John Fund gets Texas right

Credit where it's due, one national reporter gets it right:

But down the ballot, at the level of state races, Primary Day was another story. “The state-level results show the tea party is alive and well in the state of Texas,” Rice University political-science professor Mark P. Jones, told the Dallas Morning News.

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, who lost to Ted Cruz in the 2012 GOP primary, was forced into a humiliating second-place showing in his reelection race, getting only 28 percent of the vote. He will face off against state senator Dan Patrick, a tea-party favorite, in a May runoff.

State representative Dan Branch, the GOP establishment’s choice for attorney general, also came in second with 33 percent of the vote. He will now go up against Ken Paxton, the Tea Party’s brew of choice, who won 44 percent.

In state legislative races, moderate state-house speaker Joe Straus may have won his primary challenge against a tea-party candidate, but his allies fared poorly. As the Dallas Morning News reported, “the four targeted tea party conservatives [in the state house] flicked away challengers backed by pro-public schools and business groups.” At least eight house incumbents lost their seats, four of them to explicitly tea-party challengers.

In the state senate, tea-party incumbent Donna Campbell from San Antonio easily defeated establishment challengers, with 55 percent of the vote. Tea-party groups celebrated the defeat of moderate GOP senator John Carona to libertarian businessman Don Huffines. Another GOP senate incumbent, Bob Deuell, was forced into a runoff he may well lose. The Tea Party clearly faltered against only one of their three establishment targets, with former Midland mayor Mike Canon winning 48 percent of the vote against incumbent Kel Seliger.

Our only minor quibble is that Donna is from New Braunfels, not San Antonio (and the San Antonio establishment were the ones trying to take her out); but otherwise kudos John Fund!!!

On the Prophet Isaiah, and Texas Democrats....

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
Galatians 6:7 (KJV)

This morning, we read the following verse about the Assyrian assault during Hezekiah's time:

And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”

Isaiah 37:6-7

In other words, God frequently brings a spirit of confusion upon those who mock Him.

Which, without dwelling on this website's greatest hit, got us thinking about this incident last summer:



Which was followed up, this past week, by this:

Texas Democrats are scrambling to can stop a controversial pro-impeachment, anti-ObamaCare candidate from advancing in their party’s Senate primary.

Winning the general election is long shot for any nominee. But with Democrats optimistic about a resurgence in the Lone Star State and their chances in the governor’s race, Lyndon LaRouche acolyte Kesha Rogers could damage those hopes if she even advances to a runoff on Tuesday.

Such a scenario once seemed like a long shot, but a University of Texas-Texas Tribune Internet-based survey late last month showed the controversial candidate outpolling two better-funded and well-endorsed opponents, dentist David Alameel and attorney Maxey Scherr.

The poll of the five-way Democratic race didn’t have any candidate topping the 50 percent threshold to avoid a May runoff. But Rogers was leading Alameel for the right to likely face Sen. John Cornyn (R), by a 35 percent to 27 percent margin. Scherr was third with 15 percent.

A follower of LaRouche’s, Rogers shares many of the Democratic activist’s fringe positions such as impeaching President Obama, repealing ObamaCare and “crushing Wall Street.” She also advocates the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act to limit securities trading, and has a detailed plan for space exploration and harnessing thermonuclear fusion energy. In the past, she’s drawn Hitler mustaches on Obama posters and likened ObamaCare to practices of Nazi doctors.

....

Rogers’s campaign manager Ian Overton defended the LaRouche candidate, arguing voters have been positively responsive to her ideas.

“The Texas Democratic party 30 years ago was directly in line with what Kesha stands for,” Overton said. “We think the Democratic Party has been hijacked by Wall Street interests. Kesha is trying to bring it back to what it believed in.”

Still, the low-interest race remains unpredictable. If Rogers does advance to a runoff, expect Democrats to go all out to stop her there, afraid she could roil their chances in other contests.

....

“Unless you have a hotly contested primary race, the Democrats who go to polls are going to be well-motivated and well-informed,” Greenberg predicted. “I don’t think this one poll means she is going to win. It just means people have not been paying attention.”

She did win.  Now Texas Democrats are in the awkward position of having to unite behind a rich white guy to crush the dreams of a black woman.  That's never a good place for Democrats to be.

Returning to Isaiah and King Hezekiah, how did that invasion attempt work out for Assyria?!?

Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death

Then the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
Isaiah 37:36-38

The Assyrian empire crumbled a short time later; choose your next move wisely Texas Democrats....

Daily Texan RIPS Abortion Barbie (and Battleground)

"These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren."
Proverbs 6:16-19

From today's election wrap up:

[T]he lower-than-expected margin of victory for Davis were the strongest sign yet that Battleground Texas, the Democratic effort to turn Texas blue, has a long way to go.

....

On the Democratic side, Davis won the nomination easily, although with a smaller share of the vote than many predicted: just under 80 percent against political unknown Reynaldo Madrigal, a judge from Corpus Christi.

