Friday, October 11, 2013

Dan Patrick attacks DREAMers even as RNC crows about Latino outreach

These is no discernible irony -- and no such thing as hypocrisy -- in the conservative hive mind.

The four leading GOP candidates for lieutenant governor want to overturn the state’s 2001 version of the DREAM Act, the Dallas Morning News reports. The position is sure to draw criticism from Latino politicians responsible for passing the law, even as the Republican party launches a seven-state outreach effort to boost its popularity among Latinos after Mitt Romney’s poor performance among Hispanics in the 2012 election.

Dan Patrick, a Republican state senator representing Houston, got the ball rolling this week with an ad trumpeting his opposition to illegal immigration.

“If Sam Houston, Travis, Bowie and Austin were here today, they would be proud of Texas, but they would be ashamed of Washington,” Patrick says in the ad. “Illegal immigration is Washington’s responsibility, but it’s our problem.”

You need to see it to believe it.



Patrick, campaigning like so many other Texas Republicans against Barack Obama in the GOP primary, is wrong again on the facts (or he is lying again, which is more likely).

Sam Houston, William Travis, James Bowie and Stephen Austin were part of a wave of Anglo-American immigrants to what was then northern Mexico in the early 19th century. Travis immigrated illegally, according to the Texas State Historical Association’s “Handbook of Texas.” Migrants from the United States wound up outnumbering Mexican nationals and wrested the territory from Mexican control, along with the support of several Tejano leaders, in the Texas Revolution in 1836.

The ad goes on to incorrectly say that he’s the “only candidate for lieutenant governor to oppose in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.” In fact, three of his Republican rivals -- Lt. Gov. David Dewhurt, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples – also oppose the measure.

“It’s unfortunate seeing everybody clamor to see who can be the most extreme on that,” Art Martinez de Vara, a co-founder of the Texas Federal of Hispanic Republicans, told the Dallas Morning News. 

Todd Staples has the most to lose in this strategy, since he has an actual voting record that goes against Tea Party orthodoxy.  But really, who cares what any of these lunatics say or believe?  They're all as crazy as a quartet of shithouse rats.

Texas cannot stand to have even one of them anywhere near elective office in 2015.  The good news is that three of them won't.  And the last gaffe standing needs to be taken out by Leticia Van de Putte.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

#GivetoWendy

Today Brains and Eggs is teaming up with over 30 blogs from all over Texas and across the country to urge readers to do one thing:


Goal Thermometer
Donate to Wendy Davis's campaign for Texas Governor.

Why give to Wendy Davis?

Because our kids deserve the best education possible, and our public schools and teachers need more funding to be competitive, not $5.4 billion in cuts.

Because women are equal to men and Texas needs a governor who not only agrees but is willing to sign legislation that affirms this basic fact.

Because as Wendy herself said, "quid pro quo has become the status quo," and Texans don't benefit when contracts, grants, and appointments are handed out as favors to donors.

Because Texas can do better than being ranked near the bottom of high school graduation rates and near the top of cancer-causing pollutants in our water and air.

If you donate to Wendy Davis, you give her the best opportunity to run a strong, hard campaign that has the resources she needs to win.
 
Make sure Wendy Davis has what she needs to run the best campaign possible. Give to Wendy Davis today.
 
Brains and Eggs will take a break from coverage of Texas politics to request one thing and one thing only: Give to Wendy. We're excited to be part of an effort that includes the following blogs:

Ann Friedman * Behind Frenemy Lines * Brains and Eggs * Brittanie Shey * Burnt Orange Report * Concerned Citizens * DailyKos * Dos Centavos * Eclectablog * Egberto Willies * Eye on Williamson * Feminist Justice League * Feministing * Greg's Opinion * In The Pink * Jessica Luther * Juanita Jean's * Julie Gillis * Letters from Texas * Mean Rachel * Nerdy Feminist * Nonsequiteuse * Off the Kuff * Rude Pundit * Sensing Place * Texas Leftist * TexPatriate * The Oeditrix * The South Lawn * The Texas Monitor * Too Twisted for Color TV

You can also follow the action on the Twitter hashtag #GiveToWendy .

Here's a few excerpts from some of those linked so far...

What does your gift mean to her campaign?

Stability. Momentum. Energy.

Stability, because money early in a campaign allows a candidate to build a team and work strategically to take advantage of every available opportunity.

Momentum, because early money really is like yeast—it makes the dough rise.

Energy, because early money tells the candidate that the grassroots are strong, which gives her the courage and credibility to stake out bold positions.

In my almost-25 years in politics and government, I’ve never seen anything in Texas like the excitement for Wendy Davis.

If this were shaping up to be a typical election, and Wendy Davis was shaping up to be typical Democratic nominee for Governor, I’d be ready to throw in the towel – Democrats would suffer the same typical result.

But this isn’t the typical election. And Wendy Davis damn sure isn’t the typical candidate; she’s extraordinary. I worked with the Ann Richards campaign back in the day. Governor Richards finished with a ton of enthusiasm, but she didn’t have it from the starting gate like Wendy does. Indeed, she started out her race for Governor 27 percentage points down in the polls.

Let me throw cold water on things: Wendy can’t do this. If you stand still and wait for her to win this election, you’ll be disappointed.

The good news: we – together – can do this. Not just Wendy alone, but all of us.

We all know -- yes, even Republicans, in the darkest place of their hardest hearts -- that Texans need Wendy Davis in the governor's mansion. We need to give her the resources she needs to run the best campaign possible.

Please Give to Wendy Today.

Update (10/13):

Just wanted to shoot y'all a quick note of thanks for helping with our blograiser this week. We pulled in over $18K -- the ActBlue page raised $12,275 and the email DailyKos sent raised $5858 on a separate page. Plus, there were $185 in monthly recurring donations so that should bring in another $2000 or so over the course of the campaign, so all told we've collectively boosted Wendy's coffers by a potential $20K!!

Wendy herself Tweeted her thanks this morning: