Tomorrow we will be hosting our weekly Blog Talk Radio show where we will be discussing the U.S. Senate Race from Texas. We will have a lengthy discussion with Pollster Loren Collingwood about the recent Research 2000 results as well as other factors that favor a last minute push by Noriega.
We will also talk about the latest Michele Bachman comments as well as national polling trends.
Please join us from 11:00 - 12:00 central time tomorrow and you are welcome to call in with your questions and comments.
John Cornyn represents everything big. Big Business, big oil and most importantly himself Big John.
If you like Big - Big John is your man.
Big John also likes big corruption. Karl Rove the Big Bad Evil Genius held a fundraiser for him today in El Paso. Oh there is a big connection between Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed and Big John.
Abramoff and Scanlon had many Indian gaming clients, including the Tigua Ysleta de Sur Pueblo, as the Tigua are known. The lobbyists are at the center of a fraud and fundraising scandal that has embroiled DeLay.
Cornyn, elected senator in 2002, was supported in his anti-Speaking Rock effort by a grassroots campaign led by conservative Christian lobbyist Ralph Reed, who organized pastors around the state to oppose gaming and back the attorney general.
Senate investigators discovered Abramoff hired Reed to block gaming expansion in Texas and Louisiana _ and the $4 million that Reed was paid actually came from Abramoff's Indian gaming clients.
Then, Abramoff and Scanlon secured the Tigua as a client on the day the casino was closed and charged them $4.2 million for a campaign to reopen it through federal legislation.
That's just the way to do business, we ain't got no problem with that. Hell, send Big John a campaign contribution. Just talk about it and deny it.
Thanks to our supporters from Texas and especially the Burnt Orange Report. This is one of our favorite state sites and on all our blog rec lists.
To show our appreciation we have added three Texas Congressional candidates in our next The Progressive Electorate pick a candidate contest
Our rules are a little bit different this time and the amounts that will be contributed to the winners are based on contributions that we receive over the next few weeks towards our other candidates.
You do have to sign up to register. But it takes less than 60 seconds.
Please come support Michael Skelly, Larry Joe Doherty and Glenn Melancon. They all have a chance to be voted in as the next The Progressive Electorate candidate contest.
We are sponsoring a $17.76 money bomb with Noriega as one of our lead candidates. Sorry for the short notice. Help publicize it if you are interested. Also have Barack as a candidate.
Thanks for all that you guys do. I've enjoyed reading the posts here lately although with my new endeavor I've had little time to participate.
(The author of this new site has done a great job on highlighting some of our Texas candidates. Head on over, create and account, and share your thoughts! - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
I'm beginning search for round two of my Progressive Electorate Candidates.
Melancon, Skelly and Doherty have all been mentioned. I'm only going to take one for Round Two. Also scanned over something on the Pete Sessions race. But haven't heard from anyone on that.
Give me your thoughts: I just did an article on Skelly.
Will try and do one with Melancon and Doherty later this week or early next.
Rick Noriega was selected by The Progressive Electorate blog as a finalist for it's first candidate. The Progressive Electorate will committ to donate/raise $1,000 for the winner and $500 for second place.
There are 4 other candidates that have been selected.
Go here, create an account like you have here on BOR, and vote for your favorite. Probably Rick Noriega if you are on this site.
I'm working this election cycle for electing Senators that would be better advocates for our troops. Let me preface this by saying that I am not paid by the Noriega campaign.
I've raised almost $1200 for Noriega and other candidates better for vets than what we have now with my Act Blue Page. I want to get to $1500 as soon as possible.
If I reach this goal tonight I will pledge $400 of my own money this cycle to Noriega and $100 to other candidates on my page. If I can raise an additional $1500 I will pledge another $500.
Let's help Rick. Click on my thermometer to help.
I am disturbed today that the Republicans including McSame are supporting the 21st Century Bill of Rights because it's tied to more funding for the war. They never supported it before and they claim its better now because of the transfer of the benefits to children. They leave out their part about the retention rates.
Read McSame's statment.
With the addition of the transferability provisions sought by Senators Graham, Burr, myself and others to give service members the right to transfer earned G.I. Bill benefits to spouses and children, we will have achieved in offering vastly improved educational benefit while also offering incentives for continued service by the most capable, experienced NCO's and officers. Our courageous NCO's and officers called for this option, and I believe that its inclusion in this bill will help maintain retention levels in all the Services where it needs to be for the well being of the All Volunteer Force and our Nation."
