The Top Ten Reasons Mikal Watts Dropped Out of the Texas US Senate Race

Everyone is being magnanimous toward Mikal Watts for voluntarily dropping out of the race for US Senate from Texas. There are some out there who are offering up reasons for this startling news so I thought I would encapsulate them in this Lettermanesque top ten list.

Top Ten Reasons Why Mikal Watts Dropped out of the Senate Race

10. He became very upset at everyone always mis-spelling his given name. It’s spelled M-I-C-H-A-E-L.
9. He developed an infected toe and those things hurt if you have to walk all over the state of Texas.
8. He started calling his wife “What's-her-name”.
7. His financial advisor told him that if he had to settle for the Senate salary of $165,200 per year he’d be broke in 3 years.
6. His kids dialed 911 the last time he opened the front door at his own home without knocking.
5. It was the bloggers. The bloggers scared him off.
4. He contracted a really embarrassing STD.
3. It was the bloggers, We just know it was the bloggers.
2. He was recently seen in the company of a woman not his wife and when asked about it said “You mean that she wasn’t my wife? It sure looked like her!”

And the number one reason why Mikal Watts dropped out of the Senate race?

1. Who cares? Mikal Watts did a good thing for himself, his family and for everyone. I hear that he and Rick Noriega are going to work together to see that John Cornyn is not returned to the Senate in 2008.

Vaya con Dios, Mikal Watts.

Kilonoriegas and Megawatts: But Dollars Can’t Vote

Last time I looked only people could vote.

Third quarter reports have come out and the Texas Senate race is looking as interesting as ever. According to yesterday’s FEC reports, Rick Noriega out-performed his Democratic rival for US Senate nominee quite substantially.

Electronic filings came screaming in on the deadline, and now that the dust has settled, it looks like Rick Noriega’s campaign pulled in 508 kilodollars to Watts’ 443. That’s a very nearly 13% margin.

Now that’s saying something. That’s saying something that a lot of people thought would ever be said. Watts claimed that he was the candidate who could pull in the necessary contributions needed to defeat Cornyn in ’08, what with his 30-day $1.1 million blitz, implying that “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet”.

Exactly.

He said this:

“People are investing in our campaign because they are demanding change and they know that I am someone who will fight for our interests here in Texas and not the special interests in Washington.”

My thought on his 30-day blitz? A one-off deal. Watts didn’t have the legs to keep up the pace. He peaked early by dunning all of his lawyer friends and those that he hit up for contributions out of the very campaign funds he had donated to. One hand washes the other.

But that’s chump change according to this Chron article, which reminds us again that Watts’ campaign is largely self-funded, and that he has kicked in $7.5 million of his own hard-won contingency fees. As far as money on hand, Watts even bests John Cornyn.

According to this Chron article, apparently, who has the dough gets the go (ahead).

But then, wait, RG Ratcliffe has finally realized what we Noriega bloggers have all come to know and love for some time now. It’s not about who’s got the most money, it’s about who will get the most primary voters.

Ratcliffe finally looked at what we are all seeing, and wrote an article titled “Wealth May Not Be Enough for Watts in Senate Race”.

Rick Noriega, believe it or not, has an Hispanic surname. Hispanics tend to vote for their own, and Hispanics tend to vote in primaries disproportionate to their numbers. While only 15% of your average Texan voter shows up to vote at the primaries, 35% of Hispanics do.

Here’s the thing that Ratcliffe wrote that I cannot accept, because I hear that Rick’s name is being spread far and wide in the Hispanic community.

“Hispanic voting expert Andy Hernandez said few voters currently know anything about either Noriega or Watts. As a consequence, Hispanic voters will first look at Noriega as a candidate they can identify with, he said.”

Like I said, I think Rick Noriega is getting a little more attention in the Hispanic community than Ratcliffe will allow, but let’s say some don’t hear the good word about Rick Noriega. Let’s say that they work at 3 jobs and don’t have time to catch up on this stuff. One glance at a friendly name that ends in a vowel may be all the convincing that they need.

Fine, Watts people will say (and I hear that DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer may agree to). Democrats again vote the unelectable opponent to oppose an otherwise embattled John Cornyn. We can defeat Cornyn, Rick Noriega can’t. For the same reasons he wins the primary, he loses in the November election: he’s Hispanic. Texans don’t vote for Hispanics.

That may have been true in the past, but you really have to think about this now. The face of the Texas voter has started to change. First, Texas didn’t become the 2nd most populous state in the nation because Texans know how to have children faster and better than anyone else. Texas’ population growth is by and large by migration and immigration. Second, the old prejudices of past generations don’t necessarily get handed down.

And I have also said this before: I think Rick Noriega will get bi-partisan support. Yes he may be a progressive, but his record of service is unassailable. He has served his nation in the armed forces, Cornyn has limited his military service to visiting and photo ops. Noriega actively worked to aid Hurricane Katrina evacuees, Cornyn got his photo taken with a FEMA director. Noriega worked on the border to staunch the flow of drugs and illegal aliens. Cornyn wants (and then doesn’t want) to build a wall.

Rick’s story is huge and will attract votes from the Right. Why? Even those across the aisle are getting tired of being lied to by liars. Deceived by deceivers.

Stolen from by stealers.

Mikal Watts Accepts $4600 From The Great Impostor

Remember the old 1961 film “The Great Impostor”? It chronicled the life of Fred Demara, a guy who changed names and occupations like others change their bed sheets. A man with no degree in anything, Demara managed to pose, and get paid for being a surgeon, a monk and a prison warden among others.

Well, apparently we have another “Great Impostor” in Corpus Christi, Texas. This one poses as an attorney and as a sheriff’s deputy.

And he also gave Mikal Watts the maximum campaign contribution of $4600 to his Senatorial campaign.

It’s all spelled out in this fascinating article at the San Antonio Express-News.

Mauricio Celis, owner of CGT Law Group International apparently has no law degree from anywhere, and is not licensed to practice law. Celis was exposed as an impostor by Corpus Christi attorney Thomas Henry, who appeared on a paid advertisement on local television to denounce Celis.

Further down in the story, Celis is tied to Mikal Watts in two ways. Watts’ law firm accepted cases that Celis’ firm farmed out. Celis also made the maximum donation allowed by federal law to Watts’ senatorial campaign.

But the event that may have sparked the whole thing? It occurred in the wee hours of the morning of September 17th. A young woman ran into a convenience store near Celis’ house dressed in her birthday suit. She first alleged that she had been sexually attacked. Who should appear a few minutes later but Mauricio Celis, dressed in a bath robe and a deputy sheriff’s badge. Flashing the badge he told responding officers that he would take custody of the woman.

Watts with that?

Guilt by association with a known impostor. Taking campaign contributions from a known impostor.

Can anyone spell S-W-I-F-T-B-O-A-T?

Mikal Watts, and Mikal Watts trolls should realize that unless their own house is in order, they shouldn’t go casting aspersions on their senatorial race opponent. It is well-known that trial lawyers, like policemen, do not always get to associate with upstanding citizens.

Should Mikal Watts return the $4600 to Celis? No way. No more than Rich Noriega must return his $7000 donation from Bob Perry. Who gives money to your campaign, who associates himself with you does not personally reflect upon you.

That’s just common sense.

But politics is another animal.

Will John Cornyn be able to level an accusatory finger at Rick Noriega for accepting campaign donations from ultra-conservative home builder “Swiftboat Bob” Perry? Where is the sense in that? Cornyn would be playing right into Noriega’s hand.

On the other hand, will John Cornyn be able to level an accusatory finger at Mikal Watts for his association with a known impostor, and his acceptance of a campaign contribution from same?

