north texas constituents against the bailout

According to PoliTex, several North Texas lawmakers are being flooded with emails and calls about the $700 billion bailout, and the vast majority of them are against the rescue plan.

Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville: has received about 957 e-mails on the bailout, 952 against, 5 in favor.Phone calls: 364. Only 6 support the rescue.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington: has received more than 500 e-mails with all but 25 against a bailout. Phone calls: About 400 – with fewer than 25 constituent calls in favor of the bailout.

Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth: has received 340 e-mails, 265 against the rescue and 75 for a bailout in some form. Phone calls: 77 – all against.

Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell: had gotten close to 1,000 e-mails and phone calls. Over 90% are against a federal rescue.

Are you for or against the proposed plan to fix the current economic crisis? Either way, you need to let your legislators know.

Wendy Davis' Eligibility for Senate District 10 Challenged

According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, a challenge has been made regarding Wendy Davis' eligibility to file for Texas State Senate District 10 against Kim Brimer.

Three Fort Worth firefighters delivered a letter Monday afternoon to Art Brender, Tarrant County Democratic Party chairman, calling on the party to disqualify Davis from running because she is still a Fort Worth City Council member.

State law forbids sitting council members from running for the Legislature. Although Davis resigned in August, local law requires her to keep her seat until a successor is sworn in. Joel Burns, who won the special election runoff Dec. 18 to replace Davis, is scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 8.

The letter left Brender scrambling for legal clarification and appealing for an eleventh hour backup candidate "in an abundance of caution."

Steve at Caravan of Dreams has some speculation as to who could be behind the challenge.

According to the Startlegram, the letter was sent by Cullen Cox, Rickey Turner and Javier Cerda, three firefighters who support the Democratic Party, according to Rob Gibson, second vice president of the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association. If these guys truly support the Democratic Party, why would they derail a candidate who looked to have an excellent opportunity to unseat a very vulnerable and disliked Republican?

As one local Democrat told me this morning, the dots are pretty easy to connect. The political consultant for the Fort Worth Firefighters is Republican political consultant Bryan Eppstein. The political consultant for Kim Brimer is -- you guessed it -- Republican political consultant Bryan Eppstein.

If Eppstein's name is familiar, it's because his fingerprints are all over the North Texas political landscape. He made news last year when J.D. Granger, son of U. S. Rep Kay Granger (R- Fort Worth- a client of Eppstein's), hired him for a lucrative consulting gig with the Tarrant Regional Water District board. The appointment was made without an RFP.

No word on who might replace Davis if her filing is declared invalid.

UPDATE: The FWST is reporting this evening that Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns was sworn in today, one week earlier than scheduled.

Burns said he was told by Fort Worth city attorneys that because the runoff election results were canvassed last Thursday, making them official, he could be sworn in any time.

John Hill, a retired appellate judge, administered the oath of office Tuesday at Burns' home in front of a small group of family and friends, Burns said.

There is still some question as to whether this paves the way for Davis to run. Davis filed for office in early December.

Brender said he also notified the Texas Secretary of State's Office regarding challenge.

"It's an issue, unfortunately, that the courts have not ruled on," he said. "The actual issue regarding an officeholder resigning and staying on as a holdover candidate has not been decided by the courts. Although I don't think there would have been any issue had she filed tomorrow and Joel had been sworn in today."

Texas Legislators Ranked by National Review

The National Journal has issued its 2006 ratings, ranking the U.S. Senate and Congress according to their liberal or conservative voting tendencies.

No, Texas didn't score the most conservative senator. That honor went to Jim DeMent, R-South Carolina. We came close, however, with Sen. John Cornyn at no. 4. That this loyalist to the Bush administration should crack the top ten shouldn't come as any surprise. Kay Bailey Hutchison was all the way back at no. 39.

Cornyn's ultra-conservatism may help explain why he'll be facing a serious challenger in the 2008 election. If you'd like to make a contribution to Cornyn's eventual Democratic rival, click here.

