Here’s a roundup of coverage of the Texas Senate candidate debate I liveblogged on Friday:
Roundup of Senate Debate Coverage
April 17th, 2012If You Haven’t Finished Your Taxes…
April 16th, 2012…or filed an extension, now would be a Real Good Time to do so.
Remember: Tax fraud is best left to the professionals.
Liveblog of the April 13, 2012 Texas Senate Debate
April 13th, 2012Well, I’ve already been distracted by shiny objects, so I guess I’ll close this out. David Dewhurst was a very poor candidate tonight, and he better hope that not too many Republican voters were watching…
Leppert doesn’t excite the base (with some reason), but he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes either. You can see why he’s hanging around, but a Republican primary doesn’t play to his strengths.
To win, Cruz has to take the fight to Dewhurst, but in tonight’s debate he did it in a way that seemed too programmed and strident. Leppert’s “I’m not a lawyer” line may be a transparent dig at Cruz, but it still comes across as more subtle than some of Cruz’s attacks on Dewhurst. Cruz needs to pull back a little, be a bit less programmed, and a bit more spontaneous.
This debate left a lot to be desired from an organizational standpoint. I appreciate a full hour without commercial interruptions, but the “Here are some polling numbers, how can you possibly oppose them” questions were dumb even by the very slack standards of liberal MSM journalism.
Cruz didn’t win the debate, but Dewhurst certainly lost it. He got worse as the night went on. No wonder he avoids debates. He doesn’t think well on his feet, and he wasn’t prepared for some very obvious questions.
All three of the other candidates had both good and bad moments. Cruz is a good debater, but, as I’ve said before, his decision to always go back to his stock answers was a mistake. He did well on the Cuba question, but I think he would have done better answering the questions straight without always trying to use them to attack Dewhurst
James probably raised his stock more than the others by simply being no worse than Leppert or Cruz. His final speech tried to cram too much in too hard.
Leppert was polished, and came across as reasonable, but his answers tended to allude to positions that were too detailed to cover in the debate format.
James: Apartment boy eviction notice mayonnaise sandwich life story. (Impassioned speech, a little strong.)
Cruz: Attacks Dewhurst. “We need strong conservatives.” Record of conservative.
Leppert: Attacks Dewhurst, attacks Cruz.
Dewhurst: Most conservative Lt. Gov. (Big pause.) Life story. (He’s gotten worse as the debate has gone on.)
Slater brings up the budget-cutting question on Dewhurst. Shouldn’t you cut it in good times.
Dewhurst: Cut state spending. I cut state spending 2003, 11, 12, 13.
(Man, even I’m wincing in sympathy for Dewhurst on this.)
Dewhurst: General revenue decline 10.7%
Asking Cruz the Cuba dictator question.
Cruz: Knocks the question out of the park. DMN retracted.
Hmmm. Washington Mutual question for Leppert.
Leppert: (Very slightly rattled, but recovers quickly.) WAMU’s problems were already in place, and mandated. (Then dances away for his businessman shtick.)
SA reporter on gay civil unions. (Clip of James opposing gay marriage.)
James: All of us will be accountable to God. I do support marriage between a man and woman.
SA Reporter: You’re letting your faith get in the way of (following some liberal poll)
James (doesn’t back down)
Leppert to Dewhurst: You raised more lobbyist money than Nancy Pelosi and (didn’t catch), (And…was there an actual question.)
Dewhurst: Rambling answer “I’ve always done what is right”???????
Cruz To Leppert: Dewhurst wage tax? Did Dewhurst cut or increase the budget?
Leppert: I might as well let you ask the question to Dewhurst. (knives Cruz about his career as a lawyer) To you business is academic, to me it’s a living.
Dewhurst: I have always opposed a state income tax. The facts are wrong. Fed vs. Texas dollars.
James to Cruz: Why didn’t you support Santorum.
Cruz: Santorum is a great conservative. But I wanted to let the voters decide. We need strong conservatives to take the Senate.
Dewhurst just had a senior moment asking whether Craig James would support Cornyn.
James: I’ll support anyone who supports the constitution and the 10 Commandments. (But he would support Cornyn.)
Cruz: I said it would be premature of me, but DeMint, Rand Paul, Pat Toomey all support me.
Candidates ask other candidates questions.
Reporter: 85% love this cherry-picked issue!
Leppert: Don’t invite the government in. (Then talks about how the government manages various sub-issues.)
Cruz: I don’t support then as mandates from the government. TAANSTAFL. Every mandate drives up the cost of health care to buy votes. (Cruz was about to hit a home run, and then went back to the European Dewhurst hit, and turned it into a triple.)
Dewhurst: I’m running for the senate, my opponents are running against David Dewhurst. We got the best stuff, but we can do better. (An ideologically incoherent answer.)
Austin reporter: Here are all the ways that ObamCare is awesome via this narrowly tailored polls.
James: 26 year olds love those provisions because Obama has destroyed the economy. (straddle)
Dewhurst: Democrats talk about more services. Improve health care outcomes and save money. (Revenge of the Vagues.) Ummm, uhhhh. Look at the cost.