Is the pope German?

Watts Whipped: Democracy For Texas Poll Gives Noriega Lopsided Victory

If anyone had any doubts that Rick Noriega OWNS the internet, at least as far as his Democratic primary candidacy for US Senator from Texas, those doubts can now be laid to rest. The poll, recently announced by the Democracy For Texas, an online progressive advocacy group that has NEVER endorsed a primary candidate, closed at midnight September 22nd.

Just announced on their website are the official results:

Rick Noriega: 78.4% (1,514 votes)

Mikal Watts: 21.6% (417 votes)

It was never even close. Here are the daily totals as of noon on each day the poll was open.

Wednesday Noon Update:
Rick Noriega- 78%

Mikal Watts- 22%

Thursday Noon Update:
Rick Noriega- 82%

Mikal Watts- 18%

Friday Noon Update:
Rick Noriega- 74%

Mikal Watts- 26%

Saturday Noon Update:
Rick Noriega- 77%

Mikal Watts- 23%

The DFT is expected to officially endorse Rick Noriega for the Democratic nomination for US Senate. That’s because they said they would endorse the winner. Rick has gotten lots of endorsements by some heavy hitters:

Former Governor Dolph Briscoe

Former Lt. Governor Bill Hobby

State Senator Rodney Ellis

Former Texas Democratic Party Chair Charles Soechting

Former Texas Democratic Party Chair Molly Beth Malcolm

The Texas Association of Fire Fighters

Forty Seven of his colleagues in the State Legislature.

From Hidalgo County District Attorney Armando Villalobos, County Clerk Joe G. Rivera, District Clerk Aurora De La Garza, County Treasurer David A. Betancourt, and Sheriff Omar Lucio. Brownsville City Commissioners Carlos A. Cisneros and Leo Garza.

And I’m guessing Houston City Councilwoman Melissa Noriega.

There were lots of amusing stories about this poll. The folks at the DFT wanted to run a poll with as little ballot stuffing activity as possible. So they checked the email addresses and threw out any votes from duplicate email addresses. They also checked IP addresses and threw out any votes from identical IP addresses. I am told that on one day 75 votes were cast for Watts from 2 IP addresses.

But the explanation I heard was that the votes were cast by individuals who all voted from the same laptop linked to the internet via a WIFI connection. May be so. Seems plausible to me. So eventually even these votes were counted in by fair-minded people who could see their point. Only real obvious attempts to stuff the ballot boxes were cast out. This was probably going to generate protests that the poll was rigged as it threw out votes like this.

I make this point though. Is it not just as logical that Noriega votes may have been tossed out for the very same reason? Same IP? Or is it that Noriega voters all own their laptops, but Watts voters share them?

This is a road down which I don’t want to venture.

Watts Says He Favors Stem Cell Research – Somewhat

I remember reading this article awhile back when Mikal Watts first launched his exploratory committee in his bid for Texas’ US Senate seat currently being occupied by John Cornyn. Someone reminded me of it the other day.

Asked whether he is in favor of a woman’s right to choose to have, or not have, an abortion Watts replied in this way:

“I personally have the view: I hold the pro-life position with three exceptions: one for rape, one for incest, one for the life of the mother.”

We’ve heard this time and time again and he has not wavered from this stance despite all of the hot water he has gotten into among progressive Democrats. Democrats who would simply want a candidate that they nominate for office to follow the Democratic Party’s own platform on this issue. But Mikal Watts proudly proclaims his opposition to abortion upon demand. I have said it before that I don’t think Watts has any personal viewpoint at all on this but has taken this stance to negate debate on the subject against conservative and anti-choice Texas Senator John Cornyn. It is this cold stance, and not his political ideals, that has shown me the way to supporting Rick Noriega.

And to oppose Watts.

Mikal Watts also knows that Texas has a large Catholic population, and this meshes with some of their core beliefs as well. He’s playing the numbers, not proclaiming a moral imperative.

Then I wondered why he disapproves of abortion, yet is in favor of stem cell research, as he said in the next sentences:

“But I don't claim to the Republican position of slippery slopes that you have to eliminate incredibly important medical research into Alzheimer's and Parkinson's because of the slippery slope argument on stem cells. I don't buy into that at all. There are clean stem cells and there are fabulous doctors all over the country who are making incredible progress toward two diseases that debilitate a large portion of our elderly population.”

If he believes that life begins at conception, as he claims to, why does he favor stem cell research, or more importantly embryonic stem cell research? Is this not just as bad as abortion?

Well, no. Watts has the view that we already have in existence lines of embryonic stem cells. Researchers grow them and extend them without destroying a single new blastocyst. It was a sin against God, but hey, the damage is done so why not use what we already have?

This, by the way, is the moral equivalent to what upper echelons in the US Army did in not prosecuting some Japanese medical researchers at the end of the World War II in exchange for the information they gathered from their experiments on our captured GIs.

But Watts is absolutely wrong here. In saying that “there are clean stem cells” in existence, he is wrong. By clean stem cells, he is referring to the fact that researchers used to use mouse fetal cells upon which to grow human embryonic stem cells. The argument here is that this process and methodology introduces animal pathogens into humans. Use of animal fetal material may introduce animal diseases to humans via this method. Watts is referring to new techniques that prevent this from happening, thus the term “clean stem cells”.

But he is very, very wrong.

There are no “clean” embryonic stem cells. None. This is not new news, it was discovered by scientists working at the Salk Institute on the UC San Diego campus in 2005. Every line of human embryonic stem cells is contaminated by a non-human, cell-surface sialic acid called N-glycolylneuraminic acid. Humans do not produce this compound. These human embryonic stem cells do. All of them.

Every line has been infected.

This is the same as saying that the Japanese studies were fatally flawed because they studied humans under incarceration, not the average human.

Mikal Watts is horribly uninformed. He does not have that political comfort zone that allows him to be in favor of human embryonic stem cell research on the one hand, and against a woman’s right to chose what to do with her own body, on the other. If you are against one, you are against the other. I believe that Mikal Watts opposes science that will save human life, not because he is a malevolent soul but because he is poorly informed, or chooses poorly what science he is willing to listen to, based on his politics.

But this is not something that he will be letting on. He favors using a tainted line of human embryonic stem cells in research that will be forever tainted. If scientists cannot guarantee the purity of their samples, their analytical results are questionable in the best of all possible worlds. Will kill people in the least of all possible worlds.

We need people in high office who are informed. Who don’t choose between sciences like they choose which brand of peas and carrots they will buy at the market. We need thoughtful people who listen to those in the know. People who will make decisions based on what is best for the people, not what is best for their political appearance.

This is one of the many reasons why I support Rick Noriega. This is a man with high integrity. A learned man who has one of the most progressive voting records in the Texas legislature.

Rick favors true embryonic stem cell research. Valid research that makes use of valid samples. This is the one we want, the one that all Texans need in office. Because despite party lines, we all contract disease at some point. Who will you support? Someone who relies on flawed science to find solutions to human disease? Or someone who knows about and supports good science that will one day find cures to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Emphysema, and all kinds of cancer?

Unlike a woman’s right to choose to have, or not have a baby, I really don’t think that Texans have a choice here.

He favors it because it is the only scientifically valid stem cell research in existence. The next big breakthrough in human health studies will be here. I am told that it will make Jenner’s pioneering work in vaccination look like rubbing sticks together to make fire.

On Bringing Knives and Things Mikal Watts Doesn’t Want You to Read

Or I guess, more to the point, what he doesn’t want his wife to read.

