The Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac blog has used Change.gov to come up with a list of 88 Texans who have contributed to Barack Obama's inaugural committee.
Only three Texans have given $5000, the maximum contribution set by Obama's team.
One of the $5000 contributors is Mikal Watts, the trial lawyer and major Democratic donor who explored running for the U.S. Senate last year.
Melanie Barnes, wife of former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes who now runs one of Washington's most successful lobbying firms, the Ben Barnes Group, also gave $5000.
The final Texan who contributed $5000 is Bill Perkins, the Houston venture capitalist who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Obama's campaign.
Evan Smith of Texas Monthly spots five Texans on the long list of people who have raised at least $50,000 for Obama.
At least five, as I recognized from a quick scroll through the list of names, which have no cities or other information provided: Ron Kirk and Cappy McGarr, both of Dallas, Mikal Watts, of San Antonio, and Kirk Rudy and Alexa Wesner, both of Austin.
Watts, who explored a senate run last year, had supported John Edwards before he dropped out of the race. Wesner was one of the masterminds of the $1 million Paint Texas Blue fundraiser a few weeks ago that will help Texas House candidates.
A few days ago, David Mauro asked an important question, was David Beckwith using federal resources to campaign or was he campaigning for Junior Senator John Cornyn while the taxpayers picked up the tab.
With over 80 comments on BOR alone, Beckwith very clearly posted comments during traditional work hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Immediately, Beckwith has violated the spirit of the Hatch Act because he is no longer working on a campaign during his off time hours. At best, Beckwith is a ghost worker and taking taxpayer dollars for no work. At worst, he is paying paid by tax payers to actively engage in partisan political activities.
Senate employees are compensated from funds of the Treasury for regular performance of official duties. They are not paid to do campaign work. In the words of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia: ''It is clear from the record that Congress has recognized the basic principle that government funds should not be spent to help incumbents gain reelection.''
[...]
An employee's ''own time'' includes time beyond regular working hours, any accrued annual leave or non-government hours of a part-time employee. Staff may not be required to do political work as a condition of Senate employment. Just as Senate employees are free to campaign for their employing Members on their own time, they may also use their free time or, with the permission of their employing Members, reduce their Senate hours (with a commensurate reduction in pay) to campaign for presidential candidates, other federal candidates, or state or local aspirants. With respect to the question of leave time to perform campaign activities, it is the Committee's understanding that the Senate does not recognize a ''leave of absence.''
Already Beckwith seems to have violated the law, but let's look at some of his comments. Beckwith responds almost exclusively to posts relating to the U.S. Senate race between Noriega and Watts or Noriega and Cornyn.
Let's go through some of the comments now (note most of these comments are during normal work hours and none make it clear that Buck Smith is Beckwith in any way). In one of Buck Smith/ David Beckwith's first comments, he points our readers to a statement by Sen. Cornyn that shows why TSA shouldn't have collective bargaining. Another work time comment critiques a poll done by Survey USA. Yet another comment during business hours asks for Q1 fundraising totals from his boss, John Cornyn. Mr. Beckwith steals an article from Roll Call here and another article on production quality here (did his boss or taxpayers pay for these?). Beckwith tries to suppress Noriega's fundraising here and he attacks the online community and our incredible fundraising efforts here.
Those are just some of the campaign comments he made (there are about 20 more), but I wanted to spend some time on hypocrisy as well.
On more than one occasion, Beckwith either started a rumor/story on BOR or called out other consultants for not mentioning their name. Again it is important to note, at no time did Beckwith mention who he was, who he worked for, or that he was not using state funded internet or computers or time to post these comments.
He outed local political operatives here, here, and he tried incorrectly here. On the other hand he kicked off a story close to home for him here and actively campaign against Rosemary Lehmberg here.
Let's be clear. Beckwith was actively campaigning for John Cornyn. He may or may not have used state resources but he clearly used state time. He violated the Hatch Act directly by advocating against Rosemary Lehmberg for District Attorney and may have violated it another 20 to 30 times from other comments. Beckwith never identified he was or who he worked for so it is likely he knew what he was doing was wrong. While Karen Hughes did not fire Beckwith, it is clear John Cornyn needs to or investigators should find out how much Cornyn knew and what taxpayer resources were going to Beckwith's online endeavors.
I came around to Burnt Orange Report looking for information on Texas senatorial candidates for the Democratic Primary way back in August. At that time it was just Noriega and Watts. As I began to ask questions it was immediately clear that I was unlikely to support Watts because he was anti-choice. Noriega seemed to be the candidate of choice for those identifying as progressive. But as I looked closer I could not find anything substantive about Noriega and in fact he seemed to be running simply on his military experience as a national guardsman. Not the most substantive or progressive platform. Further more he had worked as a lobbyist and was currently employed in the energy industry. While Watts was not a consideration for me, he, at least, had a clear, well presented platform. When I asked questions about Noriega's qualifications I got what I would consider knee jerk defensive reactions from many. While this is the sort of thing that tends to happen in campaigns, it usually does not happen so early in the campaign and usually not with such a seemingly weak candidate.
