Steinberg folds his tent -- 8 and counting

Alan "Doogie" Steinberg has called it quits on his stunningly unremarkable "race" for CD22. Alan had almost no voter support, no money, and no chance. He lives at home with his parents, never held a real job but has a VERY large ego that matches his immense naivete:

....as I have undoubtedly inspired a greater youth involvement in the political process.

Ironically, although Alan was calling for a "new pace" in Washington, he has thrown his "support" to Pete Olson -- the one candidate in the race who is an exclusive Washington insider being almost entirely financed by K Street interests.

With Alan's departure, the slate is down to 8 again.

Talton thinks Castle doctrine may favor Horn

State Rep. Robert Talton (R-Pasadena and CD22 candidate) is on the record suggesting a Pasadena resident who shot a pair of suspected burglars was justified in doing so based on the new Texas law known as the "Castle Doctrine."

The Castle Doctrine, which was co-sponsored by Talton and signed by Governor Rick Perry into law in March, states a victim may use any type of force against a suspect who breaches their home, vehicle, or place of business and does not have a duty to retreat.

Two men, both illegal aliens, were fatally shot by 61-year-old computer consultant Joe Horn. The incident has made national and even international news.

When Horn, a 61-year-old retiree living with his daughter and her family in a growing subdivision in this Houston suburb, saw two burglars breaking into the house next door on Nov. 14, he called 911 and grabbed his shotgun.

Moments later, after what the police say was a confrontation on Horn's front lawn, the two men - both illegal immigrants - lay dead on the winding Timberline Drive, leaving behind a pillowcase stuffed with jewelry and about $2,000 in cash.

As the case unfolds, it will not only be a legal test of the new law -- but a good opportunity for Talton to score points with conservative voters concerned about crime and illegal immigration.

Say what you will about Tom DeLay, at least he knew how to run the joint.

Great op ed today in the Wall Street Journal on continuing dem dysfunction on Capitol Hill.

Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid are letting their left-wing troops and interest groups run all over them, with the result that their signal achievement this year is a higher minimum wage. Considering most of their policy goals, this failure is good for the country. But the dysfunction amply shows that democrats are attempting to govern with an agenda that is too far left even for many in their own party, never mind the country.

Big Surprise: democrats lead the way in Congressional pork spending

USA Today reports this week that 20 freshman members of Congress (ALL democrats) led the way this year racking up $70 million in special-interest spending, or "earmarks," in the House and Senate spending bills.

dems lead in pork-barrel spending

Slick Nick Lampson, of course, made the list. What a proud "conservative" moment for him (not.)

What was that democrats were saying about changing the culture of corruption in Washington? What was that about draining the swamp? Yeah, right.

Source: USA TODAY analysis based on data from Taxpayers for Common Sense.

You know the libs are in trouble when...

Even the Pope thinks Algore and his religion of global warming is stupid...

Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.

The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering.

Amen, your Excellency, Amen.

Who do you trust to cut taxes more?

Great article here from The Hill detailing exactly why you can't trust democrats with your money. Some juicy excerpts:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent $16,000 on flowers since taking office, one reason why she spent 63 percent more in her high-profile inaugural year than her low-key predecessor (Rep. Dennis Hastert,R-Ill.) did last year.

By comparison:

(Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio) Boehner will be refunding more than $1 million to the treasury from the money he was allocated.

Pelosi (whom our emporary Congressrat Nick Lampson voted for) felt entitled to spend more of your money because of her "historic" election as the first woman speaker. (Ask yourself: Can we really afford another "historic" election of a freespending liberal woman in 2008?)

The increase from Hastert to Pelosi was driven largely by a surge in travel (to meet with known terrorists, for example) and a heavily fortified payroll. Pelosi has more people working for her. Hastert employed 35 people during the third quarter of last year. Pelosi, by contrast, had 51 people on her payroll during the same time period.

What else did Prissy Pelosi feel entitled to?

• A $10,000 contract to former Clinton White House speech-writer Heather Hurlburt to write the speech Pelosi delivered to the Israeli Knesset.
• Nearly $20,000 to Washington attorney Richard Meltzer to help with Pelosi’s transition.
• More than $2,400 to hire a makeup artist for the week of her swearing in. (Under fire, Pelosi later reimbursed the entire cost from her personal funds.)

When you look at the spending of the whole Republican conference, steering and policy operations to the democratic caucus, steering and policy operations, the dems are still spending like the proverbial drunken sailor.

Money is distributed evenly between the Republicans and democrats for those functions, and the party leaders decide how to allocate them.

Under that calculation, Republicans spent 18 percent less than they did last year while democrats’ spending rose 4 percent over last year. democrats, predictably, say that is not a legitimate comparison. Of course not.

Be afraid, Nick. Be very afraid.

democrats lately (from Queen Hillary on down) have had an air of entitlement about them as in: This is the year democrats can't lose.

Their arrogance is only surpassed by their stupidity. They have done everything they can since taking power in Congress in 2006 to alienate the average voter in America by bashing the troops, the U.S., our economy, our values, etc. They've pandered to the fringe left crazies every chance they got. And voters aren't being fooled by their election year attempts to swing back toward the center (e.g. Nick Lampson & Hillary Clinton).

That's why dems across America woke up this morning with a headache that will likely reach migraine proportions by November 2008. Why? GOP keeps 2 vacant congressional seats in Ohio, Virginia

Now, Ohio and Virginia are a long way from CD22. But the similarities of these elections -- and the results -- mirror our hometown district currently represented by a foreigner from Beaumont as well as serve as a bellweather for 2008.

Republicans maintained control of both congressional seats that were up for grabs in special elections Tuesday in Ohio and Virginia, disappointing democrats who had hoped to extend their gains in the House.

democrats, who won control of the House last year 233-202, had hoped to benefit from the low turnout typical of special
elections.

Like CD22, both of these seats are considered "safe" Republican. As you know, Slick Nick, won in 2006 precisely because there was no Republican name on the ballot and the confusion created by having to vote in both a special election as well as write (dial) in Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. That won't happen this year. A well-qualified Republican name, with a big fat (R) next to it, will be on the ballot this year.

Despite having the liberal media on their side, the democrats are in trouble in 2008 and they know it. "Billary" on the ticket will mobilize and bring grassroots Republicans out like never before. (Does anyone really think the Clintonista's aren't going to secure the dem nomination?). With her leading the ticket, dems will likely not only lose the Presidency, but both Houses again as well.