It was a very curious statement in and among his responses to questions from University of Texas Democrats last Wednesday, previously reported here and here. First Watts referenced to knives in a knife fight, and how he brings the biggest one. One wonders whether Watts was literally referring to knives, or whether he was referring to his checking account. I have said before that Rick Noriega thinks out of the box quite often. If Watts was literally referring to knives, I suspect that Rick, again, a very out of the box thinker, and someone with a military background to boot, knows that a guiding principle in combat is presentation of overwhelming force. I suspect that Rick would bring a TOW missile launcher and some loads to a knife fight.

And similarly, if Watts was referencing his ability to provide campaign cash to his own campaign, implying that Rick Noriega is marginalized in this, again, Rick is an out of the box thinker. Watts brings campaign cash to an election. Noriega, on the other hand, brings voters. Dead presidents can’t vote.

And again, in his reference to knives, Watts mentions the fact that he doesn’t want his wife to read the the blogs.

“But I can tell you that the way that I handle that, is I tell my wife don’t watch the TV, don’t read the blogs, don’t read this, don’t read that, ok. I can take those blows, and will take them.”

The reason for this has also been in the press: he has virtually no support in the blogosphere. Oh, there are a few out there, but their postings are transparently disingenuous so they wouldn’t make a good read for his wife, either.

So what are we talking about here? What blogs does Mikal Watts not want his wife, or anyone for that matter, to read?

Well, I already linked to it above, but TXSharon at Bluedaze also wants to know “Watts With the Big Knife Metaphor?” I especially appreciate the update below her discussion of knives, in which actual embedded text from Watts’ imfamous letter to opposing counsel in which he suggests that appellate judges, to which he has been a generous campaign contributor in past elections, would not be inclined to overturn a jury verdict.

Vince at Capitol Annex has a similar story to this one on "Mikal Watts Doesn’t Want You To Read Blogs". Vince provides a link back to Watts campaign in which “Watts’ campaign website proudly displays a story from Capitol Inside in which the want-to-be senator hands the Texas blogosphere a big fat dissing.” The part that I really like in that Capitol Inside posting is how Watts, a UT alumnus, arrived on campus “amid a sense of nostalgia” only to be “ambushed” by “the current crop of student Democrats”.

Oh, the humanity!

McBlogger, at McBlogger, on the other hand, has a satire going on his most recent posting on Watts. If this seems mean to you, well . . . yeah. They can get mean.

Robbie, in a post at Urbangrounds, also pulls no punches in TX: Mikal Watts (D) Brags About The Purchased Influence of Democratic Judges. Robbie asks “How ugly is this for Mikal Watts? Even the King of the Koskids himself thinks it stinks”

Refinish69 at Refinish69 also has a post on Watts’ money. In his post “Mikal Watts Thinks Money Buys Everything”, he says of Watts: “Mikal is starting to sound more and more like Cornyn or -god forbid, Shrub everyday. Texas deserves better than this.”

wcnews at Eye on Williamson also noted Watts’ problem with money, citing a mainstream media breaking story on it: “Bad news for Mikal Watts today, Senate candidate played up contributions to justices.”

Texas Nate at Mydd also noted the same news media story: “ While plutocrat Mikal Watts was getting some well deserved tough love from the Houston Chronicle, the people-powered candidate Rick Noriega was getting some great press around the state.”

Victoriacat at Texas Kaos covered Watts’ recent Victoria visit, and revealed what seems to going through Watts’ mind when he donates to Republican office holders: to buy influence and judicial decisions in his favor. “He said he had made the donations through a trial lawyer PAC because the courts had just (I'm paraphrasing here) ‘closed up’, and the donations were an attempt to get more access to the judicial system.”

alaprst at Blue Texas also seems to draw the same conclusion about Watts’ contribution to Republican office holders – how he hoped it would help him win more lawsuits: “Can Watts please explain how donations to Republicans like Perry, Dewhurst, and Abbott "get more access" to the judicial system? Oh, as far as more access, more access to who?”

Even Paul Burka, who keeps himself above the fray, had uncomplimentary things to say on Mikal Watts’ handling of the Young Democrats at UT last week. “My assessment is that Watts' talk struck the wrong note. I think he should have tried to fire up the crowd by attacking Cornyn from start to finish. On the other hand, maybe he knew he had an unfriendly jury, that most YDs are probably going to be for Noriega”. Well from the “ambush piece” on his own website, it looks like Watts didn’t know. But he knows now.

Now this is just going back two weeks. There’s been a lot of pixels devoted to attacks on Watts and his supporters. Attacks from Democrats, no less. What must be frustrating to the Watts campaign is that they have only a few operatives out there blogging and trolling in the comments areas, raking up muck on Rick Noriega. And it’s a difficult task because they have to make up stuff.

And because they have only those few, members of Watts’ own campaign have had to level attacks at the lieutenant colonel. That doesn’t look very good, because from what I heard, Both Watts and Noriega vowed to run clean campaigns that won’t run attacks on each other.

That promise, clearly, is starting to break down in Watts’ campaign.

And maybe that’s something else that Watts doesn’t want his wife to know about.

Mikal Watts Talks (Down) To University Democrats at UT.

I heard about it, and his Q & A with the Young Democrats at the University of Texas was characterized as pedantic as well as "bob and weave". “Yeah”, I said. “Maybe”. Well that was up until I was given a transcript of the Q &A session.

Jesus, please us. All I can say to Mikal Watts is “keep it up, guy. You just created a roomful of Noriega activists.”

Excerpts:

Q: I would like to know how do you feel about a woman’s right to choose.

A: Sure, a woman’s right to choose. I am against abortion except in the case of rape and incest and the life of a woman. That is a view that I hold because of when I believe that life begins.

There was lots more, the man likes to talk, but now we know the basis for his potential votes to deny women rights to decide what is best for themselves. A philosophical idea that cannot ever be proven. A belief really. This belief goes hand-in-hand with being against embryonic stem cell research. Watts claims to be “for stem cell research” but keeps dropping the “embryonic” part.

Q: I read in the Houston Chronicle that in a trial you were in, one time you paid off judges to alter the effects of that. Can you -- do you have anything to say about that?

A: Yeah, well, I guess the Karl Rove truck begins. Let me just tell you something. The people that we are going up against will swift boat you all day long, and they will continue to swift boat you, and I can assure you of a couple things. The people that we’re going up against -- you better be ready to win. If you’re going to a knife fight, don’t let the other guy have the big knife. I can assure you that for the last 20 years, I have fought the fights against the large corporations. I have fought the fights for the people who that weren’t flamethrowers -- on behalf of the people of Texas that frankly are lucky that they have a match. And we have got to be ready. Because I don’t care about what they’re gonna make up this time, what they’re gonna make up next time, it’s coming, and we’ve got to be ready to fight back.

You said a bundle Mike. Swift boaters will be all over him like white on rice. That he is a rich trial lawyer is such a hot button with Republicans. He’ll be so busy fending off these attacks that his message will be drowned out. You bet it’s coming, bubba. More:

The people of Texas want to hear about issues and they don’t want character assassinations. But I can tell you that the way that I handle that, is I tell my wife don’t watch the TV, don’t read the blogs, don’t read this, don’t read that, ok. I can take those blows, and will take them. Ok, and I’m ready to take those blows, but I’m ready to fight back. I told a joke about Karl Rove. He came down to Harlingen, Texas, with John Cornyn, to raise money, thereby giving rise to the joke that, you know, in South Texas we know about a guy named Dick Cheney, but at least when he comes he brings a shotgun; this guy brings a snake. [laughter] The Republican machinery – the Republican machinery -- will attack me, they will attack Rick, they will attack, anybody who’s a Democrat. It will come. But you better have someone who’s ready, willing, and able to fight back, and if we don’t, we’re gonna be in a world of hurt.

