Noriega's Senate bid attracts national Democrats

Source: Houston Chronicle

Nov. 14, 2007, 11:30PM
Noriega's Senate bid attracts national Democrats
State lawmaker goes to Las Vegas to let donors know 'Texas is in play'

By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — With millionaire Mikal Watts out of the U.S. Senate race, the national Democratic Party is now treating Houston state Rep. Rick Noriega as the apparent party challenger to Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

Noriega is traveling today to Las Vegas as a guest of the Democratic National Committee to meet national party donors who are attending the Nevada Democratic Party's presidential debate, which begins at 7 p.m. Central Time.

"They've got a lot of national donors coming to this, and we wanted them to put a face with the name," Noriega told the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday. "What's going to happen is across the country folks are going to start realizing that Texas is in play."

In the past several weeks, Noriega also has picked up endorsements from past Democratic presidential candidates John Kerry and Wesley Clark.



Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5303174.html

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Rick Noriega's website: www.ricknoriega.com

If the national party hadn't ignored us for so long, we might have been in play sooner. We've been supporting our local candidates here, but get ignored from the top. Noriega is good people.

The metro areas were almost evenly split during the last 2 presidential election cycles, and now with Bush/Republican supporters dropping like flies, there IS a REAL chance to turn Texas blue.

Check this out... Sugarland has been a Republican stronghold and was Tom Delay's district. They are falling apart over there!

http://bayareahouston.blogspot.com/2007/11/fort-bend-republican-party-no-retreat.html


In addition, I went to a county Democratic event last weekend (at which Rick Noriega spoke and was terrific!) and the list of candidates running in races that used to go unopposed to Republicons was really heartening! So many of us down here quit supporting the national party financially because they never gave a damn thing back to us! Meanwhile, we kept on fighting with the folks who still had the determination to stand up and run for office, regardless of lack of faith from those up the political food chain.

red sections of California. mccauliffe & emanuel decided we were not worth their attention and that filtered up to infect the CDP. It is amazing but little attention was paid to the fact that Orange County has the SECOND highest registration of Democrats in the state. Second only to Los Angeles. And more registered Democrats than 4 states.

That's why Texas was not "in play"

We haven't seen a Democratic Presidential Candidate campaigning here since 1992. And that was just a couple of appearances in major cities then fly away.

You can't win if you don't play, and the national party refused to enter the race here. It is VERY frustrating to loyal Dems to be abandoned by our party.

voted for B*sh in the last election. The National Party is not going to put time and money in to a place where that many people are drinking the Kool-aid.

A local team in place can probably work with trying to gain 5%, not 10%+ in a state that big.

Hope the tide turns though.

They take our money and turn their backs on us.

You can't win every battle, but you can't win ANY battle if you refuse to compete. Conceding to the Republicans is never a winning strategy. They won't compete, and then they complain because they lose.

Have you ever heard the phrase "self-fulfilling prophesy"?

for President go there and visit towns? or more that people there are funded to work for the campaigns?

The party should be putting the effort into making sure that EVERY voter has a real Democratic alternative in every election.

I do not accept you analysis of what is a worthy effort.

That has a distinctly Corporate P&L ring to it.

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

Hover over the states and you should get a pop-up of the 2004 presidential percentages. Look at the Kerry wins compared to the B*sh wins. Then look at how many states B*sh had by 60/40 or better compared to how many Kerry had. Kerry had a number of real squeakers. They had to put a lot of time and energy in to those states to make sure those squeakers went his way. Now for the 60/40 B*sh states, where the hell would one begin?

Kerry's 60/40's
(MA, RI, D.C.)

