COMMONSENSETEXANS - commonsensetexans.net

The Bill White Virtual Debate Videos have been Posted!

The Bill White virtual debate videos have been posted on the Common Sense Texans You Tube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/commonsensetexans

You may find his answers differ significantly from those of the GOP candidates. We truly appreciate his participation and the opportunity to hear a different viewpoint. This is the only chance Texans have at this point to compare and contrast the GOP candidates and the leading Democratic candidate on the same questions. (The Texas Tribune called our virtual debate the "third debate" of the GOP season, which is quite a compliment. We think Mayor White's participation in this debate makes this the "first debate" of the fall season.)

Note that Question 4 is not available yet. That's why the You Tubes skip from Questions 1-3 to Questions 5-7. There's also a You Tube for Questions 8-10.

We never heard back from Farouk Shami's campaign.

If you have questions, please contact Greg Holloway, Austin Tea Party Patriots, at greg@teapartyconservative.com.

If you have not done so already, go vote!

The Common Sense Texans Virtual Debate

Thanks to emails from grassroots conservatives around the state encouraging the campaigns to meet with us, we have completed our video interviews of each of Kay Bailey Hutchison, Debra Medina and Rick Perry. Each candidate was asked ten questions prepared by statewide tea partiers and 9-12ers.

We hope that these videos will be valuable to you. Please encourage your friends to hit these sites. The more hits, the more likely we will be able to get candidates to speak directly with the people in the future.

Question 1:

"Do you plan to further reduce property taxes, so that we can own our land without the threat of losing it to the government because we can't afford the tax burden? Would you eliminate property taxes entirely? Why or why not?" - Kerry Watson, Austin Tea Party Patriots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evL6aNjkNno

Conservative Hispanic Society Releases its Endorsements

The Conservative Hispanic Society PAC has released its 2010 Primary Endorsements, which are included below.

PLEASE NOTE : The Common Sense Texans Network is a non-profit, non-partisan organization. The information below is presented solely for the benefit of our members and is not intended, nor should it be construed as, an endorsement or expression of support or opposition for or against any organization or candidate. Each voter is encouraged to research the available candidates thoroughly and come to their own independent conclusions as to the best candidate in each race.

To be considered for an endorsement by the Conservative Hispanic Society PAC, candidates must adhere to the conservative beliefs that are the core of Conservative Hispanic Society as evidenced by the platforms presented at candidate forums, campaign materials, answers given in voter guides, coalition organization straw polls, and by personal interactions between candidates and the CHS. No preference is given to candidates that are members of CHS. CHS doesn’t endorse a candidate in every race and does not endorse in unopposed races.

Statewide / Multi-County Races:
Governor:	Rick Perry (www.rickperry.org)
Railroad Commissioner:	Victor G. Carrillo (www.texansforvictor.com)
Justice, Supreme Court of Texas, Place 9:	Eva Guzman (www.evaguzman.com)
Texas Senate District 2:	Sharon Russell (www.russellforsenate2010.com)

Collin County:
State Representative, District 66:	Van Taylor (www.vantaylor.com)
County Judge:	Keith Self (www.keithself.com)
County Commissioner Precinct 4:	Kathy Ward (www.kathyward.org)

Dallas County:
State Representative, District 102:	Stefani Carter (www.carterfortexas.com)

Tarrant County:
State Representative, District 91:	Kelly Hancock (www.kellyhancock.com)
State Representative, District 92:	Jeff Cason (www.jeffcason.com)
State Representative, District 96:	Bill Zedler (www.billzedler.org)
State Representative, District 98:	Giovanni Capriglione (www.giovanni2010.com)
State Representative, District 99:	Matt Krause (www.texansformattkrause.com)
County Commissioner, Precinct 2:	Andy Nguyen (www.AndyNguyenNow.com)
Criminal District Attorney:	Kirk Claunch (www.kirkclaunch.com)
Judge, 141st District Court:	John Chupp (www.judgejohnchupp.com)
Judge, 432nd District Court:	Ruben Gonzalez, Jr. (www.judgegonzalez.com)
Judge, County Court at Law # 1:	Brent Keis (www.judgebrentkeis.com)
Judge, Criminal District Court # 3:	Robb Catalano (www.CatalanoForJudge.com)
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2:	Lenny Lopez (www.votelennylopez.com)

Conservative Hispanic Society PAC is an independent and separate organization from the Conservative Hispanic Society 501(c)(4).