On the congressional side, North Texas Republicans are heavily weighted in the top one hundred most conservative. Two Dallas County congressmen cracked the top ten, including Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, and Sam Johnson, R-Plano. Other area congressmen include no. 22 Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell, no. 61 Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas, no. 89 Kay Granger, R-Ft. Worth and no. 97 Joe Barton, R-Ennis. Rounding out the reminaing North Texas Republicans were no. 109 Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, no. 132, Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall.

For Democrats, the Chet Edwards, D-Waco, ranked no. 237. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, ranked no. 333. And Texas' most liberal Democrat was Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, at no. 399.

Area Republicans Vote Against Raising Minimum Wage

It's a little out of sequence, but among the notable bills being debated by Congress this week was passage of a hike in the minimum wage. If you missed it, it might be because this long-overdue Democratic victory was buried behind the controversy over troop surges. The Fort Worth Star Telegram put its announcement in the business section.

Unlike some of the other bills discussed since the start of this session, North Texans voted on this issue along nearly straight party lines.

On a 315-116 roll call Wednesday, the House voted to increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over 26 months.

Voted Yes (in favor of a minimum wage increase)
Chet Edwards, D-Waco
Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas
Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell (Ed. note: the Star-Telegram article wrongly lists Rep. Marchant as voting against the legislation, while the official record has him voting in favor.)

Voted No (in opposition to a minimum wage increase)
Joe Barton, R-Ennis
Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound
Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall
Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas
Sam Johnson, R-Plano
Pete Sessions, R-Dallas
Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth

The minimum wage has not seen an increase in over nine years. In fact, based on buying power, it is at its lowest in over 50 years. During that same nine years, congress has voted itself $31K in pay increases, three times the yearly wage of someone earning the minimum.

So it may surprise you that your Republican congressmen and women would fail to see the benefit of raising the minimum wage standard. It shouldn't. Republicans not only fail to see the need for a raise, they fail to see the need for a minimum wage at all. Here's the quote from the Texas GOP party platform.

We believe the Minimum Wage Law should be repealed and that wages should be determined by the free market conditions prevalent in each individual market. [page 25, 2006 State Republican Party Platform]

Last year, under pressure from Republicans running in close districts, they voted to couple the minimum wage hike with an $90 billion decrease in the inheritance tax for America's wealthiest families, in what one Democratic congressman called

"the kind of cynical ploy that makes Americans lose faith in their government."

That bill passed the House, with Edwards joining Burgess, Marchant and Sessions in supporting the bill, Johnson, Hensarling and Barton opposed and Granger abstaining. It failed in the Senate.

This year, the rationale was that a minimum wage increase must be coupled, in the same bill, with tax breaks for small businesses.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, said "lucky" workers would see their pay rise to $7.25 an hour, but he predicted that many more will have their hours or benefits cut or lose their jobs.

"In America we can either have maximum opportunity or we can have minimum wages. We cannot have both...."

Well, maybe you can. According to a study by a nonpartisan research group...

Some observers contend that because many small businesses are labor intensive and largely employ low-wage workers, they will experience sharp cost increases when the minimum wage is increased, leading them to reduce employment levels. However, this report examined recent state-by-state trends for small businesses employing fewer than 50 workes and found that employment and payrolls in small businesses grew faster in the states with iminimum wages above the federal level than in the remaining states where the $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage prevailed.

This report also found that total job growth was faster in the higher minimum wage states. Faster job growth also occurred in the retail trade sector, the sector of the economy employing the most workes at low wages, in the higher minimum wage states.

The simplest introductory economics prediction that an increase in the minimum wage will result in job loss clearly is not supported by the actual job growth record. Rather, faced with an increase in the minimum wage, small businesses may have benefited from some combination of higher productivity through improved worker retention and savings on recruitment and training. There may also be a "Henry Ford" effect at work: if you pay workers more, they can buy more, boosting the overall economy, especially among small retail businesses.

