Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez announced today that he will not file for the 2012 Democratic Party nomination for the United States Senate from Texas. His statement is below:
"I am very grateful for the strong support and encouragement I have received from supporters across the country and the wonderful Texans I have met in every part of our great state. However, pressing personal challenges, coupled with the recent loss of our home due to fire and lagging fundraising numbers make a statewide election campaign impractical for me at this time.
"After extensive consultation with my family, Maria Elena and I have decided to put family first and I will therefore end my campaign for the 2012 U.S. Senate seat as of today.
"I am blessed to have made friends with so many great Texans on this journey. Their personal stories and their love for our homeland will continue to inspire me as I look ahead and consider future opportunities for public service. I remain steadfast in the desire to serve both my country and the State of Texas to help bring new, responsible, and fair-minded leadership to our government.
May God Bless Texas and May God Bless America."
A day after the Texas Democratic Party announced The Promesa Project, its leading Latino candidate declined to file, leaving none on the statewide ballot. As of the close of business today, the following are the only candidates filed for statewide office as Democrats. Grim.
Current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for US Senate for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Gen. Ric Sanchez sent out a fundraising request this week in an email entitled "First Challenge". It opens (emphasis mine)...
Throughout my time of service in the U.S. Military, I took great pride in taking on complicated missions and never backing down from the toughest of challenges.
However, in the five years since I have retired, I have grown increasingly frustrated watching political candidates bicker and posture while attempting to win elections. There are far too many politicians in Washington who care more about scoring political points than tackling the difficult issues that face our nation. I'm sure you share in this frustration.
Texas Republicans are well versed in political posturing and scoring point from Rick Perry on down the line. So what is Ric Sanchez offering? His top (only) three issues posted on his campaign website are...
The drain on state and local revenues (schools, health care, etc.) has become intolerable in spite of the immense contributions to the gross domestic product of the illegal immigrant workforce. We simply cannot provide illegal immigrants with blanket access to all of the services and benefits that are afforded to our citizens. Doing so would undermine our economy and the viability of critical social programs.
Many parents are deeply involved in the education of their children, and I understand that some may be interested in alternatives to traditional schooling. In many cases, alternatives make sense, particularly if a child is placed in a magnate school where they can focus on a specific subject of interest. In such cases, the application of school vouchers would not be something I would be opposed to - as long as their implementation is expanded to include all families so that every family can have the same opportunities and choices available to them. If vouchers are to exist at all, they must be applied equitably and made available to all elements of our society.
I believe the best way for us to improve our economic circumstances is to focus on job creation. Clearly we have to sustain and protect the jobs that we currently have. The best approach to creating jobs in Texas is for us to provide tax cuts, incentives, and increase financing support for small businesses. They are the true engines of the job market, and they generate the majority of jobs in the economy.
While illegal immigration, vouchers for all, and tax cuts may play well with Texas right of center electorate, it's a little more "scoring political points" and less "tackling the difficult issues that face our nation." Sanchez has expanded his issues pages in recent weeks from this initial key points to include support for the DREAM Act and Texas wind & solar energy development.
First impressions are important in politics and so far the reception among the Democratic base has been muted at best.
In the last couple of days there has been a boomlet of U.S. Senate discussion about Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez due to trial balloons being floated by former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes & the DSCC. Before I adress the main point of this post, I encourage readers to take a look at any of the following articles to glean some further insight into Sanchez.
I'm not surprised by the quick response in the political press and blogosphere; after all, it's less than a year away from the (expected) Texas primary and the only announced candidate Sean Hubbard, excluding the Draft Tommy Lee Jones movement. Other obvious potential candidates aren't available or interested, ranging from former Gubernatorial nominees Tony Sanchez, Chris Bell, & Bill White to former US Senate nominees Rick Noriega, Victor Morales, or Gene Kelly (if he's still alive). I half suspect that Barbara Radnofsky's name might get floated at some point but I haven't heard from her since her unsuccessful second statewide bid last fall. No big city mayors are in the pipeline other than Mayor Julian Castro in San Antonio who's running for re-election. Heck, it's been so bad that even the perennially rumored John Sharp no longer makes the media's obligatory candidate short list.
Texas Democrats recognize that our bench took a beating last November and are desperate for any hint of a candidate to run in a rare open US Senate seat. That desperation isn't new, it's just more obvious now that 2010 exposed the underlying structural failings of the Democratic Party as it exists in Texas. There is a much bigger discussion that needs to take place about the nuts and bolts re-building of the Democratic Party in Texas, one that I hope will be part of the now open race and debate for the next TDP Chair since Boyd Richie is not running for re-election. But this post isn't about that, at least not directly.
I believe the initial debate over the potential of Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez's candidacy has to go deeper than arguments over his involvement and handling of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. In fact, I'd argue that we are having the wrong debate entirely. Every cycle since at least 2000 Democrats have focused around "Winnability" in the major nominees we have put forward as our top of the ticket standard-bearers, and look where that has gotten us.
2002: Tony Sanchez & Ron Kirk would build and fund a winnable rainbow coalition. Lost.