The people of Texas don’t want to hear about the issues. They want to know whether they can trust you to be their senator. They will eat this stuff up. Yes, the Republican machinery will attack Rick. They have to because their man’s story (and Watts’) pales in comparison to Rick’s. And what is all this about telling your wife don’t do this and don’t do that? Can she not make up her own mind what she reads and what she watches on TV? Oh, that’s right, women shouldn’t be choosers, men are the deciders. I have one word to describe Mikal Watts: Avatar. Look it up.

Q: Do you support, like what Barack Obama said, in the third debate, where you shift all the benefits of marriage, for both people who are in a heterosexual marriage currently and people that are homosexual. Shouldn’t all of the government, be, civil, civil unions, where everyone—keep marriage, just to religious authorities. Is that what you support? Where, in the current system, between civil unions just for homosexuals, and [unintelligible] where, you have a bill, saying “we officially support your marriage.”

A: I guess what I am saying is this: I think John Cornyn has wasted a Senate seat, ok. We got a lot of educated people in here. Can anybody point me to a single bill that John Cornyn offered that became law? The John Cornyn legislative achievement –the, what Texas got back for sending him up there for four and a half years. Can anybody point me to one bill? The reason you can’t, ok, ‘cause there’s only been two. One of them was to build a federal court house in Plano, Texas. The other one was to rename some building after a Republican. The reason you can’t, is your United States Senator has wasted five years, wasted five years, not caring about the priorities of people in Texas. About raising kids with health care, about educating our kids, about bringing home the bacon if you will. You know, “I’m against pork but bring home the bacon”, you know the old joke.

But the bottom line is what he has done is he’s gone on the floor of the United States Senate and he’s driven in those wedge issues- “we need a constitutional amendment for this, we need a constitutional amendment for that.” He talks about box turtles. Folks, this is the United States Senate. Less than 48 hours after the assassination of a federal judge’s spouse and parent, he went on the floor of the senate, trying to justify it, be it activist liberal United States judges. That’s not what the senate is about. That is not what the senate is about. So I do not favor wasting time in the United States Senate, passing legislation to drive wedges home. What I do support is stopping discrimination in the work place and other aspects of the United States, you
know, way of living.

Huh? Wha . . . ? Did the questioner just get dismissed? Did Watts ignore everything but the question mark at the end of the question? Young Democrats don’t like being dismissed. This was obfuscation at its worst. They didn't let him off the hook.

Q: So basically, uh, to summarize, [unintellible], what you’re saying is that you don’t support civil unions, ‘cause homosexuals have all the rights that people, as heterosexuals you know, [unintellible]. Is that a correct characterization?

A: No, it’s not. [Unintellible crowd comments.] What I’m saying is just the reverse. That is, whatever protections against discriminations, need to exist for both.

Q: So then why wouldn’t that, you know, why wouldn’t that afford everyone the favor of that’s afforded to all… the same inalienable rights.

A: Which rights are you talking about that I am confusing you with? I’m sorry.

Q: Well, I mean, I don’t have anything particular right now.

A: Well, I can’t think of any, I can’t think of any either. I think that people are born in this country as a citizen and they’re all entitled to the same rights, all entitled to the same protections. And frankly, I don’t think those rights and those protections differ based upon your sexual orientation.

Oh. My. God. Can we get a direct answer to a direct question here?

Even I, a lowly blogger could have come up with a better answer than that. Here is what I just heard Mikal Watts say in answer to this earnest Young Democrat's question:

"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uhmmm, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps and uh, I believe that our, I, education like such as uh, South Africa. . . "

As Wayne Campbell says, “Asphinctersayswhat?”

Thank you Mikal. Thank you just for being you.

Party on, Mikal.

Journalism 101: RG Ratcliffe Must Have Taken It In Summer School

Being in the education business in Texas, I know that when you take a course in summer school, it’s because you didn’t do very well when you took it during the regular school year. I’ve never taken a course in Journalism. I do know some things about it though, and in reading RG Ratcliffe’s piece about Rick Noriega and his blogger supporters in the San Antonio Express-News earlier today, I find it difficult to believe that someone pays him to write. So much so that I am guessing that it’s not so much about the writing it’s about the misdirection.

The timing and placement of the piece is precious indeed. Ratcliffe put the piece in the city newspaper in Mikal Watts’ new home town, and not in the Houston Chronicle, and he did it this weekend when he knew that Rick Noriega was on duty with the Texas National Guard and cannot be reached.

So let’s look at a couple of journalistic aspects of RG’s article.

First, RG violated Rule Number One: Get Name Right. The first W in WWWWW and H is Who. I’ve looked and can’t find anywhere a group that calls itself the “Texas Broadcasters’ Association”, a group whose convention RG says Noriega visited last month. I DID find the “Texas Association of Broadcasters”. Maybe that’s the group RG was writing about.

If that sounds like nit-picking, then how about this: RG got it wrong about something I know about. If that’s the case, can he not get it wrong in something I DON’T know about?

Then there’s this thing about objectivity. I was telling a friend earlier today that there definitely is a difference between bloggers and mainstream media. The difference being that bloggers, especially political bloggers, are very much in the fray. We claw and scratch along with everyone else. The mainstream media is, or is supposed to be, very much above the fray. Objectively (or at least trying to) reporting the who, what, when, where, why, and how of an event. But speaking as one who has done both, I find the latter to be boring, and assume RG just needs to spice his life up from time to time by raking up a little muck.

So in that sense, RG Ratcliffe is a blogger in the truest sense of the word. And while I believe that is a badge of honor, I am sure that RG looks down his nose at bloggers and the blogosphere. But he is truly one of us.

And saving the best for last, another thing that I do that is not proper journalism (the big story goes up front), RG with his quotation of Rick’s speech at the Texas Association of Broadcasters, and his later quotation from a Noriega campaign spokesman intimates that Noriega is very much against his blogger supporters. I’ll just bet that he did say something about Rightwing talk shows and Lefty bloggers and I say that because it sounds like something Rick would say. He’s always coming up with thoughts that are out of the box. But I have talked to Rick, saw him last weekend in fact. And one thing I can say for definite sure is that there is no way Rick Noriega is criticizing his blogger supporters as RG suggests in his devious little segue into the fact that no pro-Watts blogger is to be found on the internet. Here are the offending paragraphs:

Noriega spokesman James Aldrete said Noriega was not criticizing all politically active blogs, just those that engage in the "politics of division." Aldrete said Noriega believes talk radio and some bloggers would rather keep the country divided than find solutions to problems.

Even if that is the case, the blogs right now are on Noriega's side. No pro-Watts blogs could be found on the Internet other than his own campaign Web site. And only a few blog commentators have been defending Watts.

Watts spokeswoman Kim Devlin said Watts is not concerned about the imbalance in blog coverage.

See what I mean? Wasn’t that clever? Apparently there is a little bit of rat in Ratcliffe.

This isn’t journalism. It’s political hackery. Clearly Ratcliffe is trying to drive a wedge between Noriega and his netroots supporters. He’s in the fray. And the word I get that the guy who is actually behind RG’s article, the guy who put him up to, it is none other than Watts’ own handler, Jason Stanford. A double edged sword, damage control if you will, to take the heat away from the Chronicle articles on Watts’ memo on being a major campaign contributor to state appeals court justices as well as a way to negate Noriega’s lopsided support among the netroots.

