Wait a minute. Todd Staples real first name is Douglas? Douglas Staples. Lordy, let me go get my Republican white bread out of the box.
But here's the real news. Todd Staples, who we all know wants to run for higher office and not Ag Commissioner this year, has just dumped his entire warchest into the race. On October 18, Staples drained his accounts and spent $1.26 million on TV and Radio.
Let me repeat that. Todd Staples emptied his entire warchest against admittedly awesome but woefully underfunded Democrat Hank Gilbert. If Staples hadn't bothered to raise $130,000 this month, he'd be sitting on a pathetic $38,000 Cash on Hand right now.
So one has to ask, why would Staples spend all of his money, the $750,000 he had from his state Senate account, the $25,000 donation he got from Bob "Swiftboat" Perry, and the thousands in donations from the Zachary family (you know, the people building the Trans Texas Corridor that Staples now claims "he opposes in the current form" but he voted for and sponsored in the Senate)?
Hank Gilbert has only raised $81,520 for his race and has $5,852.78 on hand. But he's probably going to be the highest vote getting Democrat on the ticket. And it's the threat that he might be getting more votes than Todd Staples which has triggered this.
Staples may be trying to build up his identity for future races. But no Republican is going to take a man with less than $200 on hand seriously. If he thought he could win, he'd sit on his smaller warchest and build it. Apparently he's worried.
That said, I have been hearing from Republican sources for the last week or so that GOP numbers in Texas are "falling through the floor"--their words, not mine. The huge edge in party identification Republicans once enjoyed has all but disappeared, and there is concern that some down-ballot candidates--Elizabeth Ames Jones for Railroad Commissioner and Todd Staples for Agriculture Commissioner, for example--could find themselves in very close races.
This is hilarious. Cheap-ass Todd Staples ran out of bandwidth for the month and his site went down last night. I snapped this bandwidth in the case that he paid his hosting company another $5 to get it back up (which it is now again this morning but it was funny in the meantime).
How do you run out of bandwidth? Staples couldn't possibly be getting near the traffic of even BOR and we get more than some Gubernatorial candidate websites. Maybe he should sponsor some bills to expand the Internet Superhighway by building a Trans-Tube Corridor.
I thought that I'd point this information out thanks to commentor George. Looks like Kinky's "Ni**er Eggs" meltdown of the last month had an effect on his Democratic and liberal support.
I pulled up the last three Zogby crosstabs (9/11, 9/28, 10/19) to see what I could see.
Without watering down their populist message, Texas's most populist Democratic Challengers are winning over traditional Republican activists. The Trans Texas Corridor Hearings by TDoT are uniting activists who usually face off against each other. Democratic Candidates Hank Gilbert (TX Agriculture Commissioner), David Van Os, (Attorney General) and Fred Head (Comptroller) all face opponents who received money from Zachry which is the Corporation chosen by TDoT to share with Citras in the $190 billion 50 year tolled Trans Texas Corridor.
Kuff reports on a new ad for a Harris County candidate for treasuruer who is running to abolish the office. And they aren't even a Libertarian!
If re-re-redistricting draws favorable lines, could it be that Ciro Rodriguez will be back in the hunt for another go at returning to Congress? Blogging Rep. Aaron Pena has some musings on that front. Love Ciro, but after the disaster of the (non-existant) ground game in his latest rematch with Cuellar, put me as not jumping on that bandwagon right away. I'll be in the wait and see camp.
Poor Katherine Harris. It's funny how she's down 28% in the polls in Florida and everyone writes her off. But when you are down 27% in the polls in Texas, you're the best shot for a statewide pickup for Democrats in Texas.
Ed. note: This week, we will feature VaLinda Hathcox and Hank Gilbert in our 40/40 reports. To get to know Hatchox, click here. Check back throughout the week for continuing coverage on two of our Democratic statewide candidates.
Hank Gilbert is running against Republican Todd Staples to be Texas' next Commissioner of Agriculture. He's quick to tell you he's not a politician -- though he exudes a certain sort of authentic Texas spirit that most folks are looking for in their elected officials.
Hank's the kind of guy you talk to at a feed store, or on a skeet shoot, or on a cattle drive. Not that I've ever been any of those places -- but I've seen movies, and I can imagine. What I know outside of the movies, though, are the issues that matter -- how droughts are affecting our farmers, how the quality of food I buy at the grocery store is determined by regulations overseen and fought at the Commissioner's level, and how the Trans-Texas Corridor is preparing to destroy hundreds of thousands of acres of irreplacable Texas farmland.
