Disclaimer: This is an opinion piece by South Texas Republicans. This commentary was not planted by the Cornyn political team or any other entity. This is original material from our independent political action committee. Enjoy and tell us what you think.

Friends, you heard it here first. We predict Senator John Cornyn will be the leading contender for the position of Vice-President in 2008. We are going to give you 5 good reasons why this will happen. 

The leading Republican candidates are “moderate” Republicans from the Northeast and Arizona. Conservatives are not happy about the current crew: Rudolph Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki, Gov. Mitt Romney, Senator John Sununu and John McCain. It is our belief that conservatives will demand a solid and balanced conservative Republican on the ticket. Senator Cornyn would be a good counter balance to these leading presidential contenders.

Who is going to deliver the great state of Texas? Senator Cornyn can take care of that little problem real fast. His current grassroots outreach in Kendall, Bexar and Bell counties is impressive and timely. He has a record of raising money and getting out the vote in tough races.

The Bush crowd (W/Rove/Cheney) likes Senator John Cornyn. We believe they consider him to be a solid soldier who has paid his dues. His consistent loyalty to the White House will pay off in spades in 2008. (Senator Cornyn has been a real trooper to “W” on the awful Harriet Miers’ nomination and the unpopular guest worker program.) 

The recent Conservative Political Action Committee convention in Washington featured Senator Cornyn as a speaker. Those folks do not send out speaking invitations by accident. Folks at the national level have their eye on the Senator.

Senator Cornyn has all the qualities needed for a national campaign: a majestic personal appearance, a stellar resume and the leadership style that is strong, balanced and ambitious. Study his history and you will notice a consistent upward movement over the years. This move is a natural progression in his political career.

We have two suggestions for Senator Cornyn:  (We are so humble to be offering advice to a sitting U.S. Senator.)

Start making bi-weekly trips to Iowa and New Hampshire. Let those folks know you are serious about a national campaign in 2008. Make sure they know you are ready to be a loyal vice-president who will bring a conservative balance to the ticket. Let the world see you on C-Span every Sunday. (Road to the White House at night.)

“Super size” your political team and start pushing them hard on this effort. This is the  time to “brand” yourself on certain subjects: Border security, judicial nominations or small business issues including health care. Folks need to label you as a certain kind of leader in the next two years.

It is our belief Senator John Cornyn will be a strong candidate for President AFTER he serves as Vice-President. Running for President as a sitting Senator is a genuine waste of time based on recent history. 

Okay, that is our Monday lead story for all of you faithful political junkies. Some of you may think we are being too arrogant for posting this kind of commentary. This may be true since humility and meekness are not qualities we possess. Read this again and ask yourself if it is possible. It is and we think it will happen. Just watch.

South Texas Republicans
Senator Cornyn Information: Click here
 

Published: -2-22-06- From the TexasInsider.org  (Segment of posted article.)
 

(AUSTIN) - Today Speaker Tom Craddick (R - Midland) announced committee appointments to fill the vacancies left by former Rep. Todd Baxter who resigned from the House in November 2005.

Rep. Joe Straus (R - San Antonio) has been appointed to the House Committee on Regulated Industries. The Committee, which has seven members, has jurisdiction over the regulation and deregulation of electric and telecommunications utilities and their respective industries, as well as the regulation of science and technology, including telecommunications, electronic technology, and automated data processing.

The Committee also oversees the Public Utility Commission, the Office of Public Utility Counsel, and the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board. Rep. Straus currently serves on the Committee for Pensions & Investments. As a result of appointment to the Committee on Regulated Industries, he will be leaving the Judiciary Committee. Straus will serve the remainder of former Rep. Baxter's appointed term. The House Committee on Regulated Industries is scheduled to meet Friday, February 24, in the John H. Reagan Building, Room 140.

South Texas Republicans Commentary: Kudos to Speaker Craddick for recognizing the business leadership skills of State Representative Joe Straus with this excellent appointment. This is great development for South Texas. We congratulate Representative Straus for this tremendous accomplishment.
 

February 21, 2006 to March 3, 2006 - Early voting for Democratic and Republican Primary  *  March 7, 2006 - Democratic and Republican Primary
 

Please contact Schuylar Crist at skyskyrider@hotmail.com if you are interested in volunteering in a political campaign at the local or state level. Send over your interests and we will do our best to put you in contact with the appropriate or desired political campaign. We maintain great relationships with state officials and judicial candidates who are always seeking grassroots volunteers. 
 
GET INVOLVED this year!!!  Make a difference by volunteering in a political campaign.
 

 “Republican Minority Candidate College” by the Republican National Committee- TWO THUMBS DOWN

Commentary By Joe Solis/South Texas Republicans

Friends, many of you are going to write in and say I should be nicer to fellow Republicans after you read this commentary. Please think about the basic message in the following sentences. I received the letter below last week from the RNC. It is my belief that it is insulting, backwards and counter-productive for our party to label, identify and divide members of our party based on race, religion and skin color. The RNC has no business labeling any American in our national party as a “minority.” We are Americans first and foremost. 

Can you imagine someone describing Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the RNC, as our proud “Jewish Republican Chairman” who is a “minority” in our party? This would spark outrage throughout the country. The same applies to Hispanics, Blacks and Asians. Labeling and separating citizens based on skin color, religion or race was a disaster in Germany in 1939 and it never worked in the former Yugoslavia. We are Americans who hold a set of conservative values – period. Let us not go down the path of separation in our state or nation.

Please tell me what you think. Joe

Letter from the Republican National Committee

Dear Joe,

Equality, freedom and opportunity have been the founding and guiding principles of the Republican Party since its inception in the early 1850's. From this humble beginning, the party of Lincoln has had a long and distinguished legacy of encouraging, supporting and electing minority candidates.

In honor of that legacy, and in response to the growing number of Republican minority candidates, the RNC is proud to announce the Republican Minority Candidate College. During this two day training college, Republican minority candidates running for office in 2006 will learn how to run grassroots campaigns, fundraise, build a 72 Hour Program, and win their specific races. Candidates will be taught by Republican leaders and professional campaign advisors.

If you know of a Republican Minority Candidate running for office, please forward them this email and ask them to apply. If you have any questions about the RNC Minority Candidate College, please contact me at: CandidateCollege@RNCHQ.org.

Thank you for your continued efforts to grow our Party!

Sincerely,

Rafael Béjar
Director of Hispanic Coalitions
(202) 863-8558
 

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: You knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to?  The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of- throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace.  He intends to come and live in it Himself."
 

Sponsorships are welcome and General Admittance Tickets will be $150 per person. Anyone interested can call 512/495-9522 OR E-mail NORMANPATART@AUSTIN.RR.COM

ASSOCIATED REPUBLICANS OF TEXAS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: PAT SWEENEY ROBBINS 512/495-9522

 MIKE BOYLAN, STATE CHAIRMAN OF THE ASSOCIATED REPUBLICANS OF TEXAS, ISSUED THE FOLLOWING RELEASE TODAY:

NORMAN F. NEWTON, LONGTIME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ASSOCIATED REPUBLICANS OF TEXAS, ANNOUNCED HIS RESIGNATION FROM THAT POSITION TODAY. "THIRTY YEARS AGO WHEN SENATOR JOHN TOWER AND I DISCUSSED THE FORMATION OF A.R.T., I NEVER ENVISIONED THE IMPACT THAT THIS ORGANIZATION OR ITS MEMBERS WOULD HAVE ON TEXAS. TOGETHER WE HAVE RESHAPED TEXAS POLITICS TO BUILD A REPUBLICAN MAJORITY STATE. I AM EXTREMELY PROUD OF THAT LEGACY," SAID NEWTON.

" AT THIS TIME I HAVE DECIDED TO STEP DOWN FROM THE POSITION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. I WILL, HOWEVER, REMAIN ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. AS I MOVE ON TO OTHER ENDEAVORS, MY HEART WILL ALWAYS BE WITH MY FRIENDS AT THE ASSOCIATED REPUBLICANS OF TEXAS. I TRUST THAT ALL OF THE A.R.T. MEMBERS WHO ASSISTED ME OVER THE YEARS WILL CONTINUE THEIR SUPPORT AND THE IMPORTANT WORK THAT REMAINS TO BE DONE."