James: Opposes the wall, supports sending troops to the border. Wall is not practical, (Oppose his answer, but I give him points for floating an answer that swims against conservative consensus.)
Dewhurst: Supports wall in some spots, but not all. Triple border patrol, a job program for returning vets. (?)
Leppert: (Ducks wall issue) Secure borders, put accountability in the system. Ask border guys what they need. Washington should supply the tools they want. (Don’t think that’s workable answer.)
Border wall question: Do you support?
Cruz: Yes. Triple border patrol. Opposed to amnesty. (Then the attack on Dewhurst.)
Dewhurst: I’ve always opposed amnesty. Cutting in line is wrong. (This concise format does not favor Dewhurst.)
Cruz: Dewhurst assigned bills to liberal democratic committee chairman. Washington plays this game all the time.
James: If an employer doesn’t want tor provide it, they shouldn’t be forced to. (The I’m a businessman schtick)
Reporter: (Liberal talking points on how mandated contraceptives are awesome)
James: It’s about freedom. And Democrats want us to talk about contraceptives rather than jobs.
Dewhurst: Opposes, talks about all the doctors he’s talked to, relatives, etc. Comes across even more scripted than Cruz.
Dewhurst: I’ve always supported, uh, permissive, free market alternatives
Cruz: No on contraception, violates religious freedom, is unconstitutional. (Cruz does have a tendency to go to his standard answers, which he does at the end here.)
San Antonio reporter: Contraception mandate.
Leppert: “The government was trumping individual freedom.”
Reporter: Required to mandate?
Leppert: No. Let patients and doctors make decisions.
James: Leave it to the military. (James is very good in this shorter format.)
James: Need major entitlement reform. MSAs, “This is working for middle class.” (sic)
Cruz: Fundamental entitlement reform, defense reform. (Then back to his points on Dewhurst increasing the Texas budget.)
Dewhurst: I’ve cut it 7-8 times, billions and billions of dollars, inflation + population growth.
Leppert: Rely on our armed forces, get congress out of it. Not questions here, detailed proposals.
Dewhurst: Opposed to the cuts Obama has proposed. Reform procurement.
So far the candidates are clashing more with the panelists than each other.
Dewhurst isn’t great, but so far he’s not awful.
Screw you, panelist, or the yes or no question. You suck
Panelist: Deficit. Cut defense? (no hands)
Cruz: Pork yes, defense no.
Poor job running the panel.
Mod: 1 minute answer, 30 second rebuttal.
Leppert: Why not debate? But the issue is a distraction.
Mod: Why haven’t you shown up?
David: I’ve shown up at a half dozen (Actually bout 3-LP) I have my campaign to run.
James: “Put me in an awkward position. It was unethical. I agree conceptual with Ted, because David hasn’t been showing up.”
Back to the Cruz text message before the debate.
Cruz: “I’m glad Craig got my text. Lt. Gov has chosen to skip 32 candidate forums. Leppert, James, and I attended. Not rigging.”
#belodebate on Twitter.
Just starting. Starting the debate with mention of the Cruz-James text issue.
Just waiting for the debate to start.
Tonight I’ll be liveblogging the debate between Ted Cruz, David Dewhurst, Tom Leppert, and Craig James at 7 PM.
Texas Senate Race Update for April 12, 2012
April 12th, 2012Reminder: I will be liveblogging the Texas Senate debate here tomorrow at 7 PM. Feel free to drop by for insightful commentary, snarky asides, and no doubt a veritable cavalcade of deeply embarrassing typos.
Now this week’s Senate race news:
George Will Makes the Case for Drug Legalization
April 12th, 2012Or, to be more specific, George Will summarizes the same case made in Mark Kleiman, Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken’s Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know. It focuses on the sheer economic idiocy of continuing the War on Drugs:
A $200 transaction can cost society $100,000 for a three-year sentence. And imprisoning large numbers of dealers produces an army of people who, emerging from prison with blighted employment prospects, can only deal drugs. Which is why, although a few years ago Washington, D.C., dealers earned an average of $30 an hour, today they earn less than the federal minimum wage ($7.25).
I oppose the War on Drugs for reasons of general principles (it’s not the purpose of government to save people from themselves), the specific application of constitutional federalism (the Commerce Clause should not apply to the regulation of drugs manufactured and sold within the confines of a single state), and for reasons of budgetary philosophy (making drugs illegal has expanded the size and power of the federal government while increasing the budget deficit; legalizing, regulating and taxing drugs would reduce both the deficit and the harm to individuals and society). Frankly, I’d be for the immediate legalization of methamphetamine tomorrow if it meant we could stop ID-ing people with colds trying to buy Sudafed.
There has been slow but steady progress in the conservative movement for saner drugs laws, from William F. Buckley arguing for the decriminalization of marijuana, to National Review declaring that “The War on Drugs is Lost” in 1996, to Republican Presidential candidates like Ron Paul and Gary Johnson (who, like Paul once did, bolted for a doomed Libertarian Party run) making the same case.
