Results Of Survey "The Pulse Of Grassroots Conservatives"

By Bobby Eberle
GOPUSA News
March 22, 2006

(GOPUSA News) -- Below is the results of 2367 respondents to GOPUSA's recent survey, "The Pulse of Grassroots Conservatives." The survey was administered to members of GOPUSA's Grassroots Survey Team.

Total Number of Respondents = 2367
 

Question 1 -- How satisfied are you with the job President Bush is doing?

• Very satisfied -- 32%
• Somewhat satisfied -- 48%
• Somewhat unsatisfied -- 14%
• Very unsatisfied -- 6%

Question 2 -- How satisfied are you with the job the Senate is doing?

• Very satisfied -- 1%
• Somewhat satisfied -- 26%
• Somewhat unsatisfied -- 38%
• Very unsatisfied -- 34%

Question 3 -- How satisfied are you with the job the House of Representatives is doing?

• Very satisfied -- 4%
• Somewhat satisfied -- 37%
• Somewhat unsatisfied -- 37%
• Very unsatisfied -- 22%

Question 4 -- If your Senator(s) is/are Republican, how satisfied are you with the job your Senator(s) is/are doing?

• Very satisfied -- 17%
• Somewhat satisfied -- 27%
• Somewhat unsatisfied -- 16%
• Very unsatisfied -- 9%
• My Senator is not a Republican -- 30%

Question 5 -- If your Congressman is a Republican, how satisfied are you with the job your Congressman is doing?

• Very satisfied -- 23%
• Somewhat satisfied -- 30%
• Somewhat unsatisfied -- 13%
• Very unsatisfied -- 7%
• My Congressman is not a Republican -- 27%

Question 6 -- Do you believe the Iraqi people are better off today than they were before the ouster of Saddam Hussein?

• Strongly believe -- 82%
• Somewhat believe -- 14%
• Somewhat do not believe -- 1%
• Strongly do not believe -- 1%
• Not sure -- 1%

Question 7 -- Do you believe Iraq will eventually have a stable, democratic government?

• Strongly believe -- 30%
• Somewhat believe -- 52%
• Somewhat do not believe -- 9%
• Strongly do not believe -- 5%
• Not sure -- 5%

Question 8 -- Should President Bush be censured for approving the NSA wiretapping program?

• Yes -- 3%
• No -- 95%
• Not sure -- 2%

Question 9 -- Who is your choice to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2008?

• Sen. George Allen -- 17%
• Sen. Sam Brownback -- 2%
• Sen. Bill Frist -- 6%
• Former Rep. Newt Gingrich -- 13%
• Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- 10%
• Sen. Chuck Hagel -- 0%
• Gov. Mike Huckabee -- 2%
• Sen. John McCain -- 4%
• Gov. George Pataki -- 0%
• Rep. Mike Pence -- 1%
• Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice -- 21%
• Gov. Mitt Romney -- 6%
• Gov. Mark Sanford -- 0%
• Sen. Rick Santorum -- 4%
• Rep. Tom Tancredo -- 7%
• Other-- 6%

Question 10 -- Who is your second choice to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2008?

• Sen. George Allen -- 11%
• Sen. Sam Brownback -- 4%
• Sen. Bill Frist -- 7%
• Former Rep. Newt Gingrich -- 13%
• Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- 12%
• Sen. Chuck Hagel -- 0%
• Gov. Mike Huckabee -- 1%
• Sen. John McCain -- 4%
• Gov. George Pataki -- 1%
• Rep. Mike Pence -- 2%
• Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice -- 16%
• Gov. Mitt Romney -- 6%
• Gov. Mark Sanford -- 1%
• Sen. Rick Santorum -- 7%
• Rep. Tom Tancredo -- 7%
• Other -- 9%

Question 11 -- What do you think is the most important issue facing America today?

• 2nd Amendment Issues -- 1%
• Abortion -- 4%
• Border Security/Immigration -- 33%
• Corruption of Elected Officials -- 4%
• Deficit/National Debt -- 3%
• Education -- 0%
• Energy Policy -- 1%
• Gay Marriage -- 1%
• Government Spending -- 8%
• Health Care -- 1%
• Iran Nukes -- 3%
• Judicial Reform -- 3%
• Moral Decline -- 10%
• Nuclear Proliferation -- 0%
• Private Property Rights -- 1%
• Social Security Reform -- 1%
• Tax Policy -- 2%
• War on Terror -- 22%
• Other -- 1%

Question 12 -- What foreign country poses the biggest security threat to America?