Republican Liberty Caucus 2010 Primary Endorsements

The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) has released the endorsements below in the 2010 Primary Election.

The RLC's 2010 Primary endorsements:

Governor - Debra Medina - http://www.medinafortexas.com/

U.S. House, District 14 - Stephen Schoppe - http://www.schoppe.us/

State Board of Education, Place 10 - Brian Russell - http://brianrussell.net/

State Board of Education, Place 5 - Ken Mercer - http://votekenmercer.com/

Travis County Justice of the Peace District 3 - Mike Barré

KXAN : Texas Republican Primary Heating Up

Young Conservatives of Texas Releases its First Round of Endorsements

The Young Conservatives of Texas have released their first round of endorsements in the 2010 Statewide Primary Election:

Posted at http://yct.org/files/YCT%20Endorsements%201-16-10.pdf

Governor	Governor Rick Perry
Railroad Commissioner	Commissioner Victor Carrillo
U.S. House District 12	Mike Brasovan
U.S. House District 23	Francisco “Quico” Canseco
Texas State Senate Dist. 5	Senator Steve Ogden
Texas State House Dist. 2	Representative Dan Flynn
Texas State House Dist. 3	Erwin Cain
Texas State House Dist. 4	Representative Betty Brown
Texas State House Dist. 7	David Simpson
Texas State House Dist. 20	Milton Rister
Texas State House Dist. 47	Holly Turner
Texas State House Dist. 50	Pat McGuiness
Texas State House Dist. 52	Larry Gonzales
Texas State House Dist. 58	Representative Rob Orr
Texas State House Dist. 59	Representative Sid Miller
Texas State House Dist. 65	Mike Murphy
Texas State House Dist. 66	Van Taylor
Texas State House Dist. 87	Victor Leal
Texas State House Dist. 91	Representative Kelly Hancock
Texas State House Dist. 92	Jeff Cason
Texas State House Dist. 93	Bill Burch
Texas State House Dist. 96	The Honorable Bill Zedler
Texas State House Dist. 98	Giovanni Capriglione
Texas State House Dist. 99	Matt Krause
Texas State House Dist. 101	Cindy Burkett
Texas State House Dist. 102	Stefani Carter
Texas State House Dist. 127	Addie Wiseman
State Board of Education 5	The Honorable Ken Mercer
State Board of Education 10	Brian Russell

PLEASE NOTE : The Common Sense Texans Network is a non-profit, non-partisan organization. The above information is presented solely for the benefit of our members and is not intended, nor should it be construed as, an endorsement or expression of support or opposition for or against any organization or candidate. Each voter is encouraged to research the available candidates thoroughly and come to their own independent conclusions as to the best candidate in each race.

Empower Texans Releases its First Round of Endorsements

Provided for the benefit of our members is the list of candidates who have received the endorsement of Empower Texans.

NOTE: The Common Sense Texans Network is a non-partisan, non-profit organization and does not endorse candidates. The information below is provided solely for the reference and benefit of our members, and is not intended as an endorsement of any candidate listed below. Our members are encouraged to research each candidate independently before making any decision as to which candidate deserves support.

Texas State Senate Open-Seat:

Darren Yancy, SD 22

Texas State House Open-Seat & Incumbent Challengers:

Erwin Cain, HD 3

David Simpson, HD 7
Michael Banks, HD 11

James White, HD 12
Michael Murphy, HD 65

Van Taylor, HD 66
Dee Margo, HD 78
John Frullo, HD 84
Jeff Cason, HD 92

Bill Zedler, HD 96
Cindy Burkett, HD 101

Stefani Carter, HD 102
Jack O'Connor, HD 149

NOTE: Extended list posted below.

