Sunday No Big Bird Funnies

Brainy Endorsements: Vince Ryan

Vince Ryan is running for re-election to Harris County attorney. He was elected in 2008's Obama wave and faces Republican Bob Talton to return to office. If you don't count Wayne Dolcefino as political opposition, that is.

The Chron beat me to this endorsement (as slow as they are, I am disappointed I let that happen) and while gathering plaudits for Ryan's work and experience, drops in this intriguing paragraph.

We have noted, however, that partisanship has on occasion been taken to unhelpful lengths in blogs written by high-profile members of Ryan's team. These reflect on the county attorney himself and do not always promote civil and respectful relations with the many elected Republican officials at the county.

I can't find what they refer to here. Anyone?

GOP Godfather Gary Polland, something weird calling itself Texas Patriot Statesman, and Big Jolly have made the usual partisan appeals, but anything critical of Talton and supportive of the Ryan campaign "from high-profile members" of his team eludes my searches.

And Charles Kuffner -- from his continuing series of paeans on the inexorable power of money to get elected -- queried his readers in the spring about the rift among Republicans in the primary. No one appears to have answered his question.

I'll give that a whirl, without being able to confirm some of my supposition.

Talton earned the nickname "Crazy Bob" when he was in the state legislature. Talton, in fact, was so crazy that he bucked Tom Craddick -- hard and often -- when he was in the statehouse, which at the time was virtually a suicidal act. Jolly alludes to this in the link above (at the end).

Talton kamikaze style was so feared, in fact, that no less than Representatives Garnet Coleman and Jessica Farrar, state Senators Mario Gallegos and Rodney Ellis, former Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, former state representatives Scott Hochberg and Rick Noriega, all refused to support the Democrat that ran against Talton in 2006, Janette Sexton. It's worth excerpting a small bit...

(S)everal Houston-area Democratic legislators made promises of help of all kinds, but when she called to take up those offers, her calls went unanswered and unreturned. There were some people who leveled with Padilla-Sexton: state representative Garnet Coleman told her that he and his colleagues had discussed her race and come to the conclusion that they could not assist her because “they had to work with Bob Talton on regional issues”. (I contacted Phillip Martin, Coleman’s chief of staff, for a response but my queries went unanswered.) Mostly she got the cold shoulder: Rep. Jessica Farrar was effusive in her initial offers of assistance, but declined to return phone messages when the time came to help. Padilla-Sexton also reached out to Harris County commissioner Sylvia Garcia (mentoring), Sen. Rodney Ellis (about an air quality question), Rep. Scott Hochberg (regarding state education funding), Sen. Mario Gallegos (for adding credibility to her campaign) and Rep. Rick Noriega (for general help and direction), but none of those people returned her calls, either.

There were obviously conversations between Craddick's many enemies, Republicans among them, in 2006 about how to take him down. This may have earned Talton the respect so many Democrats showed him, as well as some enmity from conservatives of a Craddick-loving stripe. After all, there were over a dozen Texas House Democrats lining up behind the former Speaker in January 2007. Given that, how could any conservative fall out of formation and not be accused of heresy?

What this tells me -- and what it should tell you -- is that Democrats are such a beaten-down minority that they don't hesitate to throw one of their own under the bus if they can find a Republican to make a deal with. That's classic battered-spouse syndrome, folks. But the more important question is: what's the difference between the two parties, again?

I have a post prepared that is going to talk more about these local concession-tenderers, as John Behrman has referred to them. I may run it before Election Day... if I want to burn the last bridge between me and the Harris County Democratic Party. Suffice it for now to say that this is precisely where the roots of the problem for Democrats are dug in: with the oligarchs who are collecting markers, waiting for their next electoral opportunity.

But all of that is a digression from the low-quality opponent Vince Ryan has, as well as from the fine work he has done. Let's get Ryan back downtown to keep working as a check and balance against the worst of the Republicans on Harris County's Commissioners Court.

Brainy Endorsements so far include the following...

