With the ending of this last campaign reporting period, we know who the candidates are that corporations and rich people would like to see elected. They have made that clear with their donations.
The rich would like to see either Republican "Box Turtle" John Cornyn or Democrat Mikal Watts elected. I understand why. These are the candidates who would most likely protect the interests of the rich. "Box Turtle" John long ago sold out to the corporations, and Watts is himself one of the extremely rich. Frankly, the more I learn about Watts, the less difference I see between the two of them.
Fortunately for the people of Texas, there is a "people's" candidate about to enter the race -- a candidate who believes that ALL Texans deserve to partake of the American Dream. State Rep. Rick Noriega (pictured above) will announce next week that he is forming an exploratory committee to examine running for the senate. This will allow him to begin collecting donations also.
Noriega will be starting out far behind in campaign money. "Box Turtle" John raised $2.1 million in the last period, giving him a total of $5.4 million. Watts raised $1.1 million in the last period, and combined with his own contributions to his campaign, has a total of $4.9 million.
But even though Noriega may be starting out behind in money, he does have a couple of things working in his favor. He is the candidate supported by the blogs and most Democratic grassroots organizers. This should not be underestimated. The ability to get voters to the polls can trump a lot of money spent on TV and newspaper ads.
Noriega is also a Lt. Colonel in the National Guard and an Iraqi veteran, giving him a better understanding of the situation in Iraq than either of the other candidates. This could be very valuable in a campaign where Iraq will probably be one of the major issues.
But this doesn't mean that Noriega will not need money to compete -- he will, and lots of it. With my next paycheck, I plan to make my first donation to the Noriega campaign. I urge you to do the same.
Let's replace "Box Turtle" John with a real senator of the people. A senator we can be proud of -- Rick Noriega.
Noriega lost my support for good when he voted for the Flynn amendment to House Bill 109, which makes Texas into the policeman in charge of doing a citizenship check before providing CHIP health care to the children of immigrants without papers.
ReplyDeleteTexas Representatives Allen, Alonzo, Burnam, Castro, Chavez, Coleman, Y. Davis, Dukes, Dunnam, Dutton, Escobar, Flores, Gallego, Giddings, Gonzales, Guillen, Hernandez, Herrero, Hodge, Leibowitz, Lucio, Martinez-Fischer, McClendon, Miles, Moreno, Naishtat, Olivo, Peña, Rodriguez, Thompson, and Villarreal voted to that Texas shouldn't have to be an immigration agent when kids show up for medical treatment.
Noriega's vote will mean that children don't get the medical treatment they need, and I'll never support him!
I understand your feelings, but do you think Watts or Cornyn would be better for the children of Texas?
ReplyDeletejobsanger: Will Money Rule Texas Senate Race ?
ReplyDeleteMoney alone does not win elections.
At 7/17/2007 12:17 AM, Queen of Pharr Pharr Away said...
Noriega lost my support for good when he voted for the Flynn amendment to House Bill 109, which makes Texas into the policeman in charge of doing a citizenship check before providing CHIP health care to the children of immigrants without papers.
Texas Representatives Allen, Alonzo, Burnam, Castro, Chavez, Coleman, Y. Davis, Dukes, Dunnam, Dutton, Escobar, Flores, Gallego, Giddings, Gonzales, Guillen, Hernandez, Herrero, Hodge, Leibowitz, Lucio, Martinez-Fischer, McClendon, Miles, Moreno, Naishtat, Olivo, Peña, Rodriguez, Thompson, and Villarreal voted to that Texas shouldn't have to be an immigration agent when kids show up for medical treatment.
Noriega's vote will mean that children don't get the medical treatment they need, and I'll never support him!
We have a hardcopy voting record of both Junior John and Rick. There is no hypothesizing for neither John or Rick, it is right there in black and white for us to read