Chad’s Morning Brief: Ted Cruz Defeats David Dewhurst, Generational Gap in 2012 Election, & More
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of August 1, 2012. Give us your feedback below and tune in to Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty for these and many more topics from 6-9 am.
1. Cruz Wins (link)
It was a big night for Ted Cruz and a big night for the Tea Party. Ted Cruz defeated Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst receiving around 56% of the vote. According to the Star-Telegram,
In the GOP battle that became "establishment" versus Tea Party, Cruz held 56 percent of the vote to Dewhurst's 44 percent, with 6.780 of 7,957 precincts reporting.
The results appeared to show that "the battle over Texas redistricting claimed another casualty Tuesday night: David Dewhurst.
"Had the state's primary been held in March, as planned, Dewhurst would likely be well on his way to becoming a U.S. senator," said Larry Sabato, a political analyst and director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "Instead, Ted Cruz was given more time to weaken Dewhurst.
Cruz's win "is another victory for anti-establishment Tea Party forces in the Republican Party," Sabato said, adding that a Dewhurst defeat "is another blow to Gov. Rick Perry, who is still smarting from his poor presidential performance earlier this year. And who knows - if Perry does in fact run for another term as governor, there might be another Ted Cruz waiting for him in 2014."
Cruz ran a fantastic campaign and came out of nowhere to win. Cruz has a lot to live up to in the Senate, but he already has a group of lawmakers with him ready for battle. He still must face Democrat Paul Sadler in November, but that should be an easy victory for Mr. Cruz.
What do you think about the win for Ted Cruz?
2. Generation Gap (link)
It looks like it could be a repeat of 2008 when it comes to the generational divide. The big question is, will young adults vote?
The first-time voters back President Obama.
That much-debated gender gap? The generation gap is wider. In a national USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, most 65-and-older seniors support Romney while young adults under 30 back Obama by almost 2-1. The 18-percentage-point difference in their presidential choices is one of the electorate's biggest demographic divides, and it helps define campaign strategies for both sides.
The enthusiasm of the Millennial Generation for Obama, who is now 50, fueled his election victory four years ago. Though still backing him, younger voters have lost some of their ardor while seniors have become significantly more engaged than in 2008 on behalf of the 65-year-old Romney — and they are much more likely to vote. At stake in this divide is not only the presidency but also the country's policy direction — shaping the debate on Social Security and Medicare spending, the need to invest in education and the priority placed on environment.
Ireton-Hewitt, for one, finds his granddaughters' point of view exasperating.
"Their big thing is Obama is going to lower the interest rates on their college loans," he says, noting that he worked his way through college and graduate school without borrowing a dime. The Chambersburg resident appreciates Romney's business background and his record in turning around the troubled Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002. "That's the kind of guy we need as president today," he says.
Thoughts?
3. Julian Castro's Future (link)
Yesterday it was announced that San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro would be delivering the keynote speech to the Democratic National Convention. That began the speculation that Castro had higher ambitions than Mayor, but Castro said yesterday that that wasn't the case.
“I am doing exactly what I want to do, and I am excited about the progress that we have made here,” Castro told The Texas Tribune. “When I thought about getting into public service, this was the role that I looked forward to, and it’s exciting to actually see progress in San Antonio. So I can’t see anything out there that would change my mind.”
Castro’s keynote address was announced Tuesday morning in a video released to Univision. He will speak in prime time on Sept. 4, the first night of the convention in Charlotte, N.C.
As the mayor downplayed the hype over the keynote speech, he said he was focused on supporting a ballot initiative that, if approved this November, would increase funding for pre-K programs.
Whether you believe Castro or not, the DNC obviously thinks a lot of the Mayor. The keynote speech in prime-time is a huge spotlight.
4. Deadly City (link)
Last week, Raham Emanuel said Chick-fil-a's values were not the same as Chicago's. More and more, he is looking right. Yesterday NBC Chicago declared the city the "Deadliest Global City".
Chicago likes to compare itself to other world cities, so Ward Room thought it would find out how we rank in violence. It turns out no one can top us. Among what are considered Alpha world cities, Chicago has the highest murder rate -- higher even than the Third World metropolises of Mexico City and Sao Paolo. Here’s how we rank in murders per 100,000 among cities we consider our peers, based on a projected murder total of 505 for this year.
Singapore 0.4
Tokyo 0.5
Hong Kong 0.6
Berlin 1.0
Sydney 1.0
London 1.4
Toronto 1.7
Amsterdam 1.8
Paris 4.4
New York 6.0
Los Angeles 7.5
Mexico City 8.0
Moscow 9.6
Sao Paolo 15.6
Chicago 19.4We could be doing worse: Caracas, Venezuela has a murder rate of 130 per 100,000.
Looks like that ban on guns is doing great things in Chicago.
Other Top Stories:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty. Tune in mornings 6-9am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.
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