Posts Tagged ‘Diana Maldonado’

Lazy, SuperTiny LinkSwarm for December 6, 2013

Friday, December 6th, 2013

It’s Friday, and I’m feeling to lazy to put up a real LinkSwarm, so here’s the Mini-Me version:

  • Anger among Democrats over the rollout of ObamaCare is deep.” It’s nothing compared to the anger among voters…
  • An example of why Rick Santorum wasn’t the Republican Presidential nominee in 2012, and won’t be in 2016.
  • Once again, a super-secret military plane started under Republicans is revealed by a Democratic Administration.
  • Austin Attorney Marc Rosenthal, who helped bankroll the Williamson County Democratic Party, including gave $58,000 in donations to (now ex-) state rep Diana Maldonado, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for “racketeering, conspiracy, bribery, extortion, tampering, and mail fraud.”
  • Charles Barkley rides the New York City subway: “If they never see me again, tell my family I love them.”
  • You know that whole “I’ll never have to buy music ever again” thing? Yeah, not so much.
  • Texans fire head coach Gary Kubiak. It was time. Thy also fired Special Teams coach Joe Marciano, which was many, many years overdue…
  • Man survives two days in air pocket in overturned ship:

  • LiveBlogging the 2010 Election

    Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

    Live-blogging the election, most recent comments on top.


    12:12 AM: Prediction for tomorr- er, today: Democrats complaining non-stop about how voters are still too stupid to appreciate how awesome they are.


    12:07 PM: A few got away, but this was a very successful night for Republicans. If you had predicted the magnitude of Republican victory any time in 2009, pundits would have laughed at you. Remember, in October of 2008, Daily Kos said ” At this pace, we’re headed toward a 65-70-seat Democratic majority in the Senate by the end of 2010.” The magnitude of the Tea Party turnaround in Republican fortunes is one of the most astonishing political feats of our lifetimes.


    12:00 AM: Some happy thoughts to leave you with:

    • Republican Steve Pearce beats incumbent Democrat Harry Teague in NM 2, which RCP had as a leans Dem seat.
    • Republican Scott Tipton beat incumbent Democrat John Salazar in CO 3
    • Republican Cory Gardner beat incumbent Democrat Betsy Markey in CO 4
    • Just about every office in Wisconsin that could reasonably have a chance to flip Republican did. How do you like your shiny new red state, WisCon?

    11:57 PM: At Midnight all the agents…have to stop blogging and go to bed. I’ll have some more analysis scattered over the next few days.


    10:54 PM: Fox news calls CA for Boxer. No surprise.


    11:48 PM: Murray has a small lead in Washington, but there are a lot of votes still outstanding.


    11:44 PM: Pennsylvania Senate race called for Toomey. Don’t let Harry Reid’s narrow escape keep you from realizing what a huge improvement Toomey is over Arlen Specter. This is a big plus for Pennsylvanians, Republicans, and Americans, and even Democrats (who won’t have Specter as their problem any more come January).


    11:40 PM: Legal pot defeated in California. I would have supported this were I living in California, as I do not think that regulating it is a legitimate concern of the federal government, and the War on Drugs has been an astoundingly expensive failure. But if legal pot can’t win in California, then where can it win?


    11:39 PM: NV called for Reid. Dang.


    11:38 PM: IL Senate race called for Kirk.


    11:37 PM: Blog went down for a while, but Blue Host brought it back up more quickly than I expected.


    11:03 PM: NBC: “The Tea Party has arrived in Washington, DC. The House did everything the Obama White House asked them to, and they paid the price.”


    10:59 PM: Republicans are over-performing expectations of a week ago, but under-performing those of a day or two ago (including mine). It’s shaping up to be a bit worse for Democrats than 1994, which is bad enough (for them), but short of the (deep, scary voice) DEMOGEDDDON some were predicting.


