Posted on 02/26/2006 2:42:57 PM PST by SolidSupplySide
Coming around the far turn with the primary finish-line in sight, Congressional District 22 Republican challenger Tom Campbell is leaning hard on his polls, Democratic challenger Nick Lampson is flashing his wallet, and incumbent Tom DeLay is counting his endorsements.Weekend Politics
Last week Campbell sat in a mobile campaign RV across a Houston street from an event in which 10 members of the Texas Congressional Delegation endorsed DeLay.
Campbell brushed aside the endorsements and instead emphasized a poll he had conducted by something called OneNet Info, showing him with 47.7% of the votes in the Republican primary, to 38.4% by DeLay and 13.9% to “other.”
But the poll has a margin of error of 9% (it looks like they reached fewer than 200 Republican voters), which is pretty far out there. Thus, if 9% swung one way, DeLay could have 47.4% of the vote to 38.7% for Campbell, if you believe the numbers.
Campbell acknowledges 9% is a big margin, but insists that DeLay’s camp is attacking his and “he’s walking the neighborhoods for the first time,” because “his polls are showing the same thing.”
Lampson’s campaign chimed in on the polling, too.
“Every public poll since May has shown Tom DeLay with 38% or less approval rating,” Lampson campaign manager Mike Malaise maintained on Thursday.
The next day, Lampson’s camp announced “it has passed that of Tom DeLay in cash on hand. If DeLay can win his Party’s Primary race in March, he will enter the General Election with his legal defense fund spending much more than it is bringing in, his federal political action committee deep in the red, and his campaign fund raising lagging.”
DeLay, meanwhile, kept himself busy picking up endorsements from local elected officials, including the first-ever endorsement from the Fort Bend County Mayor & Council Association.
“This is a key endorsement in this race and Congressman DeLay is very honored to receive this endorsement from the mayors and city officials he has worked with over the last 20 years,” said DeLay press spokeswoman Shannon Flaherty.
While his opponents have hammered DeLay over the charges he faces in Travis County, and his reputed links to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, another endorser says DeLay’s real crime is “being an outspoken advocate of conservative principles.”
“In other words, Tom stands accused by the Democrats of doing those things we Republicans have demanded from our elected officials over the years,” Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert said in endorsing DeLay. “In short, Tom has done what we asked him to do and now Ronnie Earle wants to punish him for that. I cannot stand by and let Earle win. I must stand with Tom in this election year. He is my candidate in March and he is my candidate for November.”
Word
Another Republican challenger for DeLay’s seat, Pat Baig, was in the lobby of the Rosenberg Civic Center before the mayor’s association candidate speeches began, working the crowd.
“I’m Pat Baig, Republican candidate for Congress,” she told a slightly bewildered-looking fellow as she shook his hand. “Can I count on your vote?”
“My daddy would roll over in his grave if I voted for a Republican in the primary,” the guy replied. Turned out it was Don Bankston, former Fort Bend County Democratic Party chairman.
Word II
Republican Fort Bend County District Attorney challenger Larry McDougal was making an emphatic point in his speech to the mayors, that he’d been known to them as a policeman before he became an attorney.
“Mr. Willis remembers me coming to his house in the middle of the night in the early 80s,” he said, pointing to Cecil Willis sitting at a back table in the full house, and offering no explanation about that night.
People began laughing, hard. Finally Willis held up his arms. “It was the wrong house,” he yelled.
Robocall of the Week
We’re going to start offering these audio files for those unfortunate folks who may have been out of town and missed them.
Today’s offering informs select Fort Bend County residents that County Clerk Diane Wilson “sued taxpayers for a higher salary and for her legal fees when she was indicted for theft.” The message doesn’t inform residents the indictment is 15 years old, and was tossed out, or that Wilson’s record was expunged. It’s a long story for a rainy day sometime.
But now it’s become a campaign issue. Go ahead, click here and have a listen.
Wilson’s Republican opponent for county clerk, D. Ann Criswell, said she hasn’t actually heard the call, but said it’s one of two or three that have been circulated on behalf of her campaign.
“Some people don’t like it,” she said of the computer-generated calls. “Others are fine, and they didn’t really know what was going on, and they were glad to get the information. You want your voting public to be an informed public.”
As do we here at FortBendNow. So if you’ve received any fun or interesting political robocalls on your answering machines lately, contact us and help share them with your less-fortunate brethren.
You inspired me to count yard signs; I hadn't counted the yard signs until this weekend. I'm sorry that I didn't have anything to tell you at the time you posted. I really had no desire to drag up an old thread to post this information on.
I'll repeat what I said about yard signs. I think they are a very poor predictor for an election. The only thing worse than counting yard signs would be counting signs in the ROW. Using that standard, Campbell wins 100 to 1.
I think DeLay supporters are getting worried about this race. Their ugliness in general doesn't seem to reflect confidence.
What was the count?
DeLay will crush Campbell, he's still peddling his two-month-old poll of 200 people.
15 DeLay, 2 for Campbell. If you notice, when I mentioned this 3 days ago, Campbell only had one sign in my subdivision, so his support has DOUBLED! Oh, DeLay should be running scared now! (<---- Campbell supporter logic)
That still doesn't answer my question, and you know it. I don't know why you are afraid to come right out and say it directly, but have to beat around the bush. You will never vote for Delay or Lampson, in other words: When DeLay wins the primary (or *if* DeLay wins the primary -- if that makes you feel better for it to be stated that way), you will either withhold your vote (or vote for Stockman) and thereby you will in effect be helping Lampson. Whether you want to help Lampson or not is *not relevant*; that will be the end result. And you'll be happy as long as the outcome is that Tom DeLay loses.
Well, thank you. I'm so flattered that you find me to be inspirational!
So your reason to not vote for him is because you hold him to be unethical?
Proof?
I support Delay because he has been one of the few Republicans to play hardball with the Democrats (hence the legal attack against him).
If Campbell wins the primary I will vote for him.
My wife and I voted for Delay on Friday.
Nor does your continued ignorance and spamming this forum with your anti-DeLay threads and banter reflect any confidence. - fla
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