Primary guidance

Crockett

Crockett

5,000+ Posts
As a centerist voter who has to go to the Republican Primaries to have a say in local elections, any guidance for me on GOP Statewide office seekers?

What I'm seeing in the debates and commercials looks like an audition for Dumb and Dumber. I I realize that no candidate can be flanked on the right so all will pretty much say "Global Warmiing? Phsaw! Creationism in science class? Sure! Birth control? The pill, held firmly between the knees."

I know they don't have time to talk about it in a primary election, but will any of these guys be good for higher education, public school education, maybe not thwart a ban on texting while driving, a bigger hazard to my safety than gun-toting thugs?

I'm happy to see Rick Perry go, but imbiciles at Lt. Gov and AG could be dangerous.
 
After watching the lt gov debate, I wanted to puke. No way I will vote for any of them. Dew and Patrick are the absolute bottom of the barrel. The primary system that forces these guys so far off the reservation has to be fixed before we will get anywhere politically in this country.
 
Crock,

I can tell you which candidates I'm voting for and tell you who the centrists are, if that's what you would support.

Governor - Once Tom Pauken dropped out of the race, you lost your only meaningful choice. You have a hypocritical, bought-and-paid-for sack of **** (Abbott) and a parade of freak shows. Abbott has inherited my contempt for Rick Perry (which means I summarily vote for his most viable opponent), so I voted for SECEDE Kilgore, and you should too. Why the hell not? Between a fraudster with no ideas and a freak show with a crazy idea, I'll take the freak show.

Lt. Governor - I didn't watch the debate and don't care to. I have a pretty good idea of what it was like. Dan Patrick is running on the hard right, inflammatory, shrill rhetoric tactic. Basically, he's Michelle Bachman - an ******* with no serious plan to do anything meaningful. I'm not a fan of that, but Dewhurst is an incompetent tool, though I'd consider him the moderate in the race. I don't have anything against Todd Staples, but I voted for Jerry Patterson. He was an early Republican Liberty Caucus guy and a solid conservative, but he's not a Bachmann. He actually believes in the act of governance and being about more than spewing ignorant smack talk. When I worked at the capitol in the mid '90s, he had a reputation as a strong conservative but also as a guy who knew how to get things done. You have him to thank for the concealed carry law, motorcyclists not being required to wear a helmet, and the legalization of home equity lending. I recommend voting for him.

Attorney General - You have an unaccomplished tool with a lot of money and not much else (Smitherman), a big firm corporate lawyer (Branch), and an arch-conservative (Paxton). The moderate in the race would be Branch, though I would expect him to ***** for corporate interests. I voted for Paxton. He's a staunch ideological conservative, but he's not a Dan Patrick, even if many of Patrick's supporters will also vote for Paxton. He's a very smart guy, especially on tax and budget matters. I've spoken with him several times about various issues, and I've known his legislative director for about 15 years. Very decent guy.

Comptroller - Your moderate is Harvey Hilderbran, a long-serving state representative who never ruffled any feathers but never really got much done either considering how long he has been in office (elected in 1988). The other serious candidates are Glenn Hegar and Debra Medina. I don't have anything against Hegar, except that Texas GOP insider types like him, which makes me not like him as much. I voted for Medina, who won't tolerate any ******** in the budget certification, which is all I expect from a Comptroller.

Land Commissioner - George P. Bush is your clear moderate choice. I don't like people who just show up with a name, cronyism, and money and expect to win statewide offices, so I voted for David Watts.

Ag Commissioner - your choices are ****. Tommy Merritt would be your moderate, but when he was in the Legislature, he was known as dumb, dishonest, and a little bit corrupt. Sid Miller was a firebrand conservative state representative, but the guy has been caught violating campaign finance rules. (Specifically, he "loaned" his campaign $10K but paid himself back $30K ten years later, charging his campaign interest. That's illegal and extremely sleazy for obvious reasons.) Eric Opiela is a political insider who comes from money (rich family). The other two guys are no-names with no chance. I voted for Opiela - not very good, but not as offensive as Merritt or Miller.

Railroad Commissioner - I'm voting for Ryan Sitton. He actually has an extensive background in oil and gas, so he'll actually know what the hell he's doing. I don't know if that makes him a "moderate" or not. In fact, he's pretty conservative. He's just qualified for the job. He also has a hot wife if that has any bearing on your choice. Former state representative Wayne Christian (his only viable opponent) is a Dan Patrick start-up kit - no significant experience in oil and gas, lots of shrill rhetoric, no record of meaningful accomplishment other than self-promotion.

Texas Supreme Court - you have three races with opponents. Nathan Hecht (the incumbent) is the moderate in the race, but he is a ******* disgrace undeserving of your vote or any self-respecting citizen's vote and has been for decades. He has significant ethical problems, including an Ethics Commission fine that he has refused to pay for the last five years. If we had a real AG who gave a **** about ethics, Hecht would be in the slammer today. He has also been a major advocate of judicial tampering with the school finance system. I'm extremely hostile to that. Finally, he has utter contempt for the right to a trial by jury - the worst offender on a pretty atrocious court. Also, he banged Priscilla Owen and Harriett Miers. Can't say how I know that, but I know. If he wants to bang Miers, that's fine. However, he and Owen were both on the Texas Supreme Court at the time, and that's dirty. His opponent (Robert Talton) was a staunch conservative state representative in the '90s and 2000s and a pretty accomplished attorney with a pretty broad range of experience. Unlike Hecht, he actually actually believes in ethics and the jury system. He should be your easy choice.

Phil Johnson (the incumbent) is Nathan Hecht without the ethical problems. In other words, he doesn't belong in prison, but he's still very bad. Sharon McCalley was a very fair district court judge in Harris County and is a respected Houston Court of Appeals justice. Very sharp, academic type of judge and an easy choice.

Jeff Brown (incumbent) is more business-friendly than I like, but he's not a blatant ***** like Hecht and Johnson are. Like McCally, he was a reasonably fair justice on the Houston Court of Appeals and tries to do the right thing, even if I don't always agree with his rulings. I'm good friends with his staff attorney. His opponent's (Joe Pool) judicial philosophy is probably closer to mine, but he isn't running a serious race and is a bit of a weirdo.
 
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