After finishing a disappointing second to Sen. Dan Patrick in the March 4th primary, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst had a choice to make in his runoff campaign. He could have continued to tout his record and the success of Texas under his leadership or he could go down the path that he tried against Ted Cruz and try to scare people into voting for him because Cruz was da debbil. After weeks of nothing from his campaign, his decision was made clear yesterday. From the headlines:
- Dewhurst ad hits Patrick as slippery, self-serving | Dallas Morning News
- Dewhurst TV ad hits Patrick for “walking away” from old business debts | Dallas Morning News
- Underdog Dewhurst attacks Patrick’s financial troubles | khou.com Houston
- After nearly silent, Dewhurst goes on the offensive against Patrick – Houston Chronicle
- Quorum Report: Dewhurst releases TV ad against Patrick: The Mother of all Debt
- Dewhurst fires first ad salvo at Patrick since primary – Houston Chronicle
Okay, that should give you some idea of what happened yesterday. This from Bob Garrett of the Dallas Morning News should help even more:
The 30-second TV spot depicts Patrick as slippery and self-serving.
“If he can’t run his own business honestly, how could we ever trust him to run the state honestly?” a woman actor says.
With the ad, Dewhurst has gone “straight to the gutter,” said Patrick strategist Allen Blakemore. It unspools “a string of lies, half-truths, and a rehash of events from 30 years ago,” he said.
(click here to read the entire article on the Dallas Morning News website)
As a Dewhurst supporter, I’m disappointed that he chose this route because I don’t think it will work. This isn’t a “contrast” ad, where Dewhurst points out one of his strengths compared to one of Patrick’s weaknesses. It is a rehash of very old history about Patrick, some of which isn’t even true. Like the statement that Patrick changed his name to “hide from his debts”. Utterly ridiculous – I’ve known of or known Patrick since 1979 and I’ve known that his birth name was Goeb most of that time. The name change was probably for ballot purposes because his broadcast name was the way most people knew him. It certainly didn’t relieve him of his financial responsibilities.
The rise of the “tea party”, along with multiple channels for information delivery, has fundamentally changed the Republican primary in Texas in regards to negative advertising like this. There are simply too many ways for candidates to respond to an “air war” such as Dewhurst is engaging in, especially considering that the small percentage of voters in a primary are the most informed voters in the state. Negative advertising via broadcast television isn’t going to sway the majority of those voters. Patrick’s consultant, Allen Blakemore, has already countered with a rebuttal and has received about as much coverage as the original ad has.
Like I said, I’m a Dewhurst supporter, so I hope it works in that regard. But as someone that despises this type of campaign, and as someone that is not scared of the possibility of Dan Patrick as Lt. Gov., I admit to being more than a little ticked off at the direction Dewhurst chose.
Why, I ask, couldn’t the Dewhurst team have found a way to exploit Texas’ success under his leadership? For instance, did you know that the caricature of Texas as a low-wage job creating state is false? Don’t believe me, read a report from the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve: Texas Leads Nation in Creation of Jobs at All Pay. Even the Washington Post, in this article by Niraj Chokshi, has to admit it:
Texas isn’t just leading the nation in job growth—it’s doing it more equitably, too
Underestimate Texas at your own peril.
You might be inclined to think that the Lone Star state is bad at creating good jobs. It is, after all, second only to Idaho in the proportion of its population earning the federal minimum wage or less, according to the Labor Department. And it has the ninth-highest Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality. So it’s only natural to assume that the state is bad at adding good jobs, right? Wrong.
Texas experienced stronger job growth than the rest of the nation from 2000 to 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Not only that, a pair of researchersnote in a Thursday research publication, but Texas leads the nation in creation of jobs at all pay levels, too.
“Texas has also created more ‘good’ than ‘bad’ jobs,” they write. “Jobs in the top half of the wage distribution experienced disproportionate growth. The two upper wage quartiles were responsible for 55 percent of net new jobs. A similar pie chart cannot be made for the rest of the U.S., which lost jobs in the lower-middle quartile over the period.”
(click here to read the entire article at the Washington Post)
Seems to me that Dewhurst could have used this information to remind voters of who he is instead of spending millions on telling people some negative information about Dan Patrick that has nothing to do with Patrick’s tenure as a state senator.