OUCH; when you've lost the Daily Texan....

Texas Primary Quick Takes: Tea Party makes MAJOR Progress!!!

"He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck,
Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."
Proverbs 29:1

[Author's Note: Complete Election results for the Republican Primary here.]

Texas conservatives had a pretty good night.  The trend lines are set, and we made substantial progress.  Make no mistake, however, we still have a way to go.

The Good:

• Ken Paxton comes in first -- This is the most important result.  We were pleasantly surprised at Ken's strong showing.  Ken led Dan Branch by a full ten points.  Cahnman's Musings intends to kick the snot out of Dan Branch in the runoff.  Also pleased we won't have to talk Ashley or Michelle down from the ledge.

• Glenn Hegar almost clears 50% -- We didn't vote for him, but Glenn Hegar is a good man who will perform admirably as Comptroller.  We encourage Harvey Hilderbran to concede this race without a runoff.  If he doesn't, Cahnman's Musings will strongly support Hegar.

• Strong Showings for Sid Miller and Wayne Christian -- Both finished first.  Both should consolidate conservative support in the runoff.  Good to see that conservative voters were paying attention to lower-profile down ballot races.

• Democrat financed Texas Supreme Court shenanigans fail spectacularly

• Eric Marhoum makes runoff -- A strong rebuke to the progressive faction on the State Board of Education.

• Bob Hall forces a runoff -- The biggest surprise of all.  Cahnman's Musings has been unable to stand Bob Deuell since we sat in the Texas Senate gallery and watched him act all kissy-face with Wendy Davis (before her filibuster) during last year's budget debate.  We might get heavily involved on behalf of Bob Hall in the runoff.

• Konni Burton comes in first -- Go Konni, go Konni, go, go, go Konni!!!

• Huffines beats Carona -- An old friend of Ron Paul replaces the most liberal Republican in the Texas Senate.

• Donna Campbell clears 50% -- San Antonio establishment couldn't take her out.

• Spitzer beats Gooden -- Stuart Spitzer, not Client #9.

• Matt Schaefer clears 60% -- In one of the few races where Team Straus even fielded a challenger, the conservative incumbent cruised.

• T.J. Fabby makes runoff -- Conservative challenger in seat vacated by the disgraced Jim Pitts lives to fight another day.

• Stickland STOMPS Cargile -- Andy Cargile ran a bogus campaign against conservative champion Jonathan Stickland.  He deserved to get his ass handed to him.  He did.

• Tinderholdt beats Patrick -- Straus lieutenant loses.

• Anderson beats Harper-Brown -- Linda Harper-Brown is a good case for term limits.  She should have retired a few sessions ago.  Sayonara.

• Chart Westcott barely cracks 30% -- In the race to fill Dan Branch's seat, Branch's little power bottom handpicked recruit performed horribly.

• Rinaldi beats Ratliff --  A humiliating loss for the scion of a Texas dynasty and a rising star on Team Straus.  Ran a disgraceful campaign and deserved to lose.  92 votes!!!

• Eckhardt beats Brown -- This is local to Travis County, but in the race for the Democrat nomination for county judge, the status quo candidate beat the fascist.  Travis County just dodged a major bullet.  We rarely say this at Cahnman's Musings, but thank you Travis County Democrats!!!

The Bad:

• Cornyn survives -- He just had too much money and got really, really lucky.  Still, for a two-term U.S.Senator to fall under 60% is pathetic.  After November 5, the objective is to make his life so miserable on a day to day basis that he either retires in 2020 or resigns early to force a special election.
  
  (And a big, fat, hell no to U.S. Senate majority leader.)

• Pete Sessions and Lamar Smith survive -- Unfortunately, a multi-decade status quo doesn't crumble overnight.  Unlike Cornyn, however, we get another shot at these two in 2016.  Similar to Cornyn, conservatives need to apply a Chinese water-torture strategy with these two that leads them to retire.

• Straus wins easily -- One lesson that has become obvious the past few months is that the roots of the Republican establishment run deep in San Antonio.  The San Antonio establishment needs to be systematically replaced from the ground up.  While Straus is toxic around the state, he's popular in his district; onward Scott Turner...

• Jim Keffer survives -- See the paragraph on Pete Sessions and Lamar Smith above, specifically the phrase "Chinese water torture strategy."

• George P. Bush wins easily -- Gross.  Cahnman's Musings encourages a 2018 primary challenger to step up early.  Anyone?!?

The Ugly:

• Abortion Barbie loses 27 counties -- OUCH: "Davis’ abortion problem with pro-life Hispanic voters is so pervasive that a candidate who spent absolutely nothing challenging her in Tuesday’s Democratic primary won in several border counties where Hispanic voters take their pro-life and Catholic values with them to the polls."
  
  Update: Will Franklin has A LOT more.