    10:55 PM: Senate Race quick updates:

    • Kirk slightly ahead in IL. (“KHAAAANNNNN!”)
    • Toomey still holding the lead in PA, with not many districts outstanding
    • Rossi/Murray tied in WA; it’s flipped back and forth
    • Reid slightly ahead in NV
    • Boxer up slightly in CA, but voting is early

    10:49 PM: Speaking of Alvin Greene, at least he got his own comic book out of the deal.


    10:46 PM: I’m still amazed the Democrats couldn’t find anyone to run against John Thune in South Dakota. It makes South Carolina Democrat’s choice of Alvin Greene seem slightly less pathetic. At least he showed up.


    10:40 PM: TX23 called for Doggett over Campbell, but 52% is a lot closer that most people expected.


    10:35 PM: Back from walking the dog.


    10:05 PM: Stop! HAMMERTIME!


    10:00 PM: Did I mention that Republican Dan Benisheck took Bart Stupak’s seat? I think I know exactly what circle Dante would place Bart Stupak in…


    9:58 PM: Toomey slips into the lead over Sleestak Sestak. Setak had held the lead virtually all night. Over in the opposition camp, the Daily Kossacks are despondent, saying there are only heavily Republican counties left.


    9:52 PM: “Captain’s Log…I’m tired!” I’ve been staring at glowing rectangles for too long. I’m going to take a break to walk my dog in a few minutes.


    9:49 PM: ABC refusing to call Florida or Ohio Governor’s races for the leading Republicans. I think they’re whistling pass the graveyard.


    9:43 PM: This was announced earlier, but Barney Frank survives, alas. I’m sure he’s already dreaming of new ways to inject taxpayer money into the housing market.


    9:41 PM: Republican Nikki Haley takes South Carolina Governor’s race.


    9:40 PM: Wisconsin Senate seat called for Ron Johnson over Russ Feingold. GOP pickup.


    9:38 PM: Sadly, Cao is going down in LA 2. Still, it’s an overwhelmingly Democrat seat that only went Republican in 2008 due to corruption on the part of William “cold 90 grand” Jefferson.


    9:36 PM: Dana Loesch is on ABC. She looks pretty hot. (Note: This was the point in the evening when my internal censor decided to pack up and go on vacation.)


    9:31: Ha! Barletta over Kanjorski. Also, “Red Barchetta” over “The Camera Eye.”


    9:29 PM: Hingham, Mass, suffers from excess of Kitty litter.


    9:25 PM: Fox 7 interviewing Larry Gonzalez. He looks excited, articulate, and sweaty. “Oh my gosh.” :-)


    9:23 PM: Man, that CBS theme music of repeating flute riffs is annoying. Like a pastiche of Philip Glass written by someone who hates Philip Glass.


    9:22 PM: Katie Coric: “Some think Haley Barbour is a future GOP Presidential candidate.” Yeah, some people on a very poor grade of crack…


    9:21 PM: PA Senate still too close to call. IL Senate still too close to call. WI too close to call. CO too close to call. NV too close to call. Still, I have the distinct feeling Republicans won’t take the Senate.


    9:18 PM: ABC has finally decided to grace us with election news. Ed Rendell is spinning madly that Democrats aren’t losing bad as some people expected.


    9:17 PM: Though CBS has a well-known liberal bias, their House race tracker is fairly well laid-out.


    9:14 PM: Fox 7 has Texas congressmen Chet Edwards, Solomon Ortiz and Ciro Rodriguez all losing. As well as 20 Democrat state House incumbents going down.


    9:11 PM: Hmmm. CBS has Republican Thomas Reed beating Matthew Zeller in NY29, despite Zeller’s total currently being higher than Reed.


    9:07 PM: Flores winning big over Chet Edwards for TX-17.


    9:02 PM: More local Texas updates from KEYE: Doggett back up over Campbell, but only by 5,000 votes. Larry Gonzalez maintaining 59-39% lead over Moldanado.


    9:00: Democrat Bill White concedes in Texas.


    8:55 PM: Republican Dennis Ross over Dem Lori Edwards in FL 12. (GOP hold.)


