Texas Railroad Commission a weak staging ground for higher office....

"The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."
Philippians 4:9

As the early positioning for Election 2018 begins, it's worth examining what happened to the last two Texas Railroad Commission chairs who attempted to "move up."

In 2014, then Railroad Commission chairman Barry Smitherman ran for the open Attorney General seat; he didn't make it out of the first round:

Republican primary

[hide]Texas Attorney General Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ken Paxton	44.5%	569,034
Dan Branch	33.4%	428,034
Barry Smitherman	22.1%	282,701
Total Votes		1,279,769

In 2012, then-Chairman Michael Williams attempted to run for a newly created Congressional seat [Full disclosure: At the time, we lived in the relevant district and voted for Williams.]; likewise, he failed to make the runoff:

2012 Republican Party Primary Election

Roger Williams	25.10%
Wes Riddle	14.56%
Justin Hewlett	12.03%
David "Dave" Garrison	11.99%
Michael Williams	10.49%
Dianne Costa	9.36%
Brian Matthews	3.54%
Charles Holcomb	3.28%
Chad Wilbanks	3.10%
Bill Burch	3.06%
James Dillon	2.28%
Ernie Beltz Jr.	1.16%

Also in 2012, Elizabeth Ames Jones proved unable to leverage a seat on the Railroad commission even into a Texas Senate race:

2012 Republican Party Primary Election

Jeff Wentworth	35.77%
Donna Campbell	33.68%
Elizabeth Ames Jones	30.53%

Over the past 20 years, Carole Keaton Strayhorn's 1998 Comptroller campaign is the only example of a member of the Railroad commission successfully running for another position (and we suspect Glenn Hegar will be fine).

Bottom Line: The phrase "don't quit your day job" comes to mind.

Attacking Ken Paxton: Pay to Play from Straus to Smitherman

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Galatians 6:7-9

This morning, we came across an obnoxious attack site against Ken Paxton.  Titled 'Dishonest Ken,' we saw it on several places.  It's obviously got some money behind it.

We don't want to help its search engine traffic, so we're not going to link to the attack, but this screenshot from Dishonest Ken reveals it comes from a Houston-based PAC called Conservative Republicans of Texas:

Looking at the box near the bottom a little closer:

Now who, pray tell, are 'Conservative' Republicans of Texas?!?

According to Big Jolly Politics:

If you live in Harris County and are active in the Harris County Republican Party, you know that “slates” have a huge influence of the party’s primary. “Slates” are a form of advertising a specific group’s or individual’s endorsements. They are often referred to as “paid slates” and there is often an appearance of endorsements that are bought and paid for by the candidates they endorse.

This year at BJP we will be providing you a matrix of all of the major slates and their endorsements in contested races. By “major”, we mostly mean that we’ve heard of it. So if you or your group has a slate of endorsements that you want to see added to the matrix, by all means make sure you tell us about it because we aren’t perfect!

Kicking off the primary season is Dr. Steve Hotze’s Conservative Republicans of Texas slate. I received a copy of his slate today and it does contain a couple of surprises that I’ll note below. Dr. Hotze is one of the “big 3″ that have dominated Harris County Republican Primaries since the late 90′s. His “specialty” is the mail-in ballots from senior citizens.

This, of course, is the same Steve Hotze who endorsed Joe Straus in 2012:

And yes, he IS supporting Smitherman this time around:

Steve Hotze Smitherman Endorement

The attack on Ken Paxton is lame, but Cahnman's Musings finds it very interesting that Team Straus and Team Smitherman use the same political operatives.

Ken Paxton dominates Texas Association of Businesses AG forum

Two hours ago, we crashed the Texas Association of Businesses Attorney General Forum.  It was the first time we've seen all three candidates in the same setting.  Today's discussion re-enforces the decision we reached months ago.

Dan Branch opened by being Dan Branch.  He bragged about decade old votes in the legislature.  We suspect his more recent advocacy of tax increases and water carrying for Bill Powers wouldn't have gone over as well.  Calling himself a "can-do Conservative who gets results," Branch took multiple cheap shots at Jonathan Stickland.  But enough about Dan Branch.