The time is now. The moment has presented itself. With Mikal Watts bowing out of the race and Rick Noriega appearing to have no primary opponent but little money for a state wide race, it is time that we start asking "Is Noriega all we have?" We believe that we can do better because you have to bring your 'A' game if you are going to beat John Cornyn, his ill-gained dollars and the Texas Republican political machine. We believe that there is plenty of time to bring out a better candidate. That better candidate is General Ricardo Sanchez.
Here is a little information about the man who we believe has a better shot at taking down Cornyn:
Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez (born 1953) is a retired United States Army general who served as the commander of coalition forces in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004. He was the highest-ranking Hispanic in the United States Army when he retired on November 1 2006 (a more complete bio can be found at the end of this post)
Sanchez has never been a lobbyist for the price gouging energy companies, has never taken money from Bob "Swiftboat" Perry and has enough national notoriety to raise real national money. He never got a chance to go to a fancy Ivy League college but was at the top of his class at Texas A&I Kingsville. His entire adult life has been of service to our country and has risen to highest ranks of our military.
As the boys at Burnt Orange Report like to say, primaries are good. We assume they will support this effort as they support a vigorous primary.
We are committed to supporting a primary, and a draft movement..... is the best way to ensure a Democratic primary race for this year's U.S. Senate seat. We support a primary for a number of reasons, including:
A primary further raises the profile of the TX-Sen race to a national level
A primary allows an increasingly knowledgeable electorate to learn more about the candidates before the fall of 2008
A primary quickens the development of an infrastructure of a campaign, ensuring the winner is better prepared to take on Cornyn in November '08
Even Houston curmudgeon, John Coby, would have to agree that Gen. Sanchez fits his cherry-picked list of criteria.
Join us and submit you name to draftsanchez@gmail.com to Draft Ricardo Sanchez for U.S. Senate.
I received a call from Mikal Watts this morning informing me that he has decided to withdraw from the Democratic Primary race for the United States Senate.
As Teddy Roosevelt once said, the credit goes to the man in the arena. And Mikal Watts will always have my utmost respect for standing in the arena and highlighting how John Cornyn has let Texas down, placing political extremists and his financial contributors ahead of the people of Texas.
Of course, this is not the first time Mikal has been in the arena - he's been a true friend to Democrats in Texas and throughout the nation, and has always had the courage to stand up for his convictions.
Today, Mikal made a very difficult and personal decision to put his family first. That's a reflection of a strong character and a truly grounded leader.
Mikal and I made plans to sit down together in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'll continue the campaign that we started together and fight for the vision for a better Texas that we continue to share.
With the news that Mikal Watts will be ending his bid, does that make Lieutenant Colonel and State Representative Rick Noriega the sole Democratic candidate?
Last I heard, Emil Reichstadt was expected to drop out "soon" but I hadn't heard any formal word that he was definitely out. Also, former state senator and Texas Tech Chancellor John Montford was considering a bid - any further news there?
The rumor mill was churning with speculation that Mikal Watts was dropping out of the U.S. Senate race. KVUE reporter, Elise Hu, breaks the story and has his press release:
For the last five months I have been exploring a race for the United States Senate because I believe that our junior senator, John Cornyn, has let Texas down and is more concerned with his cronies and friends in Washington than with what's best for Texas.
After spending the last several months putting everything into this campaign, I have seen the toll this effort has taken on my young children. For these reasons, my wife and I have made the decision that I will not be seeking the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in 2008. I was brought up to believe that public service is a noble endeavor and I will continue to be involved at some level in the future. However, I realize that my time now should be devoted to serving my children so they may grow up in a healthy environment with both parents at home to meet their needs.
The reasons for creating my exploratory committee still exist. As I have criss-crossed the state and met and talked with tens of thousands of good Texans, it is evident how much the people of Texas want and need a Senator who will fight every day for their interests and not the special interests. We need to elect a new Senator in Texas and I will personally do everything possible to support the Democratic nominee.
It is hard to express the gratitude I feel for all the support my family and I have received as we have pursued this effort. I know that our vision for the future of Texas is one that all of our friends and supporters share. It's been one of the greatest blessings of my life for their faith in me, and for all of their hard work over the past months. While the decision not to seek the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate has been a difficult one, I know that it is the right one for my family at this time.
Ed. note: In other 3rd quarter news -- for those who missed Matt's story earlier -- Rep. Mike McCaul (TX-10) is in debt. Read more by clicking here. -- Phillip
Noriega raised about $508,000 from individuals, not including refunded contributions, for next year's elections. Watts pulled in about $443,000, Federal Election Commission reports showed.
Both hope to challenge Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who will seek a second six-year term. He collected $1.3 million from individual contributors.
"It definitely creates the question whether his first report was kind of a gimmick and really whether he was going to be a self-funded campaign," James Aldrete, Noriega's campaign manager, said of Watts' fundraising.
Watts reported raising $1.1 million in June, when he launched his campaign. In September, he loaned $3.7 million to his primary campaign and vowed to dedicate future contributions to challenging Cornyn.
