(I'll be posting Joaquin Casto's list of Austin supporters here shortly. It's only fair that both campaigns battling each other over a Congressional District that's not going to exist in 2 weeks have their equal time on the front page. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
We now also know that Joaquin Castro is raking in a lot of money from traditionally Republican donors. Of course, in the past he's accepted checks from Altria (Big Tobacco), J.P. Morgan Chase, and Wal-Mart. But now, in his race to unseat progressive champion Lloyd Doggett, deep-pocketed GOP donors are throwing their $$$ at Castro. And he’s accepting it.
Castro’s Republican donations have been talked about in a San Antonio blog (http://plazadearmastx.com/index.php/politics/98-news/1536-castro-and-doggett-battle-for-fundraising-dollars) that said: Castro did receive $5,000 from Lionel Sosa, a prominent GOP advertising consultant who’s worked for Republican presidential candidates ranging from Ronald Reagan to John McCain, and $500 from District 8 Councilman Reed Williams, a declared Republican. But neither of those contributions came out of the blue. Sosa served as treasurer for the 2005 mayoral campaign of Castro’s brother, Mayor Julián Castro, and Williams has worked closely with the mayor over the last two-and-a-half years.
Castro also received more than $25,000 from political action committees, much of it from groups that skew conservative. Valero Energy Corporation PAC gave his campaign $5,000 and NuStar chipped in $2,500. Over the last decade, Valero has contributed $17,500 to the Americans for a Republican Majority PAC. They’ve donated $59,000 to Texas Republican Congressman Joe Barton, $45,500 to former Republican Congressman Henry Bonilla, and $7,000 to GOP presidential candidate – and Tea Party favorite – Michele Bachmann.
It also comes up in a lot of the discussion of this race here at BOR. Although it is easy enough, nobody’s shown the who and where of this Republican giving. Who are those staunch Republicans who oppose our values but are voting with their money on Castro?
Over 50 separate donors, who have given to Castro in just this last three-month reporting period, have also given to Republicans. How much? These donors have given over $3.5 million to Republicans since 2006. They’ve also given over $800k to Governor Rick Perry. They’ve funded Eric Cantor’s leadership PAC, Senator John Cornyn, the RNC, the RNCC, unsuccessful presidential candidate John McCain, and a host of other hardcore Republicans working to undermine progressives. Add Joaquin Castro to these efforts.
Here are just a few of the more prominent names among the 50 that are recognized as being big Republican donors and what they’ve given to Republicans since 2006:
John Hurd- $65,000
Lloyd Denton- $64,000
Alan Dreeben- $259,000
Peter and Julianna Holt -Together, they’ve given over $1.5 million dollars!
Red McCombs- $521,000
H..B. Zachry- $117,000
William Kaufman- $24,000
50 folks. That’s a lot of people. Just a coincidence? Hardly.
In one of the articles I mentioned above, it’s noted that these folks are business people and business people tend to be Republicans. They argue that Julian Castro has done a good job of convincing the business community that the Castros are middle of the road people.
Some (Joaquin Castro among them) would have us believe that the problem right now is refusing to meet Republicans half way. Ridiculous! Jim Hightower got it right: There’s nothing in the middle of the road except yellow stripes and dead armadillos.
I don’t want a so-called middle of the road person, who can smile and take these fat cat GOP donors' money, representing me in Congress. The dialogue in Washington has shifted so far right that the middle of the road is tax cuts for millionaires and job losses for teachers. It’s cutting Social Security and slashing our investment in our roads and schools. I don’t want someone representing me that wants to make nice with the intransigent, middle class-killing Republicans. I want someone who stands up and fights Republicans, not someone who lines his pockets with their lucre.
Giving Castro their money (and his acceptance of it) is just is another way Republicans are trying to get rid of Lloyd Doggett. Remember the memo from Tom DeLay’s staff in 2003 that said “A map that returns Frost, Edwards, and Doggett is unacceptable and not worth all the time invested into this project”? That map became law and Doggett is now the last targeted Dem left standing. He ran and won in a district that went to McAllen. Now, Republican mapmakers, with the help of Castro, have drawn a district that links San Antonio to Austin (and is anchored in San Antonio) (http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/11458/why-i-am-now-even-more-dogged-for-doggett). Republicans have not given up on targeting Lloyd. A Democrat should not be helping Republicans do it.
I don’t want these Republicans influencing a Democratic primary. I don’t want anybody who shakes their hands, headlines their names on his fundraiser invites, and then pockets their money, winning the Democratic primary and being the Democratic nominee for Congress. Joaquin Joaquin, why don't give the money from the donors I listed back to them, and state that you don't share their values? That’s true, isn’t it?
As the battle over who will represent Democrats in the battle over District 35 gets closer than ever, it's a given that details will get lost in the smoke. This is especially the case given the extensive resumes of the two candidates. However, voters need to recognize important distinctions that separate our two candidates will ultimately affect how the people of the 35 corridor will be represented in Austin. Those distinctions ultimately boil down to one question: who will stand up to the far right-wing extremism of the Republican Party and who will end up siding with the right-wing establishment for the sake of "compromise" and "not rocking the boat?"
Other writers have pointed out that Joaquin Castro was one of the 52 Texas representatives in 2003 to leave the state in response to Tom DeLay's attempts at carving the state into a more Republican landscape. This, they say, forgives (or even dismisses) whatever role he may have played in working with Republicans to create an equally unfair set of maps in 2011. They even go so far as to say that Castro was "risking his political future," despite the fact that Democrats have safely won his district with near 60% of the vote in every general election since at least 1992 (src: http://www.texastribune.org/di... How, then, was Castro risking his political future by doing what few if any would consider a risk at all?
The second important point to note is that 2003 was not the 2011 session. Whatever actions Castro took in 2003 do not excuse or dismiss any role he may have played in colluding with Republicans this past session. If it's true that Castro threw his Democratic colleagues under the bus by helping Republicans carve districts into the current maps in exchange for getting a congressional district that he can use to advance his own goals and ousting a true Democratic leader who has dedicated his life to protecting and defending the hard-working families from far-right wing extremism in all its flavors, it is something that the voters of this district must take into account when casting their ballot. Once again, do we want someone who only makes the bold decisions when it's easy or politically advantageous only to ultimately break under pressure? Or do we stay with Lloyd Doggett, the only one with a proven track record of representing the the people of Central Texas? When you break it down like this, the choice is anything but murky.
(Another perspective on the TX-35 primary. We encourage supporters of all candidates to post diaries and engage with our readers. - promoted by Katherine Haenschen)
The Lloyd Doggett / Joaquin Castro primary battle (for a district that does not yet even actually exist!) is understandably contentious.The political establishment in Travis County wants to protect its flagship member in Congress.Young upstarts in San Antonio (and plenty in Travis, too) see the future in an impressive State House member.Two good elected officials, two distinct core constituencies -- but only one district.Things are bound to get ugly.
And the truth is, there are probably compelling reasons to be for or against each candidate. I certainly have friends on both sides of this race. Doggett and Castro each have reliably progressive voting records.Each would do their best to represent the interests of the constituents they are running to serve.
But the recent attack on Joaquin Castro by the Doggett camp – that he has not sufficiently opposed Republican redistricting efforts – just isn’t true.And folks, I’ve got the proof, right here:
I took this picture sometime in the last 10 days of May, 2003.At the time, I was using my vacation days as a member of Congressman Chet Edwards’ staff to help organize and execute the historic Democratic quorum-bust to Ardmore, Oklahoma.
On a Sunday night, 47 Democratic House members met in a hotel parking lot in north Austin and got on busses bound for the Oklahoma border, in order to deny the House a quorum, and prevent passage of Tom DeLay’s illegal redistricting map.(One Member crossed the border to Mexico, two drove to Ardmore on their own, and two flew in. In all 52 House Democrats stood up for voting rights that year).
If you’ll look closely at the picture above, you’ll notice a skinny young freshman member four spots to the left of the podium from first row. That’s Joaquin Castro. When he got on the bus to Ardmore, Joaquin was risking his political future so African Americans and Latinos across Texas -- not to mention Travis County Democrats -- could maintain the ability elect Members of Congress who would represent their communities.
I’ve worked with or for the Democratic leadership in the Texas House in some capacity or another during every legislative session since the 2003 redistricting nightmare.I’ve worked on dozens of legislative campaigns and have been involved in legislative strategy and floor tactics for 5 consecutive House sessions.
Since he first got on that bus to Ardmore, Joaquin Castro has been an unyielding soldier – no, a leader – in Democratic efforts to stand up to Republican politicians and policies that would damage the state we all love.
Joaquin didn’t quit after Ardmore. He kept up the fight against Tom Craddick and was a part of the team that brought the corrupt Republican speaker down. While some Democrats were trading votes for harmful budgets and Speaker endorsements in exchange for favored committee assignments, Joaquin Castro stuck to his guns. And he’s managed to do it while maintaining his ability to effectively pass legislation and influence policy.
Doggett supporters have repeated claims by a Republican operative that Joaquin Castro somehow colluded with House Republicans when this district was drawn. And some have claimed that because some of his donors have also supported Republicans, that Joaquin's Democratic principles are doubtable.But since when do Democrats put more stock in the words of a self-serving Republican who drew himself a district on the taxpayers’ dime than we do on a respected official’s proven record?I’ll trust my own two eyes and experiences over a Republican without much credibility.