Here's the roll call vote. To view Congresswoman Johnson's press release on the bill, click here. The bill still needs to pass in the Senate.

house votes in favor of stem cell research; bush likely to veto (again)

According to Friday's issue of Quick, the Democratic-controlled "House of Representatives passed legislation yesterday to lift President Bush's limits on federal embryonic stem-cell research..." The Republican 109th Congress passed similar legislation last year, prompting President Bush to use his first ever veto stamp to block it from becoming law.

With a 253-174 vote, Congress failed to pass the bill with more than two-thirds support, meaning it will be unlikely that Bush's expected veto on the new legislation could be overridden. For what it's worth, you can contact the White House and pledge your support for stem cell research. Perhaps an overwhelming show of support could convince the president to sign the legislation.

How did the North Texas legislation vote on this important issue? Find your legislator on the list below and make sure to write them a letter of either support or condemnation, depending on how they voted.

Voted Yes (in favor of stem cell research)
Joe Barton, R-Ennis
Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas
Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth

Voted No (in opposition to stem cell research)
Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound
Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall
Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas
Sam Johnson, R-Plano
Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell
Pete Sessions, R-Dallas

Burgess to Serve as Vice Chair of GOP Policy Committee

The GOP has tapped Michael Burgess (TX-26) to serve as Vice Chair of the GOP Policy Committee. The committee, according to a release by Burgess

....serves as a formal council to meet regularly to facilitate the formulation and carrying out of national policy, and to improve relationships between the executive and legislative branches of government.

Burgess joins another Texan, Kay Granger, appointed as GOP Conference Vice Chair, in the GOP leadership ranks.

The GOP Policy Committee is headed by Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan, who had this to say about his election.

U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, a Livonia Republican who ascended to the chairmanship of the influential House Republican Policy Committee, knows it was more than his charm, popularity and dry sense of humor that led to the post.

There's some history to the new position. Past chairmen have included former President Gerald Ford and Vice President Dick Cheney.

"There's a lot of bald guys on that committee. It seems to be the official bald guys' spot," he said. "That's the only reason I got it."

Do you really think he's trying to bring our attention to his hair, or hint at larger political aspirations? Anyway, it was clever.

He also had this to say about Iraq.

Right off the bat, we need to make sure to have a policy that will bring victory in Iraq," said McCotter. "That is the No. 1 issue on the American public's mind."

In his defense, this quote was from November, before James Baker put the lie to that part about "victory." But here's the important part: The GOP Policy Committee is putting Iraq front and center, and a North Texas congressman is number two on that committee. It sounds like a good time for North Texans to remind Congressman Burgess what the November elections were all about.

north texas legislators run for republican leadership positions

According to Capitol Annex, several North Texas Republicans are planning to make a bid for House leadership positions within the party.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Ennis) is running for Minority Leader. He faces opposition in Rep. John Boehner of Ohio and Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana. Kay Granger (R-Ft. Worth) is running for GOP Conference Vice Chair. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) hopes to become the next chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

House Republicans hold leadership elections on Nov. 17.

congress repeals wright amendment

An effort spearheaded by Texas Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, both Republicans, has finally come to fruition: both houses of Congress have passed legislation that would phase out flight restrictions at Dallas Love Field. President Bush will presumably sign the bill into law next week.

"It's a great relief to have a final solution," said Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell, whose district includes Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. "The fact that none of the parties are completely happy and all of the parties are relieved to have it over should be a sign that it's a good agreement."

The congressional legislation comes after an intensely-negotiated agreement between the mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth concerning the repeal back in June. This plan will be implemented under the new legislation by 2014.

The Dallas Morning News notes that this issue split legislators unusually: they were not divided by party lines or by geography.

Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the judiciary committee, argued against a frequent ally, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, whose district includes Love Field.

Mr. Sensenbrenner [R-Wisconsin], recalling the "Don't Mess with Texas" bumper stickers in the House garage, said, "Tonight is one of the nights where we ought to mess with Texas.

"This is the most anti-consumer, anti-free-enterprise legislation that has come before this House in a long time," he said.

Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, was distributing red "Vote Yes" fliers to members on the floor; Ms. Johnson had her own yellow fliers supporting the bill.

The final tally, which came just past 10 p.m. Dallas time, was 386-22.

Again, reactions to the passage is mixed. The chief operating officer of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Kevin Cox, predicts a "calming effect" at D/FW and a possible dip in fares as American tries to match Southwest's low rates. Some travel analysts disagree.

[Terry] Trippler said consumers shouldn't expect ticket prices to go down at D/FW because Fort Worth-based American will still be able to charge a premium for nonstop flights, compared with the connecting and one-stop service that Southwest Airlines will offer from Love. American operates more than 80 percent of the passenger flights at D/FW.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a good piece on the "winners" in the new legislation. The list includes passengers, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and both airports in contention. Many look at the situation as a win-win. "Everyone gave up something for the common good," said Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth.

Another local lawmaker summed up the debate: "This bill is important to North Texas, the air-service community at large and my constituents at Love Field, which is in the heart of my district," said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas. "I am not anti-competitive. I'm not anti-lower fares. I'd be stupid to be that. But I am pro-principle."

stem cell research enhancement act: vetoed

Recently, the Senate passed legislation that would enhance stem cell research by loosening restrictions on federal funding. The legislation passed in the U.S. House back in 2005 without help from several North Texas Republicans that voted against it: Rep. Michael Burgess (Flower Mound), Rep. Ralph Hall (Rockwall), Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Dallas), Rep. Sam Johnson (Plano), Rep. Kenny Marchant (Carrollton), and Rep. Pete Sessions (Dallas). Two North Texas Republicans supported stem cell research and are to be commended: Rep. Kay Granger (Fort Worth) and Rep. Joe Barton (Ennis).

How did the Democrats vote? Totally in favor of stem cell research. Texas Democrats stood in solidarity; not a single one voted against the legislation. If you're represented by a Texas Democrat, take a minute to write them a letter and thank them for supporting stem cell research.

Over in the Senate, our two Republican senators were split. Sen. John Cornyn voted against the stem cell research legislation, while Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison voted for it. Sen. Hutchison is to be commended for standing up and letting her vote be counted to help save lives. Unfortunately, Sen. Cornyn decided to cater to the religious right.

Regardless of how everyone voted, President Bush used the first veto of his presidency today to reject this legislation that was overwhelmingly passed by Congress.

"This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others," Bush said Wednesday afternoon. "It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect. So I vetoed it."

Attending the White House event were a group of families with children who were born from "adopted" frozen embryos that had been left unused at fertility clinics.

"These boys and girls are not spare parts," he said of the children in the audience. "They remind us of what is lost when embryos are destroyed in the name of research. They remind us that we all begin our lives as a small collection of cells."

Despite Bush's decision, the issue has divided much of the Republican Party. Only two Texas Republicans (North Texas Reps. Barton and Granger) strayed from Republican talking points to cast their vote in favor of the legislation, but across the nation things were different. In the Senate, many states were split with one senator voting one way and the other voting another. In the House, a coalition of 200 Democrats and Republicans co-sponsored the legislation. Even top Republicans in Congress were forced to publicly disagree with the president.

The Senate bill's principal sponsor, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, who recently survived a brush with cancer, was joined by Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, a physician who argued that Bush's policy is too restrictive.

"I am pro-life, but I disagree with the president's decision to veto the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act," Frist said in a statement. "Given the potential of this research and the limitations of the existing lines eligible for federally funded research, I think additional lines should be made available."

Currently, House Republicans plan to re-introduce the legislation in an attempt to override President Bush's veto. Please help this effort! If your legislator voted against the bill last year, there's a chance that public opinion could change their mind this year. If they supported it last year, make sure you write them to encourage them to cast the same vote to override the veto. Right now, House leadership isn't sure that they'll have enough support for the measure, so this requires immediate action if we want to save lives. Contact your representatives in Congress here.