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Volume XI Number 13 - June 11, 2012     RSS Feed   

A Periodic Newsletter for Committed Texas Conservatives

In This Issue

Obama Economy Still Stagnant, Unemployment A Critical Problem

Runoffs For Texas, A Look At The US Senate Battle: A TCR Analysis

What Past Turnout Tells Us About November 2012

RPT Chair and Vice-Chair Reelected

Robert (Bob) H. Cunningham, Jr. RIP

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Gary Polland
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Thoughts This Fortnight

Obama Economy Still Stagnant,
Unemployment A Critical Problem

While the "official" unemployment rate is 8.2%, which in and of itself is not good. If we use the classic definition that the government used before Bill Clinton and include workers who have given up job seeking, according to Shadow Statistics, the real rate is an astounding 22.7%!

Now the president is asking for patience and more time for his economic program to work. We are out of patience! He has given us his bigger government, runaway spending, and solutions that have failed.

Obama will not change so we need a new leader for America. Mitt Romney will be a major upgrade.

Runoffs For Texas
A Look At The US Senate Battle: A TCR Analysis

It is hard to believe, but for a number of candidates the primary season continues until the end of July! There are a number of key races around the state and in our home Harris County. They are lead by the U.S. Senate battle between David Dewhurst and "Ted" Cruz.

This is an interesting race because some GOPers have either forgotten or don't know there is only one conservative in the race with a proven record, David Dewhurst. Why you say? TCR says, just the facts please. Dewhurst is a product of a widowed mother, who grew up without advantages, who worked hard and got an education, joined the Air Force, served in the CIA, pre-politics he was and still is a successful oil and gas businessman who has created private sector jobs, as a civilian was a leader in the pro-life, pro-family, pro-Israel movement, as Land Commissioner he improved efficiency and cut spending, so he is a proven administrator, as Lt. Governor he has supported and passed 51, YES 51, reductions in taxes and fees, and has balanced 5 state budgets making tough choices of where to reduce government spending. He has a solid record as a social conservative, and he is part of the leadership team that has created an atmosphere where Texas has created more jobs than all the other 49 states combined.

His opponent, Ted Cruz, is a fine and articulate appellate lawyer who has NO record independent of his law practice and his work at the direction of Attorney General Greg Abbott. Do we really know what Ted believes at his core? The truth is, lawyers represent clients for money and they don't necessarily agree with their clients positions they advocate for and that is why we don't really know what we have here. Is Cruz a proven conservative as he ceaselessly shouts all over the state? We won't really know until he has a record independent of his practice.

That's why for conservatives, the choice should be easy. Dewhurst the workhorse conservative deserves our vote because we can trust him, based on his record. Cruz at this point is more of a show horse and he has not earned our vote at this time, based on his record.

What Past Turnout Tells Us About November 2012

If we study past turnout history it gives us guidance as to what may happen this year.

For example, in Harris County the last three general election cycles are informative. In 2006, the Democrats led straight ticket voting 50.9% to the GOP's 48.04% with a margin of 7,000 votes. Because the Democrats failed to contest a lot of countywide races they did not benefit. In 2008 when President Obama won Harris County, the Democratic straight pull was 52.94% and the GOP 46.51% and the Democrats with a full ticket had a great year. The margin in straight tickets for the Democrats was 48,000 votes out of a total vote of 739,424. The GOP narrowly won two of the three key races, District Attorney Pat Lykos by a sliver (under 5000 votes) and more handily for County Judge (Ed Emmett) by 70,000 and Tax Assessor Paul Bettencourt by 60,000.

In 2010 the GOP rebounded as overall turnout slipped to 534,450 and the GOP won the straight ticket pull 54.33% to 45% and won every countywide race. The GOP straight ticket margin was 49,876.

For 2012 the big question is turnout size and who can win the straight pull battle. It seems a larger turnout favors a bigger straight Democratic pull. It seems the GOP has its work cut out to turnout its vote in November. Complacency is a major mistake because what the past has taught us is this county is in play and he and she who work the hardest, can and will win.

One other interesting statistic, the percentage of straight ticket voters is going up from 47.67% in 2006 to 62.2% in 2008 and 66.89% in 2010 and if the trend continues, 70% in 2012!

RPT Chair and Vice-Chair Reelected

The wise delegates to the 2012 Texas Republican Convention reelected Steve Munisteri and Melinda Fredricks as Republican Party of Texas Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Their leadership has reinvigorated the state party across Texas and we are proud of their focused determination to keep our party moving forward. We said when he was elected that Steve Munisteri brings a lot to the table and that there is a lot the state party can and must do, and he delivered.

Robert (Bob) H. Cunningham, Jr. RIP

Bob worked tirelessly in the GOP for many years. He held many positions in the GOP since 1960, including Precinct Chair; also served as Chairman of Senatorial District 17; special advisor to the Harris County Chairman, Jared Woodfill, served on many committees at the District & State level. He was awarded a Lifetime Service Award from the Harris County Republican Party. Read more.


TCR on the Air

Red, White & Blue featuring TCR Editor Gary Polland and liberal commentator David Jones, Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and replaying Sundays at 5:00 p.m. on PBS Houston Channel 8 and on the web at www.houstonpbs.org.

Upcoming shows:
06/15/12: Texas 2012: The Best of Times Or Worst of Times?

For a fun feature go to www.houstonpbs.org and under Red White and Blue, you can see commentary about the show and its guests by Gary and David each week. The current show as well as past shows are also available on YouTube.

About Your Editor

Gary Polland is a long-time conservative and Republican spokesman, fund-raiser, and leader who completed three terms as the Harris County Republican Chairman. During his three terms, Gary was described as the most successful county Chairman in America by Human Events - The National Conservative Weekly. He is in his fourteenth year of editing a newsletter dealing with key conservative and Republican issues. The last eleven years he has edited Texas Conservative Review. As a public service for the last 8 years, Gary has published election guides for the GOP primary, general elections and city elections, all with the purpose of assisting conservative candidates. Gary is also in his ninth year of co-hosting Red, White and Blue on PBS Houston. Gary is a practicing attorney and strategic consultant. He can be reached at (713) 621-6335.

© 2012 Texas Conservative Review
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