BOYLAN ANNOUNCED THAT PAT SWEENEY ROBBINS, THE LONGTIME ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ASSOCIATED REPUBLICANS OF TEXAS, HAS BEEN APPOINTED ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SUCCEEDING NORMAN NEWTON. HE SAID "PAT ROBBINS’ LONG SERVICE TO A.R.T. WILL STAND US IN GOOD STEAD AS OUR ORGANIZATION CONTINUES TO CARRY OUT ITS CHOSEN MISSION OF HELPING TO ELECT LEGISLATORS WHO ARE COMMITTED TO THE CORE PRINCIPLES OF LIMITED GOVERNMENT, LOWER TAXES AND MINIMAL INTERFERENCE WITH OUR BUSINESSES, OUR LOCAL INSTITUTIONS, AND OUR PERSONAL LIVES," HE ADDED, "NORMAN NEWTON HAS MADE AN INDELIBLE MARK ON THE HISTORY OF OUR STATE. WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE HIS ADVICE AND COUNSEL AS A MEMBER OF OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS."
 

“No student ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required, that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction.”

-Charles Kendall Adams
 

Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday appointed Joe Krier to serve on a new three-member panel tasked with reviewing the state's transportation

financing mechanisms. The new Study Commission on Transportation Financing will conduct hearings throughout the state to study public policy implications relating to the financing of transportation projects.

The commission will review the state motor fuels tax, current sources of funding for rail and other financing options for roads and highways.

Krier is the president and CEO of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. He is also an executive member of the North American Free Trade  Alliance and Free Trade Alliance San Antonio and a member of the San Antonio Mobility Coalition. Krier will serve alongside Ted Houghton Jr. of El Paso, a member of the Texas Transportation Commission, and William B. Madden, president of Madden Securities Corp. in Dallas.
 

It was dead silent. You could hear a pin drop when I approached the podium and when I left it at the conclusion of my remarks. A small cabal of supporters, who had made the sacrifice and who had flexible enough schedules to attend a Texas Transportation Commission meeting Thursday up in Austin during the work day, also attended and said, "You've got more guts than anyone else in that room." Why? Because that room was filled with highway lobbyists, more than 100 industry people, Mayor Hardberger, Judge Wolff, Senator Wentworth, Rep. Ruth McClendon-Jones, half the City Council, Joe Krier of SAMCO and the Greater Chamber, Bill Thornton of the tolling authority, among others, engaging in a love fest filled with genuflecting at the feet of one another for more than an hour. Then silence filled the room as the lone speaker for the grassroots, the taxpayer, stood to challenge them. 

On behalf of Texas taxpayers, the San Antonio Toll Party presented compelling data challenging the toll plans of the Governor-appointed Texas Transportation Commission that ought to sober even the most hardened politician or bureaucrat (see the presentation for yourself and read an Express-News story on the showdown). Between the lack of justification for making us pay tolls on freeways already built and paid for to challenging the secret 50 year toll agreements with foreign companies, there's plenty of ammo to call for pause. We suggested reforms, very specific ones, that would go a long way to restore the public trust in the process like a top to bottom review of the city's poor planning of roads (lack of surface streets especially east-west arterials, can't get out of Stone Oak without getting on 281/1604), cease pushing and insisting local communities use these public-private secret contracts called CDAs, and cease all toll projects until their economic impact on San Antonio is fully determined. You may think the economic impacts have already been studied prior to the wholesale shift to toll every major highway in San Antonio (and throughout Texas), but it hasn't. What's driving this train is greed, corruption, and new tax revenue generation.

What's needed is a study of the genuine impact of such a steep driver’s tax on the family budget and on toll viability in such an unstable energy market. Also the impact of an employee's ability to get to work, the ability of businesses to retain employees, effects of sharply increasing the cost of doing of business, effects on home values and how tolls will effect population growth projections. I’ve heard from business owners in the 281/1604 corridor, and they’re very concerned about these issues since employees have already stated they will no longer head north to work if they have to pay a toll to travel efficiently. They've already lost substantial income to high gas prices. 

Also, the personal savings rate has now dropped into the negative (Click Here For Report). For the first time since the Depression, Americans are dipping into their savings just to live day to day. When TxDOT's own study from UT Austin shows over 70% of Texans are against the tolling of existing highways, and 51% of Texans don't want tolls even on NEW roads, it begs the question, why does our Governor and his Transportation Commission continue to wholeheartedly push tolls? 

In fact, Chair Ric Williamson actually said, "We are loyal to Rick Perry's vision (referring to tolls)." So anyone who still has doubts about why the Governor is tied to this, look no further. Williamson said it himself. In fact, on February 6, Governor Perry directly promoted his toll plans and his statements were on WOAI radio all day saying "tolls are the only option for San Antonio." This is in direct contradiction to requests from two State Senators (Wentworth and Madla) and two County Commissioners (Adkisson and Larson) to install overpasses and implement TxDOT's original already funded, non-toll plan for 281, a contradiction of TxDOT's own documents, and a contradiction to the December 1 Express-News article that proves the overpasses at the stop lights on 281 north are already paid for with gas taxes, but they're choosing to toll you for an existing freeway instead.

