Shocked that I would dare use the word divorce in this day and age, aren’t you? You know you are. And you know who you are. But before I get to that, let’s quickly review the players.
Annise Parker, aside from her homosexuality, seems to be a pretty average American. Fairly low key, avoids creating controversy (to her detriment), committed relationship to one person for longer than the average marriage, adopted kids – if it weren’t for the sex of her partner, it wouldn’t be a stretch to envision her as a soccer mom.
In the civic arena, she comes across as a fiscal conservative, An immediate budget cut after taking office as controller, effective auditing and renegotiation, etc., which earned her a grade of B from Gary Polland’s Conservative Review. One of her ardent supporters, Martha Griffin, recapped these fiscal conservative tendencies, click here to read, or click here for a Google search that will lead you to the same information.
Gene Locke’s story is reminiscent of a classic American success story. Son of a school teacher, academically successful, a radical student activist in college, blue collar worker to pay for law school, all the way to one of the most powerful back room deal makers in a city known for power brokers.
Although he has never been elected, he has certainly played a large role in Houston politics. As city attorney, he ” wrote the city’s affirmative action plan and laid the groundwork for the creation of more affordable housing by the Land Assemblage Redevelopment Authority (“LARA”)” (from his website). Neither of those “accomplishments” are going to thrill any type of conservative voter. More importantly for anyone saying that they are fiscally conservative, he played a major role in the building of the new professional sports stadiums in town, and has promised to support a new soccer stadium. Texas Watchdog has quite a lot on Mr. Locke but this is a good starter. Or try Slampo for a laugh with your commentary.
Seriously, for fiscal conservatives, this thing isn’t even close. But alas, elections aren’t just about fiscal issues.
Make no mistake, Annise Parker is a lesbian. But that shouldn’t shock anyone because she has never denied it as best as I can tell. That is what I meant earlier about transparency. It is what it is, she is a lesbian.
Her supporters do not help her campaign at all in this area. On election night, the #houmayor Twitter feed was like watching a gay pride parade. No mention at all of her qualifications, just her homosexuality. Combined with her early years as a gay activist, it is easy to see why social conservatives would hesitate to support her. Despite the plain fact that she has not pushed a “gay agenda” during her political years.
After watching that Twitter pride parade, I emailed a Parker supporter and told her to watch what happens next. Sure enough, out came the knives from the wing of the HCRP that has been using social issues to divide and shrink the party since the late 90’s. You can get a feel for who they are in this post. That’s right, PO Box 2606 is coming out to play. A few names to remember: Rick Scarborough, Paul Pressler, Dave Welch, Vision America, Terry Lowry, Steve Hotze, Link Letter, Ed Young and a whole lot more.
Now, Democrats are no strangers to runoff nastiness, having had their share of rumors, innuendo and voter fraud. But they haven’t seen anything yet. Those 2606 guys have perfected the art of dividing people based upon religion and Annise Parker and troops are going to get a full dose of it. Not because these guys care about the City of Houston, because they don’t, but because it will help them solidify their hold on power within the HCRP.
Believe it or not, there are sins listed in the Bible other than homosexuality. I know that is hard to believe but really, it is true. Things such as divorce and remarriage, except under special circumstances. Check it out, I guarantee you it is in there. But when was the last time you heard of a group of political power brokers getting together and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to get people to reconsider no-fault divorce laws? Or a pastor speaking out against them? Hmm? Being a little selective in our reading, aren’t we?
Oh, and another thing in the Bible that seems kinda special because it is listed in the Decalogue is that you shouldn’t bear false witness against your neighbor. Now, for those of us in Pasadena, that means you shouldn’t lie about someone. Take a look at this quote from the same article:
“The bottom line is that we didn’t pick the battle, she did, when she made her agenda and sexual preference a central part of her campaign,” said Dave Welch
Mr. Welch, that is a flat out lie. It just is and there is no other way to say it. Annise Parker did not make her sexual preference a central part of her campaign. Period.
Ask yourself, why would a pastor lie? Why would a group of Republican power brokers support a lie?
Folks, the runoff on Dec. 12th is not a referendum on gay rights. It is not a referendum on gay marriage. It is not a referendum on providing same-sex benefits. If at some point in the future those issues arise, they can and will be defeated.
This runoff is to elect a mayor for what will surely be the third largest city in the country after the next census is taken. A city that is broke.
Neither of these candidates is my preferred choice. Neither is perfect. On the one hand, you have Parker, who as controller didn’t ring the alarm on the true financial condition of the city. On the other, you have a master backroom deal maker responsible for affirmative action law and sports stadiums that we can’t afford. But of the two, one of them recognizes that we need to be careful when spending taxpayer money while the other one wants to spend more. At the same time, by asking for and receiving the help of the PO Box 2606’rs, Mr. Locke is guaranteeing that the Harris County Republican Party will continue to shrink.
Say no to more frivolous spending and no to the politics espoused by Mr. Welch and his ilk as they strangle the Republican Party in the name of power.
Vote for the clear fiscal conservative choice: Annise Parker.