Then Bill really will feel Hillary's pain.

P.S. Chris at Outside Report filed a similar report this morning.

A funny thing happened on the way to the CD22 candidate forum

Ok -- it wasn't really on the WAY to the forum ... but read to the end for the funny part.

The Fort Bend Chamber held a CD22 Candidate forum during lunch on Friday at the Sugar Land Marriott. It was the first chance in this area to see all (now 9) candidates up close and personal.

Chamber leader Marvin Marcel emceed and new Fort Bend County GOP Chair Rick Miller was on hand to help organize the candidates and the questions. Both did a great job.

No real surprises from any of the candidates in terms of what they said -- most stuck pretty close to what you can find on their candidate websites and adhered to the conservative bread and butter issues of smaller government, less taxation, strong defense, winning the war on global terrorism and getting a handle on illegal immigration.

They were given 3-1/2 minutes each to introduce themselves and then each were asked 2 questions (all different). None of the candidates stumbled but a few stood out in terms of their ability to have a presence on the stage and be heard above the din of clattering lunch plates: Judge Jim Squier, newbie Brian Klock, and former Sugar Land mayor Dean Hrbacek.

Allen "Doogie" Steinberg (really, Allen, we mean that affectionately) also did well and held his own against the much more experienced (or at least older) folks on the dias with him. Note to the nutjobs: The above does not mean we're endorsing any of these candidates -- just reporting what we saw and heard.)

The funny thing
The real fun was what happened "off stage." There is a local weekly newspaper publisher (of the Fort Bend Star), Bev Carter. This woman is as mean and spiteful a person as you'd ever want to meet. Seriously.

Most of the local elected officials can't stand her and the grassroots Republicans in Fort Bend pretty much think she's Satan incarnate. She used to be a Republican of sorts, but now she "believes she is an independent." LOL. She's been kissing up to Nick Lampson every chance she gets and endorsing doomed democrats so draw your own conclusions.

Any way, ol' Bev's HATES (and we don't think that's too strong a word) former CD22 Congressman Tom DeLay. She also HATES CD22 candidate Dean Hrbacek almost as much (has ever since he was mayor). Probably has something to due with Hrbacek suing her a few years back.

Now Bev considers herself a journalist (almost no one else does but this woman is a legend in her own mind). So when she got to the lunch she paraded right to the front of the already crowded room and sat down at the table that was front and center (we don't know if Bev bought a ticket or was invited to sit at that sponsored table or not.. we're guessing not, but could be wrong). Any way.....

The first thing Bev did was find the hotel manager in charge. She was pretty mad that there were some Hrbacek signs (along with some other candidate signs) hanging outside in the lobby directing folks to the ballroom. She demanded to know if Hrbacek had permission to put the signs there. He did and from what we heard from someone who overhead the encounter, the manager pretty much told Bev where to go. (More on the signs later.)

Now, it just so happened that Tom DeLay had been invited to kick-off the luncheon and guess where Tom was assigned to sit? You got it... right next to his arch enemy Bev "B.K." Carter. You could almost see the smoke coming out of this gal's ears. We kept looking to see if they would land any blows... but no such luck.

But Bev must have been sitting there really stewing over those Hrbacek signs in the lobby. Cuz, after the luncheon, Bev was caught red handed ripping them off the walls! No really. She was. Someone from Hrbacek's campaign confronted her and demanded she give them the signs -- and Bev literally threw them at her and stormed away!

Note to Dean: We don't think you're going to get this gossip columnist's endorsement. But then again, that just might help you out at the ballot box. A lot of people we talk to tell us if Bev is against you that's enough reason for them to vote for you.

Note to the other Candidates: You might want to hack Bev off before the primary just so she says some nasty things about you, too. (Just refuse to buy any ads in her miserable little free-delivery paper and that should just about do it.) You don't want to leave Dean with that big advantage. :)

And then there were nine

Nassau Bay resident Brian Klock recently became the 9th contendor to fill the GOP slot in November. He's a commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve and serves in the NCIS.
No website we can find yet.. we'll keep looking.

Lessons from the 22nd Congressional district

Jeff Murrah has some interesting observations on her site re CD22. Worth a read.

Lampson and the law of unintended consequences

What happens when you have an over eager liberal dem politician (Nick Lampson) desparately trying to fool conservative voters in his district (CD22) that he's really a moderate "good guy." What to do? What to do? Ah ha!!

Let's do something "for the children." Has a nice ring to it. Who could possibly be against something for the children? But what? What's the most emotionally charged and least controversial thing I could do "for the children"? Ding!!

Got it. Protect them from perverts and sex offenders on the internet. Everyone wants to do that... especially those protective suburban parents in my mainly Republican district. Great plan, Nick.

Except in your typical liberal way, you screwed up. (And now you are in the unenviable position of having to put forth some really weak justifications..)

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill sponsored and pushed by Lampson called the Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act, or SAFE Act.

Declan McCullagh has the best write up on the unintended? consequences of this poorly thought out and hastily pushed through mess of a bill that Lampson is running around proudly getting "good press" for.

The bill says that anyone offering an open Wi-Fi connection to the public must report illegal images including "obscene" cartoons and drawings--or face fines of up to $300,000.

That broad definition would cover individuals, coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and even some government agencies that provide Wi-Fi. It also sweeps in social-networking sites, domain name registrars, Internet service providers, and e-mail service providers such as Hotmail and Gmail, and it may require that the complete contents of the user's account be retained for subsequent police inspection. (Can you say Big Brother?)

The SAFE Act represents the latest in Congress' efforts--some of which have raised free speech and privacy concerns--to crack down on sex offenders and internet predators. One bill introduced a year ago was even broader and would have forced Web sites and blogs to report illegal images. Another would require sex offenders to supply e-mail addresses and instant messaging user names.

Wednesday's vote caught Internet companies by surprise: the Democratic leadership rushed the SAFE Act to the floor under a procedure that's supposed to be reserved for noncontroversial legislation. It was introduced October 10, but has never received even one hearing or committee vote. In addition, the legislation
approved this week has changed substantially since the earlier version and was not available for public review.

Not one Democrat opposed the SAFE Act. Two Republicans did: Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning presidential candidate from Texas, and Rep. Paul Broun from Georgia.

Frankly, we can't see how this will even be enforceable! Will Starbucks have to hire Wi-Fi snoops to prowl their shops looking over the shoulders of unsuspecting customers? Let's just hope the Senate will wake up and clean up Nick's little dog pile before this sees the light of day as actual law. How soon till we can vote this guy out of office?