Despite the fact that Texas boasts the highest number of uninsured residents, all Texas Republicans in the U.S. Congress voted against health care reform that would guarantee coverage for the vast majority of Texans.
All Republicans continue to spin health care industry manufactured talking point garbage about HCR.
Showing their lack of honesty and the courage to cope with much needed change in this crucial area, Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich, mired in the same ol' out-of-touch GOP talking point silly nonsense and everything disingenuous, actually had the nerve to co-author an editorial in the Washington Post that extolled the virtues of states taking charge of health care.
They used Texas, of all places, as a shining example of the finest state run health care industry with choices for all.
Surely Rick and Newt are kidding. Surely they know they are insulting the intelligence of every Texan who knows better.
But, Rick and Newt don't really know that they are insulting our intelligence because they are completely out of touch with any reality that resides outside of their air tight bubble.
Texas, for example, has adopted approaches to controlling health-care costs while improving choice, advancing quality of care and expanding coverage. Consider the successful 2003 tort reform. Fewer frivolous lawsuits have attracted record numbers of doctors to the state as medical malpractice insurance premiums dropped by half. Christus Health, a large Catholic nonprofit system with a significant presence in Texas, spent about $100 million on liability defense payments in 2003. Last year, Christus spent $2.3 million on such payments. Much of that savings has gone into expanding health-care services in low-income neighborhoods.
Choice? Really? I didn't get a choice to choose anything other than that which is offered to me by my employer.
As we can see, it always comes down to those evil doing trial lawyers in Texas who might actually hold a robbing cheater accountable for stealing life from patients by denying the care that they need, deserve and pay for.
You might think Washington would be curious about plans to provide more low-income Texans with insurance, reduce expensive emergency-room visits for basic care and make it easier to buy into employer-sponsored insurance. Unfortunately, Washington has failed for 18 months to give Texas permission to use Medicaid dollars for these policies.
Silly boys, many small businesses cannot offer health care insurance b/c it is far too expensive.
Perry, of course, wants to steal money from the poor who are entitled to Medicaid and give it to his buddies in small business. Do you think for a minute small businesses would use the Medicaid bucks to insure their poorer employees in these dire times when banks will not lend them the money to increase inventories or meet payrolls? I kind of don't think so. At least not under the present conditions in which health care insurance coverage is off of the affordability charts.
Knowing what we know about Rick Perry, meet his Republican soul mates who voted against health care reform. And meet the few brave and principled Democrats who stepped up to answer the cries from their constituents. The picture below is not pretty.
An angry crowd opposed to health care reform disrupted a town meeting held by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) at an Austin grocery store Saturday and followed him to another town meeting in nearby Bastrop in the latest in what appears to be an organized right-wing effort to disrupt Democratic members of Congress. See more at Progressive Populist.
Congressman Doggett yesterday introduced a proposal for legislation known as the Climate MATTERS Act, a response to the effects of global warming we are feeling every day now. Austin Mayor Will Winn hosted the event in the City Council chambers and was joined by leaders of the environmental and business community in welcoming Rep. Doggett.
Most of the bill sounds legitimate, including a strong 80% in CO2 emissions by 2050, science-based review of progress, auctioning of carbon credits and returning the money to the people and investments in efficiency and renewable energy. It also includes a provision to enact a carbon tariff on any country who does not join the next UN sponsored follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol, due to expire next year.
Full review of Doggett's bill, along with his press release and remarks after the bump. Please also vote in the poll if you favor action on global warming.
"this post does not reflect the views of anyone or any other organization other than Citizen Andy, and even then not all the time."
For our final Meetup before the election, we're pleased to welcome:
Chris Bell
Democratic Candidate for Governor
We're proud to be bringing Chris Bell back to our Meetup. Chris came to one of our very first events. He was considering running for governor then and he spent a long time talking and listening to everyone there. Now he's the Democratic nominee, the only progressive in the race against three Republicans. We're sure that every progressive will want to hear what he has to say.
But wait! There's more! Joining Chris Bell will be Austin political guru GLEN MAXEY, who will add his insights on this year's campaign;
Plus Congressman LLOYD DOGGETT.
We expect this will be the BEST MEETUP EVER so come early---wear blue---be loud!
As always we gather to socialize around 6:30 and start our speakers around 7:15. We had a great Meetup in August and we're looking forward to an even better one this month!
Mother Egan's does us a great favor by providing us a place to get together every month. Please return the favor by having something to eat or drink, and don't forget the friendly wait staff.
