REDISTRICTING RUNDOWN Condensed from an article by David Guenther, The Lone Star Report, 12/7/01
The federal court's redistricting ruling created one Senate District and 18 House districts that contain the current residences of many incumbents. But with many lawmakers seeking high office, relocating to new districts or retiring, there are few races pairing incumbents.
Here is a rundown by Senate District (SD) and House Districts (HD):
SD 16: David Cain (D) vs. John Carona (R): Cain has decided to move back into SD 2, where he will get a rematch with the 1998 GOP nominee Robert Deuell.
HD 3: Mark Homer (D) vs. Tom Ramsay (D): Ramsay decided to enter the Democratic primary for agriculture commissioner, leaving the race to Homer.
HD 4: Clyde Alexander (D) vs. Betty Brown (R): Alexander is retiring.
HD 9: Jim McReynolds (D) vs. Wayne Christian (R): McReynolds has moved to Angelina County. No Democratic candidate has announced plans to run against Christian.
HD 11: Paul Sadler (D) vs. Chuck Hopson (D): Sadler is retiring.
HD 23: Craig Eiland (D) vs. Patricia Gray (D) vs. Zeb Zbranek (D): Eiland will run; Gray won't; Zbanek has yet to announce his plans, but is leaning toward a candidacy in SD 4.
HD 32: Judy Hawley (D) vs. Gene Seaman (R): Hawley told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that she was retiring.
HD 41: Roberto Gutierrez (D) vs. Juan Hinojosa (D): They will run against each other.
HD 49: Ann Kitchen (D) vs. Glen Maxey (D) vs. Elliot Naishat (D): Kitchen will move back into HD 48, Maxey is hinting he will retire.
HD 53: Bob Turner (D) vs. Harvey Hildebran (R): With no open seat nearby, Turner and Hildebran will probably run against each other. The district is heavily Republican, but 40% of it is in Turner's current district.
HD 56: Jim Dunnam (D) vs. Kip Averitt (R ): Averitt had filed for the open SD 22.
HD 68: David Counts (D) vs. Rick Hardcastle (R): Hardcastle has already filed. Counts says he will file next week.
HD 74: Pete Gallego (D) vs. Tracy King (D): King has moved to HD 80.
HD 83: Delwin Jones (R) vs. Gary Walker (R): They will run against each other.
HD 100: Terri Hodge (D) vs. Dale Tillery (D): Both will run.
HD 108: Harryette Ehrhardt (D) vs. Kenn George (R): George is running for land commissioner. The strong Republican tilt of this district is prompting Ehrhardt to consider a bid for Dallas County judge.
HD 122: Frank Corte (R) vs. John Shields (R): Shields will challenge Sen. Jeff Wentworth in SD 25. Corte may face a Republican challenger.
HD 134: Debra Danburg (D) vs. Scott Hochberg (D): vs. Kyle Janek (R): Janek is running for SD 17; Danberg will run; Hochberg is undecided.
HD 143: Fred Bosse (D) vs. Joe Moreno (D): Bosse may run for CD 25 next year as 75% of this district is Hispanic, and his former district is 60% Republican.
Source: The Lone Star Report, 12/7/01
CBS INSIDER TELLS ALL IN NEW BOOK
Bernie Goldberg, a 28-year veteran of CBS news, has stirred up a hornet's nest with his fourth book, Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News. It is an expose' of what he calls "consistent and outright bias" on the part of his former colleagues. Excerpts from the work were published on the Drudge web site, and evoked vicious attacks by Dan Rather and others. Goldberg, a liberal himself, calls the CBS management "a bunch of hypocrites," and compares Rather to the mafia, describing him as generous, but "ruthless and unforgiving," with a touch of Richard Nixon's "paranoia." Especially galling to CBS brass was Goldberg's revelation that CBS News President Andrew Hayward once told him, "Look, Bernie, of course there's a liberal bias in the news. All the networks tilt left. The whole *!%#& world knows it. If you repeat any of this I'll deny it." In retaliation, Goldberg's former fellow CBS correspondent Eric Engberg called the book "an act of treason." CBS has repeatedly ignored his warnings that its liberal bias is "hemorrhaging viewers." Even before it is in print, his book has rushed to the top of the Amazon.com best-seller list.
Source: National Federation of Republican Assemblies Newsletter, 12-04-01
LATEST MISSILE DEFENSE TEST SUCCESSFUL
On Dec. 2, the U.S. military achieved another successful hit by an interceptor missile on a simulated ballistic missile high over the Pacific Ocean. The event was the third such hit in five attempts over the last two years. David Keene, Chairman of the American Conservative Union, said the test and two earlier successes "reconfirm the viability of comprehensive missile defense, which has taken on a new meaning of urgency since the attacks of September 11th."
