simply don't make sense. Klingler and the Republican Party out of touch with the reality of the current political climate.
It already looks like Lyle Larson has no chance to defeat Congressman Rodriguez. Rodriguez has nearly $1 million cash on hand while Larson has about $150,000. Maybe that is the reason the Republican Party feels the need to insert themselves in the Democratic process.
Rodriguez has the support of his district, from Democrats and non-partisan groups across the country, earning a perfect score from the National Education Association, the Children's Defense Fund, National Association of Social Workers, and many more. Maybe, if the Republicans understood the needs of the people they wouldn't have to libel a sitting Congressmen. Maybe if they could field a legitimate challenger, they could get them to attack the Congressman. Maybe Hans Klingler is just a useless communications director who would rather accuse, attack and scare than debate the facts.
As was mentioned in the Burnt Orange Notes, Ciro Rodriguez is well ahead of his challenger in fundraising. Texas Republicans are targeting both him and Nick Lampson in the 2008 Elections, and Nick is having some nice ways with money, as well.
Here are some side-by-side numbers of the good news:
Ciro Rodriguez vs. Lyle Larson
Raised in the First Quarter:
Rodriguez (D): $319,322
Larson (R): $69,088
Cash on Hand:
Rodriguez (D): $932,484
Larson (R): $179,551
Nick Lampson vs. Pete Olson
The two are actually pretty damn close fundraising wise.
Raised in the First Quarter:
Lampson (D): $382,131
Olson (R): $400,499
Cash on Hand:
Lampson (D): $1,000,000+
Olson (R): $127,986
The following U.S. House members endorsed Rep. Noriega in the U.S. Senate race: Reps. Al Green, Ruben Hinojosa, Silvestre Reyes, Chet Edwards, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Charlie Gonzalez, Nick Lampson, Ciro Rodriguez, Lloyd Doggett, Solomon P. Ortiz, Gene Green, and Eddie Bernice Johnson.
"Rick Noriega is the candidate in this race whose entire life represents his commitment to profound service to our nation ... military service and public service," said the members of the Texas Delegation. "From the halls of the University of Houston under an ROTC scholarship, to the halls of Harvard, to the Texas National Guard, to the halls of the State Capitol, to the mountains of Afghanistan after 9-11, and to the Texas border with Operation Jumpstart - we know that Rick Noriega is the candidate to best serve Texans in the United States Senate."
"On the defining issues of the day - national security, border security, health insurance for our children, and fiscal responsibility - Rick is uniquely positioned, by virtue of his life experience, to best serve Texas interests in the U.S. Senate," the members agreed. "U.S. military policy will long command the attention of future Congresses. Rick's understanding of on-the-ground logistics - as well as abilities and limitations - of our military will be a fresh and important voice in the Senate on military issues."
Charles Kuffner adds some insight as to why this is really pretty awesome and a success for Team Noriega.
Excellent. It may not seem like a big deal for a bunch of Democratic members of Congress to endorse a Democrat running for Senate, but 1) it's never a trivial thing to get a bunch of Democrats to agree on anything; 2) the more unified Noriega's support is here, the more likely he'll get support from the national folks; and 3) this is still a contested primary, however loosely that's being defined.
You may be wondering about that thirteenth member of Congress. That would be Rep. Henry Cuellar, and as usual, he's doing his own thing.
Various members of Congress also taped video statements of support which the campaign will be distributing over the coming days.
This is great news and really speaks to how important it was to win back TX-23 last year in the special rather than waiting around til 2008.
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez has nearly $600,000 available for his re-election campaign, almost twice as much as his nearest potential 2008 challenger, Federal Election Commission records show.
San Antonio lawyer Francisco "Quico" Canseco, a Republican, has $303,553 in cash-on-hand. He raised $78,000 during the three-month period ending Sept. 30 and loaned his campaign $140,000.
The campaign spent $350,000 on TV and radio advertising.
Jim McGrody, a businessman seeking the Republican nomination, raised $11,000 and ended the period with $5,500 in cash-on-hand.
One other interesting note from the SAEN story...
Canseco's decision to spend his personal funds have earned him support from Republicans in Washington, said David Wasserman, an analyst with the non-partisan Cook Political Report.
