To reset, recall what I said yesterday regarding HCRP finances:
As I noted, it is to be expected that Mr. Woodfill would have a demanding lead in fundraising. What was unexpected was the source of that money. Charles Coussons, former Democratic Judge of the County Civil Courtt at Law No 4, until he was swept out in the 1994 Republican sweep, was Mr. Woodfill’s largest donor, by far, giving him $16,000 from October-December of last year. In addition, Mr. Coussons gave the HCRP an additional $11,000, with $10,000 of that going to an ad in the “Chairman’s Report“. Why an ad, you ask? Because Mr. Coussons is now a candidate, on the Republican ticket, for County Probate Court No. 1, running against Loyd Wright.
and then:
Leadership council, eh? Hmm, let’s check Mr. Coussons’ voting record. Why, lookie there! That’s right, boys and girls, not a single vote in a Republican primary since 1994. Now, if I were Sen. Dan Patrick, here is where I would start using “Cowboy Logic”, connecting dots where they don’t exist and forming conspiracy theories that have no foundation. But…I’m not Sen. Patrick. You now have the information, do with it what you will. I’ll get back to Mr. Coussons’ donations in a bit.
followed by:
Mr. Woodfill’s answer? He will always “stand on issues”. In other words, adios if you disagree with anyone on anything. Which brings us back to Mr. Coussons. If Mr. Woodfill, as he claims over and over and over again, will stand on issues no matter what, why is he now accepting $27,000 from a man that, for his entire voting life, has supported a party that advocates for abortion for convenience, paid for with your tax dollars, advocates for the elimination of any reference to God in schools, advocates for gay marriage, advocates for welfare increases, and advocates for any number of other issues that are anathema to a conservative? We welcome all converts, but we aren’t talking about Gov. Rick Perry, who changed parties 20 years ago, we are talking about a guy that voted in the 2008 Democratic Primary. We shouldn’t be afraid to ask Mr. Woodfill, why?
Unfortunately, Mr. Woodfill no longer responds to my inquiries, having determined that I’m a “hack” and that my sole purpose in life is to defeat him; so I did not get an answer from him on the “why” question I posed.
Still curious, I decided to check Mr. Coussons’ campaign finance reports and more caution signs went up. The numbers on his report did not match those on Mr. Woodfill’s or the HCRP’s. They reported a combined total of $27,000, he reported a combined total of $17,100. At that point, I decided to use Cowboy Logic and report to this to you as yet another example of the reporting problems at the HCRP and with Mr. Woodfill. Not really. Instead, I did something that Sen. Patrick should try: I called Mr. Coussons.
What a delightful man he is! We spent about 45 minutes on the phone over two calls, just so that it was clear that everything was above board and no funny business was happening. I’m so grateful I took the time to talk with him. I gained a new friend and I avoided embarrassing myself.
First, the straight up numbers for those campaign operatives and bloggers that are searching. As I noted, Woodfill/HCRP reported $27,000, Mr. Coussons reported $17,100. It turns out to be nothing more than a timing difference on the reports for all but $100. On 9/28, as required by law after appointing a Treasurer, Mr. Coussons filed his first report, which shows a $5,000 contribution to Mr. Woodfill. Prior to his candidacy, on 9/9/2009, after hearing about the financial problems of the party (you can thank me later for that, Mr. Woodfill), Mr. Coussons called Mr. Paul Pressler, told him he had switched parties, and wrote a check for $5,000 to keep the lights on. It didn’t matter to Mr. Coussons that Mr. Woodfill deposited that check into his personal campaign account, he just wanted to help – he let Judge Pressler and Mr. Woodfill decide where the money needed to go.
So that clears up all but a $100 check that Mr. Coussons wrote to the party to attend the luncheon for Susan Combs. That $100 could be on the upcoming Federal report for the HCRP – it is not on Ms. Combs report. I’m sure that Treasurer Josh Flynn will find it.
Okay, so now the numbers are clear. But what makes a lifelong Democrat switch parties in the summer of 2009? Obamacare, that’s what. Mr. Coussons was passionate about how bad that program would be for the country. So passionate that he put $27,100 of his own money up to fight it. That, my friends, is passion.
I did ask him the tough questions. How could he possibly have sat back while his party was fighting for taxpayer funded abortions? His answer was so honest that it was refreshing: that was the party position and he supported it. He gave the same answer to every other question. He never tried to duck a question or claim to have fought against it. He just went along to get along. I so wish every politician were that honest.
That’s it folks. Bottom line: nothing underhanded is going on here. I’m sure that many will question Mr. Woodfill’s decision to put the money into his personal campaign account but if the person contributing the money doesn’t care, I’m not sure that it matters. There might be a problem with the line on the first $1,000 contribution that states it was for “political advise” but that can be corrected.
And that is today’s lesson in Cowboy Logic. Don’t use it. Get your facts and make your case. If Sen. Patrick would have simply picked up the phone, he never would have suggested that Roy Morales took a payoff from Annise Parker. And one of his listeners, who is a precinct chair and a rabid supporter of Mr. Woodfill, would never have taken Sen. Patrick’s words literally and further, saying that Mr. Morales took a payoff and paid down his campaign debts. A simple phone call. That is all it takes sometimes.
I also think that I convinced Mr. Coussons to fill out the Judicial Q&A and I’m really looking forward to seeing it. I commended him for his defense of Judge Lynn Bradshaw-Hull on a blog that, ahem, used Cowboy Logic to trash her. She’s a fine judge and for him to do that long before his party switch says a lot about the man.
Just in case you haven’t picked up on it, I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with my new friend and look forward to meeting him in person at one of the upcoming campaign events. You should introduce yourself to him and tell him thanks for coming over to the Republican side.