Source: Eagle Forum News & Notes
DEMOCRATS PUSHING PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION PROCESS EVER EARLIER
Columnist David Broder (Washington Post, 11-28-01) reports that Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, "with virtually no public debate" has engineered a change in the nominating calendar for the 2004 presidential election "to guarantee that even more states will hold delegate primaries in '04 even earlier in the winter than they did in '00. "Every party official and campaign strategist I talked to agrees that the race to choose the next Democratic nominee will begin in earnest less than a year from now, as soon as the midterm election is out of the way." McAuliffe said his goal was to get the intraparty fighting over early to raise more money and manpower. He wants the candidate chosen by early March. The effect will be to give ordinary voters fewer choices, less input and less time to judge the candidates in a variety of campaigns and situations. The result, Democratic Massachusetts National Committeeman James Roosevelt commented, "..is that more and more states will move to the earliest date the parties allow. We are moving toward a de facto national primary."
Source: Eagle Forum News & Notes
HOW FEMINISTS FEED AT THE PUBLIC TROUGH
Recent information has come to light that the Clinton Administration granted $543,636 of taxpayers' money to California National Organization for Women (NOW), ostensibly for "tobacco control." You can be sure that the money was used to promote NOW's feminist agenda.
Source: Eagle Forum News & Notes
MS. MAGAZINE BITES THE DUST
Ms. is closing this month, laying off all its staff, and giving itself to Eleanor Smeal's Feminist Majority Foundation to decide what to do with the remnants of the failed magazine. The final issue is December. Now that founder Gloria Steinem is married, perhaps some will realize that feminism has gone out of style.
Source: Eagle Forum News & Notes
OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS
On October 9 the Washington Post reported the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun violence (formerly Handgun Control, Inc.) laid off 14 staffers, 20% of its workforce. The National Association of Chiefs of Police issued their 14th annual survey. Over 93% said yes to "Should any
law-abiding citizen be able to purchase a firearm for sport or self-defense?" The October 15 Los Angeles Times reported that in California, "the number of people buying guns jumped by more than 50% the week of the attacks...and has remained about 32% above the previous year." The November 8 Dallas Morning News reported applications for concealed-carry permits in Texas nearly tripled in the two months following September 11.
Source: Eagle Forum News & Notes
TESTS SHOW U.S. STUDENTS DROP IN SCIENCE PROFICIENCY
Results of the performance of 12th graders on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science test given last year are in. They show that 82% of the high school seniors did slightly worse than those tested four years ago. Among fourth graders, 71% declined, and 68% of eighth graders performed below proficiency, lacking the knowledge and skills needed to apply scientific principles. These results "mirror the disappointing results of previously released NAEP tests on math and reading."
Source: Washington Post, 11-21-01
TEXAS GOVERNOR BACKS SCHOOL PRAYER
The November issue of Texas Eagle Forum's Torch reports that Governor Rick Perry, a conservative Republican, is being pilloried in the state's media for the crime of saying "Amen" following a prayer given at an East Texas middle school. The Rev. Roy Duncan was giving an invocation, and closed with the words "In Jesus' name." A number of students and the Governor joined in saying "Amen." The Austin American-Statesman wrote a scathing editorial, saying "...the very nature of a specific Christian prayer is intolerant toward those who follow different beliefs." Governor Perry said, "From my personal perspective, I think that a prayer life and a country that respects a higher being, our God, is a stronger country. I believe that, and I think the vast majority of the people of Texas and in this country believe that."
Source: Eagle Forum News & Notes
HISTORY OF GROWTH IN CAPITOL HILL STAFF TRACED
Roll Call, an independent Capitol Hill newspaper, reported November 15 on the expansion of congressional staffing over the past century. In 1900, most representatives had one full-time clerk. Senators had fewer, since not all members of the Senate had a full time assistant. Today, the total number of House staffers, including committee staff, is 8,758 (an average of 20 per congressman) ; for the Senate the total is 6,054 (an average of 60.5 each). Roll Call notes that back in 1893, when the House voted funds for clerks (the Senate had done so in 1885), Rep. Samuel Peel (D, AR) argued that the increased work load justifying the change was the fault of Congress itself, because of the "bad seed and worthless documents" they sent out, and the fact that people had been taught to "look to the government for everything." What would he say today?