Find out more: http://www.satollparty.com
 

Texas Republican Primary
Early Voting Today
through March 3rd

Even though the Primary is Tuesday, March 7th and the General Election is not until November...I'm asking for your vote TODAY! Early voting for the Primary is already underway, and you can vote today!

Will you be out of town on March 7th?

Do your kids have a soccer game or dance recital that night?

Are the lines at your local polling place always out the door in the morning?

Whatever the reason, don't chance missing this election. Cast your vote during early voting which runs through Friday, March 3rd.

Remember that Texas law allows any registered voter to take advantage of early voting in your home county. Early Voting in person is open to everyone, not just senior citizens or students.

You can find locations and times for early voting in your county by calling your local elections office.

Early Voting locations for Bexar county can be found by clicking here

Click here to find contact information for your local elections office

Thanks again for your continued support!  I'm counting on you and other friends to turn out for this Republican Primary.

Sincerely,

Lieutenant Governor
David Dewhurst

 

Early voting has begun and District 73 voters have a clear opportunity to place a true conservative Republican in Austin by voting 'Nathan Macias' for State Representative. Nathan is a lifelong Republican promoting a strong platform of both fiscal and social conservatism. A retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Engineer graduate from Texas A&M, Nathan's priorities include: Improving public education, Cracking down on illegal immigration, Strongly opposing the conversion of free roads to toll roads, and Protecting private property rights!

Nathan will also be a strong pro-life voice as he promotes our conservative values in Austin working for lower property taxes and better schools! Nathan has enjoyed a rising groundswell of support everywhere he has visited, but will need your vote to propel him to victory on March 7th. Vote Nathan Macias for State Representative, District 73!

Nathan Macias Campaign

adam@nathanmacias.com
 

Please visit our web page to find important contact information about the government you are supporting with your tax dollars. Here is one example of FREE services we offer 24/7 at http://www.SouthTexasRepublicans.com

Click HERE to contact officials of the Department of Homeland Security:

 Department of Homeland Security

Nebraska Ave. Center, N.W.
Washington, DC 20528

Web Site: http://www.dhs.gov

Phone: (202) 282-8000

Officials

Michael Chertoff -- Secretary of Homeland Security

David Stone -- Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Transportation Security

Michael Jackson -- Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security

Randy Beardsworth -- Acting Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security

Charles McQueary -- Under Secretary for Science and Technology

Janet Hale -- Under Secretary for Management

R. David Paulison -- Acting Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response Richard Skinner -- Acting Inspector General

Alfonso Martinez-Fonts -- Special Assistant to the Secretary for the Private Sector
 

State Representative Terry Keel of Austin, A Statewide Candidate For Judge Of The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8, Addresses South Texas Republicans

Dear South Texas Republicans:

I am State Representative Terry Keel of Austin, a statewide candidate for Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8.

My background includes over nine years service as an Assistant District Attorney, including assignment as Chief Prosecutor of the Major Crimes Division. I also served as Travis County Sheriff, the first Republican in history elected to that post.

I was thereafter elected as Travis County’s sole Republican in the Texas House of Representatives. I have been elected to five terms and I currently serve as chairman of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. I am also a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the General Investigating & Ethics Committee.

I am the only candidate in this race endorsed by conservative Republican elected officials throughout the state, as well as organizations such as the Texas Alliance for Life, the National Rifle Association, the Texas State Rifle Association, and the statewide Fraternal Order of Police, just to name a few.  

I will bring to the court a much-needed background of hands-on experience in the criminal justice system: I am the only candidate for this court who has ever served as a prosecutor, a defense attorney, a lawyer who has appeared before the court itself, a law enforcement officer, and a lawmaker with extensive experience in the enactment of criminal law. Please visit my website, www.terrykeel.com to learn more about my credentials and the importance of this race to Republicans.
 

The March 7th Republican Primary is just around the corner and absentee voting has already begun. We are proud to recommend a slate of three candidates for statewide appellate judicial office for your consideration this election.

All three races are extensively reviewed at a website: www.votesmart2006.com. All of the candidates running are profiled and the reasons we chose to endorse these four candidates are explained there. Our slate cards appear on the website and you can print more of them to give to friends, family and associates.

Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett is serving ably after being appointed to the court and should be elected to a full term. He has been publicly endorsed by President George W. Bush, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, and the Rev. James Dobson to name only a few. His opponent is perennial candidate Steve Smith.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals incumbent Presiding Judge Sharon Keller is again being challenged by Judge Tom Price. Keller is regarded as a no-nonsense, law and order judge while Price has become one of the darlings of the left wing anti-death penalty websites.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8 incumbent Charles Holcomb, endorsed by our group in previous elections, has become identified with the "liberal" wing of this court. Challenger Terry Keel has an impressive resume of public service, but we support Judge Robert Francis. He is a former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney under Henry Wade, has experience as a criminal defense lawyer, and has eight years experience as a Criminal District Judge in Dallas. The diversity of his legal background and his judicial experience make him the best choice here.
 

“The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the Divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.”

- Alexander Hamilton
 

November 15, 1996 - December 31, 2002

ACHIEVEMENTS

During my six years in office, my court disposed of more criminal misdemeanor cases (over 30,000), tried more jury trials (over 250), collected the most restitution for victims, and produced the highest probation success and the toughest sentencing record of any county court in Bexar County history!

Further, my court annually generated over $1,000,000.00 in revenue from fines and court costs for the people of Bexar County.

I implemented the Family Violence Impact Court, which effectively doubled the number of jury trials and case dispositions from the docket of the designated Family Violence Court.

I established the RECON (Recognizing Career Opportunities from your Nation) Adult Probation Program which educated misdemeanor probationers to the availability and benefits of active duty and reserve service in the United States Military, resulting in over 100 successful probationers’ yearly entering active duty with the United States’ Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

I was an original volunteer judge-participant in the “Courts in Schools” program, taking the criminal courtroom to middle school campuses throughout San Antonio and Bexar County to educate and inform young people of the workings of the criminal justice system and the dangers of drugs and gang violence.

I further volunteered to be designated an Associate Civil District Judge / Family Law Master, in order to handle overflow family law matters (involving divorce and child custody) from the Presiding Civil District Court.

I initiated the concept of allowing probationers to contribute financially to charities in lieu of their performing community service, thereby benefiting such worthy causes as the Bexar County Sheriff Department’s DARE (to Resist Violence and Drugs) Program in elementary schools. Funding solely from our court’s probationers resulted in an excess of $20,000.00 in annual donations to DARE. As a result of this program, I served as the co-judicial advisor, along with Judge Sid Harle, to the DARE Board of Directors.

I was asked to serve as an adjunct instructor in Criminal Law and Family Violence at the San Antonio Police Department’s Law Enforcement Academy, and currently serve as an Adjunct Professor of Law for St. Mary’s University and a consultant for the St. Mary’s University School of Law Center For Terrorism Law.

I have been a Certified Texas Peace Officer or Texas Criminal Magistrate for over 28 years.

I have been previously endorsed by the San Antonio Police Officer’s Association, the Bexar County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, and the San Antonio Express-News, who stated in their 1998 endorsement, “Christian runs his court in exemplary fashion, with plenty of common sense and fairness… ”

I am currently endorsed (for the third time) by the SAN ANTONIO POLICE OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION.

Colonel Wayne A. Christian

Command Judge Advocate (USAR)

Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas

COL Christian was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, attending Trinity University (BA/Economics, l974) and St. Mary’s University School of Law (JD, 1979).  He was commissioned a 2LT of Infantry via ROTC in l975, receiving a delay for education to finish law school.

Following law school, COL Christian completed the Infantry Officer Basic and Airborne Courses at Ft. Benning, Georgia, in 1980 and was assigned as an Airborne Infantry Platoon Leader to the 82d Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. His application for branch transfer to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps was approved shortly thereafter and he attended the JAGC Officer Basic Course at Charlottesville, Virginia and returned to the 82d as a JAG. While in this assignment, COL Christian served as a Legal Assistance Officer, Trial Counsel and International & Operational Law Advisor for the Division.

In l983, COL Christian left active duty to return to his native San Antonio and the civilian practice of law. In l996, he was elected a Texas State Judge. He remained active in the USAR and became a Special Operations Legal Advisor, serving with the 1st Special Operations Command, the U.S. Army Special Forces Command, and the 1st and 3d Special Forces Groups. He participated in two Special Forces deployments to the Cobra Gold exercises in Thailand (1988-89), and served as a Special Operations and Civil Affairs Legal Advisor during Operation Just Cause in Panama (1989). Most recently, COL Christian served as a Special Operations Legal Advisor for the 3d Special Forces Group and the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan (2003).

