Early Vote Ends, Crunch Time Begins: Republicans Alternately Attack and Scurry for Cover.

Well, the numbers are in. This year in Fort Bend County, Texas, 35,648 voters of all stripes showed up at the early voting locations and cast their ballots (Thank you muse, you of the latest dope). Compare that to 24,405 in the last mid-term election in 2002. That’s a 46% increase over the last mid-term.

It seems that there is an interest in voting this year in Fort Bend County.

And why not?

Driving this vote is Iraq, Iraq and Iraq. People are sick of the war and how it was ill-conceived and has been so poorly waged with no exit strategy. Not one of those irritating “I Support President Bush and The Troops” remains up in my subdivision.

Reports come in from all over the county about how few lawn signs have appeared. Richard Morrison told a story today that the Republican precinct chair in his precinct had a lawn sign for every one of the Republican candidates running for office, except one for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. But privately, most Republicans are very quiet in the March of Signs this year. With the notable exception, that is, of Andy Meyers, Fort Bend County Commissioner for the 3rd Precinct. His personal sign war campaign is currently being waged. It was fun to watch him on TV last night personally hauling those hateful racist “Support the Terrorists – Vote Democrat” signs around, sorting them out on a lawn. He lied to the press saying that he had 30 of them. Then astute figurers of 4 x 8 sign costs divided 30 into $2800 and came away amazed at how he got ripped off. Come to find out he later told The Chronicle that he had 75 of them. By the way, it was the Fort Bend Democrats that outted the fact that Andy Meyers was behind these signs.

On the same day, on the same TV Channel, a Republican Fort Bend County candidate’s race was featured, the one for 268th District Court. Judge Brady Elliott found himself facing the cameras saying that he doesn’t “run attack ads”, and differentiated between “exposure” and “molestation”: “It was not molestation it was exposure which was quite different from what the ad said.” Well, heck, Brady, I have the ad right in front of me and nowhere does it mention the word “molestation”. You just cooked that up, didn’t you? Everywhere it mentions the term “child predator” which is an appropriate characterization of Jon Matthews, who exposed his genitalia to an eleven year old girl. So you took the advice of the prosecutor and Probation Department and put an impenitent child predator back on the street, right?

Nice job.

Next time, if there IS a next time, try being a judge for once and not a rubber stamp for the DA and Probation Department.

Republicans: Run. Hide. Roll yourselves up in a ball with your eyes squeezed shut and your hands and arms protecting your head. The end of the world as you know it is coming.

One place you might not want to be tomorrow, Fort Bend County Republican residents , is in Rosenberg. We will be massing there to greet the next governor of the state of Texas, Chris Bell. His “Bell on Wheels” entourage will grace the presence of the Fort Bend Combined Campaign Headquarters at 4800 Avenue H (Highway 90A) in just under 12 hours from now. He is scheduled to roll in at about 11 AM on Saturday the 4th of November. Free Hamburgers.

Ketchup.

My job is ketchup.