Well, that didn’t work. Bloggers still like Rick and his story.

And now that you can see through this political sleight of hand as well, why not make your disgust known and at the same time support Rick? Go to ActBlue. Drop a few dead presidents off there. My all-time favorite dead president is Ulysses S. Grant. But don’t you think that Benjamin Franklin would have made a great president, too?

Mikal Watts Should Withdraw: Houston Chronicle

I’ve been watching this play out for a couple of days while I struggle with video format issues. Hey, I’m on a learning curve. The Noriega Labor Day video WILL appear come H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks or high water.

Meanwhile, a memo between trial lawyer Mikal Watts and his corporate lawyer opponents emerged recently. Heeyy. I wonder how that got placed into public view? Couldn’t have been from a John Cornyn supporter, could it? Nah. Here in Texas we play by the rules, right? And the rules say what gets said in litigation stays with the litigators. Unless, of course, we’re talking about corporate litigators who so very much want to return their senator, their lowest rated out of one hundred US Senators, John “Box Turtle” Cornyn, back to office in 2008.

So Mikal Watts’ braggadocio, that he had bought the Texas 13th Appeals Court justices with his campaign contributions fell on deaf ears. This according to a leaked 6-page letter to Watts’ corporate opponent in a lawsuit. So now the Houston Chronicle, that most liberal of paper press, is calling for Watts to step down from his bid to unseat John Cornyn.

I can just see it. Someone on Cornyn’s campaign staff reads that this morning and coffee erupts from his/her mouth. WHAT? The Houston Chronicle is demanding that OUR DREAM OPPONENT withdraw? Someone get them on the phone!

Someone needs to cue in these people on the Chron that Mikal Watts is John Cornyn’s dream opponent. Cornyn can’t lose as long as Mikal Watts opposes him in November.

Think about it.

Watts possesses all Republican hot button issues. Trial Lawyer. Sues Corporations. Jacks up OUR insurance rates. Cars cost more. Trial Lawyer. Dirty Trial Lawyer.

Mind you, I count trial lawyers among my best friends. This is not my take, it is the Republican party’s take, and lots and lots of people are feeding at that smorgasbord.

It’s the GOP’s worst nightmare. They CAN’T lose Watts as an opponent. Simply can’t.

Why? The alternative is an undefined thing. Low on money power, heavy on people-power, LTC Rick Noriega has all the qualities that John Cornyn lacks and they all know it. He has such broad backing it makes me ache.

The Cornyn campaign is leaving Rick Noriega alone, and for good reason. They don’t want to call attention to the campaign that has the potential to unseat their candidate. Rather than do that, they wisely choose to put Mikal Watts’ campaign into focus as the Democratic challenge to face and face down. The campaign that gives them the least number of problems.

But now the Houston Chronicle has thrown a monkey-wrench into the works. A huge hit against Cornyn’s weakest opponent while leaving Rick Noriega’s campaign supporters free and clear to agree with them. Yes, they say, Mikal Watts should probably step down. He’s been compromised. He can’t win now.

Mikal Watts: step aside. I know your ego can’t possibly take this news, but there is a better man out there. A man who can beat this last out of a hundred rated US Senators, a Senator from Red State Texas. The baggage is mounting. Time to execute a tactical retreat. Time to support the man who can meet and beat a Texas Republican Senator, fighting him toe to toe.

Lieutenant Colonel and Texas State Representative from District 145: Rick Noriega.

Larry Craig To Resign on Saturday

Just announced late today, Larry Craig’s spokesman said that his boss will make an announcement on his future tomorrow, Saturday September 1st. The content of the announcement was not released, but “GOP officials” told the AP wire service that Craig would announce his resignation.

This is strictly an in-house thing. Democrats, with the exception of maybe the bloggers, have been all but silent on the Larry Craig “shoe butting” incident last June 11th. Democrats asked themselves “Why make a saint out of him by attacking him?” His own party will do the job nicely, thank you.

As a senator from a state whose population is dominated by Latter Day Saints adherents, even the slightest hint that he has gay tendencies is like poisoning the well. He is unelectable in 2008, so rather than primary him in what could turn out to be a very embarrassing campaign for Craig – especially when gays seem to be coming out of the woodwork with gay stories about him – GOPers must have convinced him of his hopeless position.

I actually feel some sympathy for the guy even though, as a gay or bisexual man, he constantly voted against issues that would help gays and lesbians have better lives. What this teaches us is that being gay is not a choice to make. Being gay crosses political boundaries. As a Democrat, a gay person has fewer issues and problems with fellow Democrats, but the same cannot be said for a Republican gay. Hypocrisy is the end result.

And finally, while I am on the subject, as a heterosexual male, I strongly object when my fellow Democrats label gay Republicans “Grand Old Perverts”. Being gay is not a perversion, thank you very much, and as progressives, you should know better. And it’s not a choice as Texas senatorial candidate Mikal Watts would have you believe.

I hope someday Larry Craig will come to terms with his sexual orientation. Maybe it will be possible now without his having to satisfy the sexual sensibilities of Republican bigots.

Rick Noriega A Smash Hit at the SDEC Meeting in Austin Today.

No, I didn’t get to attend, but my good friend who tells me some good stuff from time to time did. Because she did not see any bloggers at the meeting she thought someone should know about what happened with regard to the appearances of the US Senatorial candidates at this meeting of the State Democratic Executive Committee.

So she phoned me from time to time.

I didn’t write anything down so this is all from memory.

She told me that on Friday evening she attended Mikal Watt’s party for SDEC members – no one was checking IDs.

As she was standing in line to get in she was talking to the lady in front of her and they introduced themselves to each other. She was so-and-so from Austin. But when she signed in the guest list sign-in, she provided a completely different name and city, Corpus Christi. Said she, “No one was giving their right names, Hal.”

The hospitality room was packed, she said. There was a table in the center piled high with food. A 9 year old girl was trying to hand out Watts campaign stickers at the door, and they also had name tags for every SDEC member as well. But my mole reports that no one in the room was wearing them.

As I said, the room was packed, the TV was on, and Watts was camped out on the far end of the room talking to the same 4 or 5 white men. Not moving around working the crowd. She reports that she was accosted several times by youngish probable college students who offered to fetch her a drink. She finally accepted the offer and asked for a glass of water. “But we have beer here,” one objected. But she just wanted water.

She observed several people loading food up on their plates, getting a second drink at the bar, and then going out the door to the elevator. Destination, the Hilton Bar and the Rick Noriega reception hosted by several SDEC members.

I did not hear very much about the Noriega reception. Just that the bar was packed and that Rick was moving around meeting and talking to everyone.

The next day, at the SDEC meeting, all three announced senatorial candidates were there and they were, all three of them, introduced to the members. Yes, even Emil Reichstadt was there. Reichstadt was actually the first to announce his candidacy but has been off the radar screens these past months.

So he is apparently still running.

He also, is apparently not getting much sleep. My source tells me that after he was introduced he took a seat on the back row of chairs and promptly fell asleep. Someone literally had to jump up and catch him before he fell out of his chair onto the floor.

But I am saving the best for last, naturally.

Each candidate stood up as they were introduced. Mikal Watts and Emil Reichstadt each got what my source called “polite applause”. But when Rick Noriega was introduced the applause, shouts, foot stomps and hoots nearly blew the roof off. Sue Schechter, Noriega’s campaign manager was visiting with my source minutes later, and my source tells me that Sue was almost speechless with surprise.

My source estimates that if an SDEC vote were held today, Rick Noriega would have gotten 75% of their votes, Sue, being maybe more of a Half Empty type, estimated 70%.

