Texas Democratic Candidates Visit the Hill Country

My wife and I drove down to Canyon Lake Ranch in Canyon Lake, Texas (in Comal County) for an event hosted by the Hill Country Democrats. Many of the statewide candidates were at the event as well as some local candidates. We heard Fred Head (candidate for Comptroller of Public Accounts) talk about the job of the Comptroller of Accounts and his experience as a state representative, including serving on the Legislative Budget Board. Maria Luisa Alvarado (candidate for Lt. Governor) talked about the Republican culture of corruption and her request that we all pledge to get five new voters to the polls. David Van Os (candidate for Attorney General) called from Austin where his wife was feeling poorly to apologize that he couldn't attend. Hank Gilbert (candidate for Agricultural Commissioner) definitely got our attention with his speech.

I have to spend a little more time on this guy. He said that Ag Commissioner has been a place for Republicans to groom their rising stars (Gov. Good Hair started as Ag Commish). However, the people who have been elected haven't known a damn thing about agriculture. He said that one previous guy was "about as useless as tits on a boar hog" and that the guy running now was a prick when he knew him in high school and is still a prick. Hank doesn't pull any punches, needless to say. Once he got our attention with that, though, he let us know that he knew agriculture. Hank taught high school agriculture, grew up on a ranch that had a hundred and fifty head of cattle, and even owned a cattle auction house. He told us all that in Texas, agriculture is the second biggest business, and if the agricultural commission was doing things right, it could be the first. He said that Texas has been underrepresented in drought relief meetings and that losses due to drought will make up about ten percent of the total agricultural industry here in Texas. Also, due to the current ag commissioner not requesting federal drought relief, if the government ever does provide drought relief, Texas isn't going to get a slice of the pie.

John Courage (US House Dist. 21) then got a shot to speak, and he fired us all up, reminding us that "it takes Courage to change!" He told us that he's been chasing Texas District 21 and Lamar Smith around Texas and now they're finally nailed down. John's a great speaker and he told those of us outside his district that even though he wasn't officially representing us, he will represent all of us with his votes and that we should feel free to give him a call if we need his help. With that (and since his campaign gave us three donation envelopes) he earned a donation for his campaign.

Lastly, Barbara Ann Radnofsky (US Senate) gave an impassioned speech informing us how traditional Democratic values are good for national security. I'm going to try to paraphrase here:

• A working, strong health care infrastructure helps us prepare for both natural disasters (like Katrina) as well as bioterrorism.
• If we don't take care of our veterans when they come home, that will weaken the prospects for a volunteer army.
• A strong economy means that China isn't making all our steel, that we have a strong industrial base, and we aren't relying on them to intercede with North Korea rather than taking a direct role in those negotiations.

Barbara told us about her grandfather being a World War I vet and her father being a World War II vet, and vowed to fight for our vets (unlike Kay Bailey Hutchison who has a terrible voting record for veterans).

 

This was a really excellent get together in a beautiful location, and the candidates were fired up, excited, and a lot of fun to listen to. Barbara Ann was walking around barefoot and soaking her feet in the swimming pool after a long day of travel and another campaign stop earlier. This group of Dems really support each other and were happy to be together campaigning and it showed.