Ken Paxton outlined his strategic vision for the Attorney General's office.  Paxton described how, in the age of Obama, the focus of the Attorney General's office has shifted from state level issues to defending Texas' against Federal assault.  Paxton identified Texas' economic success as an embarrassment to the Obama administration.  They need to shut Texas' economy down because they can't handle the competition.  Paxton was the only candidate to clearly define the problem.

Paxton praised current Attorney General Greg Abbott for recognizing early how the role of the office needed to change.  One point we wish Paxton had made is that General Abbott also sued the federal government three times under George W. Bush.  If there's one lesson we learned from the TARP debacle, it's that Federal overreach comes from both parties.

Barry Smitherman made a cryptic comment about looking at a candidate's personal life: "Whether they've ever sued or been sued."  We have no idea to what Smitherman was referring, but we suspect there's a dirty trick coming.  In fairness, Smitherman also raised good points about lowering operating costs in the AG's office that we hope whoever wins this race will heed.

Each candidate deserves praise for his response on school finance.  Suing the state of Texas over school finance is a cottage industry in Austin.  All three candidates demonstrated a solid understanding of the asinine dual-mandate that guides education funding in Texas.

The Texas Attorney General occupies a unique position.  In addition to being Texas' chief law enforcement officer he leads the growing cadre of state attorneys general pushing back against Federal overreach.  Today, Ken Paxton re-enforced what we already knew about this race.

Casino Interests Supporting Our Opponents

Agendawise details the campaign contributions of the leading casino gambling lobbyist in Texas:

In 2013, high powered Obama ally John Montford was engaged to lobby for the expansion of gambling in Texas. His effort was DOA but as Hoppe’s article suggests the left will continue to work for the false economic promise of more gambling in Texas. Expanded gambling in Texas would enrich a few families and flood an aggressive lobby with cash.

What we find striking, however, is that Montford (or his wife) donated to several primary opponents of Cahnman's Musings endorsed candidates.

In the statewide race for Attorney General, we support Ken Paxton; Montford supports Ken's opponent Barry Smitherman:

Barry Smitherman John Montford $7500 R

In the race for House District 121, we support Matt Beebe; Montford supports Texas House Speaker Joe Straus:

Joe Straus Debbie Montford $1000 R

In the race for Senate District 25, we support Donna Campbell; Montford supports her opponent:

Michael Novak Debbie Montford $6273.37 R

Casino gambling wasn't a factor in our endorsement decisions, but it's good to know that their top lobbyist seems to hate Cahnman's Musings endorsed candidates in particular!

Which Texas Republican Listed An Opponent's Staffer as a Supporter?!?

Ashley Sewell is a friend of this website.  She's an alumn of Ted Cruz's 2012 campaign and the Texas Public Policy Foundation.  Currently, Ashley works on Ken Paxton's Attorney General campaign.

Which is strange, because according to this screen capture of Smitherman's endorsement page*, Ashley is a Barry Smitherman supporter:

[Author's Note: We apologize for the small type; formatting issues.]

If they have any class, Team Smitherman will take one of the following actions:

1) Produce evidence there's a second Ashley Sewell that no on in Austin or DFW has ever heard of.

or

2) Apologize.

Personally, Cahnman's Musings wouldn't be surprised if team Smitherman attempts a stealth edit.

The ball's in your court Team Smitherman....

(Sorry Alice)

*Taken 8:38 pm, 1/20/2014

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Readers who are interested in getting answers can contact Team Smitherman via Twitter: @SmithermanTX

Abortion Barbie Supports Obama's "Green Energy" Agenda

From the "Strong Economy" section of Wendy Davis' campaign website:

As Governor, Wendy will work to make Texas the national leader … in renewable energy like wind and solar.

[Author's Note: In fairness, plenty of Republicans support this disastrous policy; one of them is running for Attorney General.]

Because if there's one thing Texas' economy needs, it's more Solyndra's!!!

