Texas Politics – A Conundrum of Confusion and Complexity
EDIT @ 10:33:58 02-06-14 I had a great conversation with Sen. John Carona this AM and as far as I am concerned I still endorse him for reelection and I am convinced that he is the BEST choice we can make for this district of North Texas.
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I am NOT stupid or naïve, I know that politics can be a very nasty game and I know that accusations can fly at a furious pace, it’s called *mud slinging*. Some may be true, some may be out and out lies and then there’s those that make you shake your head and wonder; what the hell?
The first thing I have to say is this; our Texas State Senator was Dr. Bob Deuell. Bob was our Senator for a long time, and he is one of the *good guys*. We lost Sen. Deuell a while back; nothing happened to him, no disaster or anything, we lost Bob Deuell due to Texas redistricting, an attempt to *level the playing field* for minority voters I believe. In other words; gerrymandering.
On Jan.31, 2014 I used this page, John Carona for Texas Senate, District 16 to endorse Sen. John Carona for reelection to the Texas State Senate.
I felt that Sen. Carona was the best choice, especially given that we didn’t pick him as our representative to begin with. I will clarify further in this post, suffice to say I have NO faith in this Don Huffines character.
I received a personal *thank you* from Sen. Carona, “John Carona Thank you Fred Witzell - your support is greatly appreciated!” that can be read on my Facebook home page.
Yesterday one of my very astute readers pointed out to me that rumors were floating about an instance where Sen. Carona had stood with another Texas State Senator, Royce West (D) to name a highway for Barack Hussein Obama.
Dallas real estate developer Don Huffines says Carona’s too liberal and he offers voters in the North Texas district a choice between “a liberal Republican and a true conservative.”
Huffines helped form a political super-PAC that supported Ron Paul in last year’s presidential race. The committee spent more than $400,000 promoting Paul and criticizing Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich in the 2012 GOP primary.
“I believe in limited government, in cutting spending so we can decrease taxes. I believe in the traditional family,” Huffines said in an interview Monday.
He labeled Carona, who has held his Senate seat for nearly two decades, as a “career politician” who is “out of touch with voters in his district.”
He cited a 2009 bill in the Texas Legislature to rename a portion of Interstate 20 for Barack Obama. Carona and Democratic Sen. Royce West co-sponsored the measure. SOURCE
I have a lot of problems with Don Huffines, not the least of which is his being a staunch supporter of Ron Paul. That sets off a lot of *alarm bells* for me, so I sent this message to Sen. Carona asking for some clarification:
Senator; I have a serious issue, maybe. Some of my blog readers are emailing ME asking why I would support a guy that wants, or wanted to name a highway for Barack Hussein Obama. I received emails on this today so I did an on-line search and found a lot of information but mostly from blogs, left leaning blogs, and some of it is several years old. Can you, would you be willing to shed some light on this? I would love to put this matter to rest if at all possible.
I have NOT heard back from Sen. Carona or his staff, and I did send communication to the Senator at his email address listed for *contact* on his web page.
So, here I sit, wondering why in the hell I even bother with politics. It seems like it’s just one issue after another, none of them good, and that leaves me facing quite the conundrum.
How do I, as a principled Conservative, support a man that wants, or *wanted* to honor Barack Hussein Obama with a highway, or support a man that it is a staunch Ron Paul supporter? And for those that may not know, I detest Ron Paul and his supporters.
As it stands at this time I see one as a RINO (Republican In Name Only) and the other as a Paultard.
This makes me want to move across the lake to Rockwall so I can have Sen. Bob Deuell back as MY State Senator.
Fred,
I have your answer - straight from the Senator’s mouth. Don Huffnes is lying - again…
What happened was this - Sen. Royce West submitted a bill to the committee that Carona was the chair of - the bill to rename a portion of I-20 after Obama. As the chair of the committee, and as is customary, Carona agreed to let West present the bill to the committee - out of common courtesy for a fellow State Senator. After some discussion - due to NO support from anyone on the committee - the bill was thrown out - without ever receiving a vote.