I wish the Republicans (as well as Democrats) would move past the idea that spending your own personal funds is the only way to be taken seriously by insiders in Washington. Self-funders track record isn't all that great. Here's what the Wall Street Journal pointed out about self-funding earlier this year.
Indeed, the majority of self-funded campaigns fail. The Center for Responsive Politics says only one of the 30 congressional candidates who spent at least $500,000 of their own money in 2004 got elected. (That one was Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican.)
Acording to Jennuifer Steen, a professor at Boston College who wrote a book on self-financed candidates for Congress, such candidates won only about 30 percent of their elections between 1990 and 2000.
Granted, Steen says that spending millions of your own money on a race can blunt the opposition. But for the most part, money doesn't guarantee victory. What matters more is the experience of a candidate and his or her appeal to voters. While money helps, it can't rescue a bad candidate.
Ciro may not have always had the best track record in raising money but he's been steadily building up his campaign coffers and should be well placed in 2008 as an incumbent.
This is an old story I'm just getting around to writing. Sorry for the delay -- I've been doing orientation up at the KSG school. -- Phillip
Congressman Ciro Rodriguez defeated Republican Henry Bonilla last December to regain his seat to the Texas 23'rd CD. At the time, the San Antonio Express-News described the win as follows:
The soundness with which Rep. Henry Bonilla, the one-time Hispanic poster boy of the Republican Party, was beaten Tuesday night was the equivalent of a political earthquake.
Congressman Rodriguez already has a formal challenger, however -- and the challenger, named Jim McGrody has launched such a comprehensive website that it gained the attention of the paper. In Bruce Davidson's column titled, "'Nerdy' game plan for candidate" he writes:
He has addressed the entire Texas Republican Party platform line by line, agreeing with most of it. And he has unveiled Compact 23, a list of key positions and principles.
McGrody also has detailed how his voting record would differ from incumbent Rep. Ciro Rodriguez's with his Vote Count Database.
[...]
But McGrody, a 67-year-old retiree, is betting that he can use his Web site, Internet marketing skills and a fast-growing e-mail list to communicate with voters repeatedly for only a small amount of money and better than his well-funded foes.
To be certain, McGrody's website is quite impressive. Granted, his policies and positions are terribly out of line and leave much to be desired for the people in his district. But he has certainly capitalized on the benefits of the internet in terms of establishing your presence and communicating to your audience.
It is so much harder to write on the road. I am back now until YearlyKos, and a story had to be told.
Francisco Canseco – a Republican running against Ciro Rodriguez in TX-23 – claimed that he raised an astounding $550,000 in the second quarter. To have that much support in a 55% Democratic district is impressive. So impressive a reporter from the Dallas Morning News even wrote a piece on Canseco’s early success.
San Antonio lawyer Francisco "Quico" Canseco says he's raised more than $550,000. That would make him one of the country's best-financed GOP challengers, and others may join the race.
What Canseco failed to mentioned was that all but $30,400 came from his own bank account. Talk about grassroots support! To put that in perspective, Dan Grant and Larry Joe Dougherty have both raised over $70,000 each in the Texas 10th congressional district!
The reporter, understandably pissed, wrote a second article blasting Canseco for his misleading press release which read, “Fundraising will not be a problem for Canseco, due mainly to the supporters who have rallied around his campaign.”
…a federal campaign report filed Monday showed that nearly all of that money came from Mr. Canseco himself, bringing the amount he has lent his campaign to $1.03 million.
Just 22 other donors have pitched in, yielding $30,400 – a far cry from the boast the Republican's aides issued last week, which read: "Fundraising will not be a problem for Canseco, due mainly to the supporters who have rallied around his campaign."
The Canseco campaign has spent more than a quarter-million, but thanks to the candidate's largess, it has more than $315,000 in the bank. By contrast, Mr. Rodriguez raised nearly $250,000 in the last three months, putting his total for the campaign above $1.06 million. He owes just $2,139 and has about $550,000 in cash.
Typically we appreciate our candidates and elected officials to be honest and avoid deceiving voters. That whole ethical government thing seems to be good. Instead Canseco has already proven he wants to, at best, mislead voters and, at worst, straight up lie to them. That should make the decision come next November pretty easy.