What became clear at that moment, and it should be no surprise but it was, was that Rick Noriega is the frontrunner Democratic candidate, not the disadvantaged progressive grassroots underdog as he is being painted. Rick Noriega is not just the people’s choice for the Democratic nominee to take on John Cornyn in November.

He is the choice of a broad spectrum of Democrats from Lefty to Centrist.

Rick Noriega: Frontrunner.

Help Us Say “Welcome Home Rick!”

You might know, if you truly are paying attention, that Rick Noriega has been off to Commander School these past couple of weeks. Not the best time to take a couple of weeks off but he left the campaign in the capable hands of his wife, Melissa, and his very able campaign manager, former Harris County Democratic Chair Sue Schechter.

But tonight he’s back home and tomorrow he’s off to Austin to attend the Texas Democratic Party’s SDEC hoedown.

I have three things to do on this posting. One, to clear up an ambiguity from the previous posting with regard to Mikal Watt$’ lavish, sumptuous and prolific hospitality suite party for the SDEC members. If you note from the quotation of Mikal’s message to my SDEC member friend, he doesn’t actually mention the day of the party, just the time.

The only clue as to the day it is to take place is that it was going to take place after the “christening of the new building”. Now I come to find out that the “christening” is to take place at 5 o’clock PM on Friday afternoon/evening. I wrote that the party would be on Saturday. I just assumed that it would be on the day of the meeting. Wrong. This caused some consternation among some Noriega bloggers who were confused because they were told that the SDEC members were throwing Rick’s “Meet and Greet” on Friday, not Saturday. I was told that, too, but forgot. Sorry, school startup is on my mind these days. So this makes all the sense in the world (and yes, Mikal’s party does conflict with the party that the SDEC members are throwing for Rick – as he intended it to).

And is it just me or is a boat "christened" and building is "dedicated"? Or is this just another Watts codeword for the evangelicals?

The second is to highlight something that I off-handedly mentioned in yesterday’s post. Have you noticed that in Rick’s case it’s the SDEC members who are throwing a party (albeit a cheaper one) for Rick, but in Watt$’ case, he’s throwing his own party? It’s tough when you have all the money. People expect you to pay for everything. When you don’t have all the money, supporters come out of the woodwork and do what they do best . . support.

Finally, thirdly, the last thing I wanted to do is to do, what I initially set out to do: Welcome Rick back. What better way to do it than ActBlue? Rick’s campaign reached its goal of a $20,000 total at the campaign ActBlue site, so now they’re raising the bar.

Another $5,000 before midnight tonight.

I just slapped down my contribution here. Now listen, people. I am a public school educator in Texas. That means I am one of the worst-paid teachers in the nation. If I can do this, so can you.

Watt$ To Grease the Wheels of SDEC Members This Weekend

That’s going to be his modus operandi. Spreading out the campaign cash that he has self-funded to grease some Texas politicians’ wheels, and this time get them greased at the same time. Mikal Watt$ has decided to throw a big party for SDEC members (and his consultant entourage) by hosting a hospitality room at the Hilton this Saturday evening in Austin. This is a regularly scheduled quarterly meeting of the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee to be held all day at the Hilton in Austin this Saturday.

How did I find out about Watt$’ party? He told me. Or rather, an SDEC member let me listen to the script that Watt$ left on his answering machine. That’s right I said script. I know when someone is reading a script because I have done it thousands of times and know how it sounds. Here’s what he said:

“Hey , Mikal Watts running for the US Senate. Hey, that’s not why I’m callin’ the reason I’m callin’ is I know that the SDEC is gettin’ together in Austin this weekend so I wanted to call yew and tell yew that our campaign is opening up a hospitality suite for yew guys . . . uh . . .we’ll open up at the Hilton there . . . uh . . .some time around seven, so that when everybody gets done with the christening of the new building . . . uh . . . we can all talk about all the good things that are happening there . . .uh . . . with the Democrats in Texas and I can git you up to speed on the campaign. I hope you’ll be there and look forward to seeing ya. Good-bye."

Get that? Free booze, probably some hors d’oeuvres, and . . . well . . . hospitality for a bunch of guys who are in town on their own dime – yep, there’s no money in being an SDEC member.

So the SDEC member and I were wondering who would outnumber whom at this hoedown, SDEC Committee members, or Watt$ fawning consultant entourage.

But here’s the real rub. Several SDEC members were going in together to host a “Meet and Greet” for Rick Noriega at the very same time. Hospitality rooms are pricey and they (remember, SDEC members are not paid to do this) decided to just take over the Hilton bar and have everyone come on down, buy some drinks and talk to the best, but not the richest, candidate for US Senate from Texas, Lt. Col and State Rep Rick Noriega.

I suspect that the Watt$ campaign caught wind of this long-planned event and decided to one-up these SDEC members in the best way he knows how, spending campaign cash and buying SDEC supporters.

So here’s what I say the SDEC members should do: go on up to Watt$ suite and meet the guy. Heck, on the phone he sounds like a nice enough guy – maybe the accent is a little forced – but there you go. Go and have a couple of drinks on Watt$ dime and take that second drink downstairs to the Hilton’s main bar where you can finish it, meet Rick, and mix with a true people-powered campaign.

Now if you think that Watt$ is pulling an underhanded ploy in creating this time conflict, why not say so with cash. Rick Noriega needs your monetary support so he can show Texas that the richest candidate for US Senate is not necessarily the best one. Go to ActBlue. Bring money.

Corny Hearts Watt$

I have a theory that I’d like to unfold for you here. I think that of the two Democratic candidates for US Senator from Texas, the two who have filed papers with the FEC, the junior Republican Senator from Texas, John “Corny” Cornyn would much prefer to run against Mikal Watt$ in November.

The idea started gelling as I watched Karl Rove go on three, count ‘em three Sunday news programs and turn questions about who among the Democrats will be the nominee into a deluxe version of Hillary bashing. He wouldn’t say “Boo” about 2nd in the polls Barack Obama. And it dawned on me why he was doing this: Rove, and nearly every Republican I have talked to about this, very much wants the Democratic nominee to be Hillary Clinton, because he thinks she among the field of 8 candidates, is beatable.

Likewise, Corny thinks that Watt$ is beatable.

The Republican hand that will be played if Watt$ is the nominee is the rich-liberal-trial-lawyer-who-drives-up-insurance-rates hand. Republicans just love that play. They’d rather deflect from the issues and go on personal attacks and assaults on personal integrity.

Mainly because on the issues, Republicans are universally holding the short straw.

But don’t just take my word for it. Republican Party of Texas state chair Tina Benkiser just sent out a letter to the party faithful (I didn’t get one) that was excerpted on the Chron Blog.

Benkiser writes:

"When it comes to trial lawyers, what you don't know will hurt you. Take, for instance, Democrat trial lawyer Mikal Watts, who's recently announced his Campaign to defeat our great friend, United States Senator John Cornyn."

"Mikal Watts may be unfamiliar to you now -- but as a liberal trial lawyer who has already spent more than $4 million of his personal fortune on his campaign -- his record proves he's not afraid to go into attack mode, and do or spend whatever it takes to win."

"Consider this:"

"Watts sued one of the world's largest automakers for millions of dollars, claiming that its product had caused serious injuries to occupants of the vehicle." "But when the facts of the case came to light -- Watts' clients had been driving from California to Texas, taking drugs all along the way -- Watts had to move for a mistrial! (source: http://www.overlawyered.com/)"

"I'm sure you'll agree the last thing Texas and America needs is another liberal trial lawyer -- armed with flimsy facts and skilled in telling half-truths -- in the U.S. Senate."