Bush's
(MT, ID, UT, ND, SD, KS, OK, TX, IN, KY, MS, AL)

As campaign manager if you have 200 million to spend do you spend it on the states where things are 49/51 or where things are 40/60? Talk of a broad campaign all you want but those states under Bush's name will hit the R button until Judgment day, the Kool-aid worked.

not even ask for it? The Kool-aid worked because it was aided by crooked vote machines, a compliant Media and a Democratic party that was aiding the radical reich.

but did we get anything in return, like signs or bumper stickers? :crickets:

dg

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollTrack.aspx?g=3478c82b-c958-4d76-bbb1-8d52710ab2e6

Not sure how that will necessarily translate into votes for Noriega though.

There's a lot of dumbasses down here who just reflexively pull the Republican lever for Jesus, the Homeland, and Family Values™.

in 06 had we had some help from the top (what bragging rights that would have been -DeLay defeated in his own redistricting scheme). Chris Bell needed more early money to take a lead and never got it. Kay Bailey Hutchinson had to do something this last year that she hasn't had to do since her first year in office....campaign hard against an unknown candidate.

The Dem Party here sucks eggs and the grass roots are struggling. We want so badly to be rid of John Cornyn who is up for re-election and is greatly hated and is vulnerable due to his voting record, among other things. Noreiga is a great candidate and his wife won the city council seat held by Sekula-Gibbs. I haven't met him personally but I met her and helped a bit in the campaign and she is wonderful.

We have been in play hear for a while and have had some quality candidates but that redistricting hatchet job Tom did has made it twice as tough-but we're getting there. Remember, GWB had to cheat to beat Ann Richards, just like Gore, just like Kerry. We just need to learn how to kick these guys in the slats and we need a little seed money to do it.

the 2006 candidates.:(

Kick for Rick

I'm sick of Texas being the cash cow & whipping boy at the same time. Maybe we'll get a better hotel & better seating at the National Convention (I doubt it, but hope springs eternal).

dg

I am tired of the folks who believe that we are not worth the money to ask for our votes.

...or another DLCer put in place of a Democrat to make sure Texas is NOT in play?

His website features a Chamber of Commerce endorsement, which can be a red flag.

I'm all for more Democrats, but I am not for more corporate Democrats. They are anathema to getting things done from our side of the aisle.

Lets hope Noreiga is a real one.

NOBODY knows (or supports) the Constitution more than David.

If so, then that is comforting.

So he is against the FISA bill, torture, and for the restoration of habeas corpus? Is he against free speech zones and for the restoration of checks and balances?

I really want to know these answers, but I know that at least you have similar politics to my own.

I never said that I would vote for Cornyn. What a useless strawman!

He ran for Attorney General in 2006 in Texas.
I'd personally like to see him in a national office...but you are welcome to check out his beliefs (oh, check out the Texas forum or do a search...he posts here)
>>>snip
Through 31 years of law practice, David Van Os has concentrated his priorities in the defense of Constitutional rights and liberties through the courts, the protection of working people through labor law and union contracts, and the promotion of human rights.

He has been listed in the prestigious reference book Best Lawyers in America by peer review for over 20 consecutive years. In 2005 the Backbone Campaign honored David with its Spine Award.

David is considered a co-founder in 2002 of the Texas Democratic Progressive Populist Caucus, and continues as an ex officio member of the steering committee. In 2007 he was named chairman of the board of the Inter-American Education Consortium and its hallmark project, the Liberty and Democracy Alliance.
http://vanosfortexasag.com.

he has the potential for national office......

He has a real dislike for professional politicians and does not want to "Climb the political latter".
I agree with you that he should and could make a place for himself on the national stage. Imagine DVO for US AG. I would love to see all the bushits scurrying to get back under their rocks.

That is all I need to know concerning Van Os. As a populist, myself, it is good to see populists coming up in the south. In my opinion, a populist would kick the crap out of both the Republicans and the corporate Democrats that have been winning in the south recently.

Mikal Watts, who has now dropped out of the primary, seemed to be driving in the right hand lane.

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Nobody's saying that corporations are a bad thing. Some of them have done a world of good for humanity at large. But now many corporations are starting to write our laws for us, and this has never been more apparent than since they changed the rules on patents to include lifeforms.

