John Culberson Enables Culture of Corruption

by: Matt Glazer

Sat Sep 06, 2008 at 02:40 PM CDT

On the heels of Jack Abramoff's conviction and sentencing, Mike Skelly praises the federal judge's decision and criticized John Culberson for voting against the investigation that brought Abramoff to justice.

"Jack Abramoff was at the center of a culture of corruption that John Culberson enabled," said Skelly. "By voting against a Congressional investigation into Jack Abramoff, Culberson sent a very clear message: business as usual in Washington, no matter how crooked, is fine by him."

"John Culberson is a classic DC insider, the kind of politician who would stand with a corrupt lobbyist instead of with the taxpayers he was elected to represent," added Skelly.

In 2006, Culberson voted against an immediate investigation by the House Ethics Committee into the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Just a reminder of what's at stake for this November.

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TDP Event Featuring Grupo Fantasma

by: Matt Glazer

Sat Sep 06, 2008 at 10:01 AM CDT

TDP is throwing an event that will benefit the Texas Democratic Party's efforts to turn out voters across the state and to elect Democrats from the White House to the court house.Sunday, September 14th
Doors at 6:30 pm
Les and the Funk Mob at 7:00 pm
Grupo Fantasma at 8:00 pm

Antone's
213 W. 5th Street
Austin, Texas

For more information, please contact Allison Mansfield at (512) 478-9800 or amansfield@txdemocrats.org.

Tickets will be sold online until 12:00 pm on Sunday, September 14th. Tickets will be sold at the door if available.

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Austin Drops to 14th Best US City for Singles

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Sat Sep 06, 2008 at 10:00 AM CDT

We've dropped from 12th to 14th according to Forbes rankings. While we're still 1st for job creation, culture is weighing us down for some reason with nightlife (35th) and culture (36th) coming in low.

According to Forbes, 29 percent of Austin's population of nearly 1 million is single. To develop the list, Forbes ranked the 40 largest cities in the country in a series of categories, including number of singles, nightlife, culture, cost of living alone, job growth and, of course, overall coolness. Information came from sources including research firm Harris Interactive, the U.S. Census Bureau, AOL CityGuide and Moody's.

Best cities? Atlanta (1), San Francisco (2), and Dallas (3).

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Texas Voter Registration Rate Near Record Levels

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 09:52 PM CDT

Gary Scharrer reports on some very encouraging news on the Texas Politics blog. Texas voter registration is near record levels.

By late Friday afternoon, election officials had already tallied more than 13 million registered voters. The voter registration record of 13.1 million was set for the 2004 presidential election.

Mail delivery of voter registration cards over the past few days have come in boxes weighing 20 to 30 pounds.

How many cards?

"Quite a few," according to elections officials, who don't stop to count them.

They have hired temporary workers to process the voter registration cards.

Of course the presidential race is affecting this but it is also being enabled by massive efforts by the coordinated campaigns in the major counties. And I don't doubt that increased voter registration helps Democrats as voters who typically vote our way are unregistered in greater numbers (minorities, students, etc).

I'd be curious to hear what voter registration stories or activities are going on in your area.

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Leo Berman for Governor?

by: David Mauro

Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 08:59 PM CDT

It seems like State Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler) has his sights set on becoming the Tom Tancredo of the 2010 Republican Primary for Governor.

From the Statesman's Corrie MacLaggan:

State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said today that he’ll run for governor at the end of the 2009 legislative session if he doesn’t succeed in passing legislation targeting illegal immigrants.

“If we can’t get anything done next session because it’s blocked, I will run for governor at the end of the session,” he said in an phone interview from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where he landed early this evening after attending the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office today released a document showing Berman has requested Abbott’s official opinion on whether a House member would lose his seat if he announces his candidacy for governor during the first year of a two-year term.

Berman said he wants to keep his House seat and that if Abbott rules that he would have to give up his seat to run for governor, that would factor into his decision whether to run.

Berman would like to penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. He’s also proposing a surcharge on money wired to Mexico.

“We have almost two million illegal aliens in Texas and no one’s doing anything about it,” Berman said. “A lot of people are very concerned, including myself. It’s costing Texans $4 billion a year and we think something needs to be done.”

Berman's questions about his House seat show even he realizes he would stand little chance in the primary.

But another Republican eager to beat up Hutchison and Perry? That's fine by me.

