Chad’s Morning Brief: Cruz To Steer Clear of Texas Elections But Will Focus on Senate Candidates, Dan Branch Calls on the San Antonio City Council to Drop The LGBT Ordinance, & More
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of August 21, 2013. Give me your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am. Remember, you can listen online at KFYO.com or on your iPhone/Android with the radioPup App.
1. Cruz Looking for Conservative Candidates (link)
Senator Ted Cruz is looking for like-minded conservatives to join him in Congress. For those hoping that Cruz will get involved in state-wide elections in Texas, don't count on it.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a rock star in the Republican grassroots, will mostly steer clear of political squabbles in his home state during the 2014 primaries.
It’s another story outside Texas.
Cruz says he plans to devote considerable energy toward getting like-minded conservatives elected to the U.S. Senate, where he sees a good opportunity to elect a Republican majority in the traditionally difficult sixth year of the incumbent president’s tenure.
“I expect to get involved in a number of U.S. Senate races across the country,” Cruz said in an interview during a swing through the Houston area this week. “I’m giving that some time to develop.”
Cruz said he was unlikely to "get involved in many state races" in Texas.
In his own climb to the U.S. Senate, Cruz saw his political fortunes rise after snagging endorsements from Tea Party conservatives like U.S. Sens. Jim DeMint, Mike Lee and Rand Paul. Cruz went on to score one of the biggest upsets in the nation when he defeated Lt. Gov.David Dewhurst, the establishment candidate who had been favored to win.
Now Cruz, just eight months into his first term, is a hot commodity himself — not only as a potential 2016 presidential candidate but as a potential kingmaker in other U.S. Senate races.
And requests for endorsements and speaking appearances are rolling in from candidates who support the same policy goals and are hungry for a similar victory.
Cruz said it’s still early to be talking about specifics or precisely which races and candidates are getting his attention. He said he wants to see first who can get the kind of support from grassroots activists and business leaders that’s needed to wage a competitive race.
“I’m going to give them some time to develop and see who actually builds the grassroots support and makes the case to the people that they will fight for conservative principles,” Cruz said.
Washington politicians — himself included — should not be “picking winners and losers,” Cruz said. But he made it clear that he wants “strong, free market candidates who will defend the Constitution.”
Cruz has riled senators on both sides of the aisle in Washington with his anti-establishment rhetoric and, more recently, his embrace of a partial government shutdown unless Congress votes to strip funding for Obamacare. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, called him and other Tea Party-backed senators “wacko birds,” and Democrats say Cruz is a far-right extremist.
But he is popular among Tea Party activists and grassroots conservatives, and speculation is growing that Cruz will run for president. Cruz made his debut last month in first-test Iowa, where he got a reception that the conservative National Reviewdescribed as “rapturous.”
Back home, at least one state politician is already anxious to endorse him for president: state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston. A talk radio host, Patrick famously roughed up Cruz on his show during the 2012 U.S. Senate primary, but now Patrick is running against Cruz’s former opponent — Dewhurst — in the race for lieutenant governor.
In Houston on Tuesday, Patrick called Cruz “Reaganesque,” and vowed to support him in 2016 even if he’s running against Gov. Rick Perry, another Texas Republican mentioned as a potential candidate for president.
“I would support Ted Cruz. But I like the governor,” he said. “I think Ted has taken our conservative message to a different level.’’
Not surprising that Cruz would steer clear of Texas elections. Cruz needs help in the Senate. There are too many McCain's and Graham's in the U.S. Senate on the Republican side. We need people with backbones who will stand up for what they believe in.
2. Branch to Castro: Drop the Ordinance (link)
The Republican race for Texas Attorney General is very important for the State of Texas. Right now, one candidate seems to be separating himself from the pack. Rep. Dan Branch has called on San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to drop the controversial LGBT ordinance that is under consideration.
The firestorm surrounding San Antonio's proposed non-discrimination ordinance is spreading from local government into state politics.
State Rep. Dan Branch, a Dallas Republican campaigning for attorney general, sent a letter to Mayor Julián Castro on Monday asking that he withdraw the proposed city council ordinance that would ban discrimination of employees based on sexual orientation.
Branch argues that banning discrimination against gay people would in turn unfairly discriminate against people of faith.
“The proposed ordinance itself discriminates — against people of faith,” wrote Branch. “The proposed city ordinance would exclude citizens from being appointed to city office ... if they believe — as millions of people of faith do — in the traditional institution of marriage.”
Branch takes issue with part of the ordinance that reads, “No appointed official or member of a board or commission shall engage in discrimination or demonstrate a bias, by word or deed, against any person” on the basis of sexual orientation.
Five other large cities in Texas have similar ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation including Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, El Paso and Houston. Branch did not mention his district's ordinance in the letter.
Branch, 55, filed a court brief earlier this month supporting the state's ban on gay marriage.
“Equating traditional marriage with discrimination is deeply offensive to millions of Texans and Americans of faith,” Branch said.
Texans want to see an outspoken fighter take over for Greg Abbott. Call us spoiled I guess. Branch is doing a good job at trying to fill those shoes without even mentioning his opponents. Oh yeah, and he is also winning the money war.
3. Recall Against Price Fails (link)
Nothing about this is surprising.
Garza said there were numerous issues that forced the petition to be declared invalid. First, less than 400 signatures were declared valid. 509 valid signatures were needed to trigger the recall election. Secondly, the petition did not meet the City of Lubbock’s charter requirement that 10% of the people signing a petition to recall an officeholder had to vote for the officeholder in the previous election. Harris turned in over 640 signatures, so he needed 65 valid signatures of people that had voted for Price in his last election.
Councilman Floyd Price ran unopposed for re-election in 2012, so Harris had to find people that voted in the District 2 election in 2008. Price’s current term in office expires in 2016.
After the results were announced, Harris said, “I’m not giving up hope. I will contact my attorney this afternoon and see what needs to be done as far as going forward this, and if it is like they say it is and everything shakes out the way it is I still will be running for that office.”
Harris also stated his continued opposition against Councilman Price, “I mean, the community needs this. Like I said before, and I will say it over again, he (Price) does nothing for our community. Somebody has to get it done and I am the chosen one and I am going to get it done.”
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