This came from an ABC report. For some reason having trouble with links. Maybe it's my browser
Mind you that before we had all the veterans organizations and a bipartisan coalition supporting this bill. Now we get to listen to McSame posture himself as supporting the troops.
I haven't seen any statements from Cornyn on the GI Bill but I imagine he's going along with McSame.
Cornyn did say today about Obama (From Fox News, yeah I know!!!
Rather than sending a message that he's about change or a new type of politics in America, it really looks and sounds like he's about the same old ... type of politics in America," Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn
As if we need any more ammunition. I have a few quotes that just sound more ridiculous when you read them the third fourth and fifth times.
1. Cornyn really believes in taking care of our environment:
It is vital that we be the best possible stewards of the environment. Fortunately, improved technology has enabled us to take advantage of America's own abundant natural resources in an environmentally sensitive way. Yet the U.S. remains the only country in the world that refuses to develop many of its natural resources.
Drill, Drill, Drill - ANWR, ANWR, ANWR - What is environmentally sensitive about that? What about wind and solar power? How do you feel about that?
2. Cornyn really cares about lowering gas prices:
Gas prices are now hovering near $4 per gallon. High fuel costs are causing disruption in our society, prompting layoffs in some industries. Yet Congress is doing virtually nothing to address the problem. In fact, it's talking about ways to make the problem worse.
Did you vote for or against the windfall profits tax on oil companies? Do you take contributions from all five of these companies every cycle? Do you know that you are in the U.S. Senate.
3. The Climate Change Bill would have cost 300k jobs :
But earlier this month, the Senate actually considered a massive climate tax bill that headed in the exact opposite direction. This massive $6.7 trillion Rube Goldberg scheme proposed by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., would undermine our economy and likely lead to $10 per gallon gasoline. It could well eliminate some 330,000 Texas jobs, sending them to places with limited regulation like China and India.
What have you done to keep jobs going overseas? Did you ever figure out how this would cost Texas 330k Jobs? Does the figure go up every time you think about it? Do you know there are eventually going to be green jobs created?
I'm not sure I can take any more of this. I know that I am giving a small donation tonight. Can anyone match me? This guy gets more and more ridiculous. Does he know that the windfall profits tax would have also created incentives for development of alternative energy?
Just read an article where Cornyn attacked Noriega on his support for the Climate Change bill. That is very interesting considering that Noriega is serving his active duty time this week and next.
Anyways, this is another reason to support Noriega especially since he has got to have others "Fill His Boots" this week. My main issue is the GI Bill vote and I ask that you donate $1 for every day left that Noriega will be gone. So that is $10.01 for the next ten days.
Please visit the link to the thermometer or go to this page
It is very important that we support these candidates and not let them be unfairly attacked by those in the Senate that claim that they support the troops.
Rick Noriega, right now, is on active service duty while Cornyn is stopping legislation that would long term be a better solution to the energy crisis. While this bill may not be perfect, it has bipartisan support and would lower emissions significantly over a time frame.
He will get a short leave to go the State Democratic Convention. But otherwise to lose two weeks in a statewide race such as this one which is receiving a lot of attention can be very costly.
We need to do what we can and add our couple bucks. There is no reason we can't raise $1500 to support those that truely support our troops. While I"m pushing for Noriega, I"m also pushing for darkhorse candidate Vivian Figures in Alabama who just officially received the Democratic nomination.
For every dollar that is pledge for Figures on this link, I will personally give to Noriega.
I find it appalling as many of you do that 22 Senators voted against the new GI Bill last week. I certainly do not have to tell anyone that Cornyn was perhaps the most aggressive in explaining why he may have done so. We all know that this explanation certainly does not fly.
The watered down version simply was and is not enough. As a result of these 22 voting against, Bush is very inclined to try and veto this bill. There are several of these 22 up for re-election this fall. I have set up a fund, ACT-Blue page to let them know that we will support their opposition no matter how Red The State or what the polls and pundits say.
Noriega is getting a lot of love on line and that is fine, but also do not forget these other candidates.
Join me this Memorial Day in letting our Senators know that we support those that truely support our troops. That means giving them the educational opportunities and benefits that they rightously deserve. With the looming foreclosure crisis, health costs crisis and gas prices to return to when coming home, the least we can do is make college more affordable.
It is amazing that there was so much across the board from Veterans Organizations and Republican Senators and yet there were the few influenced by the threat of retention.