Nile Copeland for the First Court of Appeals
Alfred and GC Molison for HD 131 and SBOE, respectively
Henry Cooper for HD 148
Keith Hampton for Presiding Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Barbara Gardner for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals
Don Cook for Congress, 22nd District
Max Martin for Congress, 36th District
Remington Alessi for Harris County Sheriff
David Courtney for Texas Senate, District 17
Ann Harris Bennett for Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector
Ann Johnson for HD-134
Mike Engelhart, Larry Weiman, and Al Bennett for the Harris County bench
Mark Roberts for Congress, 2nd District
David Collins for United States Senate

Jill Stein and Kingwood's Students for Democratic Socialism

Three hundred people, not all of them students at Lone Star College, and not all the students present as required for curriculum. If I hadn't taken the pictures myself, I never would have thought it happened, either.

Despite reading Stace and Egberto all these years, I had no idea there was such a thriving nest of communist pit vipers in Kingwood.

This is exactly what conservatives have been warning us about for years: damn liberal professors corrupting the minds of our impressionable young people.

One of those who sponsors the group and hosted the event indicated to me that when they polled 900 students four years ago, the campus went 61-39... for McCain. So maybe Republicans don't have so much to worry about after all.

Still, at a time when the Harris County Green Party can barely get fifty at a monthly general meeting, and the leverage of teachers over students notwithstanding, 300 people on an NFL Thursday night is, well... unbelievable.

Dr. Stein touched on everything her presidential campaign is about for the hour she spoke, and answered questions for another thirty minutes, before being greeted by about 40-50 of the attendees for face time and photos. Earlier in the day it was the same phenomenon at U of H: students thronged around her in rotating groups of twenty to thirty, listening raptly and snapping pics on their cellphones. A few I spoke to as I distributed lit knew who she was, and were delighted to see her on campus.

I had one black student tell me he made a mistake when he voted for Obama in 2008 (!).

I haven't spent much time on college campuses in the past few years, so I'm sore from all the walking and was miserable in the heat and humidity for what little I did yesterday. My shin splints fired up and I went hypoglycemic, necessitating a sit-down for about fifteen minutes with a sandwich and ice tea while others did the work.

But this morning, I'm still agog at what the potential is for a progressive (not necessarily blue, although by extension they will benefit) movement in Texas.


Jill Stein takes a "Toxic Tour" of the Houston Ship Channel and East End this morning, followed by a press conference at 11 at Tranquility Park, with Juan Parras of t.e.j.a.s and Tar Sands Blockade activist Ben Franklin, who was choked, pepper-sprayed, Tasered, and then arrested in east Texas last week. Yesterday, actress Daryl Hannah was also arrested, as was a Wood County great-grandmother, charged with trespassing... on her own property.

Finally, another public speaking event at St. Stephens in the Montrose at 7 p.m. wraps the Stein campaign's day. Tomorrow: San Antonio. See the full schedule of Texas appearances here.

More debate reaction

It's not nearly as serious as what you have been hearing.

-- Conan O'Brien, too.

-- Chris Matthews is still mad about Obama's debate performance.

-- One debate in the can, and one swing state voter -- a Republican-leaning Milennial working on her MBA, completely turned off by the GOP's war on women -- remains undecided.

And Nick Anderson re-clarifies how relevant debate spin is to reality.

Jiill Stein's Houston itinerary: Thursday October 4

As previously advanced, Green Party candidate Jill Stein brings her campaign for President of the United States to Houston today and tomorrow. The public is invited to attend the the morning and evening events listed.

At 11:30 am, after arriving in Houston earlier, Stein will appear at the main campus of the University of Houston (4800 Calhoun Road, 77004), specifically the  University Center Satellite food court, to meet and greet with Green Party supporters, progressive activists, students, faculty, staff, and local media.

This is your best chance to speak -- maybe have your photo taken -- with a 2012 presidential candidate... and not have to pay $10,000 for the privilege.

Dr. Stein at U of H this afternoon.

At 1:30 pm, Stein will join the first of two poly-sci classes at U of H for a discussion and Q&A.

Then at 3:00 pm, Stein will be in the KPFT studios, and on the air live, with Leo Gold, host of The New Capital Show.

By all indications at this time, Stein's 7:00 pm public speaking engagement at Lone Star College -- Kingwood (20000 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood 77339), could be the most popular event on the schedule. Stein will speak at the Student Conference Center, and will be available to Houston media before and after.

Stein will also be in Houston Friday and Sunday, with a day trip to San Antonio in-between. The full schedule is here, and also at the Stein for President website.