(Don't forget, you can also help Noriega cross the mark on Senate Guru's ActBlue page- they've been so supportive! - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
TPM Election Central is reporting that Liddy Dole is dumping 10 grand worth of donations from indicted Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens leadership PAC.
2008 - Texans for Senator John Cornyn Inc - $5,000
2002 - John Cornyn for Senate Inc. - $10,000
2006 - Kay Bailey Hutchison For Senate Committee - $10,000
By my math, that's 15K Senator Cornyn's received from indicted Alaskan Senator Ted Steven's leadership PAC, and 10K to Senator Hutchison.
Will either Senator give back that tainted money?
Anyone?
Anyone?
Beuhler?
Beuhler?
P.S. - Senator Cornyn's been making hay recently because Rick Noriega's taken money from out of state donors. Liberal out of state donors. I'm no geographer, but I'm not sure one can get much more "out of state" than Alaska. Hawaii maybe. You might could give Noriega some local money. I know he'd appreciate it. Out of state? He'd be happy to have your support too.
The concept is simple; use flyers to get the word out about John Cornyn's record. I thought about how John Cornyn is one of Big Oil's favorite Senators because he votes in their interests, not ours. The people I talk to in my neighborhood are upset about high gas prices, but aren't aware of how politics impacts those prices. So I thought it would be a good idea to do a little research and spread the word. I figured people are upset when they have to pump their gas nowadays and if they found a flyer or fact-sheet at the pump (in the little ad container or slot) while they were filling up, they might read it and get thinking about how they could send a message to Cornyn this November. I came up with this: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=...
Anyone could print out 50 copies and place them around their local community. Cornyn has all that money from Big Oil and other corporate donors to advertise all over the state. I say we use our computers, printers and energy to get out the other side of the story. I will stress that a flyer effort should stick only to facts and show respect for property, but I think it's a traditional grass-roots way to inform people about their elected officials.
If my fellow Texans out there spread the word about this tactic, it can have a big impact. Also if y'all have other ideas for Guerrilla flyers, feel free to use the format I used above or improve upon it as you see fit.
I just received the following from the Cronyn (sic) campaign:
From: Kevin McLaughlin
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 1:40 PM
To: Rob Jesmer
Subject: Nutroots
Rob-
2 things;
1) Our guys at the convention told us Noreiga (sic) and his out-of-state buddies spent the morning attacking Senator Cornyn
2) according to finance team, the fact that Dean and Pelosi came in to shill for Noreiga (sic) really fired up our supporters the last 24 hours. We have raised well over 10K and I think we could another 10k if we send out the email below again.
Talk soon,
Kevin
Regarding point one: Now, admittedly, I wasn't there, so I don't know if Noriega et al. "attacked" Senator Cornyn. But I have two thoughts:
1) What do partisan gatherings do in an election cycle, but get together and talk bad about the other side's candidates? They weren't expecting a John Cronyn (sic) love in, are they? I mean, is RightOnLine loving on Rick Noriega and Barack Obama, or are they too busy trying to "Defund the American Dream"? (Ooops! I meant "defend.")
B) I would imagine that the Cronyn (sic) campaign would spin any discussion of their campaign by Democrats and the Democratic Party as "attacks."
Frankly, the hyperventilating is getting a bit old.
Just got this great e-mail from John Cornyn's campaign pimping their last anti-Noriega fundraising e-mail:
Team:
See note below from our communications director, thanks for what you have done in last 24 hours, let's keep it going.
From: Kevin McLaughlin
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 1:40 PM
To: Rob Jesmer
Subject: Nutroots
Rob-
2 things;
1) Our guys at the convention told us Noreiga and his out-of-state buddies spent the morning attacking Senator Cornyn
2) according to finance team, the fact that Dean and Pelosi came in to shill for Noreiga really fired up our supporters the last 24 hours. We have raised well over 10K and I think we could another 10k if we send out the email below again.
Talk soon,
Kevin
You know, it might be a good idea to hire someone (or two someones, since Rob Jesmer, Cornyn's campaign manager didn't even correct the misspelling in the e-mail) who can actually spell your opponent's name. Especially your communications director.
As for the message . . . Noriega and the rest of the Netroots and Dem leadership who showed up bashed Cornyn!? STOP THE PRESSES! SOUND THE ALARM! TIP THE COW!
Anyway, I guess "Buck Smith"/David Beckwith must be earning his keep (and some Democratic schwag) by attending Netroots Nation.