    8:53 PM: Palin: “Delaware is a deep blue state. Exit polls show Castle would have lost on Delaware the same way O’Donnell did. The Tea Party didn’t cost the GOP that race.”


    8:51: Fox predicts GOP picks up PA Governorship.


    8:51: Palin now slamming the “lamestream” media.


    8:50: Palin just admitted she might run for President.


    8:49: Fox: “Is Marco Rubio a possible Vice Presidential candidate?” Palin: “He’s a possible Presidential candidate.”


    8:47 PM: Palin says the Tea Party movement is libertarian in character. “They’re not going to Washington to raise taxes.”


    8:45 PM: Sarah Palin being interviewed on Fox right now. Like Bush, I think it’s her accent that’s the source of the American left’s instant, irrational rage against her.


    8:45 PM: Republican Rigell over Nye in VA02.


    8:40 PM: RCP has Republicans picking up North Dakota Senate seat (as expected).


    8:37: PA, NV senate races still too close to call.


    8:33 PM: CBS: Republican Steve Southerland over incumbent Dem Allen Boyd in FL 02.


    8:30 PM: Houston Chronicle calls Governor’s race for Perry. No surprise.


    8:27 PM: Fox: Vitter holds on in LA.


    8:23 PM: KVUE: Larry Gonzales over Moldanado in early voting for the Texas House District 52 race!


    8:23PM: KVUE: Texas news starts coming in: Perry kicking White 59% to 39%. Whoa! Campbell up over Doggett??? (only 5% in, though)


    8:16 PM: NBC saying Ohio’s Governor’s race is closer than [insert cornpone Dan Rather saying here]


    8:13 PM: Fox predicting: 239 Republicans in the House, 196 Democrats.


    8:12 PM: Fox News predicts Republican takeover of the House. Booyah! Take that Nancy Pelosi! But pretty much everyone to the right of Daily Kos predicted that.


    8:09 PM: Republican Charles Fleischmann holds on to Zach Wamp’s seat. I just like typing “Zach Wamp.” ZACH WAMP!


    8:08 PM: Tom Brokaw just called the American electorate a “wild bull.”


    8:05: Foxnews.com has Republican jeff Duncan picking up Gresham Barrett’s SC 03 seat.


    8:01 PM: Nice of you to join us, Fox News.


    8:00 PM: Republican Lou Barletta edging Democrat Paul Kanjorski in PA-11, but the lead is small and only a small number of districts have reported.


    7:55 PM: Republican Young over Democrat Hill in IN9, according to RCP Donnelly/Walorski still too close to call.


    7:50 PM: Sadly, they’re calling it for Democrat Manchin in the West Virginia Senate race. There’s one prediction I missed.


    7:47 PM: Arkansas Woman Forges Judge’s Signature to Buy Mustang. Not election-related, but man, that’s some turbo-charged stupid…


    7:41 PM: As a reporter, getting caught conspiring against a Republican candidate gets you: A.) A Pulitzer, B.) A job with MSNBC, or C.) A pink slip. (Of course, they might still get the MSNBC jobs…)


    7:39 PM: “Election Alert: Fox News Projects Republican John Boozman Defeats Sen. Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas.” Almost as shocking as a Mike Tyson victory over Woody Allen.


    7:36 PM: Republican Griffith over Dem Boucher in VA 09.


    7:31 PM: As part of their non-election, ever-so-important “Trapped in an Elevator” coverage, PBS is showing footage of the World Trade Center collapse. I’m sure Democrats are calling up PBS execs. “You’re not helping!”


    7:27 PM: They’re also calling IN 08 for Republican Buschon.


    7:25: CBS has Sandra Adams beating Suzanne Kosmas 60% to 40% in FL 24. Kosmas was an ObamaCare flipper, though not one of the Stupak group.


    7:15 PM: Pause for pizza.


