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CURRENT EDITION - Volume III Number 3 - March 4, 2004
A Periodic Newsletter for Committed Texas Conservatives


In This Issue

The 2004 Primary

Some Conservatives Who Deserve Your Support

Other Key Races Statewide and in Harris County

Out of Control Spending

Some Facts about John Kerry

What's Ahead

Hard Hitting
Conservative Commentary
 
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Gary Polland
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The 2004 Primary
Why it is Important for Texas and America

Many pundits are projecting a relatively low turnout for the Texas GOP primary on March 9th but TCR believes that it is critical for conservatives to turnout and show our support for qualified, conservative candidates.

There are two more reasons we may be facing a low turnout. (1) There are very few competitive races for high profile offices, and (2) There is no referendum on the ballot for such critical issues as property tax limitation and the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. (Texas Republicans had an opportunity to impact the former and latter but for some strange reason declined.)

Despite the lack of interest the primaries will help shape our next legislature, influence the control and direction of the next Congress and determine some critical judicial races.

In many cases, the primary will determine the November winner. That means a small percent of the electorate will select members of Congress and the legislature. For conservatives, these past few years prove again the old adage - who we elect affects what kind of legislature and congress we get. Will it be business as usual: where the conservative agenda make little progress (See Congress the last few years) or do we advance our agenda like we did in the legislature? Your vote could determine the outcome.

One thing is very clear to TCR, business as usual accomplishes nothing. If we send more Congressmen who will go along to get along we will get more runaway pork barrel spending, continued lack of support for our conservative judges, more retreat in the cultural war and an out of control immigration policy.

In reviewing the choices for the March 9th Republican Primary - TCR has used a comprehensive criterion: First and foremost, does the candidate exhibit principled conservative leadership? Second, has the candidate shown success and integrity in their chosen career? Third, it is a goal of the candidate to get things done and not become part of the establishment? Fourth, does the candidate have widespread support of the conservative leadership around Texas? Fifth, does the candidate follow Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican"? Sixth, does the candidate have a history of standing up for their beliefs, even in the face of criticism from the media and others? and Seventh, their ability to be competitive in November.

In addition to the aforementioned, on March 9th vote your conscience and please vote conservative. TCR has consulted with many key conservatives in Texas to make sure we present you with the most qualified conservative candidates.

Some Conservatives Who Deserve
Your Support Next Week

Given our high standards and state-wide focus we will not endorse in every race but we will in every critical race.

The must important races this year are for Congress - Texas being the key to holding the U.S. House of Representatives.

  • CD1 - Wayne Christian - A long time conservative State Representative who's earned a promotion.
  • CD2 - Ted Poe - Very seldom do conservatives have the chance to send to D.C. an outstanding, principled conservative leader who is not afraid to stand up. TCR has known Judge Poe for 25 years and seen him in action in D.C., Austin, Beijing, Moscow etc - he is a rock solid dynamic conservative leader we need in D.C. He'll start day one as a special conservative asset. There is a reason national conservative Stalwarts like Gary Bauer are backing him. An easy choice and the one candidate who can beat a tough Nick Lampson.
  • CD3 - Sam Johnson - Keep a great conservative Congressman.
  • CD4 - Ralph Hill - an old conservative but a new Republican - let's keep him in D.C.
  • CD7 - John Culberson - Incumbent with a lot of new voters, a Jeffersonian conservative who stands with his principles, happily they're usually ours too.
  • CD10 - Ben Streusand - In the CD 10 race TCR has taken a long look at the field and been part of interviews with a number of them. In a close call, TCR recommends GOP activist and businessman Ben Streusand over John Devine and the others. Streusand brings so many strengths to the race and has consistently stood up for key conservatives and our issues and is clearly the leader going into the run-off.
  • CD11 - Mike Conaway - Midland based conservative who will fit in with the conservative Texas delegation. Also it's time Midland finally gets a Congressman.
  • CD17 - Arlene Wohlgemuth - A proven conservative leader in the legislature who has stood up against the politically correct ones. Club for Growth has targeted Arlene as the key race in Texas. (Note: Ted Poe is a close number two.)
  • CD24 - Kenny Marchant - Long time conservative State Representative is the choice here and no one else is close.
  • CD31 - John Carter - Incumbent conservative, former judge - he's been solid and deserves to be sent back to D.C.

Other Key Races

  • Railroad Commission - Victor Carrillo - He's done a good job and deserves another term.
  • Texas Supreme Court - Steven Wayne Smith - TCR knows he beat X. Rodriguez two years ago - but this election should be based on his record. He is a solid conservative who has not and never will legislate from the bench. Also, he is a hero for taking on quotas.
  • Court of Criminal Appeals - (Larry Meyers, Cheryl Johnson, Michael Keasler -) all incumbents, all better choices than their opponents in these important but low profile races.
  • 14th Court of Appeals PL9 - Judge Eva Guzman is a hardworking Judge and a hard worker for the GOP. Her opponent is a perennial candidate who should keep practicing law.