Hank Gilbert is an expert on those issues, and countless others -- but not in the rehearsed, polished way we're accustomed to expecting in our political candidates.
He's natural. He's authentic. He's a real Texan with real concerns about our state and its people, and he's not about to let politics get in the way of imporant public policy.
Hank Gilbert is pure Texas -- and he's ready to be our next Commissioner of Agriculture.
I like to read news from papers in various parts of the state. Sometimes you run across great stuff like this, from Texarkana.
The slogan for the Bowie County Democrats is "People like you fighting for you." Delk said no candidate present Tuesday embodied that sentiment more than Hank Gilbert, a candidate for state commissioner of agriculture. Gilbert hopes to replace Republican Todd Staples.
Gilbert said he didn’t expect to be running for office less than a year ago.
"I was out in my cow pasture trying to watch where I stepped," said Gilbert, who lives in Troup, Texas, near Tyler.
Gilbert said he decided to consider working in an area other than farming because he doesn’t think farmers can afford another Republican term. He said legislation such as the Trans-Texas Corridor is eliminating needed farmland. He said legislation such as House Bill 1361, which requires farmers to use microchips to track each animal, will hurt farmers’ pockets.
I love it. And then there was this quote.
Delk said Gilbert’s down-home attitude has made him a cult figure of sorts among Democrats.
I don't know about cult figure but certainly, there is really is just something about Hank Gilbert. And it doesn't hurt that he's not Todd Staples. Also, McBlogger has great pictures of Staples looking, well, really out of place again.
Jeff Davis County Commissioner Diane Lacy
Alpine Mayor Mickey Clouse
Alpine City Councilwoman Nancy DeWitt
Bee County Commissioner Susan Stasny
Bee County Judge Jimmy Martinez
Bell County Commissioner Richard Cortez
Columbus City Manager David Stall
Colorado County JP Frances Truchard
Fayette County Judge Ed Janecka
Fayette County County Inspector Bill Durst
Hillsboro Mayor Will Lowrance
Former Hill County Judge Charles Herd
Dallas City Councilwoman Lois Finkleman
... They all are on the record opposing the Trans Texas Corridor (which Todd Staples co-sponsored in the state senate).
These peole represent millions of rural and urban Texans. Todd Staples does not care about what this people think. Todd Staples claims on his website that he has fought for the "protection of private property owners’ rights."
In reality, Todd Staples has done the opposite. That is like George Bush saying he has advocated gay marriage ... dude, you gotta be f***ing kidding. The truth is that he TTC will tear family farms, ranches and homes.
Hank Gilbert strongly opposes the TTC and, as our Commissioner of Agriculture, will stand up to the special interests who already have Todd Staples bought and paid for.
Many of them are coming up this next week. It would be good to get as many folks out to these hearings (and as many STATE WIDE CANDIDATES as possible to testify). I have sorted them by date so that it will be easier to mobilize folks to attend the hearings and YELL ABOUT THE BIGGEST LAND GRAB in Texas History.
Over 83,000 acres of prime agriculture land is scheduled to be consumed by this project. Ownership of the TTC is to be given to a Spanish company who will charge us tolls for 50 years to travel across Texas on this road. It will include corridors for our utilities and communication infra structure (which will be controlled by a foreign country!) The project will aversely impact the eco-system of our piney woods region. The reasons this project is BAD for Texas are numerous. Please check this out and stand up before it is too late. The bill was sponsored by Todd Staples (who is the Republican candidate for Agriculture Commissioner). His shortsighted disregard for the number 2 economic sector in Texas is monumental. Agriculture needs Hank Gilbert to look out for the farmers and ranchers (and people who must put groceries on the table every week). Todd Staples is dangerous. The Trans-Texas Corridor is Dangerous.
HERE THEY ARE THE HEARING DATES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:
Happened to run into newly sworn in Austin city councilman Mike Martinez who was sporting some casual wear for the evening. Which reminds me, another councilman's website news got updated this weekend.
Other short notes from around the state- did you know that Tom DeLay had a brother named Randy? Did you know that said brother also gave $20,000 to sleazy Todd Staples?
Well, all the great reporting over at the Don't Get Stapled blog apparently has caught the eye of some staffer of Toddy's as DGS noted yesterday. Well hey, we know it's not easy working for a guy that has no interest in the job he's running for.
Other short notes from around the state- did you know that Tom DeLay had a brother named Randy? Did you know that said brother also gave 
