One view of the primary results in Texas. by Mark Vogl
(conservative)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Last night was an interesting, and possibly a telling election in Texas. In a sweeping rejection of an Arabic candidate in the Democratic primary, Farouk Shami, a self made multi millionaire, if not billionaire, was trounced (not even receiving 20% of the primary vote) by former Houston Mayor Bill White. White used millions in commercial dollars to tell us he lowered taxes five straight years in Houston.
If White is conservative, if he is a blue dog, and has a record to prove it, Perry could have his hands full in November.
In the Republican primary, a maligned Governor Perry won, and by a large enough margin that Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson has conceded her effort and will not face him in a run off. The libertarian, Debra Medina was an also ran who really had no impact on the race, despite getting 17% of the vote. Her support for liberal policies like legalizing drugs and her doubts about the US government in connection with September 11th killed her.
But in the governor's Republican primary, former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin played a pivotal role when she endorsed Perry. Perry's fortunes took off at that point, and he never looked back. And Sarah is scheduled to visit East Texas in June. I will be surprised if it is not standing room only for Sarah! She's our girl down here.
But this race, this political season may have been very important for the future. Hutchinson, a potential rival to Sarah, vanquished, her liberal petticoats and Washington connections killed her.
In addition, a long time, moderate State House Republican, known for his support of teachers and his liberal tendencies, lost his primary bid to a complete unknown whose sole advantage was his conservative views. Tommy Merrit was an institution in the State House...but not any more. Incumbent RINO...dead.
More than that, in our county, very popular Democrat county office incumbents had made the plunge months earlier, changed to the GOP and won their GOP primaries handsomely, driving up Republican voter turn out. In Texas, people don't register by partythey chose their party each primary season. This could mean life long Democrats may finally move right... in one of the redest states in the failing union.
Another important message in Perry's re-election bid was his constant mentioning of the Tenth Amendment, the Amendment which is supposed to guarantee state's rights and state sovereignty. In the South, and maybe in the west, that's gonna be a renewed battle cry on that issue. And while Hannity pushes secular conservatism (putting social values in the closet), at least in the South, the Bible Belt, God is re-entering political discourse ina big way. He is percolating from the ground up, and could be a renewed and real force in the GOP's southern primaries. Many of us believe our nation is enduring its present troubles because of our turn from God. And if a candidate won't bring God back to the political table, he won't get our vote.
Perry's race is a perfect example. While Perry won comfortably last nite, this conservative will take a hard look at White. Perry was part of Bush's NAFTA family and pushed the Trans Texas Corridor as hard as he couldtil it died in the legislature. Its been dead for awhile, but many of us don't trust him on that issue, one which we oppose to the boot heels.
So in Texas, a lot is going on.
Mark Vogl
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Do you live in Texas? I do, and I say that Perry has got to go! He has been Governor for too long. So I'm endorsing Bill White and will be quite happy to see Republicans in Texas take a beating from both Democrats and Libertarians this year!
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