Huffines has twisted this nonsense into something it isn’t - because he has nothing else to stand on. He did the same thing with his campaign piece about Carona only attending a small percentage of committee meetings to which he was assigned. But in very small print at the bottom he added that the statistics left out the one, major committee that Carona was the chair of. Since the committees typically meet at the same time it’s pretty obvious why Carona would miss those others - he was in the committee meeting he was the chair of.
No, John Carona isn’t perfect - I don’t agree with him on everything but I’ve only found one person I agree with 100% - ME! LOL But he is far and away BETTER than Huffines ever could be.
Thank you for that response Michael! I had NO idea, I have had NO interaction with Carona, I have never met the man, but when it comes to Texas politics I KNOW that YOU have a finger on the pulse…
For those not knowing, Michael is one of our GREAT Rowlett City Council members…
I had suspected that Huffines may have been less than truthful, he IS a Paultard after all…
Not familiar with the backroom deals that may or may not have occurred, let me ask this: Was the rest of the bill something the state of Texas needed, and was that item the bitter part of the pill?
As bad of a pResident as he is, there will still be something named after him. Better to control what gets named after him, and allow people to run over it as much as possible, I say. Paint the name of the highway across all the lanes.
Full disclosure: I am not a Texan, but I’ve driven across the state many, many, many, many times. Only state where you can fill the truck three times and still not be out of it.
A local street here was renamed after a local judge of suspicious character that had been convicted and imprisoned for bribery and malfeasance in office. No one calls the street by its new name, they just call it FELONY DR. and everyone know what you are referring to.
From what I read, both are an issue. I would say the Ron Paul guy-part of the Liberty Movemennt-is the least of 2 evils. Here in NV they have taken control of the State GOP and I understand the same in other states. Like it or not, I believe that they are here to stay. My view is we DO NOT need any more liberals in the Federal Govt. So, either someone else steps up and runs or I would suggest the Liberty Movement guy. And, Fred, you and I usually 100% agree on stuff-in this case the objective of the Liberty Movement is good the execution leave a lot to be desired
Dick, the day you see or hear about ME voting for or supporting a *Ron Paul guy* is the day that you and everyone else will know that I have effectively lost my mind…
Yeah-understand. I was at the 2008 Nevada GOP State Convention and Ron Paul spoke-sounded like a nut to me. But, he is basically out of the picture and it will be interesting to see how that movement develops, if it does.
How come a “decent” candidate hasnt surfaced to challenge those two guys???? That does seem to be a problem in the GOP-we dont field candidates that can win the elections-
And to be honest, that is one reason -LIberty taking over- I am no longer an active participant in the NV GOP.
Have a great day
It appears that there IS a decent candidate, Sen. John Carona… Read ALL the comments, starting with the one from Michael Gallops…
According to Michael, Huffines is a LIAR, and I know Michael, he is a friend, and he is as straight-up honest as it gets… Huffines MUST be a LIAR!
Probably-that is the political culture today. In fact I sent an email to O’Reilly saying that Obama is either a liar or he is delusional and if delusional should see a doctor. This in connection with the Super Bowl day interview.
I have become a terrible cynic-I dont believe any of them.
I hope Nevada can come up with a candidate to run against Reid in ’16-I have an idea and will likely find out Saturday nite at our Lincoln Day dinner.
Even MORE info about Sen. Carona and Huffines… Courtesy of Michael Gallops…
Senate candidate Don Huffines says he’s against taxes, more government. His business has created both. | Dallas Morning News
Thanks for that, Fred. Unless something with substance comes up I will continue my support for Senator John Carona.
As will I… You never know where an investigation will lead you, I’m just happy that this one turned out so well…
Knew the Huffines all through High School. That was back in 1956.
Fine family.
But ever so often it seems, some namesake ruins things for the old family heritages.
Maybe this is one of them?
I believe obama should have a roadway named after him. I think every single “one-way” street should be named obama street. It would fit him perfectly.
Or, you know how you are in a bad neighborhood when you see any road named “Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Street, Road, or Way, etc. It’s nice to be able to know what streets to avoid and if you are on it…get the hell out of there.
How about any street in Detroit, named after obama. And any city that follows suit and becomes a liberal hell hole like Detroit, then the main street becomes obama street. That way, you know you are in a shithole city and need to leave.