Kim Devlin, a spokeswoman for Watts, said there was no gimmick. She said about two-thirds of Watts' donors contributed $100 or less each, showing he has true support from everyday voters.
"Mikal's support from a broad spectrum of Texans means we will be able to run an aggressive campaign that hits on all cylinders all over the state."
Here's what we know from the 3rd quarter numbers:
1) Cornyn has lots and lots of money (duh).
2) Watts loans lots and lots of money to himself (duh).
3) Noriega raised more in individual donations than Watts (wow).
I say "wow" because Noriega is working from a much smaller base of supporters (presumably) than Watts, as Watts has hosted and attended prominent fundraisers across the state. I'm certain that Noriega's contributions from the netroots are what pushed him over the edge (and what accounts for his higher percentage of out-of-state contributions).
In any case -- raising over $500k is a great deal from either candidate. Not including Watts' personal checkbook, well over $1 million has been raised to beat Senator Cornyn over a year away from the election. This statewide challenge is already more serious statewide efforts from Democrats in the past.
**Update**Hadn't read the papers before I wrote this, but it looks like R.G. Ratcliffe of the Houston Chronicle agrees that Noriega is doing well. From his column, which is titled, "Wealth may not be enough for Watts in Senate race":
Finance reports filed Monday show San Antonio lawyer Mikal Watts is the wealthiest candidate in the race for the U.S. Senate, but in a heavily Hispanic Democratic primary that money may not give him a huge advantage over state Rep. Rick Noriega of Houston.
The Hispanic voter turnout in Texas still is not heavy enough to have a major impact on a general election, but in the Democratic primary, Latinos make up as much as 35 percent of the vote. And their vote in the past has favored candidates of the same ethnicity.
During the 2002 Democratic U.S. Senate runoff, Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk spent $2 million and had the support of the Democratic Party establishment. Kirk won, but one-time Senate nominee Victor Morales captured 40 percent of the vote while spending just $8,763.
I wrote once that money wasn't as important for Watts as issues were, and that he needed to do better to develop his issues and persona. Fair enough?
The following are the responses from written interviews I conducted with both Mikal Watts & Rick Noriega. Any links or sources within the post are my own. Approximately half of the questions were my own, while the other half came directly from our BOR community. This is a very lengthy post, but considering the importance of the race, I hope you will indulge us. I would like to sincerely thank both campaigns for their participation, and mind all of our readers to remain respectful of each candidate.
1. What separates you from Mikal Watts/Rick Noriega? What makes you the better choice for voters in the Democratic primary?
Rick Noriega: Both Mikal Watts and I would be far better for Texas than John Cornyn, but that's setting a pretty low bar for performance.
I believe that Democrats will only be successful in so-called "red states" if we run a strong campaign and stand by our values and principles. Texans do not take well to candidates who parse language or aim to appease on the issues.
Mikal is a friend of mine, and deserves respect for the financial support he has provided to the Party. The difference between the two of us, however, can be summed up in one word: service. For the nearly three decades I've devoted to serving in the military, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan, and the nearly ten years I've represented a working class community in the legislature, I have a history of walking the walk. My leadership has been tested. I've taken on the tough challenges - won some, lost some, but never backed away from a fight. I believe regular Texans, whether Democrats, Independents or Republicans, place more credibility in a candidate's words when the candidate backs up his or her words with action.
Mikal Watts: I'm running on my own strengths and qualities - new energy, new drive, new ideas - not against my fellow democrat. While we share similar views on many issues, I believe I will be best able to communicate my ideas to Texas voters that will achieve victory.
2. Both of you support an end to the war. Watts has stated he supports the Levin-Reed amendment to bring all troops home in six months. (Source). Noriega has stated he supports removing or repositioning two of the twenty brigades in Iraq per month, and he supports the Webb-Hagel amendment regarding soldiers' leave time (Source). However, both amendments recently failed in the U.S. Senate. What other options do you think are available in order to get the U.S. out of Iraq? Or is the only solution to elect more Democrats to the U.S. Senate and/or elect a Democrat President?
MW: Get our troops out of Iraq - period.
Only when our combat troops leave Iraq will that government make the tough decisions about its future.
My plan features three common-sense steps to bring our troops home and redirect the $3 billion we are spending every week in Iraq to what matters most - universal health care, improving public schools and access to college, protect American jobs from outsourcing, strengthening Social security, and other domestic priorities.
I believe many of the problems our country faces will be solved once we elect a Democrat as President and more Democrats in the Congress.
RN: I would approach the withdrawal of troops from the occupation of Iraq in three ways: 1) Support amendments in the spirit of the Webb-Hagel amendment that redeploy troops on an clear and achievable timeline; 2) I would place strong and enforceable timelines in appropriations bills; 3) I would demand stronger diplomatic engagement, even if it meant putting James Baker and Bill Clinton on the same airplane, sending them to the region and keeping them there until regional stability is restored.
There is much, much more below the fold. Click here to continue reading.