Despite growing sentiment, almost no legislative headway has been made on the issue because there’s no consensus in the Republican Party (or the American people) for that change. When an initiative for the total legalization of marijuana fails in California (though poor wording helped contribute to the defeat), where can it succeed? But the lack of a consensus for legalization is no reason to avoid fighting for saner laws at the state or national level or trimming funding for the DEA.
Another question is how come we never hear anything about legalization from the supposedly pro-freedom Democratic leadership? If Obama, an admitted recreational drug user in his youth, has ever made a speech as President supporting legalization or decriminalization of any drugs, it’s evaded my attention. Indeed, not only does he not support decriminalization, he’s actively hostile to the idea.
George Will thinks more seriously and clearly than Barack Obama on the issue of drug legalization. Then again, the first ten words in the preceding sentence are pretty much true all the time,,,
Ted Cruz Raises $1.3 million in Q1, Dewhurst $1.6 million
April 12th, 2012The Ted Cruz campaign announced that they raised $1.3 million in campaign funding in Q1, which is up $200,000 from his Q4 numbers. I was a bit disappointed in his Q4 numbers, thinking he should have had more of a bump from his National Review cover appearance, but his Q1 number is actually more impressive, given how long this campaign has dragged on, indicating that the Cruz campaign is still building momentum.
David Dewhurst raised raised $1.66 million in Q1, which was slightly up from the $1.54 million he raised in Q4. Dewhurst, as most predicted, continues to lead the money race, but not by as much as anticipated.
Now the big question is how much of Dewhurst’s own money he dropped in for Q1…and how much he’ll drop in for Q2.
Liveblogging the Texas Senate Debate Friday, April 13, 7 PM
April 11th, 2012I’m livebloggiong the debate here.
This is announcement that I will be attempting to liveblog the Texas Senate debate happening this Friday, April 13, at 7 PM CDT.
Some of the things I’ll be looking at most keenly:
As for Senate debate drinking games, sip every time:
Chug when:
Some Texas Counties Have More Registered Voters Than Vote-Eligable Citizens
April 9th, 2012According to this article in the Houston Chronicle, “Sixteen small counties across Texas appear to have more registered voters on their rolls as of 2010 than qualified citizens of voting age.”
In a completely unrelated story, the Obama Administration opposes Texas’ voter ID act. I’m sure this is a highly principled stand that has nothing to do with making it easier for illegal aliens to vote.
Interestingly, six of those sixteen counties (Brooks, Culberson, Duval, Kenedy, Maverick, Presidio) were among the 28 Texas counties Obama won in 2008.
As the icing on top of the voter fraud cake, here’s James O’Keefe (who you may know from such classics as ACORN’s Hardest Working Pimp) obtaining Eric Holder’s ballot.
And the cherry? “I’ll be back faster than you can say furious.”
LinkSwarm for April 9, 2012
April 9th, 2012A LinkSwarm to start your day with:
RIP: Artist Thomas Kinkade, Dead at 54
April 8th, 2012Painter Thomas Kinkade has died at age 54. Kinkade was the extraordinarily popular “artist of light” who managed to turn himself into a franchise, opening up mall stores to sell reproductions of his paintings.
This was the sort of thing he did:
Pleasant enough, but not my cup of tea. Then again, I’m not really into landscape paintings per se, and the small amount of art I do have on my walls tends to come out of the science fiction and fantasy genre (like this Ned Dameron piece for Stephen King’s Dark Tower series). But the main reason I’m bringing up his death here is his position on the fault line of the culture wars, because Kinkade was absolutely despised by bi-coastal liberal urban elites. I can think of few things more unfashionable for a Manhattanite than declaring that they love Thomas Kinkade’s work. Personally I have a hard time thinking of any art work I hate enough to dedicate an entire blog to tearing it down, but Kinkade seemed to bring out the same instinctual, irrational loathing in them that Sarah Palin does.
There are likely several reasons he’s so loathed. Part of it is the fact that he was a technically competent, representational artist who strove to make his paintings pretty in an age which devalues all of those attributes in comparison to “authenticity.” Part of it was his success, his ability to sell signed reproductions of work he touched up with highlights for tens of thousands of dollars that no doubt infuriated starving artists in lofts across Greenwich Village.
But most of all, I think Thomas Kinkade was hated because he was liked by the wrong kinds of people. He was a favorite of the loathsome Lumpenproletariat of flyover country, the people who had the bad taste to work with their hands, live in Suburbia, believe in God and vote Republican. (Kinkade himself was not shy about professing his Christian beliefs, which probably infuriated his critics all the more.)
Here’s a fine example: “Kinkade and the culture that supports him… same thing as Bush. Same thing as Enron. Crooks masquerading as religious men… fool the masses of totally ignorant and self-absorbed Christians… and make millions.”
Many hated Kinkade overtly for having different personal or artistic values than them, but some probably hated him just because everyone else hated him; they hated Kinkade because all their hip friends hated Kinkade in the same way they all read The New York Times and voted for Obama. It’s just what’s expected of them.