Well, I made it out to the Houston Property Rights Association meeting yesterday to watch surrogates for the David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz campaigns battle it out. It was painful to sit through as former State Rep. Ashley Smith calmly recited fact after fact about the Lt. Gov.’s record and Rafael Cruz, Ted’s father, was left to yell and scream about his son’s lack of a record. It was brutal.
I wish everyone in Texas had gotten the chance to see this one. It was a typical demonstration of what happens when anyone but Ted tries to defend a non-record. Ted can do it because he has practiced for over a year and a half. His father had no chance, even with a couple of typical Cruz bullies sitting in the back of the room trying to intimidate Mr. Smith. See, that’s the problem with a lot of Cruz supporters – they are delusional. Mr. Smith is not only a former State Rep, he is also a former CEO of TIRR hospital, a former general counsel for Stewart Information Services, serves on the boards of many successful corporations, and vice-chancellor for government relations of the UT System. The idea that a couple of yahoos could yell and intimidate him is ludicrous but try they did. Embarrassing.
There were many questions that Mr. Cruz simply could not answer. Why won’t his son support Sen. John Cornyn’s bid to become Majority Whip? Why does his son hurl personal insults at the Lt. Gov.? Why does his son claim to be a native Houstonian if he was born in Canada and lived his early life there? All Mr. Cruz could do was get louder and more animated but he couldn’t answer the questions.
Oh, but one question he could answer and that was about Obamacare. About Obamacare, Mr. Cruz claimed that it must be repealed because the death panels are going to issue little blue pills and expect you to kill yourself. Yes, folks, he did say that. Exactly that way. Look, I know that Obamacare is expensive and we need to repeal it but this type of rhetoric is so far over the top that it will hurt Republicans. Bizarro.
And I was very surprised that he had little positive to say about his son. During his 15 minute presentation of why we should vote for Ted, he didn’t even mention him. Instead, he went bullet point by bullet point about the Lt. Gov. and why we shouldn’t vote for him. Hey, if your Dad can’t even think of something positive to say about you, who will?
Mr. Smith, on the other hand, was a machine at reeling off statistic after statistic about the Lt. Gov.’s stellar record in Texas. Never said a word about Mr. Cruz, he just focused on the positive Texas economy, low taxes, and tort reform. When the bullies tried to knock him off his game by yelling, he didn’t even flinch, just asked them if they wanted to hear him or not? And then continued on. Great job as a surrogate.
Mr. Smith also had a copy of a memo that Texas Senator Tommy Williams has put together called Texas, the Economic Miracle.
If you still haven’t voted or decided who to vote for in the election for US Senate, I hope you’ll read that memo and understand why dozens of Texas leaders support David Dewhurst. Sure, Ted Cruz has a lot of out of state support but why would you care? People in Texas support David Dewhust because they know he is a doer, not a talker. Don’t let the rhetoric fool you. You live here. You know the truth.
Now, get out and vote for David Dewhurst this Tuesday. And take someone with you – it is that important.