Oh well. BTW, hat-tip to Texas Monthly’s Erica Grieder for tweeting the links to the Dallas Federal Reserve report and the Washington Post article. You can follow her Twitter feed here: @EricaGrieder.
Hi Erica, the Dewhurst team has done nothing but tout and defend the Lt. Gov’s record for all the positive things he has done for this state. And look where that got him? Because people are complacent and comfortable. Many don’t even deem it important enough to vote! Dan Patrick as Lt. Gov would be scary because he will probably get pummeled by Leticia van de Putte in November and we are well on our way to Texas turning blue.
Leticia who????? Seriously, there is no Dem who is gonna win a statewide office this year.
In other news, you might want to look at your reasoning. If Dan Patrick would be scary as Lt. Gov., then he obviously would have to win in November.
Many people (myself included) would rather vote for an honest Leticia than a liar – Dan Patrick.
That’s certainly your choice. But, once again, I must ask – Leticia who? And, assuming she’s a politician, how do you know she’s not a liar?
At Laurie – if you’re not voting for a liar, does that mean you won’t vote for Dewhurst, since he lies about the reason Patrick changed his name?
I’m Tom Zakes and I approve this message.
Laurie, I think you’re really fooling yourself if you think Leticia has a chance at beating either Patrick or Dewhurst. Did you see the article the other day about how even a majority of Texas women (all women; not just Republican women) are backing Abbott over Davis? If the left cannot even conjure up the female vote, then the statewide races will be very, very lopsided.
Of course, Leticia is a better candidate than Davis is, in my opinion, but unless you live in San Antonio or you actually follow Texas politics some, you’re not going to know that. I don’t know if we’ll see a repeat of 2010, but you’ll certainly have a depressed Democratic turnout in a mid-term election like this one.
I’m not a particular fan of Dan Patrick but I think he is being unfairly tarred by Dewhurst in those ads. As I understand and recall the facts, Patrick opened a sports bar in the late 70s or early 80s and it went belly up. Nothing is more common than a restaurant failing. So, he filed bankruptcy under the federal bankruptcy code.
Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the right to set uniform rules for bankruptcy. There’s nothing new about that.
The law at the time made it easy for bankrupts to discharge their debts and get a fresh start. One a debt is discharged the debtor has no obligation to pay it. In fact, the creditor can go to jail if he tries to collect it.
Banks and others who lend money to people know there is a chance the creditor will not pay, either because of bankruptcy or other reasons. That goes into the decision on lendng money. That’s why the credit bureaus keep records on all of us. It allows lenders to make informed decisions on their risk and the interest rate to charge.
Lots of companies use the bankruptcy code as business tools to restructure debt, void union contracts and get out from under pension plans they don’t like anymore. Patrick used it because his business had failed.
Dan Patrick did nothing wrong in declaring bankruptcy and it disappoints me that Dewhurst is tarring him with it. It just may convince me to vote for Patrick in the runoff.
A win by Dan Patrick in the Repub primary runoff will be a win win for the Dems. Firstly, it will divide the Repubs and secondly, it will rally the Dems. A Patrick win in November will hasten the change in Texas from red to purple.
I think you’re grossly underestimating the apathy of the general public. I would be surprised if voter turnout breaks 15{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}. And how much you want to bet that three quarters of the people that can be “bothered” to vote end up voting straight ticket or effectively straight ticket? No way, Loren. I’ll bet that three quarters of Texans couldn’t even name our current Lieutenant Governor, much less have a position on whether or not Patrick is “too extreme”.
I’d say it’s a stretch to suggest that Patrick would lose in November, given Republicans’ statewide advantage, but Patrick would certainly be a drag on the ticket, potentially harming down-ballot candidates who otherwise would win. The judicial candidates will suffer greatly from the Dan Patrick scorched-earth strategy, and he will greatly underperform compared to Abbott et. al. Dewhurst would provide no such drag.
Given the current cravenly tactics of David Dewhurst, I find it interesting that you characterize Dan Patrick’s tactics as “scorched-earth”. Patrick has run for office in the past with no discernible backlash. What’s you beef now?
This whole race, Patrick has consistently lied about his opponents’ position, while riling Hispanics with his ridiculous commercials and rhetoric about immigration.
Patrick’s previous forays into electoral politics were limited to the friendly confines of his senate district. The State of Texas is a bit more diverse than SD7.
