There were a lot of bright spots in yesterday’s elections around Texas. And some not so bright but why focus on the negative? After all, this is bigJOLLYpolitics!
First off, the fearmongers that tried to stop VoterID had their arguments destroyed. There simply isn’t a problem requiring people to produce a photo id to vote. Will they shut up? Not on your life. Who cares?
Prop 6 – the so-called water amendment
This was a good bill that was supported by the vast majority of state lawmakers. One man stands out for his role in educating voters on the benefits of the plan: Texas House Speaker Joe Straus. He worked tirelessly statewide and should be lauded for his leadership. Speaker Straus may think that Texas will never be ready for him but these results show that Texans are ready for true leadership. I would agree that for now Texas Republican primary voters aren’t ready for Speaker Straus and think that is a shame.
Many of the opponents of Prop 6 did themselves and their followers a disservice by not putting forth factual arguments and instead relying upon the usual rhetoric: it’s a slush fund, Perry’s cronies will control it, the only legislators that are good are the ones that voted against it, everyone in politics is crooked, etc. Learn to make a cogent argument and you might get better traction.
Katy voters defeat $69 million football stadium
I’ll be honest, I didn’t think that Katy voters would vote against this one. Talk about a bright spot! Perhaps voters are tuning into the fact that ISD’s waste huge amounts of money on extracurricular activities while ignoring core curriculum. Perhaps the Katy ISD board simply overplayed their hand. Either way, this is a huge victory for taxpayers and education. A special tip of the hat to George Scott over at GeorgeScottReports.com who did yeoman’s work in detailing the problems with the bond proposal and offering alternative solutions.
Harris County voters defeat $217 million “Dome experience”
Here’s another one I thought was a lost cause and voters proved me wrong. I still don’t understand why Harris County Judge Ed Emmett supported this boondoggle. The Houston Chronicle’s Ronnie Crocker has this from Emmett:
Proposition 2 would have allowed Harris County to issue up to $217 million in bonds to turn the beloved but bedraggled stadium into a massive event and exhibition center. In complete but unofficial results, opponents gained 53 percent of the vote.
County commissioners have said they would recommend the wrecking ball if the bond failed.
“We’re going to have to do something quick,” County Judge Ed Emmett said afterward. “We can’t allow the once-proud dome to sit like a rusting ship in the middle of a parking lot.”
He called it “an interesting evening to say the least” and added, “We have an electorate that is for whatever reason anti-bond.”
C’mon Ed, you can do better than that. Voters have consistently shown that they approve bonds when the project is worthy – as they did yesterday on the inmate processing center. But this was a boondoggle bond proposal, backed by no facts, just emotion. Everything about it was “do you remember the time” – Elvis came, Luv Ya Blue played, the Toy Cannon hit a homer, the scoreboard, etc. Those memories can never be replaced, especially in a “Dome experience” that would be nothing like the Astrodome. One of the things that keeps Houston dynamic is our willingness to replace old, dilapidated buildings. Memories are not a reason to change that model. As a leader, especially as a Republican leader in Harris County, I would hope that Ed would reflect back on his decision to support this thing and come to his senses and tear the thing down now.
A special tip of the hat to ABC13’s Ted Oberg for exposing the “Dome experience” as a fraud.
Bill Frazer for Houston Controller
I’m certain that Bill and Jean would dispute that his race was a bright spot since he lost by a couple of percentage points. But for those of us that longed for a political race based solely on issues, his campaign was a breath of fresh air. If you attended any forum to hear him speak, you know that he flatly refused to go negative on his opponent. As a political neophyte with zero name identification running on traditional Republican business issues, he ran a strong race against an entrenched politician in a city dominated by Democratic voters. And almost won.
I know, I know, almost is for horseshoes and hand grenades. But I think Bill provided a model for Republicans wishing to get back into play in city politics. For that, I say thank you Bill and your team, for giving us a bright spot in this election.
Michael Kubosh top vote getter in Houston At-Large 3
It’s pretty cool that Mike was the top vote getter in his race. He’s a good man with a strong family that wants to do what is right for the City of Houston. The runoff will be nasty from the other side but I suspect that Mike will continue to focus on the positive and what he can do if elected.