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Open Thread: Bring the Funny

by: Open Thread

Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 08:00 PM CDT

Old, Grizzled Third-Party Candidate May Steal Support From McCain

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Women's Issues Panel Discussion, Monday, Sept. 8th, 6pm

by: CleanAir

Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 04:39 PM CDT

( - promoted by Matt Glazer)

What: TX State Legislator Donna Howard, former TX State Legislator Ann Kitchen, Women for Obama representatives, Annie's List representatives and others will discuss "Women's Issues" and how the Democratic Party is the best party for Women's issues.

7:15pm-8:00pm is "Democratic Citizen Communication" where you present your issues important to you as a Democrat!

When: Mon., Sept. 8th, 6:00pm-8:00pm

Where: Travis County Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign Headquarters, 1107 N. I 35, Austin, TX (next door to CVS, in old Safeway Building at 12th and I-35)

Who: Anyone interested in networking with fun, cool, energizing, like-minded Democrats, and learning about the policies and issues important to our city, our state, and our nation heading into the November TX elections. 2nd hour is a "Democratic Party Town Hall Meeting".

Cost: FREE

You're welcome to bring food/drinks to share and bring your laptop (Laptop not mandatory).

Best,
David Kobierowski
Travis County Democratic Party Issues Committee Chair

Cleanair999@yahoo.com 512-413-0286

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Roy Minton Will Represent Chris Bell's Opponent

by: David Mauro

Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 02:07 PM CDT

Yesterday, Matt reported that Chris Bell had filed a lawsuit to remove a last-minute candidate, Stephanie Simmons, who some believe is a Republican stalking horse intended to pull Democratic votes from Bell.

Today, the Houston Chronicle's Texas Politics blog is reporting that Austin attorney Roy Minton will represent Simmons in court.

Minton has represented politicians from each party including Tom Craddick.

From Texas Politics:

A hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon in state district court in Austin.
Bell sued Simmons and the Texas secretary of state on Thursday, contending that Simmons hasn't lived in District 17 for a year, as required by state law. He contends that Simmons, who filed as a Democrat, is a "phantom" candidate urged to run by Republicans eager to siphon Democratic support from Bell.
"I'm satisfied with what I know now that she (Simmons) does live in that district and will have lived there for more than a year by the time the election is held," Minton said.

We'll keep you updated as this story continues to develop.

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HDCC Releases New Ads

by: Matt Glazer

Fri Sep 05, 2008 at 08:21 AM CDT

When Phil wrote about the new HDCC site some might not have noticed the new ads on the site too.

"Smoke Gets in Your Eye"

This page contained an embedded video. Click here to view it.

I believe this is the first year the House Democratic Campaign Committee (HDCC) has had produced ads. They are clever, to the point, and draw a perfect contrast between Democrats and Republicans in Texas. I hope they continue to have the resources to do more stuff like this.

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Chris Bell Files Lawsuit to Remove Ineligible Candidate, Republican Ploy Stephanie Simmons

by: Matt Glazer

Thu Sep 04, 2008 at 01:13 PM CDT

A few days ago, Charles Kuffner wrote about Senate District 17 saying simply, "the line up is set".

In the story he mentioned how Republican's had found another faux Democrat to try and peel off just enough of votes from Chris Bell. Her name is Stephanie E. Simmons. And after filing, the Houston Chronicle was unable to even talk to her about her candidacy.

Kuffner goes on to admit he might be jumping to some conclusions but goes through the facts.

But I do know, from multiple sources, that the Republicans were looking for someone they could recruit to run as a Democrat. I do know that the Democrats as a whole are excited about and united behind the Bell candidacy, unlike the Republicans and their deep split over Austen Furse and Joan Huffman. And I do know that anyone who enters a race like this at the last minute with no buzz, no obvious means of support, and no contact with the media, is not someone who's in it to win it. So while I may be jumping to a conclusion, it's not exactly a flying leap.

However, after some research, Stephanie Simmons probably does not meet the residency requirements for this special election. The Bell campaign has filed a lawsuit against the Texas Secretary of State and Mrs. Simmons and will seek emergency, injunctive relief. In English, the Bell campaign has public documents that say Simmons doesn't fulfill requirements to be on the ballot, and therefore, she should be removed.

Simmons filed last minute, unlike Bell, so it's good to see a quick, decisive action by the campaign. Clearly, Congressman Bell has no choice but to act now in filing suit against the Secretary of State before voters are duped by this cynical Republican ploy.

Update: I finally have the full 17 page complaint. Here it is, warning it is a pdf.