Most Hispanics that I know (a fair number) are as mad about the move to legalize illegals as I am. I doubt they are much upset about Patrick’s position. As far as Patrick lying – I’ve seen nothing that even begins to compare with the crap issuing from the Dewhurst campaign. If you think that there are Republicans who would refuse to vote, or vote Democratic because Patrick was on the fall ticket – that doesn’t say much about them as Republicans.
Victor, you make my point. Most of the tea party Repubs will vote for Patrick no matter what. He’s already got them in the bag. He also might cause some mainstream Repubs to stay home this time. He will energize the Dems. I’m not predicting a Van de Putte win in November, but with Patrick holding the gavel the Dems will vote in record numbers in 2016 and 2018.
I just want to vote for Republicans that believe in science.Dan Patrick is a true theocrat and certainly does not have any Libertarian Views.
If Patrick is confident in his position regarding immigration, one would think he wouldn’t spend so much time lying about his competitors. Add that to his over-the-top rhetoric regarding “invasions” and infectious diseases, and that’s not exactly a recipe for bringing new voters into the fold.
Also, I don’t think criticizing voters for being turned off by a candidate is an especially good strategy. The idea of elections is to actually persuade people to vote for you. Someone who has the opposite impact should perhaps look in the mirror rather than blame the crowd.
If Patrick wins the nomination, he will underperform compared to the other statewide candidates; i.e., he will get far fewer votes than will the Republican candidates for Governor, Railroad Commissioner, etc. That won’t be because people are bad Republicans, but rather because of his strategy of motivate the base rather than expand the electorate.
Bankruptcy is a legitimate necessity at times, but, when you do you seriously hurt other people. Once you have become wealthy – the honorable thing and the only Christian thing to do is to pay those debts back. Some of those debts were to individuals. We run a small business and when we do not get paid – it hurts badly. Dan owed the landlord over $300,000. To focus on the name change – which could have helped disguise his debts, is missing the main picture here.
Most people that I know that look like me do care how the immigration problem is presented. I don’t know where some people find all the Spanish surname persons would hate legalization of persons that are here without documents. I do have some family members that would not support legalization but they do not hate it.
I vote all the time and for several years I have found the Republican rhetoric on immigration to be toxic. My vote and the vote of others at this time do not make much of a difference state wide but it does here in Harris County, keep that in mind.
Manuel, Judging from what you said and your last name, you look Hispanic; copper tinted darkish skin, short, with dark eyes and hair, No? I ask because you seem to flavor this argument wit subtle racial undertones, as if you have some sort of special insight into the analysis of the immigration problem, especially here in Harris County. I am not Hispanic, but I do have a few burgundy drops of ‘Indian blood’ coursing through my veins. Maybe that’s why I think I understand what you are saying. I tan well but my skin becomes more bronze, at least that’s what the people who look like me say. I also have some family members who would hate legalization of persons with Spanish surnames and no documentation. They do not hate those persons.
Special insight, don’t know about that but when people say Mexican or illegal they would not be able to tell that I am neither, as I am an American, but they would presume that I am one of the above, because of the way I look.
How many times have you been asked where you are from and you say here, the U.S. That is followed but where were your parents from and you say here the U.S. They persist in wanting to make you a Mexican. The Barrera family has been in Texas since the 1700s. Last person that asked me that, his parents were from Iran. so he was surprised when I said I guess you are Iranian.
So when they are talking about laws that would single out persons that look like me, I don’t like it and I know of a lot of other people that don’t. By the way most people that look like me could pass as Native Americans as we have common ancestors. The Navaho Nation was against the Arizona immigration laws because they could be mistaken for Mexicans, see below.
“Lawmakers on the country’s largest American Indian reservation have voted to formally oppose Arizona’s tough new immigration law.
The Navajo Nation Council voted against the immigration law Tuesday during a special session in Window Rock.
Council Delegate Kee Allen Begay sponsored the measure. He says he sees the immigration law as an attempt to harass American Indians, who can resemble Mexican nationals.
The state law requires police to question anyone they suspect is in the country illegally and makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally.”
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/06/09/20100609arizona-immigration-law-navajo-nation.html#ixzz2zqctDPfR
If the Native Americans are worried why wouldn’t people that look like me not be concerned? A fact is a fact, whether one ones tries to couch it as something that it is not, racism.
Manuel, thank you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyPZFi2b380