According to the DCCC there are 67 House Republicans who voted against the stimulus package. But when these no voters are back in their home states they like to brag and swagger about bringing home the bacon. On a different level, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison joins these ranks. She voted against the stimulus bill and yet she criticized Rick Perry for turning down federal funding for extended unemployment benefits.
Texas has its fair share of outstanding hypocrites. Check the list below to see if your U.S. House Rep. is included in the GOP Hall of Hypocrites. I am not shocked to admit that my Rep. is among them. I betcha your's are too.
The Dem caucus was split between those who voted for it, and those who refused to continue funding the Iraq invasion and occupation.
You might guess that gleeful House Republicans jumped to vote with the first group to split the Dem caucus, right?
Wrong.
These brave chickenhawks are so wedded to their obstructionist agenda, they all chose to vote "present". Meaning, we're here, but we won't vote for or against this measure, which allowed it to die on the floor of Congress.
So, when you see the ad telling you Dems are going to strand our troops in Iraq without support, remember these names Texas.
The PBS program NOW, recently came to Central Texas looking for election stories where the war in Iraq might impact Congressional races. They interviewed John last week, as well as Democrat Mary Beth Harrell. Mary Beth is running in Congressional District 31, against Republican incumbent John Carter. That district includes Fort Hood, and the District 31 race was the focus of the PBS TV program that aired Friday Nov. 3rd, entitled "Sway the Course".
The Austin American Statesman published an article today on Lamar Smith's chances of becoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, should the Republican Party remain in control of the U.S. House. Similar to the fawning editorial piece that Arnold Garcia wrote a couple of weeks ago, the Statesman seems to be shoring up their support for Lamar Smith's entrenched 20 year career. No secret that they delivered their endorsement to Smith, but this article timed to hit undecided voters before the November 7th election, seems to be another attempt to prop up Smith. While their headline on the article reads "Smith in line to take over House Judiciary Committee" the link to the story on the AAS website actually read "Smith's star is rising" this morning. Tell me that's not editorial promotion.
Smith has contributed more than $400,000 this year to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Since Oct. 1, he's given another $66,000 to fellow House Republicans who find themselves in tighter-than-expected races, such as Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., and Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Smith also has given last-minute pushes to Texas newcomers Van Taylor and Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. Taylor is challenging Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, and Sekula-Gibbs is trying to win former Majority Leader Tom DeLay's seat.
(crossposted on BOR)
Today, between 7am and 7pm EST, John Kerry is opening up the polls on his website for a public vote on which Netroots endorsed Senate and House contenders will be the lucky recipient of his last fundraising e-mail of the cycle. John Courage is the only Texan in the list for the U.S. House. Please vote now and help us spread the word through your e-mail lists, to other blogs or however you can. Let's win another endorsement for a good Texas candidate, and help him raise more money.
(Get Courage into the Runoff!! - promoted by krazypuppy)
(crossposted at BOR and John's blog)
John Courage has been endorsed by The Daily Texan newspaper. In their Editor’s Note, the editors state that they attempted to endorse in as many races as possible where the race outcome might affect students. John is very honored to have the endorsement and he looks forward to representing the student population across UT and the rest of the district.
(This is news - what's Looney Lamar afraid of? - promoted by dksbook)
(Crossposted on BOR)
The Austin American Statesman reports this morning that Lamar Smith is not attending the League of Women Voters candidate debate set for Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006.
(if Courage can keep Lamar below 50, there's a runoff. Hmmmmm... - promoted by krazypuppy)
(Crossposted at BOR and John's blog) News 8 Austin is broadcasting interviews they filmed with John Courage and Lamar Smith today. These interviews were filmed earlier this month and were done separately. Video and a transcript of the broadcast is available at the News 8 web site.
Prominent bloggers Gary Abramson (Reality Bites Back) and Dante Atkins (Hekebolos) have chosen the John Courage campaign as one of the subjects of their blog and film documentary project, Crashing the States.
The Sierra Club and The Texas Environmental Democrats endorsements were given to John because of their belief that John will be a leader and take action to defend our environment. John has a website specifically dedicated to his positions on the environment - Conservation With Courage.
Sierra Club representative Chuck Byrd made this comment about Lamar Smith at our press conference:
Smith has consistently voted with the current administration to rape, pillage, and destroy the environment.
Lamar Smith has been my congressman since the first gerrymandering in 2002 or so. The Tom DeCay 2nd generation gerrymandering put Lloyd to the test, with his "new" district running from the center of one intersection in Austin all the way down to the Rio Grande. Still, Lloyd won! You won't find a better advocate for Texas music than Lloyd.
As a voting member in the parent company of HFA (Harry Fox Agency, NY), or NMPA (Natl. Music Publishers Assoc.), I keep my ear to the ground when it comes to Congress, and how badly they've been able to confuse copyright issues and make life worse for truly independent music publishers and songwriters. Well, I'll be a horned toad's uncle if Lamar and his buddy haven't introduced a bill that will update digital licensing that's fair to both music publishers AND listeners who can and should be able to choose their favorite platform for downloading and playing their favorite songs...