Dave Wilson wins Houston Community College Trustee position
Perhaps you are surprised that I consider Dave’s win a bright spot given that I frequently criticize him for his anti-GLBT mailers. That criticism has to do with advancing the overall cause of Republicans, not with Dave Wilson the man. Dave is a good man, certainly a bright spot to homeless Houstonians. Bet you didn’t know that, did you? Probably my fault for focusing on what I perceive as his faults. Far left socialist Democrats like Charles Kuffner trash Dave and they don’t have a clue about who the man is. Again, my fault for not having his back. Dave surely pursues his faith with vigor – all facets of that faith, and giving from his heart to those less fortunate is a big part of his faith. He will bring much needed financial common sense to this out of control community college district. I’ll keep arguing with him about his rhetoric against the GLBT community but his election is definitely a bright spot.
And that’s a wrap. Other than Kubosh’s race, I’ll be focusing on the upcoming Republican primary for a while. That is going to be a lot of fun.
“far-left socialist Democrats”
that’s a new one, David. Glad you aren’t running out of ad hominems.
Noah, Kuff’s writing speaks for itself. I like him personally – he’s obviously a good family man and he has helped me a lot through the years – but as he gets older he moves further to the left. And increasingly bitter, as today’s screed about Dave Wilson shows.
I live in Boston, where there are plenty of actual, real-life socialist and leftists. They believe in things like the nationalization of major corporations, nanny state controls and radical redistribution of income. It’s a loaded term with a lot of weight, and it is not accurate to describe him like that.
It would be like me calling you a “fascist” because you are religious and pro-corporation. Hyperbole nearly to the point of libel.
Noah, regardless of what you “think” you know, you need to read his writing in total. In fact, he does support nanny state controls, redistribution of income, and nationalizing health care.
You can choose to call me anything you want. If you call me “fascist” because I am a follower of Jesus, it will not hurt me. I don’t know what you mean by “pro-corporation” – in general, I am against any and all laws that protect corporations or raise barriers to entry in markets.
Did you read what I wrote? I didn’t call you a fascist, I said it would be ridiculously hyperbolic and possibly libelous if I did.
Nationalizing healthcare is not what I meant. I meant nationalizing things like the airlines and energy companies. Countries lead by conservatives like UK and Canada have socialized medicine. But only the pinko countries like the Italy and Israel of the past had nationalized airlines, or like Mexico with Pemex.
And by “redistribution of income” I do not mean the meager tax increases President Obama has been pushing for. Rather, I mean top marginal tax rates and estate tax rates of about 100{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}.
Noah, I read what you wrote, which is why I said “If” you call me a fascist. Frankly I don’t consider myself particularly religious but to each their own.
I understand that you live in an area that “socialist” ideas might be more radical. But the plain fact is that Charles believes what I said he does. Just because someone somewhere believes something more radical doesn’t change that.
Hey, I thought we did a good job considering we spent 1.5{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of what Parker spent, received 11{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the vote, and were completely ignored by almost every media outlet
If Dave Wilson shouldn’t be judged by his deeds, what should people judge him by?
K, he should be judge by his deeds. Which is my point about not having his back and letting my criticism and other criticism of his anti-GLBT “deeds” stand unchallenged. He is so much more than that, as I learned a couple of years ago. Judge him by his deeds, yes, but judge him by ALL of his deeds. I’ll try to do a better job in the future.
I think what made some people nervous about Dave running is how great a proponent he is of researching inside the college…..y’ know he takes an interest in “following the money”….
Congratulations Dave!
Regarding the Astrodome issue, I think the structure’s world wide renown could be easily restored, without need of public bond obligations, simply by legalizing cannabis and converting our historically beloved Dome into the world’s largest indoor grow-op. 😉
But I’m realistic. This is Texas, after all. The sorts of republicans that control our state today would never, ever, approve of any form of decriminalization, even in cases of proven medical efficacy. Actual legalization of that plant in Texas is at best, a “pipe dream.”
Please, feel free to prove me wrong. When you do, or at least try, I’ll cheer on the effort right here in the formerly red state of Colorado.
David,
Great to see that you are drawing readers from Boston.
Noah,
Your comments are a great advertisement for keeping Texas Republicans (even the RINOs) in power.