COL Christian’s military education includes IOBC, JAOBC, JAOAC, Airborne, Jumpmaster, Jungle Warfare and the Command & General Staff College. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint and Army Achievement Medals, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Master Parachutist Badge and Thai, British, and Canadian Parachutist Badges.
 

ADMISSION TO PRACTICE

United States District Court for the Western District of Texas / 1992

United States Supreme Court / 1991

United States Court of Military Appeals / 1980

Texas Supreme Court / 1979

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Certified Texas Peace Officer / Justice of the Peace, PCT 3

Friends of the McNay

Witte Society

San Antonio Livestock Exhibition

Calf Scramble Committee / Life Member

South Texas Charities’ Corporation:

Pro Bono Corporate Counsel

Special Forces Association / Life Member

82d Airborne Division Association / Life Member

Alamo Silver Wings Airborne Association / Life Member

Veterans of Foreign Wars / Life Member

American Legion / Life Member

National Rifle Association / Life Member

Texas Bar Association

San Antonio Bar Association / Military Liaison Chair

San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association

St. Mary’s University / Adjunct Professor of Law

First Presbyterian Church
 

This is a new series by an anonymous political insider in Bexar County. The views of this author do not represent the views of South Texas Republicans. 

And so the stench of political mayhem, skullduggery, and underhanded tactics continues to take its toll on the local Democratic Party. Now with one week of early voting under our belt, a legal assault of the Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Rudy Casias by the renegade plaintiffs, and an increase of political mudslinging, it is business as usual.

The accusations are intensifying and becoming shrill as the battle escalates. Paranoia and fear are gripping some campaigns and causing a rash of irrational behavior.

Besides Party Chair candidate Dan Ramos, who has a long history of irrational behavior and lack of judgment, it appears that State Senator Frank Madla is not exhibiting as much exuberance and confidence about his chances for re-election.

It is believed that State Rep. Carlos Uresti is severely cutting into Madla’s voter base on the Southside of Bexar County. Insiders have shared with me that at a recent veteran’s event at the Southside VFW, numerous VFW members were bad mouthing and openly hostile to Madla. They complained that for the past ten years, Madla has refused to visit the Post, although his office is located nearby. Uresti’s new attack ads are hammering the point.   

While it is still too early to determine which candidates are turning out the vote, history favors the incumbents. An upset is still viable for at least one long shot candidate.

In last Sunday’s Express-News Viewpoint, the editorial board began running their endorsements. Congressman Henry Cuellar, Democrat Joe Farias and Republican George Antuna for the State Rep. race in the 118th along with State Rep. Carlos Uresti for State Senator in District 19, 225th District Court candidate Peter Sakai, and Commissioner Pct. 2 Paul Elizondo were selected.

In all cases, the editorial board spelled out how they made their decisions. I only point this out because they are articulating what has been reported here for weeks. The deadline for the Monday newsletter is the previous Thursday, four days before the newsletter is e-mailed out. In other words, while our articles are written earlier than the newspaper’s articles but published after the newspapers deadline, it might appear that we are just mimicking the Express-News. Not so. Since they are e-mailed a copy of the newsletter, it is very possible they are getting their information from us.

Judicial candidates Peter Sakai and Ralph Lopez for the 225th District Court are trying to outdo each other by sending out slick and costly brochures to convince the voters that they are the better-qualified candidate for the job. Both tout their families and their family values as assets for the position.

While there has been an infusion of national political donations to the Ciro Rodriguez campaign for attack ads, some believe it is too late.

The edge still goes to Congressman Cuellar, in part because of the lack of strong organization in the Rodriguez campaign. Reports of staffers spending too much time in fighting, rather than focusing on the opposition, is a major problem.

It is also rumored that Cuellar, like judicial candidate Ralph Lopez, is receiving large contributions from Republican donors. The coziness between parties is still alive and well as reported weeks ago. Logically since Cuellar votes the Republican line, why wouldn’t he receive substantial contributions from the right wing element?

On a positive note, unopposed judicial candidate Barbara Elizabeth Scharf-Zeldes came up with an innovative idea when she ran a full-page ad in a local advertising circular. Hardly a publication you would expect to see a campaign ad, but then again, why not? It might work.

That’s the moderate viewpoint. I AM the Republicrat.