Like Chuck, I don't have a dog in today's Republican primary runoff hunt. Even so, the most interesting (and expensive) race taking place is the one for Congressional District 10. Competing for the job (no Democrats bothered to run) are mortgage banker Ben Streusand and attorney Michael McCaul. Houston residents are long acquainted with Streusand's bizarre ads calling for the abolition of the IRS and the defense of "our Nation's sacred institutions" against those goddamed liberals. McCaul, on the other hand, brings up his experience as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's office, and focuses more on foreign policy and budget questions.
In a perfect world, I wouldn't want either of these guys in Congress. Both are ardently pro-life, and recommend things like making Bush's tax cuts permanent while at the same time trumpeting the virtues of a flat tax. McCaul, however, discusses topics like the Iraqi conflict and health care on his web page, whereas Streusand devotes almost his entire "Issues" link to his anti-abortion credentials, the "culture war," and his support of the Federal Marriage Amendment.
McCaul and I may differ ideologically, but Streusand makes me want to kick a baby seal. I tried counting the number of times he referred to "the liberals in Washington" on his page, but gave up around 15. He cites endorsements from the Texas Alliance for Life, the Texas Eagle Forum, and Gary Bauer's "American Values" coalition, to name a few. And not content with merely being a life member of the NRA, Streusand is also a member of the Texas State Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America. I'd have thought at least one of those was redundant, but there you go.
In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a card carrying member of the Montrose Beer and Gun Club.
Since "none of the above" doesn't appear to be an option, APCB hereby endorses the merely disagreeable and somewhat disquieting conservative - McCaul - over the sincerely terrifying far-right nut job. Vote early and vote often.
UPDATE: McCaul won. And by a pretty handy margin, as it turns out.
Remember it's only "Gerrymandering" when you're not in charge of the "redistricting".
Denny: Correct, I've been deluged with these two nimrods' commercials in Austin (the district goes from West Houston to Northeast Austin) for the last several months.
Doesn't look like the People's Republic of Austin will be in the winner's "community of interest" any time soon.
I know every party has done redistricting from time to time to serve their purposes. But anything that moves us towards a one-party system - whether at the local or national level -is bad for Democracy. Sometimes I wonder if hard-core right-wingers even want Democracy. Some of these nut jobs seem to favor conservative totalitarianism, but drape it in the Stars and Stripes and call that "America."
Damn. Maybe its time to move back to California.
Denny, are you a product of the Cali schools? What with book bans etc. I can understand your take...two party systems; Democracy,"hard-core right-wingers";dare I say liberals? hmm. Quite charming. The party exists for the sake of the party. NO political organization wants competition. They want power for the sake of power and want control for that sake of keeping power. Ah, youth....
i happen to live in this district and did vote today......for streusand. not that i agree with everything that he stands for, but he is the only candidate that has had "juevos" enough to atleast acknowledge the immigration policies (or lack of)that continue to plague our state. maybe your leftist pinko tax dollars want to continue supporting these immigrants but mine sure don't.
Way to back the winning horse there, BB. Tell me, was it his highly detailed plan to "utilize state-of-the-art technology to monitor our borders" that sold you? Or was it his plan to fingerprint illegal immigrants so "repeat offenders" could be sent to jail? 'Cause it ain't just "leftist pinko tax dollars" that pay for prisons.
And am I the only one who thinks using the Spanish term "juevos" (actually "huevos," which means eggs, which doesn't make any sense...I think you meant "cojones") in a comment bitching about illegal Mexican immigration is a little odd?
I am proud to have been a witness to a complete moron calling Pete a 'pinko' with nary a shade of irony. Pete, you are movin' on up.
The best thing about the right wing is how they continually demonstrate their intellect on a regular basis for all to see. RFK once said that you can judge a man by the enemies he makes... Pete, you're doing well.
MacinFla: Yes, I am a product of California public schools (all the way through high school) and a California private college education. However, I also earned two post-graduate degrees in the great state of Texas. So I like to think that I've got some balance there.
Bush Backer: Assuming you're post wasn't a farce, your glib, Reader's Digest take on illegal immigration reeks of misunderstanding. The fact is that the federal and each state's government all have the tools they need to stamp out illegal immigration: standing on the necks of employeers and demanding valid social security numbers and other documentation. But employeers don't, and the goverment lets it slide. That is because undocumented immigrants are hard working, cheap labor, which is good for the bottom line of any business. And that is why pro-buisness republicans will never do more than pay lip service to the quote-unquote problem of illegal immigration. The fact is, undocumented immigrants work harder, take up fewer resources, and provide more value to this great Nation than many of the US citizens who fill our ghettos, barrios, and trailer parks, sucking up welfare and mass producing more children who will, statistically speaking, most likely never break that cycle of poverty.
Our goverments are well aware of how to keep illegals from wanting to come to the US: take away the supply of jobs. Unfortunatly, that would put a lot of small and medium sized businesses out of business. Therefore, government (especially pro-buisness republicans) turn a blind eye to the problem. Industries like contruction, food service, hospitality, and agrigulture (to name a few) would come to a grinding halt without the sweat-equtiy undocumented immigrants put in. And unless you or your family feels like taking those jobs for somewhere along the lines of minimum wage, you might want to temper your expectations of what our goverment is going to realisticly do to stop the inflow that willing labor market.
2 post grad degrees in Texas? What? Couldn't get into a decent school in Cali? I bow to your credential - although I haven't had to name my alma mater and or grad school in conversation for some time (good thing, as I went to 2nd rate state). Your empathy for illegal aliens in laudable. As a legal Alien turned citizen one time factory worker and former Govt. Servant (8 years US Navy, and
4 years supporting my significant other as a US Diplomat in Mexico), I have seen the exploitation of humanity first hand and it is nothing less than deplorable. It is a no win situation on all sides. We, as Americans have no protection against the less desirable elements of a given society. - a topic not discussed much - and it raises legit security concerns ( I witnessed 3 terror suspects arrested in Northern Mexico). Those folks who come to this country seeking economic relief in order to keep their families in food end up outside of the protection of the system and are often exploited by their own countrymen with nowhere to turn for justice. As Democrat and Republican alike have ignored the issue for well over 40 years, bad things have and will continue to happen for all. Also, as it pertains to Texas and Mexico, Mexico's GDP is so dependent on US remittances and that US-Mex relations are on relative thin ice (The PRI is pushing for a comeback) don't expect much to change regardless of who is elected here, or there. US small biz needs cheap labor - Mex needs cash. So relax, it's all rhetoric...a man's gotta say, whatta man's gotta say to get elected...
Mac in Fla
P.S. I am sure it's a typo, but I think it is spelled "construction",
Streusand seems to be a grade AA asshole, but "huevos" actually is Mexican slang for testicles.
Is that race taking place in the newly created "Tom Delay Uber Republican" zone? (i.e., the new crazy-quilt district created just to add more republican seat to congress?)