Posted on 05/31/2004 6:47:51 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Two women face off in rematch for state GOP chair
AUSTIN (AP) — It'll be a rematch between two Texas Republican women when the state party selects its next chairman this week.
The Republican Party of Texas meets Thursday through Saturday in San Antonio at what is considered the nation's largest political party convention because of the 10,000 to 12,000 delegates and alternates expected to attend.
Tina Benkiser, a corporate and patent attorney in Houston, is running for a full term as leader of the Texas GOP, a post she was elected to last year when the previous chairman re signed. Gina Parker, a Waco trial lawyer, who also sought the chairmanship in November 2003, seeks it again.
A war of words and e-mail has erupted between the two in their quest for the job.
Benkiser, 41, points to her seven-month record in office so far. She also suggests Parker, as a trial lawyer, is at odds with the party's recent push for tort reform, which limits how much juries can award in medical malpractice lawsuits.
Benkiser says Parker is part of a small vocal group that tries to disrupt the Texas party.
"We cannot let the party be torn apart," Benkiser said.
Parker, 42, denies that she opposed civil lawsuit reform and claims she has what it takes to motivate the party's grassroots activists. She says Benkiser and her crew are running scared and resorting to mudslinging.
"I refuse to do that. I refuse to tear people down in order to win," Parker said. "I would challenge them to do the right thing and not to run negatively."
The election of the chairman by convention delegates won't be the only order of business. Convention-goers will hear speeches from high-profile Republicans — Gov. Rick Perry, House Speaker Tom Craddick, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn of Texas, among others.
The state convention takes place every two years. It's also likely to include the usual debate over the party's platform.
Benkiser said she doesn't expect any major changes in the document. The platform opposes the expansion of gambling in Texas. On the subject of abortion, it calls for complete protection of the unborn, without listing any exceptions.
Benkiser was elected by a majority of the party's 63-member State Republican Executive Committee last year to replace outgoing chairman Susan Weddington, the first woman to hold the position.
Weddington stepped down to head a nonprofit organization. She backs Benkiser in the chairman's race.
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On the Net:
Republican Party of Texas: www.texasgop.org
Make 'em wrassle in Jello™ for it.
DAT'S DA ONE!!!
(exact paint color, too!)
Gina Parker
Tina Benkiser
Based on these pics, I'd bet on Gina to win.
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