    7:13: Drudge: REPUBLICANS WIN SENATE SEATS: AL, FL, GA, IN, OH, KY, MO, NH, SC…
    DEMS WIN: CT, DE, MD…
    TOO CLOSE TO CALL: PA, IL…
    No real surprises there…


    7:09: ABC: Bucshon over Van Haaften 55% to 39% for IN 06, but Donnelly up over Walorski 49% to 46% with 56% reporting.


    7:06 PM: “Fox News Projects GOP Marco Rubio Wins Fla.”
    Hey, Charlie Crist:


    7:02 PM: Well, thank God for PBS and their focus on public-minded–CLICK. “Trapped in an Elevator.” Your tax dollars at work.


    7:00 PM: Glee, Fox? Dancing with the Stars, ABC? On election night? Thanks for NOTHING!


    6:58 PM: Jackie Walorski up over Stupak-bloc flipper Joe Donnelly 53% to 42% with 19% of the vote in.


    6:51 PM: Foxnew.com has Frank Guinta up over incumbent Democrat Carol Shea-Porter in NH1 by 12,585 to 10,348. If anyone had Shea-Porter on their endangered list, I must have missed it.


    6:49 PM: Alan Grayson (FL-08) is down 63 percent to 29. Can you hear my crazy now?


    6:47 PM: Drudge predicting a 50 seat GOP pickup in the House.


    6:44: PBS has Robert Hurt up over Dem Golden Boy Tom Perriello by 55%, in Virginia, despite national Dems pouring millions into the race. But the returns may not be representative of the district as a whole.


    6:42 PM: Nancy Pelosi is still saying the Democrats will keep the House. Also thinks Dallas Cowboys will win the Superbowl.


    6:39 PM: Coats beat Stupak-bloc flipper Brad Ellsworth, who left his seat to run for the Senate. How’s that ObamaCare working out for you?


    6:35: DeMint called in SC, but he’s only at 55% right now, which has to be a disappointment considering the quality of his opponent.


    6:30 PM: PBS calls race for Republican Portman in Ohio. KLRU is the only broadcast station in Austin showing news right now.


    6:29 PM: Minnesota Democrats using the mentally handicapped to commit vote fraud. Must not make joke. Must not make joke. Must not make joke…


    6:23 PM: Moving the TV into the office. Old 36″ tube. Weighs approx. 3 metric tons.


    6:13 PM: Drudge exit polls via Instapundit:

    Tea for Three: Coates, Paul, DeMint Win Senate Seats…

    EXIT POLLS:

    IL 49-43 Kirk [R]… NV TIED…

    Arkansas: Boozman (R) over Lincoln (D)
    California: Boxer [D] over Fiorina [R]
    Florida: Rubio [R] over Crist [I], Meek [D]
    Ohio: Portman (R) over Fisher (D)
    North Dakota: Hoeven (R) over Potter (D)
    Wisconsin: Johnson (R) over Feingold (D)


    6:11 PM: Whoa, that was quick. ABC, Fox, and NBC are already calling the Senate races for Rand Paul in Kentucky and Dan Coats in Indiana.


    6:07 PM: The Fark election thread, for one of the few venues on the Internet where both left and right gather to drink heavily and troll each other.


    6:00 PM: Greetings Instapundit readers! Damn he’s fast. Within minutes of me dropping him an email the link was up. It’s like that Warner Brothers cartoon when the wolf writes off for an anti-smoking kit, and when he goes out to mail the letter the postman drive out, snatches the letter from his hand, hands him the kit and drives off…


    5:56 PM: The Washington Examiner on races to watch.


    High turnout in West Virginia.


    The Democratic wailing and rending of garments has already begun.


    Kathryn Jean Lopez of NRO predicts a flip of 80 House seats for the GOP (among other NRO writer predictions at that link).


    Iowahawk brings the election funny.


    12:50 PM: Gallup is reporting a 19 point “enthusiasm gap” among likely voters, the biggest ever on record.


    12:10 PM: Jay Cost of The Weekly Standard weighs in with a prediction (based on his models and Gallup’s final numbers) of Republican House gains of about 75 seats.