• China -- 29%
• France -- 0%
• Germany -- 0%
• India -- 0%
• Iran -- 54%
• Iraq -- 2%
• Ireland -- 0%
• Japan -- 0%
• North Korea -- 6%
• Pakistan -- 0%
• Russia -- 1%
• Saudi Arabia -- 2%
• Syria -- 1%
• Other -- 3%

Question 13 -- What foreign country poses the biggest economic threat to America?

• China -- 81%
• France -- 0%
• Germany -- 0%
• India -- 2%
• Iran -- 4%
• Iraq -- 1%
• Ireland -- 0%
• Japan -- 2%
• North Korea -- 0%
• Pakistan -- 0%
• Russia -- 0%
• Saudi Arabia -- 7%
• Syria -- 0%
• Other -- 3%

Question 14 -- What are your feelings about Republican prospects for success in the 2006 elections?

• Very confident -- 12%
• Somewhat confident -- 36%
• Somewhat worried -- 37%
• Very worried -- 13%
• Not sure -- 2%

Question 15 -- Generally speaking, would you say things in this country are heading in the right direction or wrong direction?

• Right direction -- 57%
• Wrong direction -- 29%
• Not sure -- 14%

Question 16 -- Are you aware of the House Republican Study Committee and its efforts to control government spending?

• Very aware -- 19%
• Somewhat aware -- 42%
• Never heard of the group -- 39%

Question 17 -- How serious a problem is illegal immigration into the United States?

• Very serious -- 88%
• Somewhat serious -- 9%
• Not too serious -- 2%
• Not a problem -- 0%
• Not sure -- 0%

Question 18 -- Do you believe illegal immigrants' children who are born in the United States should be granted automatic American citizenship?

• Yes -- 8%
• No -- 86%
• Not sure -- 6%

Question 19 -- Do you believe illegal immigrants should be allowed to get drivers' licenses?

• Yes -- 2%
• No -- 96%
• Not sure -- 2%

Question 20 -- Do you think recent reports of lobbyists bribing members of Congress are isolated incidents of corruption, or do you think this kind of behavior is common in Congress?

• Isolated -- 15%
• Common -- 78%
• Not sure -- 7%

Question 21 -- Do you think bribery and corruption in Congress is more common now than it used to be, or no different from the past?

• More common now -- 32%
• No different -- 62%
• Not sure -- 7%

Question 22 -- Do you feel the Republican leadership in Washington has been strong enough in pushing for conservative legislation and policies?

• Yes -- 9%
• No -- 87%
• Not sure -- 4%

Question 23 -- How much of a problem are so-called RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) to the advancement of the conservative agenda?

• Very big problem -- 66%
• Somewhat of a problem -- 26%
• Not much of a problem -- 4%
• No problem -- 2%
• Not sure -- 2%

Question 24 -- What do you think is the biggest success for Republican-led Washington?

• Energy policy -- 0%
• Government spending -- 1%
• Immigration reform -- 1%
• Intelligence reform -- 2%
• Iraq -- 3%
• Supreme Court justices -- 58%
• Prescription drug plan -- 1%
• Tax cuts -- 17%
• War on terror -- 18%

Question 25 -- What do you think is the biggest failure for Republican-led Washington?

• Energy policy -- 7%
• Government spending -- 49%
• Immigration reform -- 34%
• Intelligence reform -- 1%
• Iraq -- 2%
• Supreme Court justices -- 1%
• Prescription drug plan -- 5%
• Tax cuts -- 1%
• War on terror -- 1%
   

-  Newt Gingrich, To Renew America, 1995
 

John Merrifield
UTSA Professor of Economics
Director, Entrepreneurial Conservatism Institute

February 27, 2006

Failure to bring the facts to the people – to put some political capital into an alternative to continued, expensive frustration and educational failure – is about to lead to another exercise in re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. 

The Texas Legislature appears poised to seek yet another way to pay the high and rising costs of a public school system that performs at a very low level, and shows little sign of a significant response to a wide variety of well-intended initiatives to wring acceptable performance from it. After years of ostensible reform, alphabet soup in the form of TAAS and TAKS (etc.), the national report card (the National Assessment of Educational Progress: NAEP) says that Texas schoolchildren hover around 25% proficient, and 40% BELOW BASIC!!! It varies slightly by age and subject – worse for older children – but the general picture is consistent and horrific. Other measures tell a similar story. Incredibly, in comparison to other states, that’s still quite good. Many have single-digit proficiency levels, including some with expenditure levels way above Texas. The legislators need to lead their constituents to the undeniable fact that a radical change in governance and funding is in order; market accountability for school-level decisions, politics only for the big picture. But all the public posturing says that the upcoming session’s apparent focus is on how the money is collected, rather than the nature of the system that spends it; a collective act of self-delusion to follow misinformed public opinion, rather than lead it. They are locked in a futile struggle to meet the public demand for improvements in the current system, again.