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Texans for Public Justice File Complaint Against Lt. Gov. Dewhurst

by: Matt Glazer

Thu Sep 04, 2008 at 00:17 PM CDT

Yesterday, Texans for Public Justice filed a complaint with Travis County Attorney David Escamilla urging the prosecutor to determine whether Lt. Governor David Dewhurst violated state disclosure laws by failing to publicly disclose assets held in the David Dewhurst Trust.

"The Dewhurst Trust is blind to the public but not to the Lt. Governor," said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice. "The Lt. Governor should fulfill his disclosure obligations under the law. One of the most powerful state officials should not be allowed to hide his assets from the public. When you're the Lt. Governor, the public has an absolute right to know how many cattle or other assets you own. It's time for Lt. Governor Dewhurst to drive his cattle out of the shadows and into the sunlight."

Lt. Gov. Dewhurst responded by saying simply:

"The people of Texas deserve to know whether elected officials are performing their duties with integrity and in the people's best interest," said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. "Since I was first elected to public office, for the past 10 years I have consistently followed the advice of my expert legal counsel in filling out and filing my political financial statement to fully comply with the letter and spirit of the law, and it is a fact I do not know the assets in my trust from which I have received in excess of $500."

It is important to know the difference between a blind and non-blind trust.

Blind Trust (noun)-- Trust where the assets are not revealed to their owner. Definition: {crh} A trust in which a fiduciary third party has total discretion to make investments on behalf of a beneficiary while the beneficiary is uninformed about the holdings of the trust. Source : Financial Web

Trust (non-blind) (noun)-- Arrangement whereby a trustee, holds the title to property, and manages it for the beneficiaries. Definition: {crh} A fiduciary relationship calling for a trustee to hold the title to assets for the benefit of the beneficiary. The person creating the trust, who may or may not also be the beneficiary, is called the grantor. Source: Financial Web

The difference is simply, the beneficiary does not control or manage a blind trust. A traditional, or non-blind trust is at least managed in part by the trustee. A blind trust prevents the trustee to even be involved and is often used as a shield.

Texans for Public Justice stated in their inquiry, under Texas law public officials with non-blind trusts have certain disclosure obligations. Namely, they must list in their personal financial statement every asset in the trust that earns more than $500 a year. TPJ believes that Dewhurst's trust, which is a non-blind trust earning more than $25,000 per year, likely contains assets that are earning more than the disclosure threshold of $500 per year.

It appears the real question is whether Dewhurst knowingly deceived Texans or not.

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Everyday Workers: Bitter or Whiny?

by: Michael Hurta

Thu Sep 04, 2008 at 01:56 AM CDT

So here's a paragraph of Sarah Palin's speech that caught my eye Wednesday night.

I might add -- I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they're listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. No, we tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

Ah, but this is why I like Barack Obama better. Barack Obama's economic policy plans have emphasized the praise he has lavished on the American people. The plans may or may not take into account potential bitterness in such people, but that does not equal it's basis. It's basis is rewarding praise.

John McCain's economic policy is based with an idea that Americans are whiny. I trust that this state's former US Senator wrote a strong economically backed policy, but it probably did not take into account the greatness of the people when writing it.

So, uh... Which do small town citizens like more again? Both have problems, but Sarah Palin is trying to ignore the Texan who has caused those same issues of her ticket. She gave a good speech, but she ignored a lot of facts.

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Annie's List Endorses Sherrie Matula

by: Matt Glazer

Wed Sep 03, 2008 at 05:34 PM CDT

Sherrie Matula is running a great campaign in House District 129. Her grit and determination have put her on a lot of people's list of races to watch. Maybe that's why TexBlog PAC endorsed her.

Now Annie's list has joined Matula's growing list of endorsements.

We have been watching Sherrie's race closely this year and she has earned her way onto the list with old fashioned hard work and determination.

With 30 years experience under her belt as a public education advocate (former Clear Creek ISD school board member and teacher, now a statewide education consultant), Matula has successfully highlighted Davis' abysmal education record and forced this solid Republican district to re-evaluate their incumbent state representative, Rep. John Davis (R), on a variety of issues including his questionable ethics. And research shows they don't like what they see and are ready for a change.

With a professional campaign operation now in place, over $150,000 raised-to-date and independent research showing a message path to victory - we are excited to make this race one of our top targets in the final push this fall. And, as is our standard practice, once we determine a race is viable, we jump in head first with the full resources of Annie's List - including you, our committed base of supporters.

Annie's List is going to be doing a dollar for dollar match for up to $10,000 for the next 10 days.

You can donate online here. We have to pick up 5 seats this fall to take back the Texas House. Help make sure Sherri Matula is one of them.

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