Blog for Shelley?

Someone named Joel Hoshkins (no idea who this is) has started a blog for Shelley Sekula (no hyphen) Gibbs. It's called Carpetbagger Blog. At first we thought it was really a "bash Gibbs" site (take a look at some of the initial posts). Lately, however, we're wondering if Joel is for real... but maybe only about 10 years old?

Take a look and let us know what you think...

Wallace appears to be backing Manlove

It's not an official endorsement yet, but it looks like Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace will be backing his singing buddy, former Pasadena Mayor John Manlove in the CD22 race.

Wallace is forwarding around an invitation to a Manlove fundraiser in Sugar Land being hosted next week by Dr. V.N. Vijayvergiya and J.R. Redding.

Vijayvergiya is the owner of Geotest Engineering, Inc. a geotechnical engineering and materials testing company that serves private sector clients and government agencies. Redding is President & CEO of S&B Infrastructure. Both companies compete for local government contracts on a regular basis.

Wallace, in his capacity as real estate developer, was trying to get a town square project (similar to Sugar Land's and the one he's trying to get going in Waco.) off the ground in Pasadena while Manlove was still mayor there. Latest word on that is that it won't happen. But it seems Wallace is still humming with Manlove.

Wallace's seeming (if unofficial) endorsement of Manlove is interesting in that speculation had been strong that Wallace would back Pete Olson who moved to Sugar Land a few months ago from Washington specifically to run for the CD22 spot. Olson is closely aligned with many DeeCee insiders and most folks 'round here know Wallace has aspirations of a higher government appointment of some kind.

Wallace, of course, tried unsuccessfully in 2004 to get the GOP nomination to fill Tom DeLay's seat-- but was rebuffed by the party faithful. He decided not to join the crowded GOP field this year and many speculate some skeletons in his closet that have come to light as well as some ethics concerns is the main reason why. Wallace has announced he will not seek reelection as Sugar Land mayor.

Shelley Ranks in CQ Top 10

This is a little dated, but we just noticed it on Shelley's website and thought we'd pass it along.

The “incumbents’ advantage” in fundraising is a source of common complaints from those who believe the escalating amount of money needed to run a serious congressional campaign inhibits competition. In the vast majority of House contests in each election cycle, the incumbents use their established campaign organizations to outraise their opponents, often by overwhelming margins. But not always.

A CQ Politics survey of campaign finance reports for activity through Sept. 30, filed with the Federal Election Commission in mid-October by House candidates for 2008 races, found a number of challengers who entered the final quarter of 2007 with sizable campaign treasuries — including a few who even raised more money than the incumbents for the year so far.

Shelley doesn't have more than Slick Nick. She'd raised $607,000 raised with $465,000 cash on hand; Nickster had raised $833,000 with $679,000 cash on hand. That made her #8 on CQ's list.

The article continues:

But she has plenty of opposition in the field for the March 4 Republican primary, including Pete Olson, a former chief of staff to Texas Sen. John Cornyn ($218,000 raised, $181,000 cash on hand); Dean Hrbacek, a former mayor of Sugar Land, the largest city wholly within the district ($159,000 raised, $120,000 cash on hand); state Rep. Robert Talton ($35,000 raised, $28,000 cash on hand); and Jim Squier, a former family district court judge ($13,400 raised, $13,400 cash on hand). John Manlove — the former mayor of Pasadena, which is partly in the 22nd — just filed a statement of candidacy with
the Federal Election Commission.

Global Warming madness... where will it stop?

The Global Warming nutzo's are at it again: a group of Israeli environmentalists is encouraging Jews around the world to light at least one less candle this Hanukka to help the environment. Really. We can't make this stuff up. But it helps to illustrate how completely craazzzzy the enviro whackos and their willing political dupes (socialists) are.

This just as the U.S. Senate is poised for "an historic vote" this week:

On the Federal level, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday is expected to debate amendments to a bill proposed by Sens. Lieberman of Connecticut and Warner of Virginia that would create a "cap and trade" system designed to cut total U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions. These systems require industries to pay fees when they emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouses gases above a set limit, with the money going to reward cleaner businesses.

Note to Congress... this has been tried and failed.

Europe tried a pollution credit trading system to curb carbon dioxide emissions after it passed the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, and power companies worked the system to make billions in profits. Electricity customers paid higher bills, thinking they were contributing to a cooler planet. But their money just went into the pockets of the electric companies, which didn't end up actually cutting down on their carbon dioxide emissions.

Maybe the fees paid could go to the same company Algore (whom our Congressman Nick Lamspon adores on this issue) pays his carbon offsets to... himself. Global warming scam artists unite.

Reality Check here.

How much is a carbon offset for Divorce?

Really funnnny story today: Divorce bad for the Earth, study says...Splits may lead to greater energy, water consumption.

So how long do you think it will take Nick Lampson and his good buddy Algore and his liberal running buddies in Congress to propose some sort of special tax for this?

Is the surge in Iraq working or not, Nick?

Question we'd like to see temporary Congressman Nick Lampson answer today:

Which of your craaazzzzzy liberal compadres do you agree with this week? Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), one of your party's most rabid war critics... that is until he actually WENT THERE. Came back and declared, "The Surge is working." Amazing what a little first hand religion does for the soul dontchaknow?

Or, will you side with Senate Majority Leader Dingy Harry Reid who is among the few staunch dem rats refusing to abandon your party's sad "Defeat for America" ship.

The Senate re-opened for business on Monday after a two-week Thanksgiving break, during which key Democrats traveled to Iraq and declared that the surge is working, at least from a security and military perspective. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), one the top war critics, stunned fellow Democrats late last week with his statement that "the surge is working," even though he added that political reconciliation has been lagging. Murtha's view was backed by Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), who also said the surge worked after he returned from Iraq.

But Reid, in a Monday press conference, ceded no ground.
"The surge hasn't accomplished its goals," Reid said. "... We're involved, still, in an intractable civil war."

Back in February, Slick Nick Lampson joined the liberal, anti-war crowd in Congress by voting FOR a resolution rebuking President Bush over his plan to add 20,000 more combat troops in Iraq (the Surge). What did Nick want to do? In a carefully worded statement he called for:

“strategic change of course in Iraq – one including diplomacy, education, and an honest reconstruction effort,” adding that he is “not here today to criticize the President, or to engage in partisan grandstanding.”