Our piece of the national K-12 education emergency (“A Nation at Risk”) cries out for entrepreneurial leaders that can move us towards a school system (combination of public and private) that harnesses free enterprise, tried and true, to deliver the diverse menu of high quality schooling opportunities our children deserve.
 

Tickets are $20/person and are PRE-SALE only.  Please contact Amy Clark for tickets, 449-0300 or abacon@the-i.net

Reserved tables are also available. They seat 8 people and are $160. If desired, signage with your business or personal name will be clearly visible on the table. Also, those who purchase a table are invited to a special pre-event reception with Commissioner Patterson (2 people per reserved table, please.) Please contact Amy if you or your business would be interested in purchasing a reserved table for 8 for $160.  Remember, we cannot accept corporate checks at this time. 
 

1.  Existing gas tax revenues will fund only about one third of anticipated current needs for statewide highway construction. Whether we like it or not, the State Legislature is NOT going to pass a 25-50 cent increase in the gas tax, so there will NOT be a pool of additional state money for highway construction. 
 
2.  As a result, it will be 10-20 years or more before we could fund additional highways to expand the capacity of 281 & 1604 using existing resources.
 
3.  Express toll lanes can be built quickly and efficiently currently in the vicinity of 5 – 10 years, substantially faster than 10-20 years.
 
4. Express toll lanes will be paid for by those who use them. If you or anyone else doesn't want to use them, don't use them!
 
5. There will be just as many free highway lanes after the express toll lanes are built as are currently in place. The statement that these will be "congested access roads" is baloney. First, what do you think those "freeways" are today during morning and afternoon rush hours? If you travel them during those hours, then you know that you, along with thousands of others, are moving along at 5 miles per hour. Would we all agree that they’re not much more than "congested access roads" right now?

6. Opponents speak of express toll lanes as if they are something being imposed upon us by Martians. Have you ever been to Houston or Dallas and dozens of other major American cities?  Their citizens have been using express toll lanes for decades. They're planning on building new ones in a number of areas. If you’re in Houston, riding the Sam Houston Toll way at 70 m.p.h., you haven't noticed a lot of scowls on the faces of your fellow drivers. Do you think they really care who owns it or how it got built?"

There is a lot of misinformation floating around our community. Want to get the REAL story, not words that are nothing more than wishful thinking? Call The Greater Chamber at 210-229-2128 to schedule a presentation by Chamber President and CEO Joe Krier, who is also the 2006 Chair of the San Antonio Mobility Coalition.
 

THE HONORABLE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS RICK PERRY

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

11:00 a.m.

The Civic Center Auditorium

New Braunfels, Texas

And featuring

The Kyle Sisters of Austin, Texas,

Singing “The National Anthem”

Silver Star Sponsorship - $400.00

Premium Table for 10 and recognition in Program

Unreserved Seating – $25.00 per person

Call (830) 899-7555 or email clrw@gvtc.com

Paid for by the Canyon Lake Republican Women PAC
 

TxDOT officially pulls 281 contract; vows to re-bid it once environmental studies complete

This is the next step in TxDOT acknowledging the inevitable on the 281 project. Their incompetence has caused a significant delay and there’s no purpose in paying Zachry “stand-by fees” until the studies are complete, so they pulled the contract. It’s what they should have done in January when the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) pulled the environmental clearance for 281 due to TxDOT’s failure to follow federal law and conduct an extensive environmental impact statement (EIS) (Read about it here). Instead, they submitted only a cursory environmental assessment (EA) that tries to claim that adding 10 lanes of pavement over the aquifer recharge zone, the sole source of drinking water for 1.7 million people, had no significant impact!

Just ask the residents of a subdivision at Borgfeld and 281 how the 1,000 gallon gasoline spill in 1999 still requires them to use a commercial grade water filter due to the initial contamination and exposure to leukemia-causing benzene and the continuing risk of contamination for the next 20 years! And that’s before TxDOT tries to add 10 more lanes thereby increasing that risk tenfold from what it already is today. Let’s not forget that the same Zachry Construction was also responsible for a raw sewage spill that leaked into the aquifer for 4 weeks before it was reported just this last December (Read article here).