    Jim Geraghty makes my prediction of a 67-seat House pickup look pessimistic by predicting a Republican net pickup of 70 House seats. And he’s been following individual races a lot more closely than I…


    Attention the Internets: I will be liveblogging the 2010 election starting around 7 PM CDT and running until who knows when.

    Expect heavy snark with gusts of full-blown schadenfreude reaching 75 miles per hour.

    Diana Maldonado’s Killer Issue: Gun Control

    Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

    No, seriously.

    I got a 4 panel flyer in the mail today slamming Larry Gonzales for supporting concealed carry on campus, as you can see from my picture of it below (click to embiggen):

    Because, you know, one suicidal student firing an AK-47 (which was already illegal for him to bring on campus) into the ground before killing himself pretty much demands a knee-jerk call for stricter gun control laws.

    Slamming Larry Gonzales for not being pro-gun control is a great tactic…if you’re running against him in the Democratic Primary. In Austin. In 1990. Unfortunately for Maldonado, she’s running in the general election in Williamson County in 2010.

    And we all know what a bloodbath Texas has become since the state started issuing Concealed Handgun Licenses on January 1, 1996. Oh wait, no it hasn’t. Violent Crime numbers have been down to flat across the board even in absolute terms, and even more clearly down on a per capita basis in light of the state’s growing population.

    Democrats at the national level learned that gun control was a losing issue in 1994. Evidently Maldonado didn’t get the memo. I suspect she’ll be getting a good, long vacation in the near future to contemplate that mistake at her leisure.

    NewsFlash from Larry Gonzales on the House District 52 Race: Williamson County Democratic Party Chairman Resigns, Endorses Republican Gonzales

    Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

    Wow. It’s not news when the Republican County Chairman endorses a Republican.

    However, it is news when the County Democratic Party Chairman endorses a Republican candidate and resigns. Which is what Williamson County Democratic Chairman Gregory S Windham just did.

    Here’s the complete text of his press release, since I can’t imagine the Williamson County Democratic Party letting his press release stay up, here it is in its entirety:

    Georgetown, Texas – Recently elected Democratic Chairman, Gregory S Windham, announced his resignation from the Chairmanship today citing differences of opinion over the State and National Democratic Agenda and support of a Republican candidate as his reasons.

    A Message to Democrats

    It is quite apparent that many members of the Williamson County Democratic Party leadership are interested in following a more liberal national agenda than listening to the majority of their constituents here locally. As a fifth-generation Texan and longtime supporter of Conservative, Texas principles, I find myself isolated within the party ranks and unable to relay my message of fiscal responsibility, family values, free-markets, and fair play.

    The divisive, rigid leadership with the State and local party have made it clear from the beginning of this term that they have no interest in my opinions; engaging in personal name calling, the marginalization of the Chair’s voice, and claiming my Texas ideals are out of touch.

    I have a hatred of tyranny and contempt for its tools and being that I cannot sit down quietly and allow my mind be used for the spreading of an agenda that will further divide our citizenry, I choose now to resign as Chairman.

    I give heartfelt thanks to my many supporters whose tireless work helped me get elected to this position. I am sincere in my hopes that Williamson County residents will take control of the political process from the many hand picked representatives of the left who now hold the keys to our political process.

    After several opportunities to hear the candidates for State House Rep 52, I have decided to support Larry Gonzales as the next Williamson County State Representative. Larry’s experience, intelligence, and knowledge of the political process far exceed that of the Democratic candidate. He is a family man, business owner, and a gentleman willing to build bridges and represent his district rather than his party.

    Texas and America are facing a perfect storm. We must work together, hand in hand, to guide our way to safe shores. The continual mockery of each others positions and platforms only deepens our internal wounds. Compromise is necessary and I urge all who have interest in Liberty and a zeal for truth to listen carefully to all opinions and, above all, practice the Golden Rule.