So what say you now, Mr. Lampson? Are you for the troops or against them? Don't bother answering. Your record speaks for itself. Shame on you.

Lampson: Blue Dog, Yellow Dog or just a Lap Dog?

Just what kind of dog is Nick Lampson?

Lampson was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 9th congressional district from 1997 to 2005. After redistricting, he was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Texas's 2nd congressional district in 2004. Since he couldn't get elected there, he figured he'd move over to Stafford in CD 22 (well, at least he has an address here) where he got lucky in 2006 because... well, you know the story.

Now, all those years he was a Congressman in the 9th Nick never really cared about what kind of dog he was. Didn't need to. Before he redistricting took place, the 9th was a pretty safe Democrat bet. He could vote just like the liberal hound dog he is and get away with it.

But CD22 is a whole different kennel. In 2004 Bush whooped up on John Kerry by a margin of 64% t0 36%.

So what does Lampson try to do when he gets to DeeCee? He decides he better start running with a new pack of pooches. The so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats. As you may or may not know, self-proclaimed “Blue Dog Democrats” are a coalition of Democrat legislators who claim to adhere to the principles of fiscal conservatism and balanced budgets.

But they don't. As the Wall Street Journal has pointed out:

Voting records from recent years confirm that the blue dogs are less than consistent spending hawks. The National Taxpayers Union did some checking and found that the blue dogs had an average fiscal score of 24 out of 100, earning them a grade of D as a group. It also found that last year the blue dogs sponsored $145 of new spending for every dollar of budget reductions, for a net spending increase per member of more than $140 billion. The blue dogs are consistent on one fiscal issue: stopping tax cuts.

In reality, what the Blue Dog Democrats are is a cover group intended to help liberal politicians from red states, like Slick Nick Lampson, try to convince their constituents that they aren’t like the big-government, tax-and-spend types from California or Massachusetts. It lets them pay lip service to the principles of fiscal restraint and low taxes and campaign on those things without actually having to support them.

Thanks to Project Vote Smart, however, Ol' Nick can't hide from his liberal big-spending record. Check him out:

• 2003-2004 Representative Lampson supported the interests of the National Tax Limitation Committee only 3 percent of the time.


• He supported the interests of the Americans for Tax Reform only 20 percent of the time.


• And, he voted with the National Taxpayers Union only 21 percent of the time.
  

Nick Lampson. Just a really scary dog of any color.

What the Democrats don't want you to know

The next time a Democrat starts blabbing on about how weak America is, blah, blah, blah... show them this.

Upcoming CD22 Candidate Events

FORT BEND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CANDIDATE
Friday, December 7
11:30a.m to 1:30p.m.
Marriott Sugar Land Town Square
16090 City Walk, Sugar Land

ROSENBERG-RICHMOND AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CANDIDATE FORUM
Monday, January 7
6:00 to 8:00p.m.
The Rosenberg Civic & Convention Center
Highway 36, 2 blocks South of US 59

All kinds of crazy...Bet this guy was a dem

Leeland Eisenberg bomb strapped to body today wanted to talk to Hillary and CNN. Had a history of mental illness. Had to be a hard core democrat for many years. Poor guy.

As if we didn't already know... Democrats are C R A Z Y!

According to a new Gallup poll Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their mental health as excellent. The article explains:

...an analysis of the relationship between party identification and self-reported excellent mental health within various categories of age, gender, church attendance, income, education, and other variables shows that the basic pattern persists regardless of these characteristics. In other words, party identification appears to have an independent effect on mental health even when each of these is controlled for.

No doubt about it. The key finding of the analyses is that being a Republican appears to have an independent relationship on positive mental health.

We new it all along! Protect your mental health. Vote Republican.

Half of immigrants in Texas are there illegally, study says

Interesting story here.

Half of the nearly 3.5 million immigrants living in Texas are in the country illegally, the Center for Immigration Studies says in a report being released today. Based on the latest Census Bureau data, the report said Texas has one of the fastest-growing immigrant populations of any state.

And where, you might ask, does our illustrious temporary Congressman Lampson stand on the issue of illegal immigration? Here's a hint...

He's rated 0% by FAIR -- indicating a voting record loosening immigration.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, non-profit, public interest membership organization of concerned citizens united by their belief in the need for immigration reform.

Founded in 1979, FAIR believes that the U.S. can and must have an immigration policy that is non-discriminatory and designed to serve the environmental, economic, and social needs of our country.

FAIR seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels consistent with the national interest—more traditional rates of about 300,000 a year.

With more than 70,000 members nationwide, FAIR is a non-partisan group whose membership runs the gamut from liberal to conservative.

The ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.

Sign created by Billy Iman who lost his son Dustin when an illegal failed to stop at a traffic signal and hit Billy's car at full speed in the rear.

Nick. A big fat ZERO.

Next time you pay an exploding hospital bill, can't get into an emergency room, have your school district taxes go up or read about another crime committed by someone here illegally -- remember to thank Nick Lampson.

Talton website also live

And... while we're on the subject of websites.... Talton finally has his constructed as well.

Squier raising $$$

Judge Jim Squier is announcing on his website (yes, it's now up and it looks pretty good!) that his campaign has raised $150,000 in 40 Days. At the end of September (according to the FEC filings) he'd raised $13,000.

After stepping down from the 312th District Court bench on September 21, 2007, James D. “Jim” Squier has leveled the playing field in the Congressional District 22 Republican Primary in just 40 days of fundraising.

A $150,000 war chest would catch him up with where Sekula-Gibbs and, Olson were on 9/30. It would put him slightly ahead of where Hrbacek was moneywise. However, we have to assume all three of those candidates have continued to fundraise since 9/30 as well. The next reports will be through 12/31/07 and are due to the FEC by 1/31/08.

Looking for Judge Jim Squier

UPDATE: Website now up here.

Judge Squier still doesn't have a campaign website. He does have a Wikipedia page. But it's pretty sparse -- not even a bio. Maybe he's just modest? Jim -- March is getting close and Republicans are trying to pick a fav now! Playing hard to get (or find) probably isn't a good idea at this point.