TxDOT’s press release (note it was released late on a Friday afternoon, the day and time the public least tunes into news) was just as defiant as we’ve come to expect stating it’s tolls or no-build…nothing in between. In TxDOT’s world, it’s their way or NO HIGHWAY! Federal law requires them to look at alternatives, not build versus no-build, and it requires them to consider the most cost-effective and least invasive to the natural AND human environment. The impact of adding the burden of an extra toll tax to the already skyrocketing cost of transportation on consumers and businesses alike has not been studied or even on TxDOT’s radar screen.

To them, the new purpose of the improvements is to generate revenue, not bring the much needed congestion relief they’ve promised since the late 1990’s and had funded since 2004. The original improvement plan for 281 (See it here) would add 6 lanes, as a toll way, 10 lanes! The original cost, $48 million, as a toll way $83 million! Bill Barker, transportation planner and consultant, has an alternative that doesn’t require frontage roads at all, and yet still provides access to local businesses. So there are alternatives that would add perhaps as few as 2 lanes and be much more cost effective!

*STILL NEED HUGE TURN OUT AT TXDOT PUBLIC MEETINGS MARCH 29 & 30! *

Will TxDOT listen…you be the judge! But our job now is to get these alternatives on the record in the public meetings next week (Find out time and location here) to FORCE TxDOT to implement non-toll alternatives when they go to the FHA to get clearance again. We need everyone to turn out for these very important public meetings to get the public opposition ON RECORD. I’m suspicious of the timing of this announcement by TxDOT and the fact that they did it as a press release. That seems to indicate they may be trying to make people think the toll roads are off the table to suppress turn out at these meetings in favor of the highway lobby falsely inflating support for toll roads when they try to sign a new contract this summer (See highway lobby’s memo to members to turn out to push tolls).

TxDOT refuses to take responsibility for their incompetence, refuses to own up to the fact that it’s THEIR FAULT this project is delayed due to their failure to follow FEDERAL LAW, and failure to install the ORIGINAL FUNDED plan two years ago. Predictably, TxDOT is now attempting to blame the delay on the lawsuit and resorting to their usual scare tactics making people think the fix is 5-10 years off! TxDOT should have immediately begun a full environmental impact statement (EIS) as soon as the FHA pulled their clearance. Instead, they stubbornly continue on this path of biting around the edges of the law without actually following it. The attorneys have vowed to sue them until they do a full EIS! So what could have been an 18 mo.-2 year delay may unnecessarily turn into an even longer one due to TxDOT’s arrogance and refusal to follow the law.

TXDOT PRESS RELEASE ON PULLING ZACHRY CONTRACT ON 281:

SAN ANTONIO - The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has elected to cancel the existing construction contract on US 281 from near Loop 1604 to Stone Oak Parkway pending the outcome of additional environmental studies.

Zachry Construction Corporation of San Antonio was awarded the contract last fall and work began to construct a mobility and safety project on US 281 for $84 million, including joint bid utility work. The project includes upgrading US 281 to an expressway configuration with additional toll express lanes and parallel non-toll lanes as identified in the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan, “Mobility 2030″.

In response to a lawsuit filed by two groups opposed to the project, TxDOT will re-open previous environmental studies on the US 281 corridor. Previous studies conducted in 1984, 2000, 2004 and 2005 will be re-assessed and combined with any new data collected into a single environmental document for this corridor, from Loop 1604 to Borgfeld Road. TxDOT has secured a consultant to re-evaluate the corridor. The consultant contract for this additional work is approximately $800,000.

If no significant environmental findings emerge as part of the study and the design of the project remains the same, the project will be re-bid. If this scenario occurs, bids could again be received summer of 2007 with work beginning again in the fall of 2007. Actual construction duration is projected to last 36 months. The project would be complete in 2010 instead of 2008 as previously planned. (Note: They don’t mention the original project funded in 2003 and 2004 that should be completed already!) We anticipate the cost of the project will increase approximately $8 million over the original contract assuming a conservative 5% construction inflation factor. (Note: They don’t mention the original project funded in 2003 and 2004 that cost only $48 million which THEY turned into a toll plan at a cost of $83 million…TxDOT is responsible for this cost overrun!) If the results of the environmental study include recommended design changes, the start date of construction would be further adjusted.