Barry Smitherman gets butt kicked in hometown straw poll -- is he viable?!?

Cahnman's Musings doesn't put much weight in straw polls.  As Ron Paul supporters have proved, straw polls are easy to manipulate.  Occasionally, however, a candidate will lose a straw poll so spectacularly (eg. Tim Pawlenty in 2011 or Sam Brownback in 2007) that their campaign becomes untenable.

Yesterday, that might have happened at the Take Back Harris County straw poll.

Last night, we went out to dinner with ten local conservative activists/bloggers, including Sunshine State Sarah (of Texas), who wrote yesterday:

Both Dan Patrick and Barry Smitherman are from the Houston area, and should have strong bases of support with the Montgomery County Tea Party. I've heard several people who have longer experience in Texas politics mention that Patrick and Smitherman will need to "run up the score" with Houston Republican primary voters to help balance the strongholds their competition has elsewhere in the state. 

So, here we are with two Houston-area candidates in highly competitive primary races needing to get positive press that they do have support in Houston and are viable contenders. Let's look at how this Take Back Harris County straw poll comes into play.

....

Conservative Republicans of Texas is a PAC founded by Dr. Steve Hotze. Hotze has publicly endorsed Patrick and Smitherman, and multiple sources have told me that he is also an investor in Patrick's talk radio programs.

I did a little more digging and apparently the other organizers of this event are also political consultants: Vincent Harris, whose firm provides digital services to Patrick and Smitherman, and Allen Blakemore, who is the general consultant for Smitherman, as well as consulting for Patrick and Comptroller candidate Harvey Hilderbran.

In essence, what we have is some very smart consultants who know that strategically, Patrick and Smitherman need to make a show of strength in Houston to demonstrate viability, who have planned an event and added on a straw poll with limited tickets.

In other words, in an event that was deliberately designed to give Smitherman a cheap win and earned media, Ken Paxton whooped Smitherman's hide.

It's a free country, and Smitherman is welcome to stay in the race, but we wonder if Smitherman's donors will continue to throw good money after bad....

Which Texas Republican AG Candidate abetted Obama's "Green Energy" Agenda?!?

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."
Matthew 7:15

Texas Smart Grid Experts Head to White House, Texas Tribune, May 2011:

Texas's smart-grid initiatives are getting some attention in Washington.
On Friday morning, a small group of Texans, including the chairman of the Public Utility Commission, Barry Smitherman, will brief White House representatives on the smart-meter rollout and related issues in the state.

[Emphasis Ours]

....

Smart-grid initiatives have been a priority for President Barack Obama, who has called for a newer, smarter electric grid that will allow for the broader use of alternative energy and included smart-grid technology in federal stimulus funds (some of which went to projects in Texas).

 Beware candidates who tell you what you want to hear; read the whole thing here.

Barry Smitherman's Obnoxious, Transparent Tea-Party Pander

Cahnman's Musings had been meaning to comment on this over-the-top pander from Attorney General Candidate (and current Railroad Commission Chair) Barry Smitherman, but Agendawise beat us to the punch:

Smitherman spent approximately seven years in a plum appointment to the Public Utilities Commission. In 2011 he was appointed to the Railroad Commission, and in months the newbie appointee was made Chairman. This strengthened his position ahead of his first primary election, which took him a runoff to secure.

Also, his campaign finance chair is Robert Miller, a lobbyist and blogger who has been an outspoken voice of support for embattled House Speaker Joe Straus in his struggles against conservatives.

....

Though this is music to some people’s ears, it is the kind of noise that would get a true conservative mocked at full volume by every newspaper and ruling class voice in Texas.

....

When instead of a blazing fire there are a few token candles of outrage lit, but nothing uncomfortable, it is a good time to question the authenticity of the drama.

Sometimes what is not happening says much more than what is.

 Amen; read the whole thing here.

Cahnman's Musings has heard some VERY unflattering things about Smitherman's performance on the Railroad Commission; we've never looked into them, but we might now.

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Update: Gross....