So, I am all for naming roads after obama.
Good thought-rename name Dearborne, Michigan to Obama town. It is 99% muslim-and Obama has already said that the call to prayer is the most beautiful sound in the world.
Don Huffines is endorsed by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Dick Armey, Eagle Forum, Texas Right to Life, and a host of other prominent conservatives.
John Carona has a cumulative D- conservative rating and is the most liberal Republican in the Texas Senate per a non-partisan study by Rice University. These facts are stubborn things: http://senatorcarona.com/
Carona co-authoring the Obama Freeway, and he did, you can check on your own, is indicative of the previously mentioned evidence: He’s a liberal. Here’s the bill: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/analysis/html/SB01510I.htm
If you believe what Michael Gallops is feeding you, despite the fact he’s been in the tank for Carona from day 1, then you are unfortunately naive.
I’m going to allow your ridiculous comment to stand Mark whoever the hell you are, simply because I checked that link and I saw NOWHERE so much as a word about West or Carona co-sponsoring that bill.. I personally believe that this BILL ANALYSIS is a work of fiction being used in an attempt to slander Sen. Carona, I do NOT believe that this BILL ANALYSIS that you tout is a REAL bill as read into record and submitted to the Texas Senate.
And yes, I DO believe Michael Gallops, I have known him for quite a long time now and I have never known him to lie… You, on the other hand, are supporting a Ron Paultard and I have never heard of you but it appears that you’re in Austin, your IP address says so anyway…
If you’re not a resident of THIS district why are you so concerned about Sen. John Carona?
You might want to answer that, with a REAL name if you expect to garner ANY degree of credibility here..
Hi Mark ???
I’ve already explained what happened with the highway naming bill so I won’t bother explaining how things work in Austin - it’s apparently beyond comprehension for some.
As far as endorsements go Sen. Carona has a long list of well known conservatives endorsing him - mostly people who are not RoPaul supporters of course. Those endorsements include the Texas Alliance for Life - the largest pro-life organization in Texas and the one primarily responsible for the pro-life legislation that gets passed each year (http://texasallianceforlife.org/News.aspx?str=endorsements), Tom Pauken, Texans for Lawsuit Reform and others.
I noticed you offered no rebuttal to Huffines nonsense about committee meeting attendance. Maybe Huffines and his lackeys have figured out that it’s impossible for anyone to attend all of the committees they are assigned to - especially when you chair one.
By the way, “in the tank”?? Really? That’s mature… Yes, I’ve supported and endorsed Carona from Day 1 - haven’t you done the same for Huffines? You really should share your last name because you act like you know me because I’d love the chance to laugh in your face if I ever see you!
Have a nice day Mark!
So, basically, you’re saying that *Mark* is ‘in the tank‘ for Huffines?? I love the way we can use their own words against them… 😈
I watched this debate video. Prior to that I was totally up in the air as to which candidate would get my vote. I knew little about Huffines. In this debate Carona came off as much more polished which itsself should not be a deciding factor. But, Huffines directed several attacks that Carona easily rebutted. Just listening to Huffines raises my suspicions. I am not sure why. It could be that I had an experience with a member of the Huffines family that soured me at the time. Still not a reason to discount this Huffines. Overall, this debate made Carona much more attractive to me as a very experienced and knowledgable political figure. He will get my vote. Also, finding out Huffines is a Paulbot was an important factor.
I am not decioding this just on Fred’s recommendation. In one local race I am voting against Fred’s pick. That would be Pete Sessions. So I am not just following Fred’s lead. I am going on instincts, records, their conservative credentials, what they state and any thing else that can help me with a decision. I am lucky in that I live in an area that offers so many non liberal candidates to look over and make a choice. Carona said his state senatorial district is the most liberal of conservative districts. That surprised me. Just watching some of the Garland City Council meetings has lead me to consider this city as quite conservative.
Anyway, I am looking forward to the primary and the results. I finally made up my mind in the Lt Governor’s race and the Attorney General’s race and had supprted Greg Abbott for governor from Day One. I really think Texas and my precinct and district will stay strongly conservative for the foreseeable future.
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