If you haven't seen The Corporation on DVD yet, I highly recommend it.

whining.....that's insulting...you have no idea what my tone of voice is
snot-nosed....another insult...I suppose you are implying that I am young. I'm 36.
know-it-all...another insult....but one that certainly implies that I am coming to the table with facts that you do not like.

You sure are racking them up there. Insults mean only one thing to me...you do not wish to engage in a discussion at all. Only name-calling.

However, provided you ARE interested in such a thing, let us get past the talking points of creating jobs and making money because we all know that corporations do their fair share of damage, as well. Thom Hartman defines a corporation as an contract put together between the private entity and the givernment to enjoy a vast reduction in liability while profiting off of the labor of citizens. We all can throw talking points back and forth and talk right past each other.

I want to know what Noriega's positions are on:

The Iraq War
Torture
The FISA bill
Tax cuts for the rich
Deregulation
Civil rights
Civil liberties
Restoring the capital balance between the rich and the poor

And if you haven't checked, I am a Texan, too, and I am fully-aware that Chambers of Commerce in large swaths of Texas are Republican fund-raising machines steeped in laissez faire ideology.

Rahm Emanuel did a great job recruiting corporate Dems in the last round of elections, and these new Democrats have done a great job derailing any progress that could be made in stopping this criminal administration. I do not wish for this to happen again, so I am asking these questions about every candidate I see a priori.

You may not like it, but I am going to ask those questions because I think that I and a great deal of other DUers are interested in the answers. Your assertion that he is a great candidate is not enough, especially if it comes from a corporate-defender and an insulter as you have demonstrated yourself to be. Endorsements do not work, either, because they can be bought as political favors. I want to know positions on issues. That is what I vote for.

So what are the answers to my questions because a cursory examination of his website did not reveal his position on these issues?

Oh, and tone down your rhetoric because I do not engage with bullies. I ignore them.

ON EDIT: Ah...the Senate. OK....well, Chuck Shumer pretty much mirrored Emanuels actions for the Senate, so the overall statement still applies.

I'd take a moderate Dem in a TEXAS senate seat any day of the week.

If moderate means more of what we have been enduring from the Republicans. We already have the House, so adding more moderates is not going to do anything but make more votes for the pukes....if he fits the "modern" definition of moderate Dem.

If not, then I'd like to know. If so, then forget it....I do not support neocons, corporate enablers, or war on terror hawks even if they bear a D next to their name. Rahm Emanuel recruited quite a few ex-Republicans as Dems this last time around and they have been stabbing us in the back ever since.

Give me a Jim Hightower Texas Dem. I'd vote for that in a heartbeat.

The national party has been taking our money and giving us the cold shoulder for years now. I'm tired of being taken for granted and treated like a silent partner.

and don't even give us a receipt. I've stopped giving to the National DEM Party and give to the candidates instead. What they did to Chris Bell was a crying shame.

best of luck to you. Hopefully he has a fighting chance.

That was my first thought since it was a post by JL.

Must be nice to live in a Blue State where you can look down your nose at those of us fighting on the front lines.

dg

Early Life and Education
Noriega was raised in Houston, Texas. After graduating from high school and joining the Army, Noriega graduated from the University of Houston in 1984 and from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1990.


Military
Noriega joined the United States Army in 1979 in the wake of the Iran hostage crisis. He became a Lt. Colonel in the Texas National Guard, and most recently served in the War in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

On his return from Afghanistan, Mayor Bill White requested that Noriega command the evacuee shelter operation at the George Brown Convention Center, where he cared for thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees.


Public Service
Rick was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1998 and has since served five terms. He currently acts as the Budget and Oversight Chair of the Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations Committee. Rick also sits on the Appropriations Committee.


United States Senate Race
The winner of the March'08 Democratic Primary will run against incumbent John Cornyn, who has not seen approval ratings above 50% since 2005.<1> Cornyn also has the lowest job approval rating of any incumbent Senator running for re-election.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Noriega