This Blogger's Proud To Support Noriega

It looks like the Watts campaign is jealous of the nearly unanimous support that his opponent, Rick Noriega, is receiving from Texas blogs. Watts may have millions of dollars with which to try and buy a senate seat, but he has virtually no support among progressive Texas blogs. This led the Watts campaign to plant a story in the San Antonio Express News saying that Noriega denigrated Texas bloggers.

Of course, Noriega's words were taken out of context. I won't go into detail because other bloggers have covered this well -- among them are McBlogger, Bluedaze and Eye on Williamson.

I personally think this was a rather pathetic attempt to try and convince progressive bloggers not to support Noriega. That is the aspect I wish to address.

My decision to support Rick Noriega for senate was reached on my own. I was never contacted by the Noriega campaign or anyone else. After looking at the candidates, it was my opinion that Rick Noriega was the candidate who would best represent the people of Texas in Washington, DC.

Although I believe that Noriega's comments were taken out of context, I personally do not care what he thinks of this blog or any other. I did not give him my support because he loves blogs, and I would not withdraw support because someone says he doesn't like blogs. I really don't care whether he likes blogs or not.

I am proud to be a supporter of Rick Noriega for senate, and he will have the support of this blog as long as he remains a candidate. He has served his country honorably and ably in the military. He has also served his state honorably and ably in the legislature. He is a family man, an honest man and a man of the people.

I support Noriega with this blog and with monthly campaign donations, because I am convinced that he will make a great senator. I urge my readers to do the same.

Will Money Rule Texas Senate Race ?

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.