2006: Chris Bell would build a moderate winnable victory in a unique fractured general election. Lost.
2006: Barbara Radnofsky, a female mediator, would be able to make a reasoned dent in Hutchison's personal popularity. Lost.
2008: Rick Noriega, a Hispanic soldier, was the ticket and would get the Hispanics that Tony Sanchez couldn't. Lost.
2010: Bill White would win as a well-funded popular business-friendly mayor of Texas' biggest city. Lost.
2012: Ricardo Sanchez, a economically conservative Hispanic general, will get the Hispanics that Noriega & Tony Sanchez couldn't.
Are we seeing a pattern here? For the most part Democrats have spent the last decade focused on Winnability and received nothing in return but one heart-breaking loss after another. Yet year after year, our aging Democratic institutional and luminary leaders propose "the next sure thing" strategy of running relatively unoffensive moderate nominees with the "right demographics" and year after year we buy it- and lose.
Maybe it's time to for Texas Democrats to stop searching for nominees based upon this model of "winnability" and instead, search for a nominee based upon our Party's "values".
How many more times are we going to ask the Democratic base of this state to trudge out to the polls and "get excited" by our winnable candidates? Seeing as our "winnable" strategy never wins, is there any harm in nominating someone with a strong Democratic identity who runs a campaign centered on our Democratic values? What if we sought out someone who's more interested in running a multi-million dollar campaign focused on calling out Republicans for their failure of leadership and bankrupting of this state's treasury and future rather than calling up Republicans to plead for their checks and votes?
What if the path to winnability is grounded in our Democratic values?
Consider this.
Cycle after cycle the Democratic "winnability" strategy has centered around "awakening the sleeping giant" of minority voters, particularly Hispanics.
If the 2010 election taught us anything, it's that minority voters in Texas are almost all that's left of the Democratic Party.
It is unlikely that Anglo Texans are going to have a rush of baby-making or that Democrats are going to ever win the Anglo vote back. So it would make sense to me, given the three points above, that there really isn't any harm (or other option) in going all-in with the "demographic change" strategy; except instead of waiting around for it to happen, we invest in making it happen. We seek out engaging Democratic, Progressive, or Populist candidates that can talk to minority voters also known (now) as "the base". In the process we build stronger, longer lasting infrastructure and institutions. We make an argument to voters that spans election cycles by spending money and organizing around our values, not short term candidate based winnability.
Developing better mail pieces and TVs ads isn't going to change our fate. They can help us win, when we are close, but we still need to get close enough to win, and that starts with voters identifying with our candidates. The kind of change we need now requires a movement as much as it requires money, and we're never going to build a movement in this state until we have the motivation and subsequent momentum to really go out and kick some ass. Moderates may get us money, but they're not getting us movement and they're hurting any momentum we could build. Maybe it's time for us to give the Linda Chavez-Thompsons of the world the same all-in support and consideration as our more "winnable" candidates.
Who knows, we might just find out that running on our values is the most winnable strategy for the future of Democrats in Texas.
A trial balloon is being floated for a potential Democratic US Senate candidate to run in 2012 for the open seat being vacated by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Retired Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, a native of Rio Grande City, has been courted by the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee as confirmed by DSCC Chair Sen. Patty Murray and former Texas Lt. Governor Ben Barnes.
Sanchez was the top military commander in Iraq during 2003-04 under former President George W. Bush before being effectively forced out of the job in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. While Sanchez will not confirm or deny his intent to run, he gave the following response to the press.
"I would describe myself as during my military career as supporting the president and the Constitution," Sanchez said. "After the military, I decided that socially, I'm a progressive, a fiscal conservative and a strong supporter, obviously, of national defense."
"It's my views and my history, having grown up in south Texas, depending on social programs and assistance, that America has a responsibility to its people," he said.
While Sanchez openly admits that the Abu Ghraib scandal was responsible for ending his leadership of the Iraq operation, he was cleared by Army investigators and criticized President Bush's handling of the war in his 2008 book, "Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story."
Sanchez would enter a mostly empty Democratic field where only 30 year old Sean Hubbard has announced any intention of running for the open Senate seat.
“I have known since 2006 that I wouldn’t seek another term,” the senator said in a telephone interview. “I wanted to announce it on my own terms and in my own way."
Hutchison, first elected to the Senate in 1993, said the swearing-in of the new Congress, among other things, made her feel it was the right moment to announce her resignation.
My one question: If Senator Hutchison knew she wouldn't run again, why did she vote against the Dream ACT?
Your question, to consider: what Democrats should run for her seat in 2012?
Update by KT: The TDP released the following statement in response to the news.
“Kay Bailey Hutchison has changed her mind about retirement so many times, she could be known as the Brett Favre of the Senate. Assuming this time she’s serious, it is good news for Texas families, who Sen. Hutchison has failed to adequately represent. Just in recent weeks, her vote against the DREAM Act and vote to maintain “don’t ask, don’t tell” shows her unwillingness to look beyond partisan politics to support smart policy.
“Texas is a growing state and our gain of four new congressional seats puts us in the national spotlight. On Election Day 2012, we will offer Texas voters a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate whose dedication to our state would never be in question.”