See what I mean? This is going to be the play and the Republicans are so enthralled with it that they came out months and months before the primary to give Mikal Watt$ lots and lots of press. Didn’t see Rick Noriega mentioned once, did you?

Corny will never mention Rick Noriega, mark my words. He will promote the candidacy of Mikal Watt$ because he has all the right negatives that are super big red buttons that Republicans push to get you to vote for their candidate.

In the months running up to the primary, you are going to see two groups of people putting Mikal Watt$’ name in front of the voters, the Watts Campaign Committee and the Cornyn Campaign Committee.

Cornyn is toast in a run against Rick Noriega. While a progressive Democrat, Rick Noriega has wide bipartisan appeal. I mentioned here that a Republican Hispanics for Noriega group has formed. Even Bob “Swift Boat” Perry is taken with Rick’s many fine qualities despite the fact that they probably disagree on many issues. Cornyn can’t attack Rick in the same terms as he can Watt$. It’s almost sad. His campaign will have to come up with out-and-out falsehoods and truth-stretching on Rick that will make them look very bad in today’s climate.

Want to tell the Repulicans that we Democrats are perfectly able to decide for ourselves who we want to run in our senatorial primary? Go and get your wallet and take out that credit card and drop a few bucks in Rick Noriega’s ActBlue website. They’re trying to get those numbers up to 20 large in two days. As I type this they have a goal to raise just under $8000 on that site in the next two days. You go be one of those that gets this done.

An Open Letter to Mikal Watts

Dear Mikal,

I just wanted to let you know that today the Fort Bend Democrats held a very successful fundraiser in the form of our annual garage sale. We received thousands of donated items from Democrats across the county and spent the previous 3 days furiously sorting, pricing and putting them on display for today’s sale.

Shoppers at first trickled in with the dawn, but as the morning progressed we were truly deluged with customers, and later a midsummer rain shower. But never fear, we Democrats learn from our past mistakes and this time held our garage sale indoors with the A/C a-roaring and fans a-blowing and a roof protecting the whole thing. So we stayed cool and dry.

As I say, Democrats learn from our past mistakes. Can anyone spell T-O-N-Y S-A-N-C-H-E-Z?

Anyway, as much as we raked it in, and as many customers who showed up to throw their money at us, we still have lots and lots of good stuff to sell. There just weren’t enough hours in the day to sell all the stuff we have, and at great prices, I might add.

So we decided to close it up and advertise for a repeat event next Saturday.

But you know, we are dead tired. We’ve been working for 4 days straight to get this thing put together and accomplished, and now we are faced with another day this next weekend (Saturday, August 25th 8 AM (hopefully, this time) to 3 PM). We’re tired and could use a little help. So here is what I am going to propose. How about getting that checkbook of yours out and writing a check to the Fort Bend Democrats, a check for . . . say . . . 10 large? If you do that then what we will do is take the whole kit and caboodle of highly saleable goods down to the Fort Bend Women’s Center, who maintains a thrift store to help fund their Women’s Shelter. It’s a Win-Win-Win situation. You’d be doing us a favor, you’d be doing the battered and abused women of Fort Bend County a favor, and you’d put a feather in the cap of your campaign. It would be worth some ink in the local press, don’t you think?

I’ll bet it would get more notice than buying roast beef lunches for Democrats in Victoria.

By the way, and as an aside. Strong hint for the future, to save cash: Democrats will gladly accept a tepid hot dog on a white bread bun slathered with mustard and relish. You don’t have to go overboard with them. Democrats think a hot roast beef lunch is more appropriate for a wake.

State Senator Hinojosa Comes Out For Watts – But At Watt Price?

Oh my goodness.

Someone sent to me a Kronberg report that had a virtual “avalanche of press releases” from Rio Grande Valley State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa that touts the self same State Senator’s heartfelt endorsement of Mikal Watts for US Senate from Texas.

I am so taken aback. How can a progressive Hispanic State Senator back the campaign of Mikal Watts? How so? How so?

I think maybe the hens coming home to roost, that is how so.

Mikal Watts, through his law firm, donated $14,000 dollars (and counting) to State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa’s campaign. If you don’t believe me then just go to the TEC website and look for yourself.

Money begets political alliances. And apparently Mikal Watts has plenty of both. Chuy needs to consider how it looks. Is Chuy another Mikal Watts bought and paid for drone?

Enquiring minds want to know.

On a personal note: Mikal, this is looking so very bad. Please consider doing the right thing here. Endorse LTC Rick Noriega for US Senator from Texas. He can win the race, and you can win also by supporting his candidacy.

Noriega: Watts Should Support His Candidacy

In an interview earlier this week in Edinburg, Texas, Rick Noriega suggested that Mikal Watts, who is also evaluating a run for US Senate to replace Bushite Senator John Cornyn, should stand aside.

“We both share the same goal, and that is to defeat an ineffective senator. I would hope to earn his support.”

Kos, wrote to this today on Daily Kos, suggesting that a contested primary is not necessarily a bad thing as it gets the candidate’s name in public for a longer period of time. That notwithstanding, I have always thought that contested primaries were drains on limited resources unless there were true ideological differences between the candidates. To me, except for Watts’ dim view of women’s abortion rights, and his use of anti-gay code words like “preferred alternative lifestyles,” the two candidates seem to have similar politics.

So that’s what makes this race seem so pointless. So wasteful. It would be better to concentrate time, energy, resources and wealth on the real opponent, the ideological opponent, John Cornyn.

And that is why Mikal Watts needs to take the long view, and not take the viewpoint of what Mikal Watts wants, but what is best for the people of Texas. The people of Texas need representation in the Senate. They don’t have that now. We have an opportunity next year to unseat a politically weak Republican, but to do that we need to put up our best man, the one with the best credentials, the one who has been there and done that.

That man is not Mikal Watts.

Mikal Watts has held no political office. He has no legislative experience whatsoever. His only strengths are that he is self-funding and that he has spent all of his time in courtrooms winning huge settlements from Ford Motor Corporation. These strengths are his chief liabilities. He will be open to charges, and not undeserved ones at that, of trying to buy a political office, and just another shark trying to get into a powerful club.

The man who Texas needs to run against John Cornyn is LTC and State Rep. Rick Noriega.

As Noriega himself says, Texas needs a candidate who has walked the walk, not just talked the talk. The latter is all that John Cornyn has done. Cornyn talks about building a wall. Noriega has been on the border enforcing the law, in full communication with those on the ground that know for a fact that building a wall won’t solve anything. Cornyn talks about supporting Bush and his war, Noriega spent 14 months in Afghanistan training the Afghan army to battle the al-Qaeda supporting Taliban. Cornyn stood for a photo op with Katrina emergency bungler Michael Chertoff while Noriega commanded the humanitarian effort at the George R. Brown Convention Center as thousands of Katrina evacuees streamed into the city of Houston.

It’s a powerful story and it’s one that will attract Texas voters of all political stripes. It is no wonder that during Noriega’s service for Katrina evacuees he was visited by none other than Bob “Swift Boat” Perry. Perry and Noriega do not see eye to eye politically, but that didn’t prevent Perry from saying to Rick’s son that his father was a hero. It’s that kind of appeal I am writing about. With Rick Noriega, it’s not just politics and money, it’s public service and experience. It’s about how he’s been there and done that.