A Few Critical Harris County Races

  • House District 132 - Bill Callegari
  • House District 133 - Joe Nixon
  • House District 137 - Lee Zieben
  • Harris County Sheriff - Tommy Thomas
  • Justice of the Peace Pct. 1 PL. 1 - J. Kent Adams
  • Constable Pct. 4 - Ron Hickman

Out of Control Spending
It Must be Stopped

Conservatives believe in limited government. It seems in Washington too many of our Congressmen and Senators "grow" in office, which means become more liberal. This has got to stop, so what to do?

First, take a look where our money goes. The U.S. budget breakdown shows: 21.3% social security, 12.1% for Medicare, 7.8% Medicaid, 7.4% interest on the debt - that's 48.6% of the entire budget for health and interest! What is scary is that both are on an upward trajectory.

Congressman Chris Cox and Congressional Candidate Judge Ted Poe are both supporting the "Spending Control Amendment" based on Colorado's highly successful 1992 constitutional spending limit which caps tax revenue at the past years level adjusted for inflation and population growth and any surpluses are refunded. The plan has worked. If additional spending is desired, a 2/3 majority vote would be required to pass it.

This is not a swipe at President Bush - God knows he has his hands full. TCR, like many conservatives, is supporting the President and encouraging a course correction in the discretionary spending area. This will help motivate the base who will turn out in November and help the President to victory.

Some Interesting Facts about John Kerry

  • One of only 17 Senators who voted against the pro-family Defense of Marriage Act.
  • The number one Senator for special interest PAC donations.
  • He endorsed the privately negotiated "Geneva Beilin" deal where Israel is left exposed to its fundamentalist Islamic enemies.
  • He used to hang out and denounce America together with "Hanoi Jane" Fonda.
  • He supported Mike Dukakis' furlow program for felons - remember Willie Horton?
  • Kerry wants Carter, Clinton or Baker to handle the Middle East peace process - he is either naive or ignorant.
  • He is more extreme than Hillary and Kucinich: Among the White House wannabes, long-shot Rep. Dennis Kucinich has the reputation of holding the most left-wing congressional voting record. In fact, this "honor" goes to Kerry. According to American Conservative Union, Kerry has a lifetime rating of 6 percent, compared to 13 for Rep. Dick Gephardt, 14 for Sen. John Edwards, 15 for Kucinich and 19 for Sen. Joe Lieberman. In comparison Sen. John Breaux, one of the upper chamber's few remaining moderate Domocrats, has a 46.
  • Recall when John Kerry returned to the States, he began protesting against the Vietnam War. He stated there never was a communist threat in Vietnam and he joined a group called "Vietnam Vets against the War." This group eventually abandoned him because the members realized that he was using their cause as a platform for his own personal gain.
  • John Kerry blocked "The Vietnam Human Rights Act," (HR-2833) which gave Hanoi the green light to ignore violations of human rights with the blessing of the United States.
  • Mr. Special Interest Kerry as head of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs in 1992, pushed vigorously to normalize relations with Vietnam. Collier's International, (based in Boston) was awarded the exclusive contract to rebuild Vietnam's infrastructure by the Vietnamese government. They made lots of money from the contract. The CEO of Collier's International was a man named C. Stewart Forbes. Kerry's middle name is Forbes. Stewart Forbes is John Kerry's cousin - small world.
  • Senator Kerry says he is in full support of our intelligence gathering capabilities but his voting record says otherwise. In 94/95, Kerry proposed a bill to gut $1.5 billion from intelligence and freeze spending for two major intelligence programs-the National Foreign Intelligence Program and Tactical Intelligence Program. (S.1826)
  • He has voted to cut $80 million from the FBI budget. (HR-2076)
  • In 1997, Kerry felt that there were no threats to the United States, and said "Now that the [Cold War] struggle is over, why is it that our vast intelligence apparatus continues to grow even as government resources for new and essential priorities fall far short of what is necessary?" (Congressional Record, 5/1/97, p. S3891) and then twelve days after 9/11, Senator Kerry hypocritically stated "And the tragedy is, at the moment, that the single most important weapon for the United States of America is intelligence. We are weakest, frankly, in that particular area. So it's going to take us time to be able to build up here to do this properly." (CBS's "Face the Nation," 9/23/01) After spending years trying to lay waste to our intelligence capabilities, succeeding at times, and failing at times, he now preaches about how our intelligence community was negligent. Give me a break.

About Your Editor

Gary Polland is a long time Republican spokesman, fund-raiser and leader who recently completed three terms as the Harris County Republican Chair. During his time as Chairman, Gary was described as the most successful county Chairman in America by Human Events. For six years, Gary put out a bi-weekly newsletter which he has continued due to requests from many Republican activists.

Tune in Thursday Nights - Houston Warner Cable channel 17 for Texas Politics-The Real Deal with co-hosts David Jones and Gary Polland, awarded Cable T.V. personalities of the year by the Houston Press.

© 2004 Texas Conservative Review

The Texas Conservative Review is published as a public service by Gary Polland
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