The runoff returns are coming in slower than normal. Here’s some of the early voting results from the down and dirty races:
HD 52: John “da Bomb” Gordon 732 (33%) Larry “money bags” Gonzalez 1,498 (67%)
SBOE: Marsha Farney 6,971 (63%) Russell 4,016 (37%)
TX Supremes: Green 68,078 (47%) Lehrmann 76, 105 (53%)
If you didn’t bother to vote, you get what you deserve. We don’t wanna hear none of your whinin’.
The battle of the big-haired, little-haired, and hair-brained culminates tonight.
If the early voting results stay true, Perry just might shampoo that blonde right out of his hair without a rinse and repeat. The teabagger found herself in some pretty hot water, but her tea leaves just weren’t strong enough to brew anything much more than a tint. On the blue side it looks like the hair-challenged Bill White proved a little dab won’t do ya and foiled Shami.
Here’s some top of the ballot early voting numbers for ya:
Statewide:
Perry 279,535 (52.79%) Hutchinson 161,438 (30.48%) Medina 88,543 (16.72%)
White 176, 947 (75.95%) Shami 28, 319 (12.15%)
Harris County:
Perry 378,771 (63.34%) Hutchison 16,393 (26.78) Medina 6,051 (9.88%)
White 35,535 (90.94%) Shami 2,150 (5.50%)
Williamson County:
Perry 8,272 (57.72%) Hutchison 3,564 (24.87%) Medina 2,496 (17.42%)
White 2,700 (92.78%) Shami 108 (3.71%)
Dallas County:
Perry 17,519 (50.30%) Hutchison 11,588 (33.27%) Medina 5,720 (16.42%)
White 15,818 (78.19%) Shami 1,789 (8.84%)
Bexar County:
Perry 17,525 (52.71%) Hutchison 11,446 (34.43%) Medina 4,867 (12.86%)
White 16,826 (75.41%) Shami 3,021 (13.54%)
Early Voting started Tuesday, February 16 and ends Friday, February 26. If you miss any and/or all of those chances to early vote for or against the candidate of your choice, then you’re just gonna have to wait until Election Day on Tuesday, March 2.
The battle of the big haired rah rahs seems strangely subdued for these two master mudslingers. Guess they don’t want to muss up their coifs. Maybe they’re pulling their punches, holding back some for a runoff – if Wannabe Medina can round up enough teabagger votes to force a runoff.
We noted the Goobernator made a big noise early on of blowing off trying to garner any newspaper endorsements. We wonder if that was because he knew he’d have trouble getting any or if he wanted Snorator Huchison to waste her campaign time making nice with the fourth estate. So far, the print media has taken him at his word and has endorsed the Snorator. Haven’t found any that have endorsed the Wannabe. Our tea leaves haven’t revealed if the Goobernator will keep snubbing editorial boards after the red primary or not. It may very well be a moot point for him when either March 3 or April 14 rolls around.
Private Note to Goobernator: The absolutely worst kept secret in Texas - if not the whole entire universe - is your hankering for yet another rent-free residence… the one at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW up there in the D of C. You might want to step back and take a look at the hubris that felled Baby Boy “I’m On My Way to the Texas Senate and Beyond” Gattis.
Just sayin….
We admit we’ve been slackers and not posting much lately. However, we haven’t forgotten about the elections on Tuesday, November 3. Wilco republicans understand their duty to vote, but sometimes we forget when it’s not a statewide election for people…. here’s a link to polling places.
Without any further ado, here are the eleven propositions on the ballot and our two cents. Hold on to your wallets folks, we haven’t seen this big of a money grab, legislation promoting special interests, and *revenue enhancement* since…well, since the last session….
Proposition One: The constitutional amendment authorizing the financing, including through tax increment financing, of the acquisition by municipalities and counties of buffer areas or open spaces adjacent to a military installation for the prevention of encroachment or for the construction of roadways, utilities, or other infrastructure to protect or promote the mission of the military installation. Just what we need, our cities and counties taking on MORE debt that, we believe, will only benefit a handful of developers and good old boys. It does absolutely nothing to protect our service men and women or our military bases.
Proposition Two: The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the ad valorem taxation of a residence homestead solely on the basis of the property’s value as a residence homestead. Let’s get this straight, you want us to vote for yet another tax on ourselves?
Proposition Three: The constitutional amendment providing for uniform standards and procedures for the appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes. Hmmm, uniform standards and procedures set by whom? More hornswaggle by the good old boys trying to move money from our wallets to theirs. Enough already!
Proposition Four: The constitutional amendment establishing the national research university fund to enable emerging research universities in this state to achieve national prominence as major research universities and transferring the balance of the higher education fund to the national research university fund. Now this is downright interesting…. specially the “emerging” research universities. Ever hear of robbing Peter to pay Paul? A “National Research University Fund”??!! Really??? Pie in the sky for all them with their sticky fingers already in the higher education cookie jar.
Proposition Five: The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to authorize a single board of equalization for two or more adjoining appraisal entities that elect to provide for consolidated equalizations. Ditto from Proposition Three.
Proposition Six: The constitutional amendment authorizing the Veterans’ Land Board to issue general obligation bonds in amounts equal to or less than amounts previously authorized. Finally, a proposed amendment that makes sense and serves a needed purpose.
Proposition Seven: The constitutional amendment to allow an officer or enlisted member of the Texas State Guard or other state militia or military force to hold other civil offices. Does the case of Lt. General Charles G. Rodriguez ring any bells for you? He’s the guy the State paid $53K and change to to run the Texas National Guard. Too bad, he was also deployed on federal orders and pocketed that paycheck, too. He wasn’t the only one caught with his both hand in two cookie jars, two other Generals were caught double-dipping their gubmit paychecks. If you want to allow gubmit workers to be able to work two gubmit jobs at the same time, do it for everybody. Don’t insult our intelligence by trying to wrap garbage in the flag.