More to the point, Kevin, you really need to learn how to (a) spell and (b) not make yourself look like an ass in the press (yes, I'm talking about that asinine comment about "Buck Smith" speaking for himself and all that other BS you pulled from that place beneath your nose that resembles an asshole when BOR outed Beckwith).
By the way, Kev: Since "Buck Smith" speaks for himself, why isn't he posting on BOR any more?
(Did y'all see this? - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Recieved from the Cornyn campaign:
Today, General David Petraeus will update the U.S. Senate on the amazing work being done by our troops in Iraq.
You might remember the last time General Petraeus appeared before the committee he was met with outright hostility by Democrats and their third party attack dogs. The liberal left wing attack group MoveOn.org even took out a full page ad in the New York Times calling him a traitor.
Democrats are hoping for more of the same this time around. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are actually taking time out from the campaign trail to make a rare appearance in Washington in an effort to score cheap political points with their liberal base.
Let's make sure this time is different.
Please sign this petition telling General Petraeus you support the job he and his troops are doing in Iraq.
The next time I see General Petraeus I'll be sure to pass along a big Texas "thank you" to him and to all of our men and women in uniform for all that they do.
Your signature will help assure General Petraeus that he and his troops have the support and admiration of all Texans and Americans, no matter what Democrats and their third party attack machine would have you believe.
Sincerely,
John Cornyn
U.S. Senator from Texas
PS- Please forward on to any family and friends that would want to show their admiration for General Petraeus and the troops.
And although I can't find a picture of it now, I was surprised to see Johns McCain, Hagee and Cornyn standing up in front of the media, happy as three pigs in a poke. A subsequent search for photos shows KayBee and Cornyn standing proudly with the anti-Catholic firebrand.
Another thing I don't understand: How Michael McCaul's head doesn't explode as he soaks this all in. He's Catholic. Which only matters in as much as his party's standard bearer is making nice with John Hagee. And his mentor, John Cornyn, has apparently made nice with John Hagee. And his state's senior senator has made nice with John Hagee.
Honestly, how does he hold in his head the fact that his party's presidential nominee and his mentor are so in love with John Hagee? How does his head not explode? How does he not get disgusted with his party? How does he keep his mouth shut?
There are some things, I guess, I'll just never understand.
So when the a recent energy bill came before the senate which called for a rollback of tax breaks for oil companies, both Cornyn and Hutchinson (unsurprisingly) voted against the bill:
President Bush had threatened to veto any energy bill that raised taxes. The House passed a bill with higher taxes on oil companies last week.
Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison both voted against the motion to move the bill forward. Ms. Hutchison had negotiated to strip out the higher taxes on oil and gas producers.
There you have it- Cornyn and Hutchinson siding with both the White House and their campaign contributors.
Apparently, despite the fact that there was across the aisle support for the bill ("There is no reason why we shouldn't pass the energy bill today" Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY) and the other provisions that would "boost the nation's use of renewable energy, set new efficiency standards for appliances and - most dramatically - set aggressive new fuel mileage requirements for cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles", some Senate Republicans (not pointing any fingers) looked past that because of money received from certain exploitive corporations.
Because of these Republicans, the tax hike on big oil is going to be removed from the bill and it will be reintroduced. At least we still have some energy reforms to look forward to. (source)
On Oct 18th, I sent a message to Congressman McCaul, urging him to hold Big Telecom accountable for providing our information to the White House.
Today, Oct 25th, I sent a similar message to Senators Cornyn and Hutchison.
I'm willing to bet that I hear from the Senators, and hear nothing from the Congressman.
Why do I think that? Because McCaul's office has NEVER responded to anything I've sent regarding a particular policy issue.
(They did respond to a request I initiated (by phone) as part of a St. Ed's course assignment.)
For those fans of Congressman McCaul who wonder why we say his constituent service is less than satisfactory...this is one reason why. It's not just because we're being mean and partisan.
The Brazos County Democrats had a great fundraiser last night. Ben Sargent was as funny, interesting and charming as one would expect. There were close to 200 wonderful Democrats in a county that often feels like the most Republican place in the world. And, after a few weeks of asking questions about these candidates, I was grateful to have a moment to speak with both Rick Noriega and Mikal Watts.
This was yet another turn at which I expected to come away with reasons to support Noriega but, unfortunately, I found more reasons not to support him. He failed to address a single point, progressive or otherwise, he was arrogant and disingenuous. If there was any hope that I might find a way to vote for this guy it came from his wife, Melissa.