And really, Jim, you have a lot going for you as a Republican candidate. First, you're hated by the left. Except the lefty Houston Press who had this to say about you in their "best of" issue from 2004:

Best Civil Court Judge
James D. Squier, 312th District Court Family courtroom legal brawls can be especially vicious. But Judge James Squier, who got his start coaching in Pasadena's school district, has seen it all. He's paid his dues during a solid decade on the bench, along
with 20 years of practice as an attorney (six of them as an associate judge). Squier came aboard in the most embattled of times for family courts; his patient, common-sense approach, good humor and -- above all --fairness deserve much of the credit for restoring credibility to Houston family courts. His added duties as administrative judge speak volumes about the respect Squier has earned, from both colleagues and those appearing before him in court. There's no doubt about it: This ex-coach has excelled in the toughest of leagues.

In addition, your strong Christian values made at least one Houston Chronicle columnist squeamish.

Other than that, it's hard to track down some solid info on you, Jim. If anyone out there knows how to contact Jim's campaign, please share.

Why won't Lampson answer questions on where he stands on the issues?

Want to know where Nick Lampson stands on the issues?

So does Project Vote Smart-- a completely independent, bi-partisan effort supported by key national leaders of both major parties including: John McCain, Republican Senatorl Geraldine Ferraro, Former Democratic Congresswoman; Michael Dukakis, Former Democratic Governor; Bill Frenzel, Former Republican Congressman; and more than 100 news organizations throughout the nation. Their aim is to make it easy for average joe schmo citizens to be able to figure out where a candidate for office stands on issue important to them.

But Tricky Nick has repeatedly refused to provide any responses to citizens on issues through the 2006 National Political Courage Test. Why? Could it be that he doesn't want to put anything in writing that could be campared to his liberal historical voting record from 1996? He did respond back then and his answers are on-line for your perusal here (scroll down a bit).

Pay particular attention to his stands on spending. In 1996 Nick wanted to increase spending, fees and taxes on just about everything but defense, which he would "greatly decrease."

Want to have some fun? Call Nick at 281-488-4922 and ask them why he won't take the Political Courage Test for 2006. Let us know by posting here what they have to say.

Keep following the money....
PVS does have an up-to-date and comprehensive snapshot on where Nick's money is coming from, check this out. You'll see that most of his bribes.. er campaign donations.. are coming from Houston (almost none from Fort Bend County). It's also coming overwhelmingly from lawyers, lobbyist and labor (Oh my!); and liberal PACS.

Follow the money addendum on Pete Olson

On September 14 of this year, President Bush signed a new bill into law that he said marked progress towards strengthening “ethical standards that govern lobbying activities.” Did it?

On the very day that Bush signed the bill into law, a number of top lobbyists sent out an invitation for a fundraiser luncheon for Pete Olson.

According the the article in Harper's magazine:

The fundraiser was held at the Independence Avenue townhouse of Williams & Jensen, a top lobbying firm whose clients include a number of big energy and pharmaceutical firms, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The lobbyists hosting the affair included Greg Laughlin, a former congressman, John Runyan,
who is a lobbyist for International Paper, and Jeff Munk, who previously helped raise money for DeLay.

Williams & Jensen is where Barbara Bonfiglio worked when she was the assistant treasurer or treasurer for many troubled PACs and charities run by politicians -- including Tom DeLay's infamous ARMPAC.

We're not saying Olson did anything illegal by having that fundraiser. And, the fundraiser may also have been perfectly "ethical" as defined by the Washington establishment. But we have a feeling the voters in CD22 are likely to find this kind of information more than a little unsettling. The last thing we need is another DeLay wannabe or even someone who smells like a DeLay clone here. That's likely why, in spite of raising so much money, Olson is having a hard time getting any real support locally.

None of the other candidates running for the GOP nomination, even including Sekula Gibbs, have taken the kind of money Olson has from special interest groups and groups outside CD22. Look for voters to cast their ballots for a candidate that's actually been around the district in the last 20 years and whom they know. Despite some early buzz on the guy, we're not sure, at this point, that Olson will be able to make the run-off.

P.S. a hat tip to Greg in Pearland for the heads up on this.

Hrbacek Touts Support From Precinct Chairmen

As reported here earlier, of all the GOP candidates seeking to unseat Lampson, three have so far emerged at the top of the heap: Hrbacek, Olson and Sekula-Gibbs. Of those three, Olson and Sekula-Gibbs raised more money initially, but Hrbacek is picking up the grassroots support. In terms of vote getting in the GOP primary, those are coveted endorsements -- mainly because the precinct chairs will go out and "work" their precinct for you.

The NRCC is reporting:

Former Sugar Land Mayor Dean Hrbacek (R), running for Congress in the solidly Republican 22nd district, last week claimed the endorsements of more than 40 GOP precinct chairmen in Fort Bend County.

Rumors are that some recent polling shows Olson not getting much traction in the district despite some high-profile endorsements including one from former Senator (and boss) Phil Gramm. The fact that Olson only moved to the district a few months ago and almost all his money is coming from K Street may be turning the party faithful off. We'll have to see.

Shelley leads the crowded GOP slate at this point (most pundits put her in a runoff paired with a yet-to-be-determined #2) because of her relatively high name i.d. We're not so sure. Her campaign staff is secretely worried about her high negatives (over 50%) in her own polls. Don't count Shelley out, however. She's a smart woman and may be underestimated by her competition.

In the meantime, Robert Talton still has time to get organized. He has good conservative credentials but... can he raise the money to compete?

In addition, it's not too late for another horse to join the race. A late entry or two in December could change the dynamics yet again. It's still way to early to say how this will look come March.

Even Dimmer future for Dems in Fort Bend/CD22

There's some really funny talk (wishful thinking) going on in local lib/dem circles these days. Some of the poor misguided (including, apparently the Houston Chronicle) have been deluding themselves (based on Tricky Nick Lampson's flukish win in 2006) that they might be able to return to the "glory" days some 20 years ago or so when dems ruled the area.

Man, these folks are going to need some serious medication when this tidbit of info from Real Clear Politics reaches them: Population Shifts Toward GOP.

Of the ten fastest-growing (congressional) districts in America, not one cast their ballots for John Kerry in 2004. All but one, Rep. Nick Lampson's Texas 22 seat, are held by Republicans, and Lampson, some will argue, is only back in Congress because his opponent didn't have her name on the ballot. Lampson is a top target of House Republicans next year and looks to be in serious danger.

Nancy Pelosi tries to force the Salvation Army to hire people who can't speak English.

Here's the story.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (and a contributor to Nick Lampson's campaign) has moved to kill an amendment that would protect employers from federal lawsuits for requiring their workers to speak English. Among the employers targeted by such lawsuits: the Salvation Army.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, a moderate Republican from Tennessee, proposed the amendment that caused some very heated debate on the floor of the House. It was puncutated by this exchange when Hispanic Caucus members threw a hissy fit:

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a moderate from Maryland, was beside himself. Congressional Quarterly reports that he jabbed his finger on the House floor at Joe Baca, the California Democrat who chairs the Hispanic Caucus, and yelled,
"How dare you destroy this party? This will be the worst loss in 10 years."

As John Fund rightly points out:

The battle over Mr. Alexander's amendment is about whether a consensus that used to unite liberals and conservatives in this country can continue to hold. If it can't, expect the issue to become a flashpoint in the 2008 elections. Republicans have their political problems with Hispanics over some of their approaches to illegal immigration, but they may be nothing compared to the problems Democrats have if they continue to cave in to their anti-assimilation extremists.

We'll keep an eye on this to see where Tricky Nick Lampson falls. In the meantime, it's an issue the CD22 GOP candidates may want to latch on to.

Chamber hosts 'meet and greet' for CD22 candidates

Haven't picked a candidate yet? Try this political version of speed dating...

The Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce will present a platform to "meet and greet" candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives District 22 seat at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 7 at Marriott Sugar Land Town Square.

Candidates will each give a presentation and take a limited number of questions. Advanced reservations are required. Tickets are $35 for chamber members, $50 for others. R.S.V.P. to www.FortBendChamber.com, e-mail jaine@fortbendcc.org, or call 281-491-2407.

Lampson's head fakes to the right not convincing

Addendum: The Wartime Consigliere has a similiar take on this piece. (Except his last graph is hopelessly wrong.)

The Houston Chronicle has a "look Nick's really a moderate" spin piece today by Michelle Mittelstadt out of their Washington Bureau who is not usually this gullible.

What's really happening here is Queen Nancy Pelosi is a pragmatist. She knows the 42 Dem "majority makers", like Lampson, got swept into office in 2006 from traditionally conservative (and GOP) districts. So, she's given those boys a "wink and a nod" to allow them to occassionally stray from the fold when one of two things is going to happen: 1) The Dems don't have enough votes to pass the measure anywayp or 2) It's a measure they don't really care that much about anyway. Pelosi is providing some political cover.

Then, these Dems can trot back home (or in his case over to the home paper's bureau writer) and spin a tale about how "I'm not going to be afraid to go against the party." It's their only hope of surviving in 2008. It might play somewhere else. But not in CD22.

On the votes that really count, and that CD22 voters care about, Tricky Nick was solidly with the libs -- where he's most comfortable.

Let’s not be fooled. The man has a fairly solid liberal voting record in the House. He had an 85% lifetime rating from Americans for Democratic Action, a left-wing group, and a 21% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union. That’s not Ted Kennedy liberal, but it’s pretty far from conservative or even moderate. Lampson may be decent at pretending to be middle-of-the-road, but when push comes to shove he’s the kind of guy who falls in with the party line.

Need more? Let's not forget who some of Nick's biggest money supporters have been: screenwriter and producer Norman Lear - founder of the far-left People for the American Way - actor and director Rob Reiner, Barbara Streisand. Also, Move-on.org has coughed up $168,000 to help him get elected and stay there.

Tricky Nick -- I was for NASA before I was against it

Follow the money....

The third quarter filings for each of the CD22 candidates are available on-line from the FEC. Here's how they broke out (through the end of Sept):

Nick Lampson $325K -- a complete waste of money for the dems as he's as sure to go down as a cheap hooker in 2008. A LOT of out-of- district and Union PAC $$. Two of our favorites: (Charlie) Rangel for Congress (figures, he likes to give other people's money away, not his own); AFL-CIO Cope Political Contributions Committee (is that coping with waning influence?).

Shelley Sekula Gibbs - $174K from 163 donors, most from the Houston and Clear Lake areas.
Pete Olson - $113K from 124 donors plus $50K loan from himself. Less than 10% of his money came from in-district. Most of it came from D.C. or near D.C. addresses. Not surprising since he just moved here 3 months ago. Does make you wonder, though, who he'd be representing if he won..
Dean Hrbacek - $59K from 108 donors, plus $50K loan from himself. Looks like almost all from in-district.
Bob Talton - $35K from 20 donors-- rumors are he may drop out to run for a state Senate seat ...
Jim Squier - $13K from 17 donors -- all attorney's.
Steinberg and Rowley didn't bother to file reports -- probably not much to report.
Also couldn't find a report for Manlove.

Why Lampson's days are numbered

Interesting (and in our view accurate) commentary from the Rothenberg Political Report on how the House races are shaping up:

Rep. Nick Lampson’s Texas district is horrible for Democrats, and that’s why he probably is the single most endangered Democrat who won in 2006. Yes, the Republican field has evolved in such a way that it now lacks big-name local officeholders, but that doesn’t change Lampson’s dubious prospects.

Of course, it won't take a "big-name" to win here. Just any name on the GOP ticket should do.

Lampson's split personality

What to do, what to do. When you're a life-long liberal who lucked into winning a congressional seat in a decidely conservative district? You really want to hang on to that seat in 2008, so you have to try to fool some of the folks into thinking you're really a conservative democrat -- at least some of the time.

Of course, this really hacks off your local liberal base (all three of them) who launch their own attacks on you: Nick is a traitor to the cause. He's voting the wrong way. We thought he was one of us. He's even...gasp..voting like Tom DeLay!

But, no. Don't worry says another infamous bloggist, he's really a liberal. Really. (or is he a conservative? Even she's trying to play the game.) ....Pointing to this juicy vote opposing the funding of the war on terrorism Lampson just made:

(Dennis) Kucinich voted against the bill (HR4156) because he was opposed to funding this war “even one more day” and Boy Howdy! Nick Lampson fooled us all and voted with Kucinich this time.

Susan's right. That vote will come back to haunt him here in CD22.

Conservatives know a real conservative when they see one and Lampson AIN'T.

Poor, Nick. Doing the Texas two-step with two left feet.

Mail, mimicry and mental patients

We at cd22watcher have been a little taken back by all the immediate attention this little has blog gotten (ticking up the site counter, thanks!) Initially, we had several e-mails from people trying to guess who we are. There have to be a million blogs authored anonymously on blogspot but this one is driving a few folks nutso.

Then we were amused (ok, laughing our asses off) that a local ultra-lib bloggist and hater of everything Republican tried to give some middle-aged Republican woman credit for our work. Nimrods. We're not her. Get over it.

