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Streusand looks good and answers questions well. And has enough money to buy an election. Funded entirely by one "special interest group". Doesn't even need money from his constituents. Probably is not looking for a federal pension plan. That makes it harder to hold his feet to the fire later, if needed. I like his positions on paper. I just wonder how much of it is what he will really support and what is following the interest polling results.

McCaul also looks good, but was a little more tentative with answers early in the campaign. He is a lawyer - not one you will see on cheesy late night commercials, but a federal and state prosecutor working on high profile cases and enforcing serious laws. The programs he worked on have been successful. I do wonder about how strong his convictions will be when Cornyn or Bush or Perry want a favor. McCaul is as close as we get to a "middle class" consumer in the top of this race. A man trying to make a living and raise a young family.

I'm nervous about Devine. He has held office, which is a plus. He has a decent record as Judge. But he also has a record of some shady deals during campaigns. He has already been fed by tax dollars.

Phillips seems too "polished" to me. And has all of the down sides of Streusand without the best of his positions.

Also, the Devine and Phillips campaigns have been less open with direct communications with me personally.

The only other candidate mail I have received is from Tashenberg(?). I was not impressed. He also seems to be all talk - and saying the right thing about some key issues - but has no track record to indicate how he operates under fire. He should try for a State Rep. position and build from there.

Someone just sent out a blind attack mailer on Streusand and McCaul. A group labeled "Citizens for Education" with a PO Box and no names. The message attacks Streusand for donations to some Democrat campaigns (I think his business donated to both sides of the campaigns - hedging his bet, so to speak) a while back. It attacks McCaul for working in the Justice Department with Reno/Clinton (He was hired under Bush and did not quit when his boss changed.) This kind of thing really turns me off. I think the only other candidates close enough to have a shot at the runoff are Devine and Phillips. Of course, they probably don't "know" who did it - but it is probably a strong supporter of one of them.

The candidate forum in Katy (see Katy Area Republicans) on Monday night will be the only chance to see all of the candidates together. That will probably cement my decision.

"I'm nervous about Devine. He has held office, which is a plus. He has a decent record as Judge. But he also has a record of some shady deals during campaigns. He has already been fed by tax dollars."

I dont understand that comment. everyone who has held elective office has been 'fed by tax dollars' from Pres Bush to Perry to Delay on down. IMHO, holding office and doing well there is a plus. Devine had an amazing win against an incumbent liberal judge in Harris county. I dont see how that is shady.... not to mention one of his big decisions as a judge was to give the taxpayers a VOICE on the light rail metro decisions.

And as for McCaul, he's been a Govt worker longer than anyone else in the race. That should raise some concerns. It does for me. I've met him and his lovely wife. They brought in the Cornyn campaign manager. They've done everything "right" wrt running a campaign. But it reeks of the 'establishment Republican' types that are not really firebrand conservatives. In other words, as you say: "I do wonder about how strong his convictions will be when Cornyn or Bush or Perry want a favor." I dont wonder at all - his selling point is that 'he's worked for Cornyn' and he'll keep doing that, I am sure. That's not bad but IMHO for that district we could do better.

"The message attacks Streusand for donations to some Democrat campaigns (I think his business donated to both sides of the campaigns - hedging his bet, so to speak)"

why would we want a pol who hedges his bets? I didnt know this and IMHO it is relevant if true. It's easy for a millionaire to buy an election, so you want to know what he's tried to buy... Peter Wareing was hit for far less in 2002, for being a Dem primary voter in the distant past.
Far worse, IMHO, to feed the Democrat beast with $$$.

"It attacks McCaul for working in the Justice Department with Reno/Clinton (He was hired under Bush and did not quit when his boss changed.)"

Yup, the charges are true, although I agree he's no Reno crony, he was in a civil service job. But wouldnt you agree the chinagate was a blown DoJ investigation? How can he claim to be a success in that? I think the key thing is that he may be an okay guy in that DoJ role, but he hasnt done anything recognizably conservative in those positions except go after criminals.

So his claims to conservatism havent been tested.

" This kind of thing really turns me off."

Negative ads? You have 8 candidates saying exactly the same thing, this at least spices up an otherwise bland race.
None of those issues are out of bounds, IMHO. It is a concern that nobody is taking 'credit' for it.

"McCaul is as close as we get to a "middle class" consumer in the top of this race. A man trying to make a living and raise a young family."

McCaul may be middle-class, but HIS FATHER-IN-LAW IS WORTH AROUND $200 MILLION! He would not be doing this run without Clear Channel Comms. fortune helping him, and he couldnt loan himself a $600,000 loan on his DoJ salary, that is for sure. Shades of the "Kerry campaign finance' technique!

"The only other candidate mail I have received is from Tashenberg(?). I was not impressed. He also seems to be all talk - and saying the right thing about some key issues - but has no track record to indicate how he operates under fire."

Couldnt you say the same about all of them, except for Devine, who's held office? Tashenberg may be young, but he's worked for Conservative groups. IMHO, Streusand and Devine have some track record that they can point to; but the rest really are just yakking it up and havent really been tested.

My final determination is simply that we need a real conservative in there ... see the thread on John Devine's response to DrewsDad HOT Freeper questionaire - very solid answers. Same with CTRA, he was the most solid conservative.

My conclusion is to prefer Devine, then Streusand, as the best candidates. But I'm in Lamar Smith's district, so I happily have simple issues to contend with (like winning my own election race).

Here's what the "Houston Review" repotys as of 2-28:

Congressional District 10

In a large field, three candidates at this point are seriously competing for run-off slots. Ben Streusand, in the grand tradition of Peter Wareing, Phil Sudan and others, is spending his way into the runoff with wall to wall radio advertising. To his credit, Streusand is a successful businessman who sounds like a conservative. Supporters of former judge John Devine, however, are busy circulating FEC records which show Streusand to have been a donor to a few Democrats, including Bob “Hasta La Vista” Kreuger, Ken Bentsen, and a Ron Paul opponent in the ‘70's. Peter Wareing comparisons may be more appropriate than we at first realized, although Streusand does at least live in the district.

John Devine is well known from his flamboyant campaigns for judge and various other races, including losing efforts for Congress in 1996 and County Attorney in 2002. Devine excites some activists with his, uh..."uninhibited" use of Christian language and imagery. One obstacle for Devine is his reputation as a shill for plaintiff’s attorneys like John O’Quinn, who have given large sums to his past campaigns. With President Bush pushing for a united Republican front on national tort reform, this could become a thorny issue in the primary. While Devine hasn’t undertaken major media advertisements, some of his supporters have engaged in a rumor mill campaign to smear the credentials of rival candidates. Given Devine’s numerous and publicly noted past ethical mishaps, we suspect this is an alley he mightn’t wish to walk into.

Michael McCaul, an Austin attorney, may have on paper the best rationale for this race. McCaul was a top deputy to former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn, and headed anti-terrorism efforts in the U.S. Attorney’s office. McCaul is the second candidate in the race to take out major media advertisements, which tout his impressive resume. Anti-terrorism rhetoric is popular in the primary races; McCaul is the only candidate with real experience confronting this threat. To make the runoff, McCaul, who is said to possess the resources for a well-funded campaign, will need to reach a large number of Harris County voters who are unfamiliar with him.

http://www.houstonreview.com/0204/primary.htm

Sounds like they have Devine pegged as the sender of the "attack" flyer and he does seem to be the most logical suspect. If so, it makes me lose a little respect that he cloaked it under the heading of some annonymous committee and not under his own name.