• That crazy Larouchie Democrat makes the U.S. Senate runoff -- This race has all sorts of  mischief-making potential.  Meet Kesha Rogers, the 'Larouche Democrat' who earned a place in the Democrat runoff for U.S. Senate.  Democrats are already freaking out!!!  As a black woman, she checks two of the Democrat identity politics boxes.  She'll never win, but if Kesha Rogers could secure the nomination, she could make this fall deeply unpleasant for John Cornyn.

Lessons Moving Forward:

• Progress rises up from the Bottom -- There's a reason why we did better in state level races than federal races.

• Team Straus is wounded (again) but survives -- The trend-line in Texas House races is inevitable, obvious, and unmistakeable.  Unfortunately, even as the Diane Patrick's of the world lose; up and coming ass-kissers like Jason Villalba will take their place.  We need an open and transparent Speaker vote on the floor of the Texas House in 2015 and another cycle in 2106.

• Make an example out of Dan Branch -- Dan Branch is the guy who, as Joe Straus' handpicked Higher Ed. committee chairman, whitewashed a $215 million accounting scandal at the state's flagship institution.  Also a good friend of George W. Bush.  Easily the highest profile establishment person in a runoff.

• May primaries beat March primaries -- One of the reasons the Tea Party did so well in 2012 (*cough* Ted Cruz *cough*) was that the election was delayed two months by the redistricting saga.  If we'd had two more months, we'd have had a better shot at Cornyn and Sessions.  Ignore the 2016 Presidential election, make the primaries as late as possible.

• Need more money -- We can win races where we're outspent 4 or 5:1.  We can't win races where we're outspent 20:1.  Whether we like it or not, money helps build name recognition.

• It's easier to win an open seat than to beat an incumbent -- Another reason Ted Cruz won was that he was running for an open seat; on that note....

• Watch 2016 retirements -- A lot of these clowns won't have the guts to face the voters again.  Keep applying pressure.  We're winning, but this process takes time.

With the (possible) exception of the A.G. race, Cahnman's Musings isn't going to worry about the runoffs until after SxSW, but the bottom line from last night is that the Tea Party made MAJOR progress.

Austin Urban Rail Polling HORRIFICALLY

[Author's Note: Unfortunately, the original Statesman article is stuck behind the paywall; quotes below are transcribed by hand.]

The next great Austin swindle hit a major snag last week.  Friday's Austin American-Statesman had a front page story with the results of a leaked poll from a pro-rail organization.  Austin Business Journal runs through the horrific details:

A poll shows a slim majority of Central Texas voters would reject urban rail proposals for Austin if it means that they would have to pay about $180 per year more in property taxes, reports The Austin American-Statesman.

The poll, commissioned by the pro-urban rail Downtown Austin Alliance, asked about 600 registered voters in Central Texas a number of questions about Austin-area transit and its future.

About 51 percent of respondents said that they would not support an urban rail system if it meant shelling out the extra money, according to the report, while 43 percent said they would.

According to the original article:

The poll result, said longtime Austin political consultant Peck Young, "is a damned disaster."

"They're losing to begin with, which for anyone running a bond campaign by definition means your tail is fried," Young said. "You have to go into a bond campaign at least 10 percent up, or you're toast. Anyone with any money can create at least five percentage points of confusion even if you're trying to finance the Second Coming. And Capital Metro isn't the Second Coming."

OUCH!!!

Crissy Moran: From abuse and pornography to healing in Christ

He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.

Psalm 147:3

Crissy Moran, an ex-porn star who came to faith in Christ in 2006, sits down with Mark Driscoll in this 2012 video we discovered this morning:



Highlights:

• First molested at age 4.

• Her parents split when she was 13.
• Father was a Pastor who became an alcoholic and abused her Mom

• "Almost all" women in the industry were sexually abused as young girls.

• Got pregnant at 17 and her Mom forced her to have an abortion.
• Went through with it out of a "sense of obligation" to her mother.
• "It broke my heart and I had nightmares for a really long time."

• She was engaged to a guy who was addicted to Porn and told him: "One day I'm going to be the girl you look at all the time."
• She bought her own wedding dress

• "I sunk into depression" between shoots.

• "I had all these people telling me I was beautiful and I'd never had that before."

• During a shoot: "You feel like you're floating, like you're not really there."

• 'Boyfriend' she 'dated' for 3 1/2 years: "Raped me all the time."
• "He kept getting me pregnant and I had multiple abortions and I don't even know how many."

• One night she cried out to the Lord, a few days later a guy she'd never met witnessed to her.
• Immeadiately, he took her to pray and she re-dedicated her life.
• She ditched the 'boyfriend' that night.

• "Nobody feels sorry for the Porn Star."

• "From where I am in my life, I just want to walk with Him."

• Jesus is "the first man who's ever treated me well."

• "My walk with God was very, very, very hard."

Everything you need to know about government in one sentence

From the 2012 Texas State Water Plan, page 176:

When existing water supplies available to a specific water user group are less than projected demands, there is a need for water.

Because only government needs 22 words to explain that demand exceeding supply creates shortages.

Your tax dollars at work....