Jerry Patterson on Texas Primary Challenges : 'All Healthy, All Good'

The National Republican Party Establishment is Supporting Scott Brown...Sort Of

In response to our recent message on the lack of support for Scott Brown on the part of Michael Steele's Republican National Committee and John Cornyn's National Republican Senatorial Committee, some of our members claimed that we'd gotten it wrong, and that Steele and Cornyn are 100% behind Scott Brown's campaign.

We called the NRSC to ask whether they were providing resources to support Scott Brown's campaign. They refused to answer.

We called the RNC and ended up in voicemail.

Here's the latest information we could find online:

National Journal:

"The NRSC has not spent any money on independent expenditures in MA, leaving some in the conservative blogosphere incensed that the party isn't doing more to help Brown."

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/01/aff_hits_coakle.php

David Weigel, The Washington Independent:

"While a spokesman for the NRSC pointed out that Brown’s race is one of the featured campaigns on the organization’s homepage, and that the organization has aided Brown’s campaign to the tune of $50,000, that’s less than one-tenth the commitment that the NRCC made to Jim Tedisco, the unsuccessful GOP candidate for a Democratic-held House seat in a New York special election last year."

http://washingtonindependent.com/73104/gop-activists-dream-of-a-massachusetts-upset

Michelle Malkin:

"Brown received a measly $50,000 from the national GOP and NRSC compared to the nearly $1 million that radical leftist Dede Scozzafava raked in."

http://michellemalkin.com/2010/01/03/fight-the-seiu-demcare-corruption-support-scott-brown-for-senate/

From the above, it would appear that Scott Brown is not getting much support from the national Republican Party establishment. On the other hand, Brown claims he's gotten everything he's wanted from the RNC and NRSC:

"Perhaps most surprising to me was when I asked about the RNC and NRSC, [Scott] Brown said that everything he's wanted, he's gotten, mostly phones and technological assistance. He's still looking for donations and volunteers..."

http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Y2MzNzVhNTA5ZWE0OTg1YWNlNTIxZjc0ZGFjNGE4MWM=

Based on the above, it appears that the RNC and NRSC are providing Brown with some phones, some technological assistance and a handful of cash. Determining whether that's truly everything Brown wanted from the national Republicans is left as an exercise for the reader.

Thoughts? Please weigh in below.

Welcome to the Common Sense Texans Network!

The Common Sense Texans Primary Candidate Filing Reports

Available in GOP and Democrat flavors!

(click image to download report)

The Common Sense Texans 2010 State House Report

The report below does not include every contested race in the the Texas State House, but it does include the contested races in the districts most likely to elect a conservative:

The columns in the report are as follows:

Seat - The House District within which the candidates are running.

District History - The margin (in %) by which the Republican or Democrat presidential candidate carried the district in 2008.

First Last - The candidate's name (incumbent listed first, followed by challengers)

CSTN Rating - The fiscal responsibility rating assigned to the incumbent by the Common Sense Texans Network.

Campaign Website - The candidate's campaign website or, if not available, an alternate website with information relating to the candidate.

Media Coverage of Austin Health Care Rally

Local Common Sense Texans Groups Unite to Protest Kay Bailey Hutchison Vote

Tyler Morning Telegraph : Tea Party Movement Wants to Make Difference In World Of Politics

Posted in the Tyler Morning Telegraph:

Stay-at-home-mom, 59-year-old Judy Holloway, of Austin Tea Party Patriots, said the movement formed and gained momentum because "politicians are not listening to the people." She said a year ago she "didn't have a clue" about the political process...

Ken Emanuelson, 38, an attorney and member of Dallas Tea Party and the Common Sense Texans Network, said the movement and its growth is about connectivity. The network allows groups around the state to connect and spread the word about what does and does not work within the grassroots effort.

Ms. Holloway's group is part of the Common Sense Network and she said members are incorporating every medium available, including Facebook, Twitter and creating Web sites, to spread their message and expand the movement's base.

http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091213/NEWS08/912130327