PhilFountain

Dems Lose On Birdwell (Get Used To It)

Texas Democrat’s frivolous lawsuit to knock state Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) off the November ballot has been thwarted. But the perception that they’re anti-military has been accentuated. There was a previous determination that Mr. Birdwell was eligible, and he was resoundingly elected in a special election in June. But that didn’t stop the partisan scheme against a native Texan and retired Army officer who survived the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

Hey, Big Spender

This week the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste issued their annual Congressional scorecard. Our own U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison improved her score over previous years to be listed as a taxpayer hero. While the state’s senior senator continues to have an appetite for earmarks, she’s not alone. Leading the pack of Texans in the U.S. House of Representatives is Chet Edwards (D-Waco), who the watchdog group considers “hostile” to taxpayers.

Never Let A Budget Crisis Go To Waste

President Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, once said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” Some Texas Democrats appear to be taking a page from his playbook, and are wanting to use the looming budget debate to enact a state income tax.

Reaffirmed Need for Election Reform

Texas’ newest state senator might also be the latest example in the ongoing discussion about election reform. Liberals in the media recently made the ridiculous claim that State Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) voted twice on the same day – in Texas and Virginia. Given that Birdwell’s brother voted that day but was not counted, it was clearly a case of poll-worker confusion, coupled by lax ballot security. Meanwhile, the Democrat running against Birdwell in November has called election reform measures “unnecessary.”

Left Hook to Voters?

Liberals must see the handwriting on their electoral wall maps. Beyond the present concerns voters have with the Obama administration, the projected changes that will occur as a result of the 2010 Census seem to predict the political landscape will be very favorable for the Republican presidential nominee in 2012. However, it looks like President Obama’s influential supporters may think they’ve found a fix for this inconvenient problem.

Can Conservative Complacency Bring Liberal’s Victory?

Conservatives are energized about the prospects of numerous electoral wins throughout the state in November. But don’t think for a moment that the other side has accepted this as inevitable. Even Williamson County, a conservative bastion in Central Texas that traditionally votes Republican, has a liberal Democratic state representative vying for re-election with major help from her friends.

Does Congress Really Care About the States?

Tomorrow morning, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and the minority leader of the U.S. Senate, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), will address the National Conference of State Legislatures in Louisville, Kentucky. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if they spoke about what they really thought of the states and Constitutionally-divided government?

Irving Hosts Private ObamaCare Meeting

Despite promises to the contrary, not only have Washington liberals been non-transparent in the passage of the federal takeover of the healthcare industry, they’re now being equally secretive in its implementation. President Obama’s secretary of health and human services was in Texas for an invite-only community discussion. I bet your invitation was lost in the mail, too.

A Tale of Two Englands

A little over a week ago, Mayor Charles England of Grand Prairie, a self-proclaimed Republican, announced he supports locating a full-scale casino-hotel in his community. This is on top of his endorsement of Bill White, the Democratic nominee for governor. Is this a case of the tree moving toward the fallen apple?

Final Taxpayer Whoopin’ from Wentworth?

On the heels of being rejected for the chancellorship of the Texas State University System, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) now says he’s under serious consideration for an unspecified vice chancellor’s position with the Texas A&M University System, and may soon quit the Texas Senate. But apparently not before leaving the taxpayers with a hefty bill.