Proposition Eight: The constitutional amendment authorizing the state to contribute money, property, and other resources for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of veterans hospitals in this state. The way the US gubmit treats our veterans and runs our veterans hospitals is an absolute national disgrace. We agree we could do it bigger and better in Texas. Let’s build the first one in Taylor.
Proposition Nine: The constitutional amendment to protect the right of the public, individually and collectively, to access and use the public beaches bordering the seaward shore of the Gulf of Mexico. Hell yes! If you want private beaches move somewhere else. Are you listening State Representative Wayne Christian (R-Center)??
Proposition Ten: The constitutional amendment to provide that elected members of the governing boards of emergency services districts may serve terms not to exceed four years. Term limits sure has a really republican ring to it, don’t it? some of us are old enough to remember the lamented “Contract with America” that wasn’t worth the paper it was written on. But four-year term limits for ESDs? Rubbish. If it called for a two-term limit, we’d be all over it. It doesn’t. We’re not.
Proposition Eleven: The constitutional amendment to prohibit the taking, damaging, or destroying of private property for public use unless the action is for the ownership, use, and enjoyment of the property by the State, a political subdivision of the State, the public at large, or entities granted the power of eminent domain under law or for the elimination of urban blight on a particular parcel of property, but not for certain economic development or enhancement of tax revenue purposes, and to limit the legislature’s authority to grant the power of eminent domain to an entity. Saving the best for last?? We are absolutely certain the Supremes were smoking crack when they ruled in Kelo v the City of New London. Texans need and deserve protection against the gubmit taking our property for private development, but this proposed amendment simply reeks of political pandering to special and personal interests.
Get off your duffs, learn more about them, and go vote.
Seems like the She-Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is skootching closer to running for Governor in 2010. Saturday, the Quorum Report printed the list of her 300 BFFs who are going to help her win the right to squat in that burnt out mess of a mansion over on Colorado Street.
Leading her list are GOP has beens party stalwarts like Phil Gramm. Yes, that Phil Gramm, the former Senator, Aggie economist & Enron stockholder that said we’re nothin’ but a nation of whiners. One of my favorite people.
Then, there’s Rod Paige, former HISD Superintendent and W’s secretary of education and architect of No Child Left Behind. Woo hoo, betcha that’s gonna get you a lot of votes.
How about former congressman Henry Bonilla? He founded the “American Dream PAC”, but instead of dreams, Bonilla’s hand-picked treasurer got caught with his hand in the PAC cookie jar. Whoops. In spite of having a congressional district drawn just for him, he managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and lost the seat to a dimocrat.
Then, there’s convicted drunk driver Congressman Kevin Brady from The Woodlands.
So far, we are underwhelmed. So goes the battle of the big-haired former rah rahs.
McCain has just conceded to Obama.
Be that as it may, the fat ladies ain’t sung yet.
Keep an eye on the battleground states: Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin.
Fox News just called Virginia for Obama.
UPDATES will be in the comments section.
MSNBC just called it for Obama.
CBS just called it for Obama.
CNN just called it for Obama.
MSNBC has called Texas for McCain. Well, d’uh. Talk about stating the obvious. CNN says Texas is still in play.
Keep an eye on the battleground states: Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin.
Harris County 9.95% of votes:
Straight dimocrat 54.89% straight republican: 44.72%
O’Biden: 53.04% McCain-Palin: 46.39%
Noriega: 52.94% Cornyn: 45.40%
CD 10: Doherty: 31.63% McCaul: 66.89%
CD 22: Lampson: 43.16% Olson: 54.90%
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE:
Wilco early votes:
O’Biden: 43.97% McCain-Palin: 54.82%
Noriega 39% Cornyn 57%
Maldonado: 51% Daniel: 46%
Grimes: 50.09 Birkman: 49.91%
Some of y’all might remember one of our pre-primary posts (see Decision Time and The Winner Is) where we predicted November would be like “…shooting fish in a barrel”.
If you believe all the political pundits these days, people are shooting at the red fish, not the blue fish. Keep in mind Texas red fish are some very fast swimmers.
The Texas House of Representatives made a mockery of democracy last session. Our house races are; in effect, a referendum on speaker craddick. A vote for either of our republican candidates is a vote to continue the regime that passes for leadership in the legislature. We believe that if we don’t clean our own house, the dimocrats are going to do it for us.
We don’t believe that Obama has coattails long enough to help out any dimocrats in Wilco World. With that in mind, we’re gonna live blog election returns so you don’t have to.
To turn a phrase of the late, great San Antonio sportswriter, Dan Cook: It ain’t over until the fat ladies sing.
This is for the more than 50% of our fellow Wilco Worlders that were too darned lazy to get up off your lazy buns and early vote.
If you up and die before you drag your ownself over to go vote on Tuesday, you should go straight to hell. That’s right. Straight. To. Hell. We say it because that’s where you belong. You belong there because, thanks to your shiftlessness, those wretched commie-lovin’ libruls in that County to the south of us turned out a greater percentage of early voters than we did.
Did you forget that that’s what all us red-blooded, red-state-lovin’ Wilco Worlders DO??!!
What’s that you say? You say you haven’t made up your mind who you want to vote for, yet? Heckfire, maybe you’ve just plain lost your mind.
Our advice for Tuesday? Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to wait in some really looooong lines. Libruls are used to waiting in long lines - you know, like welfare lines - so don’t let the libruls win because you couldn’t be bothered to wait your turn to vote.
Otherwise, you know where you can go….