Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of August 12, 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.

Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
loading...

1. Cruz Fires Up Iowa (link)

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz is in demand and anywhere he goes, he seems to fire up the audience and come out looking like the rock star of the Republican Party. That continued this weekend in Iowa.

AMES, Iowa – Sen. Ted Cruz spent the afternoon in Iowa, revving up a crowd of conservative activists in his second visit in two weeks. He asked them, as he often does, to text him their cellphone numbers – the modern way to build a list of donors and volunteers.

But don’t jump to any conclusions about 2016 ambitions, he said.

Texas has been hot this week so he was glad for the chance to get away, he joked, demurring when asked whether he’s eyeing the White House.

“I am traveling the country working to build a grassroots army and the biggest fight facing Congress right now is the fight to defund Obamacare,” he said, adding, “My focus here today, my focus every day in the Senate, is on standing up and fighting for conservative principles.”

He trod carefully when asked whether his relative lack of experience should be held against him, just as Republicans condemned President Barack Obama as ill-prepared after a short tenure in public office.

No, Cruz replied, the main problem with Obama is his desire for government control of the economy and redistribution of wealth.

In his 26-minute speech at The Family Leadership Summit, the 42-year-old senator presented himself as a zesty outsider. He called on grassroots activists to help him and a small band of like-minded lawmakers pressure Congress to defund Obamacare, drawing ovations for that , for his call to abolish the IRS, and for his refusal to accept a path to citizenship in any immigration overhaul.

“There is a bipartisan mess up there that depends on the ever growing leviathan of government,” he said.  “A lot of politicians in Washington in both parties are telling the American people it can’t be done….The only way we win this fight is if the American people rise up.”

Backstage, he hobnobbed with Donald Trump. Afterward, he signed some autographs and spoke with reporters from Iowa and elsewhere, a gesture taken by some as a sign he has 2016 on the mind.

“Loved him,” said Ottumwa resident Shirley Davis, 63, a retired computer systems worker at tractor maker John Deere. “He espoused every value I uphold.”

She’d love to see Cruz run for president, unless Mike Huckabee runs again. “I don’t think we need both of them,” she said.

Still a long time to go before 2016, but as of right now Cruz looks to be a strong primary contender. The big question is, can the primary handle a race that includes Cruz, Perry, Rubio, Christie, Jindal, and Paul Ryan... not to mention the others who may get in.

2. Downtown Lubbock (link)

Over the weekend the Lubbock AJ, who owns a building in Downtown, published another article about Downtown Redevelopment and Centennial Bank. I've got no problem of course with the move by the bank to go Downtown. Good for them in fact. I do take issue with a few of the quotes in the story.

Lubbock has expanded and local businesses have followed. Corporate headquarters can be found in all corners of the city, but revitalizing downtown is essential to economic growth, according to Eddie McBride, president and CEO of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce.

“We need a vibrant downtown to continue being the heartbeat of the community,” he said. “It helps to attract new businesses to Lubbock, and the more folks we can get here (downtown), the more attention it will get.”

So on one hand, Lubbock has grown and businesses have moved here. On the other hand, we must have a vibrant downtown area in order to attract people and business. How do these statements work together? I could see the absolute need for a vibrant downtown if Lubbock wasn't growing and attracting businesses, but we are.

The growth of Texas Tech and the close proximity to Lubbock’s medical district has made the city naturally flow toward downtown, according to Delbert McDougal, CEO of McDougal Cos., who been working on downtown redevelopment plans as the master developer.

“Downtown is the core of Lubbock, and it’s where the major banks, major churches and all government entities are,” he said. “It is ripe for redevelopment because you have more than 22,000 people commuting there each day.”

Yet McDougal built his corporate headquarters where? Yeah, not in downtown. McDougal does bring up a good point. A lot of people commute there each day. Commute. They don't live there. Lunch places might do okay in downtown, but that's it unless you are in the Depot District. Another thing that hurts restaurants in downtown is that it doesn't take long to get anywhere from downtown. In major cities you have to eat close to work because of traffic issues. We don't have that in Lubbock.

I have no problem with downtown redevelopment as long as it's done privately, like Centennial Bank and the possibility of a performing arts center. If the PAC is built, you will see natural growth.

Would it be nice to see Downtown Lubbock take off like Downtown Austin, Denver, and Uptown in Dallas? Sure. I just don't believe that the future of Lubbock depends on it and I don't believe taxpayer money needs to be spent.

By the way, notice that I mention Uptown in Dallas and not Downtown. Want to know why? Because Downtown Dallas is dead.

3. Hispanics and the GOP (link)

The Washington Post published an article about Hispanics and the GOP. In a nutshell, most Hispanics favor the Democratic Party. Does that mean Republicans voting for amnesty will swing things the other way? Of course not. The problem for the GOP is messaging and relating their message to Hispanics.

The Republican Party’s struggles with Hispanics have been well-documented. Now, a new poll from Gallup shows that it makes little difference whether Latinos living in the U.S. were born in the country or not when it comes to close alignment with the Democratic Party.

Fully 64 percent of U.S.-born Hispanics whose parents were also born in the U.S. identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party — more than double the percentage (30) that said they identify or lean toward the Republican Party. For Hispanics born outside the U.S., the split is very similar, with 57 percent leaning toward or identifying with the Democratic Party and just 25 percent aligning themselves with the Republican Party.

Hispanics born outside the U.S. are more likely to be independent, the poll shows. But that factor doesn’t change the fact that Hispanics have largely aligned themselves with the Democratic Party, regardless of where they were born.

And therein lies one of the political dilemmas for Republicans with regard to immigration reform.

On the one hand, supporting comprehensive reform that includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants would mean legalizing a group of potential voters who have largely lined up against the GOP and joining a cause Democrats have been championing for years and will also take credit for.

On the other, many in the GOP realize it must repair its weak relationship with Hispanics beginning somewhere, and embracing immigration reform seems like a natural place to start.

Messaging is the place to start. Blow up the myth that the Democratic Party has spread for years that the Republican Party is the party of old white men. Talk about family and hard work. Talk about life issues. Have a good message and call the left out on their lies.

Other Top Stories:

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am 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.

More From News/Talk 95.1 & 790 KFYO