And that’s why Mikal Watts needs to stand aside, and needs to endorse Rick Noriega’s candidacy. You could argue that in doing so, we lose Watts’ financial resources but that doesn’t have to be the case. There are many ways Watts can use his millions to help Texas turn blue. Financing a Get Out The Vote movement, especially the Hispanic vote, is one way. Or maybe even finance his own Swift Boat campaign against Cornyn, and it could be done without lying at all.

Bloggers all across Texas have endorsed Rick Noriega. I have yet to find a concentration of blog sites that show similar support to Watts. Now from what I can see, this isn’t because bloggers don’t like Watts, it’s just that they like Noriega more.

And that makes all the difference

Mikal Watts: Just Say No to Prostitution

OK, let’s see if I have all of this correct.

1. Texas Senator John Cornyn is vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.

2. Louisiana Senator David Vitter was outted as a subscriber to Deborah Jean Palfrey’s Pamela Martin Associates’ “services”. His phone number appears on her list of clients and this makes him a bad man, a very bad man.

3. Last week the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee to punish the senator for his misdeeds.

“Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said today, ‘Senator Vitter's solicitation of at least one prostitute was not merely, as he has stated, 'a serious sin,' it was a violation of criminal law.’ Sloan continued, ‘The Senate Ethics Committee should commence an investigation into Senator Vitter's conduct and hold him accountable.’”

4. Today, Mikal Watts issued a challenge to John Cornyn, a manifesto really, to “act” on this complaint. Excerpted from his press release, it goes like this:

“’David Vitter's actions are excessive even by Washington's standards under the current administration,’ Watts said. ‘Texans deserve a senator who will take a strong stand against corrosive corruption exemplified by lobbyist Jack Abramoff, disgraced former congressman Tom DeLay, and now David Vitter.’”

Oh my. This is a truly amazing vista. DeLay, Abramoff . . . and now . . . Vitter. Bribery, graft, nepotism, influence peddling . . . and now . . . paying for sex.

I personally have no problem with the world’s oldest profession. I DO have a problem with those who profess their devotion to Jesus and family values on one hand, and then skulk off to New Orleans to pay for a pickle tickle on the other. Vitter is outted as a hypocrite but that’s about it.

No one should be punished because they can’t get laid unless they pay for it. It happens. And it probably happens to Republicans far more often than it does Democrats, who, I have it on good authority, know how to party.

But now we have Mikal Watts wanting John Cornyn to “act” on the complaint. If David Vitter is guilty of hypocrisy, Mikal Watts is guilty of opportunism writ large. Who IS this guy? Jumping on Cornyn because of Vitter’s sexual dalliances is the height of insincerity. Texans don’t need an insincere opportunist representing us.

Frankly, we’re kind of tired of it and don’t really want to replace one such with another.

Texans are looking for honesty and integrity. They are looking for a record of service. Apparently, with regard to Watts, Texans have to look elsewhere.

There’s a guy who just announced this month that he is answering the call to serve. His name is Lt. Col. Rick Noriega, a Democratic member of the Texas House, and a proven public servant. If you want to say No to opportunism, say No to disingenuousness, then say Yes to Rick Noriega.

If you hate this feeble attempt at headline grabbing, and taking advantage of the pitiable attempts of a Louisiana Senator’s pursuit of some lovin’, why not ActBlue? Send a message to the Noriega camp, and to Watts. Contribute to the Texas netroots fund for Rick Noriega. The goal is 800 contributions by the end of the next reporting quarter.

Any amount will do, they’re not picky. If you are into symbolism, why not contribute what David Vitter would pay a DC prostitute for “the $20 special”.

Sundays Chron Article on Rick Noriega - A Must Read

On the eve of certain action toward establishing a Rick Noriega for US Senate exploratory committee, The Houston Chronicle published probably one of the most balanced articles on a Democratic candidate that I’ve seen in a long, long time.

It was almost like R.G. Ratcliffe bent over backwards and kissed the floor. Everyone got quoted. Even political consultants for both sides.

But what I wanted to pay attention to were the comments by Republican consultant and pollster Mike Baselice. I want to look really hard at this one because I am hoping to find out someday who Republicans want their incumbent to run against. That is, who do they think is the most vulnerable. The easiest one to defeat. This is going to be critical this time because John Cornyn’s numbers have gone south. Only his break with Bush on immigration issues keeps his approval ratings above 40%. I think I already know the answer to this, but it pays to keep checking.

Quoted from the Chron, here’s what Baselice said:

“Republican pollster Mike Baselice said it is not impossible but that Noriega will have a difficult time overcoming Watts' financial advantage in the primary.”

"’The Democratic primary is wide open, but, ultimately though, a guy with money who can tell the story on his terms ... has the advantage in a primary,’ Baselice said.”

“But he also noted that the underfunded Victor Morales won the Democratic U.S. Senate runoff in 1986 over U.S. Rep. John Bryant largely because of ethnic identity voting.”

So again, it’s about the money. Watts has money, Noriega has a surname ending in a vowel. Now don’t get me wrong, this appears to be solid observation on the part of a pollster, but isn’t it ever so nice to speak to Democrats about Watts’ money one more time, and to Republicans also?

By the way, that was a primary race in 1996 not 1986. Morales was the top vote getter in the primary, beating, three opponents, Bryant by 6%. And then in the runoff, Morales squeaked to a victory with 51.17% of the vote compared to Bryant’s 48.82%.

That was a little too close for comfort. Having a Hispanic surname only gets you so far, but it helps if you are in a low voter-turnout primary runoff I guess.

But I digress.

Sure, Watts has got the money to run a fully funded mass media campaign. Many say that is his greatest strength. No need to spend so much time in fundraising activities. He’s also got lots of people who owe him big time for his past campaign contributions. All of it goes back to Watts’ money. His main asset in the primary, his main liability in a general election.

Well that and something that I found out today. Watts once sued Anheuser-Busch. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Watts sued beer.

Vowel . . .money. Money . . . vowel. It brings up an interesting question. One that I thought I’d never ask, but this is Texas and Texas “ain’t like other foreign countries”, like my friend Susan is fond of saying.

I wonder how many millions of dollars that little “a” is worth?

Letters on Mikal Watts for Chief Justice.

I got a few responses on my Mikal Watts for Texas Court of Appeals Chief Justice post. Mostly they deal with the fact that Mikal lives in San Antonio and the job I want him to try for is in Austin.

Sometimes the job that is made for you isn’t where you are. That’s a fact of life.

Here’s a message I received today, echoing the same comments as the others:

“The Third Court of Appeals is based in Austin and hears appeals from the trial courts in Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Coke, Comal, Concho, Fayette, Hays, Irion, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, McCulloch, Milam, Mills, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Sterling, Tom Green, Travis, and Williamson counties.”

”The Fourth Court of Appeals is based in San Antonio and hears appeals from the trial courts in Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Brooks, Dimmit, Duval, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, La Salle, Mason, Maverick, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Real, Starr, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, Wilson, Zapata, and Zavala counties.”

I know. Apparently we read the same web pages.

In shopping for an appropriate job for Mikal, I started in Bexar County, but didn’t want to settle for a mere judge or associate justice spot. Mikal’s got too much talent for that. No it’s chief justice or nothing. In the 4th, Chief Justice Alma Lopez is up for re-election in 2008, but she’s a Democrat so the work is done there.

In the neighboring 3rd district, the incumbent is a Republican. A do-nothing Republican. He says in his own bio that the Chief Justice writes the opinions of the court. OK, if so, take a look at who writes the opinions. Anyone but him.

No, we need a Democrat in that spot. A young energetic Democrat. I think Mikal Watts was made for this position, and it was made for him.

Draft Mikal Watts for Chief Justice of the 3rd Court of Appeals!