    God Bless You and God Bless Texas

    Gregory S Windham
    Georgetown, Texas

    I endorsed Larry Gonzales back during the runoff, and have run into him a couple of times since. He deserves your support.

    BattleSwarm Blog endorses Larry Gonzales in the House District 52 Runoff

    Thursday, April 8th, 2010

    Lawrence Person’s BattleSwarm Blog endorses Larry Gonzales over John Gordon in the House District 52 Republican Primary runoff on April 13th. I believe that Gonzales is the better candidate, will have a better chance of winning against Diana Maldonado, and will be a better Representative in the Texas House than Gordon would.

    Because both Gonzales and Gordon have been unfailing courteous about answering my questions, I want to make clear that I’m making this decision without any animosity and based solely on the facts at my disposal. I do not know either gentlemen personally, I am not privy to the inner workings of the Williamson County Republican Party, and have no knowledge about either that cannot be gleaned from receiving their campaign literature and searching the internet. And because Gordon has been so cooperative, I feel it only fair to explain the reasons for my decision, and especially which factors were and were not important in making it.

    The relative ideological beliefs of the two candidates was not a deciding factor. I do believe that Gordon is genuinely conservative, and should he win the nomination, I would vote for him over Maldonado. I believe that Gonzales is also a solidly conservative candidate, and I find the political differences between them fairly minor. In fact, on two of the issues Gordon points out as differences between himself and Gonzales (opposition to an RRISD bond election, and opposition to public sports subsidies), I would support the same position as Gordon. (On a third, the extension of drinking hours, being of a generally libertarian disposition I would have supported the same postion Gonzales did; I do not think government should have any role saving people from themselves). It is possible that Gordon might, say, pull the voting lever in the state house how I would 95 times out of a hundred, while Gonzales might only pull it how I would vote 93 times out of a hundred. This is, to my mind, too small a difference to worry over.

    The recent mailers and the information on http://www.thetruejohngordon.com were not themselves decisive, in that they largely contained information I already knew. Indeed, since I’m endorsing his opponent, I would like to take the opportunity to bend over backwards to clarify which items were not a factor in my decision:

    • I’m not particularly bothered by the Randy Staudt lawsuit. Granted, I would be unlikely to do paying work for a close friend, and if I did anything more than a trivial amount of it, I’d certainly get a written contract. (The famous saying is that “A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”) But if someone owed me $7,000, much less $24,000, you bet I would eventually take them to court if they didn’t pay up, friend or not.
    • Assuming Gordon’s account is correct, I approve of the lawsuit he filed against Round Rock ISD, as I do not feel any government entity should feel free to violate the open meeting act, especially for a major decision like buying land.
    • I don’t care that he’s racked up several speeding tickets. My guess would be that between 1997 and 2004, I probably racked up more myself.

    All of that said, however, the sheer number of incidents, as well as the many others covered by http://www.thetruejohngordon.com, do point to the main reason I cannot endorse John Gordon, namely temperament. There’s nothing wrong with being spirited. There are many times when it is appropriate for a congressmen to be combative (see, for example, Newt Gingrich in 1994). However, Gordon seems not merely spirited or combative but abrasive, alienating not just his political opponents, but friends and fellow Republicans. Time and time again he’s proven a very poor judge of his own self-interest, pursuing confrontational strategies when a softer approach might have produced better results, and spending his time and effort fighting needless battles that could have been avoided.

    Take, for example, that traffic stop video. If you want to avoid getting a ticket, the first rule is to be polite, friendly and non-threatening. After all, policemen and highway patrolmen are just doing their job. But one thing you do not do is say things like “Let me tell you what officer,” “Believe me, it will go all the way up” and state sarcastically “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Indeed, I would think that anyone over the age of about 25 (much less 60) should know that this approach is likely to achieve, shall we say, sub-optimal results. You’re not going to win a verbal pissing contest with a police officer at a traffic stop, and the fact that John Gordon evidently feels he needs to does not reflect kindly on his temperament or judgment.