If significant environmental findings emerge, resulting in the need to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, it could be 2 ½ to 5 years before a decision on the project will be made. (Note: TxDOT should have immediately begun a full environmental impact statement (EIS) as soon as the FHA pulled their clearance and saved us this unnecessary delay). If at that time, the studies result in a different design than was previously approved there would be additional time required to acquire any additional rights of way as well as re-design the project. It is projected that this re-design and right of way acquisition work would take 2 to 4 years after the environmental decision is made. (Note: There is no need for a re-design, just install the original design at $48 million)

If this scenario occurs, work on corridor could re-commence again in approximately 4 ½ to 9 years. Construction on the Loop 1604 to Stone Oak Parkway section would be complete sometime between 2014 and 2019. The preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is estimated to cost an additional $2 million.

As part of the environmental study, the no-build (or do nothing) option will be considered. If the decision is made through the additional studies that the no-build option is preferred by the region, no work will be performed on the corridor until another project is identified and appropriately studied in the future. No estimate is available on a timeline should this scenario occur.

“Based upon the possible timeline scenarios and the associated uncertainty that currently exists, it is deemed to be in the public’s best financial interest to cancel the existing project and re-bid at a later date rather than pay a contractor stand-by time” said Frank Holzmann, P.E., San Antonio Mobility Office Engineer.

Two identical Public Meetings to discuss the environmental re-assessments will be held on March 29 at Reagan High School and March 30 at Bush Middle School. Both meetings will begin with an Open House starting at 6:00 pm followed by a presentation beginning at 7:00 pm.

An additional $21 million project to construct an underpass at US 281 and Borgfeld Road was scheduled to be bid for contract in January 2006. This project has also been delayed pending completion of the environmental study, as it is within the limits subject to the lawsuit. The timeline scenarios for this project are similar to the project from Loop 1604 to Stone Oak Parkway.

Traffic on US 281 just north of Loop 1604 has increased from 8600 vehicles per day in 1980 to approximately 91,000 vehicles per day in 2004. Between 1998 and 2001, there were crashes which resulted in 9 fatalities and over 700 injuries on US 281 between Loop 1604 and the Comal County line.

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

And the winner is….34-year-old lawyer Laura Salinas. Apparently the neophyte candidate has successfully ousted the popular one term Judge, Oscar Kazen in a photo finish. With a nail- biting and harrowing final day count of mail-in ballots, the incumbent couldn’t hold on.

The astronomical amount of money it takes to file for a recount is discouraging at best. You have to admit, it was one hell of a race by an unknown against an incumbent Judge. Congratulations to Salinas for a well-run campaign.

The second round of campaigning begins in the quest to unseat Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Governor Rick (the slick) Perry. While many Democrats are defecting to the Kinky Friedman campaign, others are seriously considering Carole Strayhorn’s chances of upending one of the state’s worst governors in history.

Democratic challenger Chris Bell’s one memorable quote through out the Democratic Primary campaign was, “Rick Perry couldn’t lead a silent prayer.”

Unfortunately Bell’s under-funded, lackluster campaign won’t be remembered for much more than that one over-used one-liner. If Strayhorn and Friedman get on the ballot, Bell will place dead last. And that is heavy emphasis on the term “dead.”

Democratic Senatorial candidate Barbara Radnofsky still has to climb the mountain to get past Gene Kelly (not the dead dancer) to compete in November against the highly popular Senator. If Radnofsky continues to pound Hutchison on the veteran’s issues, she might actually have a fighting chance.

Lt. Governor Candidates, Mary Alvarado and Ben Grant will face-off in the run-off in April. Now there is an exciting race if there ever was one. Whoopie! Can you say, ‘slam-dunk Dewhurst?”

Democratic State Rep. District 118 nominee, Joe Farias has some time to shore up his support before the Republicans anoint George Antuna their standard bearer. The Farias-Antuna race ought to be a barn burner. The question is, “who will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?”

At this point, all Farias needs to do is turn out the Democratic base. State Senator-Elect Carlos Uresti was extremely successful in turning them out, but will Farias do it as well?

His name identification is high, but will it translate into votes since he is not considered the smartest or nicest brink on the block? Only time will tell.

Since the anti-public school billionaire, Dr. James Leininger, literally bought two state rep. races within the Republican Party, what other Republicans has he purchased in his quest to single-handedly destroy the public school system in Texas?  Anybody recall last session when the billionaire doctor sat in the Governor’s office and lobbied every legislator one by one?

What is really mind-boggling is that Nathan Macias the man who sold his soul for political office is so arrogant and despicable that he has the unmitigated gall to tell reporters that his vote wasn’t bought. Even self-respecting Republicans (other than Tom Delay) couldn’t possibly believe that lie.

But then again, only time will tell.

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