March 2nd 2010 Republican Primary Voter's Guide

You didn't know it, but there is an election in Texas this Tuesday, March 2nd.

It is a primary election. You get to pick what flavor of lizard you want to see on the ballot in the General election this November. If you didn't like McCain for President, this is your chance to have your say in who you actually get to vote for. voter turnout is usually astonishingly low in primary elections, so you will probably be voting for at least five, maybe as many as twenty or more of your fellow Texans. For crying out loud, if you care, VOTE!

It took me about three hours to figure out what you are about to read. The sample ballot for Travis County is here (link is a .pdf file).

If you live in Travis County, and especially if you live with me in District 222, and you don't want to take the time to do your homework, vote like me. My intention is to vote as follows in the Primary this March 2nd:

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District 10, United States Representative
Joe Petronis - Talks the Talk, let's see if he can walk the walk. The other challenger unfortunately died during the campaign. Incumbent McCaul has started getting closer to talking the talk lately, but it's a change in tune for him. McCaul has been there long enough-OUT!

Governor
Debra Medina - Talks the Talk and how! Hutchison is a 'wobbly' at best, and Perry doesn't respect property rights OR care for a smaller government. Plus he's been there long enough-OUT!

Railroad Commissioner
Victor Carillo is doing the job, knows the job, and should keep the job. Porter should be an also-ran by this time next year.

Place 3, Justice, Supreme Court
This is likely to go to a runoff election, so I'm posting my notes in full, for my own future reference as well as so that my readers can see where I am coming from on this one.
Rick Strange - the name almost killed the candidate before I even looked into the race. Then I looked into the race. He looks like the best choice to me.

Other candidates for this position:
Jim Moseley - already HAS a job as an elected Justice. Let him run for THAT when his term runs out. It speaks poorly of him that he is willing to quit what he was elected to do, to be elected to do the same thing with a fancier title. That said, if he were up against anyone but Strange, I'd say go for Moseley over the rest of these candidates.
Rebecca Simmons - has crazy eyes. I can't tell you how many times that first impression has proved to be a very accurate warning signal.
Jeff Brown - also has crazy eyes, even closer to sides of head than Simmons.
Debra Lehrmann - looks like a stone-hearted b*tch, which is exactly the kind of woman I want, if we have to get a chick Justice. Negative points for being endorsed by the Austin-American Statesman.
Rick Green - sorry Mr. Rock Star, but you have to be SOME kind of a judge before you can be elected to SCOTX!

Place 9, Justice, Supreme Court
Eva Guzman - had the good fortune to be appointed to the position, knows the job, may as well keep it and not screw up the case load by transferring it to another new judge.

District 10, Member State Board of Education
Rebecca Osborne

District 50, State Representative
Ryan Lambert - aside from some typographical errors ('cuz I'm uptight like that), I could have written most of his campaign positions.

Place 4, Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals District
Melissa Goodwin - Precinct 211 Chair Dan McDonald said it already at least as well as I could.

The Republicans are running some ballot propositions, which are non-binding party line type statements. I understand that the Democrats ("party of the people" indeed!) are running NO propositions on their primary ballot.

Ballot Proposition #1: Photo ID
"The Texas legislature should make it a priority to protect the integrity of our election process by enacting legislation that requires voters to provide valid photo identification in order to cast a ballot in any and all elections conducted in the State of Texas."
No - we need to have a strong requirement for registering to vote, and no ability for anyone to vote twice under any normal circumstance. You register, you show up at your polling place with your registration card (or, as it stands currently, with your drivers licence with a photo on it) and you vote. You can't vote anywhere else. The Democrats HATE this one-location polling by the way; can't vote 10x if you have to do all your voting in front of the same group of poll workers!

Ballot Proposition #2: Controlling Government Growth
Every government body in Texas should be required to limit any annual increase in its budget and spending to the combined increase of population and inflation unless it first gets voter approval to exceed the allowed annual growth or in the case of an official emergency.
Yes - Texas voters love to approve additional spending, and getting a spending measure on the ballot is almost a guarantee of getting it approved. We should at least give lip service to making the effort though, so Yes.

Ballot Proposition #3: Cutting Federal Income Taxes
In addition to aggressively eliminating irresponsible federal spending, Congress should empower American citizens to stimulate the economy by Congress cutting federal income taxes for all federal taxpayers, rather than spending hundreds of billions of dollars on so-called “federal economic stimulus”.
Yes - the best way to cut income taxes is by fully implementing the Fair Tax, and failing that to at least leave us alone to spend our own money as we like. This seems a feel-good rah-rah proposition, but Yes.

Ballot Proposition #4: Public Acknowledgment of God
The use of the word “God”, prayers, and the Ten Commandments should be allowed at public gatherings and public educational institutions, as well as be permitted on government buildings and property.
Yes - The people who made our Constitution (without creating a the 'wall of separation between church and state' by the way) prayed in Jesus' name in the very first Congress. This is a no-brainer unless you hate God for what the people in your life have done.

Ballot Proposition #5: Sonograms
The Texas Legislature should enact legislation requiring a sonogram to be performed and shown to each mother about to undergo a medically unnecessary, elective abortion.
No - Some of you will be surprised by this one I'm sure. This is an unfunded mandate and not an inexpensive one. Would it save lives? Yes, it definitely would. Is it the business of the State to jump in between the murderers and the babies? Not until we are willing to declare it murder! I'm for making it easy for Operation Rescue and the like to persuade women to choose life. Print a booklet with pictures of babies and give them to women. Maybe even make a film they have the option to see, showing a sonogram. Give them the option to see a sonogram at the murderer's expense even . . . but this sort of mandate is an ugly step too far, in the middle of an ugly subject. It would also make it hard on the women trying to kill their inconvenient children, but I'm actually FOR that.