Update by Matt: Simply, Bill White says no. White told reports at the San Antonio Express News he will not run for Senate in 2012.
The only minor surprise is Bill White, who’s saying no. “Sen. Hutchison has worked hard for Texas for many years,” he told us in an e-mail a few minutes ago. “I wish her and her family well. I look forward to going back into business this year, and will not run for the U.S. Senate in 2012.”
"Your Congressman" Michael McCaul has been asleep at the switch, allowing the only defense contractor in the district to lose it's only contract, directly costing the district 5000 jobs.
We're printing these signs and posting them throughout the district. This is only a sample of what we'll be doing with your support.
This is a 100% volunteer campaign. We have a virtual office with zero overhead; no consultants or paid staffers. Every penny we raise goes right into the campaign.
We'll continue to create ads like this;
We've spent zero dollars on our website, graphics design or the ad you saw above and we've just begun.
Do you want to see these types of signs throughout the district, stretched down 290 between Austin and Houston?
Ted Ankrum, Democratic Party Candidate for Congressional District 10, congratulates Austin for bringing a Formula 1 auto racing event to the Central Texas area.
"Being an auto racer myself, I fully support this exciting racing event. This World Class auto racing series schedules events around the world. I attended my first Formula 1 race in 1959 at the Avus track in Berlin, Germany and also attended the 1960 race in Monaco and the 2002 race in Melbourne, Australia. This annual event will bring jobs and fans to Austin and the economic impact to the area will be like having the Superbowl in town every year." Ankrum said.
Until 2007, the US event in this race series was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now Austin has stepped up to the plate and this race will again be held in the USA, starting in 2012.
Ankrum is an avid auto enthusiast, running his Nissan GT-R at track events at the Texas World Speedway in College Station, the GrandSport Speedway near Galveston, and most recently, was sponsored by Baker-Jackson Nissan in Cypress at the Texas Mile event at Goliad, Texas in March. "I set the fastest time in my class with a speed of 167.2 MPH and have a certificate to prove it."
Ted with Mr. Brad Baker, general manager of Baker-Jackson Nissan in Cypress, TX prior to the Texas Mile event
Ted running ahead of a Ford GT at the Texas World Speedway in College Station, TX in 2009
Kay Bailey Hutchison's announcement this morning that she will remain in the U.S. Senate may not have surprised many, but it still has to be disappointing for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Sharp.
“I certainly enjoyed visiting with Texans for the last year and a half and learning about their concerns as we waited for Kay Bailey Hutchison to resign. I hope she’s learned what I’ve learned from this experience which is people are sick and tired of business as usual and the bitter partisanship of Washington DC . It is time to put the country ahead of both political parties.”
Sharp, along with then Senate candidate Bill White, announced their intentions to run for the Senate in December 2008, when some viewed Hutchison's resignation as imminent.
Sharp has said previously he would run for Senate even if the election was in 2012, when Hutchison's current term will expire. Hutchison's indecisiveness effectively forced Sharp to sit out this political cycle. The perceived advantages Sharp would have brought to a special elecion (high name ID and an ability to self-financed his campaign in a short time window) may not exist in a 2012 general election, however.
Now that Kay Bailey Hutchison has decided to stay in Washington to fight against major legislation and continue to be part of the minority party, we expect a steady stream of press releases and statements.
The first comes from the Texas Democratic Party (TDP).
"No one is surprised that Sen. Hutchison is not resigning her seat. We never believed she would leave the Senate, and it's disappointing that she refused to shoot straight with Texas voters.
"The real test for Hutchison is if she will stand by her criticisms of Rick Perry or hypocritically embrace his failed service as Governor."
The TDP openly asks a question we are all curious about. KBH went hard against Perry late in the election and described him as a "failed" Governor. Will she stand by her statements or was she playing politics? Does KBH want to reform her out of touch party or does she want to complacent in the Texas Republican Party's lies?
Simply, does she want to be honest or does she want to continue her games and shameless self promotion?
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has said she will make an announcement Wednesday morning at 10 am in San Antonio. The Statesman's Jason Embry wrote in a First Reading email that "it appears likely that she will announce she is going to stay in the Senate."
Hutchison will be joined in San Antonio by John Cornyn and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Chances are Cornyn and McConnell, both of whom have publicly called on Hutchison to remain in the Senate, would not travel to watch her announce her resignation.
Still, one thing we all have learned is that trying to predict what Hutchison will do, even when it seems like a foregone conclusion that is less than 10 hours away, is pointless. Until she makes the announcement, no one really knows what she will decide.
State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, is no longer a candidate for U.S. Senate and says she'll refund about $1 million to her contributors. Shapiro was the first candidate to get into the race to replace Kay Bailey Hutchison, who was at the time thinking about resigning early to concentrate on her challenge to Gov. Rick Perry.
A trial balloon is being floated for a potential Democratic US Senate candidate to run in 2012 for the open seat being vacated by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Retired Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, a native of Rio Grande City, has been courted by the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee as confirmed by DSCC Chair Sen. Patty Murray and former Texas Lt. Governor Ben Barnes.