That started a silly debate at a local on-line newspaper with confused people trying to portray this as a "pro Hrbacek" site! Dang folks around here are more paranoid than we thought. We should emphasize here we don't have a dog in this hunt yet. Hell, we may not even all agree who we're going to support in March. We're just providing some color commentary for anyone who chooses to click over here. Guess we haven't "attacked" Hrbacek enough for the haters. Hey! We've only been up THREE days.

Some loon even thought we were democrats in disguise. (Bwa ha ha!)

Next, the son, (they all have various political commentary blogs) of the above-mentioned bloggist created a parody of our site. It's sophomoric but what would you expect of a rabid dem whose entire family threatens to sue anyone at the drop of a hat.

The Blogger Family

But then things got a little more psycho when we got this (anonymous of course!!) and creepy missive from someone who needs to start pumping more oxygen to their brain or watching reruns of "The Godfather" less...

Ok guys, you had your fun. It's now time to step away from this site.The last thing you want to do is waste valuable campaign time before the local media by answering dumb questions about some silly complaint filed with the FEC regarding an anonymous blog run by campaign staff.... Keep up the schenanigans (sic) and you could find your campaign tied up in knots while your opponents are driving around meeting voters in fancy purple sports cars or making half million dollar ad buys.Don't consider this note a threat. It's just friendly campaign advice to some newcomers here in the district. Play nice and everybody wins."

Play nice? This is going to be more fun than we thought.

The "Gay" issue....

It's a touchy one in GOP politics. Especially in Fort Bend County where often paranoia runs deep.

From what we've observed, heard, overheard, etc. most of the anti-gay sentiment comes from ignorance. Too many people buy into the "it's a lifestyle choice" B.S. As one of our close gay friends explains, "With the way gays are discriminated against and all the abuse we take do you honestly believe anyone chooses this lifestyle?"

Despite the fact that the Log Cabin Republicans have been around since the '70s, we still have too many folks who think being gay is a "sin" that doesn't have a place in our great Party. That's a shame. Then you have the really ignorant, and completely asinine, that make the leap from someone being gay to being a pedophile. They obviously have never met a homosexual -- let alone gotten to know one (that they know of anyway!)

Former State Rep Robert Talton exemplifies this kind of backward thinking. Among other things, Talton has led the charge in the State Legislature to try to ban gay couples from becoming foster parents. He even goes so far as to say these kids would be better off in "orphanages." As reported in the Austin American Statesman in 2003:

The following excerpts, edited for clarity, are taken from an April 22 meeting of the House Committee on State Affairs, at which Rep. Robert Talton, R-Pasadena, introduced HB 1911, which would ban gay and lesbian foster parents. Rep. Toby Goodman, an Arlington Republican, begins the questioning:

Toby Goodman: Robert, how would they determine the sexual orientation of these individuals?

Robert Talton: Probably the only way is to ask it and put it on a check-off box and see. They make visits anyway now when they do the foster care. Before they allow anybody in there, they do background. ... They don't give them to just anyone.

TG: Does that run afoul of any law or does that present any constitutional issues?

RT: None that I'm aware of.

Rep. Mike Villareal, D-San Antonio: Mr. Talton, why single out homosexuals and bisexuals?

RT: Well, there's some of us that believe that that's not the right kind of conduct that a child should have until he reaches the age of 18. Then they can make a decision on whether they accept that lifestyle or not.

MV: You're talking about the sexual orientation of the parent, not the child. ...

RT: Right. Of the foster parent, or the alleged foster parent. ... Some of us believe that's a learned behavior; you're not born that way. And so if it's a learned behavior, then if you're taught that that conduct is OK, then that's what they're gonna do. We know that it's a learned behavior on sex offenders ... same thing with this, it's a learned behavior. Same thing with pedophiles -- it's all a learned behavior.

Groans of disbelief from the audience.

MV: Is that a religious opinion?

RT: No, I think that's probably the majority of Texans.

Audience laughs; committee Chair Ken Marchant, R-Coppell, scolds the crowd.

MV: I also sit on Human Services [Committee] and our number one priority is placing children with caring, nurturing, loving parents, period. ... Are you concerned that we are going to be holding this value of yours above this other priority?

RT: Quite frankly, I don't look at those that may be homosexuals as parents as such. ... We think of a parent -- y'all heard DOMA [Defense of Marriage Act] -- as a mother and a father and not persons of homosexual conduct. And I would put that value ahead of the value of foster care. Quite frankly, if it was me I would rather [leave] kids in orphanages. ... At least they have a chance of learning the proper values, and if that's not important, than I don't know what is.

MV: Wouldn't that deplete the supply of foster homes and cause us to bear the fiscal burden of keeping these children in more expensive children's shelters?

RT: Well, it may bar those that may teach the homosexual [or] bisexual conduct. ... There's obviously less of them then the unmarried, but ... if you teach these things like this, then what is next? ... The Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby says that most of these kids are victims of child abuse, so all you're doing is continuing the same thing.

MV: If we marginalize homosexual parents in this area of policy, what is the next step?

RT: Well, I don't look at 'em as parents, number one. Number two, who knows what happens. You and I both see what happens in legislation; it's give and take according to what session it is, things change


Talton may be right on a lot of issues. But he's dead wrong on this one. We know many gay people and couples that are kind, loving, Christians. They would make great foster (or adoptive) parents. Let's hope he gets himself better educated on this issue during his run for Congress.

Where in the world wide web is...?

Having an official campaign website is pretty much a political prerequisite these days. If you're a serious candidate you get one made and ready to launch the DAY you announce your candidacy. (For your convenience, we've linked to each candidate's site at right.)

Except for webbie-challenged Former Harris-County District Judge Jim Squier and Texas Rep. Robert Talton -- both MIA on the web. Talton has a site "under construction." Squier -- zippo.

Of course, the quality of the sites also matters. Hrbacek, Manlove, Sekula Gibbs and Olson all have professional, serious sites. Doogie, er, Alan Steinberg has an amatuerish blog -- which fits with his "hey I'm young and ambitious so vote for me" pitch. Ryan Rowley (from Clear Lake) has a BORING blog but at least he's populated it with some meaty (albeit still boring) content.

Shelley's site has an extremely annoying video that launches automatically on the home page. She has a lot of great content -- probably too much. One of the raps on Gibbs is her knack for taking 30 minutes to deliver a 5 minute message. Her website is more of the same.