    You may very well beat a ticky-tacky charge like this in court, but acting like a jerk at the stop itself is pure mule-headed stupidity. Indeed, I’ve never gotten a ticket (or even been stopped) for such minor offenses; the fact that John Gordon has, and gets tickets for them, seems to suggest that he has something of a history with local law enforcement agencies. And while I heartily defend the right of the accused to demand jury trials for traffic infractions, the fact Gordon seems to have done so for every single ticket he’s received suggests that to him, winning is far more important than the time and money involved in going to court. An effective politician has to pick his battles; John Gordon seems to go out of his way to pick fights.

    While having a boot put on my car (even in error) certainly wouldn’t make my day, no way would I go all Homer Simpson by taking a crowbar to the boot. Doing something like that suggests that Gordon suffers from dangerous levels of hot-hotheadedness. Nobody is above the law, and acting like you are won’t win you many friends.

    Another incident that highlights his lack of judgment is his lawsuit over Alyssa Eacono’s residency requirements. Regardless of the technical merits of the case, it was obvious very early on that Larry Gonzales was going to be Gordon’s major opponent in the District 52 primary. Why spend the time, money, and effort (three of a candidate’s most precious commodities) to attack someone who wasn’t a major competitor? Suing Eacono instead of spending the same effort directly engaging Gonzales suggests very poor tactical sense.

    And speaking of engaging Gonzales and poor tactics, I believe Gordon’s decision to make Gonzales’ campaign funding from Bob Perry his biggest attack issue was a major strategic blunder. Do I worry about Gonzales getting so much of his funding from Perry? Yeah. Slightly. A candidate’s financial backers are always a legitimate concern. But it’s not like he’s getting his money from George Soros. If you look at Perry’s campaign contribution recipients for this election cycle, 2008, or all the way back to 2000, the overwhelming majority of his contributions are to solidly conservative Republican candidates and causes (Phil Gramm, John Carter, etc.), with an occasional Democrat mixed in. If Gordon wanted to make Perry’s contributions a significant issue, he should have made the case exactly how and why Perry’s interests were inimical to those of Williamson County voters, not merely expect that an attack mailer showing Gonzales as a puppet would be sufficient to make that case for him.

    And speaking of campaign finances, for someone who has spent so much time harping on his opponent’s campaign contributions, Gordon’s base of campaign contributors seems pretty small. If you add up all the individual contributors whose names don’t end in “Gordon” from all five of his campaign filings (7/13/09, 1/3/10, 1/27/10, 2/22/10, 4/5/10), you get a grand total of 35 names (and that includes “in kind” voter information from the Republican Party). There’s nothing wrong with self-financing your campaign, but for someone who’s harped on Gonzales’ contributions from outside the district and has made so much of his efforts building the Republican Party in Williamson County, Gordon supporters inside it seem remarkably thin on the ground.

    By contrast, if you look at Gonzales’ reports for the same period of time, you get well over 150 individual contributors. Some of those are from out of district (San Antonio and Houston), and about five from out of state. However, Gonzales has more contributors from Round Rock alone (to say nothing of Georgetown, Austin, or Taylor) than Gordon has total.

    I could go on to point out little things like the fact that the news and highlights section of his website still says “Content coming soon” more than a month after the primary as an example of poor attention to detail, but the central issue is still Gordon’s hot-headedness and lack of judgment. Even though the http://www.thetruejohngordon.com website contains little that attentive observers of the race didn’t already know, it is a very effective piece of negative campaigning because it gathers all those individual issues in one place and reinforces doubts many voters already had about him.

    By contrast, Larry Gonzales is a thoughtful, intelligent and conservative candidate who has run a very smart (and, until the recent round of attack ads, very issue-based) campaign and garnered a broad base of Republican support. He seems more than capable of doing the job, and doesn’t come with Gordon’s baggage. I’ll be voting for Larry Gonzales in the House District 52 Primary runoff on April 13th, and encourage all District 52 voters to do the same.