Hrbacek has a ho-hum site with all the essential elements (bio, place to donate, place to volunteer, etc.). It lacks life and is short on specifics. He needs to add some position statements, more pictures of him and/or his volunteers in action and tell folks more about what he stands for.

The home page of former Pasadena Mayor John Manlove's site is, well, a little scary. John, the dems are already having a field day with their seedy (and typically sicko) interpretation of your last name (jokes about ManBoylove abound.) Please tone down that picture of you on your home page that leaps out with an almost leering quality. Otherwise, your site passes the "I'm a real candidate" muster just fine.

Olson, the ultimate Washington insider, has one of the slickest sites -- maybe too slick for this district. He plays heavily on this military service and ties to his former boss Phil Gramm. Interestingly, there isn't one picture on his site of him with Sen. John Cornyn for whom he worked for nearly 5 years as his Chief of Staff.

In our humble opinion, NONE of the candidates are really using their websites to full advantage.

Olson tries typical D.C. dirty tricks in desparate attempt to get attention

Pete Olson may have moved back to CD22 a few months ago, but he sure didn't need to bring the Washington-insider dirty tricks with him. Olson tried to tie a criminal investigation involving a Corpus Christi businessman to Lampson.

As reported in San Antonio Express News commentary:

In an attempt to break out of the pack, Olsen called on Lampson to return $4,600 in donations to Mauricio Celis.

"That's a nonstory," said Trevor Kincaid, a Lampson spokesman. "We gave that money back a week ago."

Celis is under investigation by the state attorney general and a grand jury over allegations of fraud and other felonies involving a law practice and a sheriff deputy's badge.

None of the allegations involves Lampson or other Democrats who received campaign contributions from Celis.

Meanwhile, Olson, a former aide to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, could be one of the least-known candidates in a claustrophobic race for the GOP nomination that includes former Pasadena Mayor John Manlove."

Pete -- maybe you haven't gotten the message yet, but the folks here are really tired of typical political "gotcha" games.

Lampson opens mouth and inserts foot...

This is what Lampson said in July on the floor of the House arguing AGAINST the surge in Iraq. There is nothing like seeing him in person to see what a complete goober this guy is.

And if that one didn't make you gag, check him out here as he panders to Algore during his testimony on Global Warming last March.

Why we don't count Alan Steinberg as a serious candidate

25 and lives at home with his parents in Sugar Land -- and this video report...

Candidates that sing?

We're not sure about the others, but evidently Sekula Gibbs and John Manlove like to sing. Yes sing. In public.

Check Shelley out here.
Manlove teamed up with "great hair" Sugar Land Mayor Wallace recently at a fundraiser. View it here.

Note to both. Stop. Please stop.

Early Prognostications....

It's generally thought that of the e-i-g-h-t announced candidates in CD22, just three are real contenders: Former Sugar Land Mayor Dean Hrbacek, Former Gramm/Cornyn staffer Pete Olson and former (eight week) Congresswoman Shelley Sekula Gibbs.

The rest (maybe with the exception of State Rep. Robert Talton) either have no real base, no money to build name ID or no business really being in the race (more on them later).

Olson and Sekula Gibbs have stong war chests -- but are also carrying a lot of other baggage.

Olson, 45,only moved to the District about two months ago after a 20-year absence. He's raised a ton of money -- but only 5% came from within CD22. Most of it came from out of state! His opponents are likely to pick up on that and start pounding him on it -- no one likes a carpetbagger. He's garnered the endorsement of Former State Senator (and his former boss) Phil Gramm. Most folks, however, are not going to get real excited about a policy wonk. As Texas Monthly pol Paul Burka recently wrote about Olson: "Staffers, by definition, are followers, not leaders. These days, they tend to be ideologues (especially if they worked for a strong ideological figure like Phil Gramm)."

Sekula (no hyphen now) Gibbs, is a former Houston city councilwoman and a dermatologist. She won a special election in 2006 to serve the district (for about 8 weeks) to finish out DeLay's term, but lost the race to Dem. Lampson in the general election -- mainly because she was forced to run as a write-in candidate. She's been campaigning non-stop and raising money ever since. On paper, she looks good but....

Sekula Gibbs, 55, made some major missteps in the short time she was in Washington. Most notably seven staff members, who were former staff members for former U.S. Representative Tom DeLay resigned from Sekula-Gibbs's office in a mass walkout during the very short time she served. She also sent out some silly e-mail alerts (the most memorable being the one where she bragged about having "perfect attendance" during her 8-week term.) A lot of folks (including donors) who initially supported her in 2006 have jumped ship to other candidates.

The biggest problem Olson and Sekula Gibbs may have, however, is that they are NOT from Fort Bend County. (look at map). While the district is heavily Republican in both the eastern portion of the district (where Sekula-Gibbs comes from) and in the western portion (where Hrbacek resides) -- most of the voters come from Fort Bend County.That may give Hrbacek, the only real Fort Bend candidate, the edge in this crowded race.

Even Lampson was shrewd enough to move to Fort Bend County before trying to run for Congress here.

Hrbacek, former mayor of Sugar Land, is both an attorney and a CPA as well as a successful businessman. He's lived in Fort Bend County for more than 20 years. Moveover, he also has strong ties to the Clear Lake and Pearland areas (where he grew up and went to school). He's considered by many to be an ideal candidate because of his very successful track record in business and politics and the lack of negatives in his background.

He has the most active grassroots support of any of the candidates and a growing volunteer base that is working hard for him. Although Fort Bend support is not solid behind him (there are some local activists working for Olson and Gibbs). Hrbacek's largest challenge will be getting enough name ID and support outside of Fort Bend before March to ensure he makes the run-off. He'll also be opposed by a local, liberal newspaper publisher with who has taken issue with Hrbacek in the past and is actively supporting Lampson.

Welcome to CD22 Watch

There are currently 8 (count 'em e-i-g-h-t)candidates running for the Congressional seat formerly held by the guy everybody now loves to hate, Tom Delay. Due to an unfortunate string of well-documented election calamities (which resulted in the GOP not having a named candidate on the ballot) liberal democrat and carpetbagger Nick Lampson wormed his way into the District and onto Washington. The conventional wisdom is that ol' slick Nick is a one-termer in this decidedly RED district.This site is devoted to helping keep track of the contendors, what they're saying, their records, and the local scuttlebutt circulating leading up to the March 2008 primary and the likely run off election to follow. Feel free to join in the discussion and pass along any intel. This should be a fun one to follow.