Wharton Journal-Spectator (Wharton, Tex.), Vol. 123, No. 79, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 3, 2012 Page: 4 of 16
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Opinion
Wtjarton Journal-Spectator
www. j ournal-spectator.com
Wednesday, October 3, 2012 • Section A Page 4
Democrat Sadler in Senate race; hopes for high turnout Nov. 6
The cliche “hope springs eternal”
has got to apply to Paul Sadler,
the Democratic nominee to replace
Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey
Hutchison, who isn’t seeking re-
election this year.
Sadler, the former chairman of
the House Public Education Com-
mittee for several years in the late
1990s and early 2000s, is trying to
do something no Texas Democrat
has done since 1988 — win election
to the U.S. Senate.
And Texas Democrats hold the
unwelcome distinction of being the
state that has gone the longest of
any state without winning a state-
wide election for anything.
The last Democratic victories
in statewide elections were in
1994, and all those who won were
incumbent office-holders seeking
re-election. In 1998, Republicans
swept every statewide office, and
Democrats have suffered a state-
wide victory drought ever since.
Politifact Texas’ W. Gardner
Selby of the Austin American-
Statesman found that every other
state has elected a Democrat since
then — even in the reddest of Re-
publican states.
One of the things Sadler is
hoping for is that the Republican
voters choosing Tea Party-backed
former Texas Solicitor General Ted
Cruz over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst
in their primary runoff will have
presented a GOP nominee so far to
the right that he will leave indepen-
dent voters wanting someone more
centrist.
Sadler, as chair of the Public
Education Committee in the 1990s,
and also of a special committee
dealing with an education tax bill
in 1997, worked closely with then-
Republican Gov. George W. Bush.
A second Sadler hope is that the
increased vote in a presidential
election year will bring out a lot of
extra Democratic-leaning voters
who don’t show up in non-presiden-
tial election years.
The increase in the voter turnout
for the last three presidential elec-
tions in Texas — in 2008, 2004, and
2000 — was more than 60 percent
higher than the previous guberna-
torial election. So if the presump-
tion can be made that the turnout
for the 2012 election in Texas will
be at least 60 percent higher than
the turnout of 4,979,870 in the
2010 gubernatorial election, almost
3 million more people will vote in
2012 than voted in 2010.
While Sadler is fighting into a
stiff headwind, if he should lose,
Texas is gradually trending back
in a Democratic direction. And the
name identification and organiza-
tion he is developing this year could
position him to run for an office in
Dave
McNeely
Texas Politics
2014 like attorney general, or even
governor.
There have been several Texas
politicians over the years who have
run statewide and lost, and later
run statewide and won. Among
them were Gov. Dolph Briscoe,
U.S. Sen. Ralph W. Yarborough,
Atty. Gen. John L. Hill, U.S. Sen.
John Tower, and U.S. Sen. Lyndon
Johnson.
■
Sadler has challenged Cruz to
six debates, but has complained
because Cruz only accepted two.
Cruz, obviously not wanting to
give Sadler any more exposure than
necessary, has said he’s got a busy
schedule. Sadler charges that Cruz
is too busy hobnobbing with Wash-
ington lobby groups.
The first debate was held Tues-
day at WFAA-TV in Dallas.
The second is scheduled in Dal-
las at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at
public TV station KERA.
KERA says it is offering the feed
of that debate to all Texas TV and
radio outlets. It will also be avail-
able on the Internet.
■
The last Democrat elected to the
U.S. Senate from Texas, in 1988,
was the late Lloyd Bentsen, an in-
cumbent of 18 years at the time. He
was also former Massachusetts Gov.
Michael Dukakis’ vice-presidential
nominee that year.
Bentsen and Dukakis got just
43.5 percent of the vote in Texas,
against George H. W. Bush, but
Bentsen nonetheless got 59.2 per-
cent in his Senate re-election bid.
He retired from the Senate in 1993
to become treasury secretary in
President Bill Clinton’s administra-
tion.
Then-Gov. Ann Richards, a
Democrat, appointed then-Railroad
Commissioner Bob Kreuger to re-
place Bentsen. But Krueger got just
a third of the vote against Hutchi-
son in the special election runoff for
the remainder of the term.
While it may be wishful for
Sadler to try to win election to the
Senate, despite the uphill battle,
some Democrat has been on the bal-
lot for every Senate election.
In case you were wondering, here
are the Democratic Senate nomi-
nees, beginning in 1990, and how
they did:
• 1990: State Sen. Hugh Par-
mer, 37.4 percent against Sen. Phil
Gramm.
• 1994: Dallas Investor Richard
Fisher, 38.3 percent against Sen.
Hutchison.
• 1996: Schoolteacher Victor Mo-
rales, 43.9 percent against Gramm.
• 2000: Gadfly Gene Kelly, not
the movie dancer, 32.3 percent
against Hutchison.
• 2002: Former Texas Secretary
of State and Dallas Mayor Ron
Kirk, 43.3 percent against Repub-
lican former Texas Atty. Gen. John
Cornyn.
• 2006: Houston attorney Bar-
bara Ann Radnofsky, 36 percent
against Hutchison.
• 2008: Former state Rep. Rick
Noriega of Houston, 42.8 percent
against Cornyn.
Contact Dave McNeely at dav-
emcneelylll@gmail.com or 512-458-
2963.
m
Discovery 520 years ago
Have you noticed signs in windows that
this upcoming Monday some businesses and
government offices will be closed?
We will be honoring Columbus Day and
the European discovery of
the New World.
520 years ago.
What do you know about
Columbus?
Did he believe the world
was flat?
No.
If you would like docu-
mentation check out my
Oct. 14, 2009 column en-
titled “Columbus versus a
flat earth.”
Was he principally motivated to come to
the New World to make himself rich?
No, not according to historian Catherine
Millard.
She writes in The Rewriting of America’s
History that when she conducted Christian
Heritage Tours she would often ask who the
tourists believed Christopher Columbus was.
While many would rightly describe him as
“an adventurer” or “a sailor” or “the discover
of the New World” she said, yes, those were
correct, but there was much more to Colum-
bus.
She writes, “He was in fact, all of the above,
but the most important aspect of his life — his
Christianity, is never mentioned. Not many
people are aware of Christopher Columbus’
deep faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, very few people realize that it
was this faith which was the impetus that ini-
tiated his whole voyage.”
Perhaps since there are so many miscon-
ceptions about him it would be beneficial to
quote his own writing as cited in Millard’s
book. Columbus wrote in his Book of Prophe-
cies:
“At a very early age I began to sail upon
the ocean. For more than 40 years, I have
sailed everywhere that people go. I prayed to
the most merciful Lord about my heart’s great
desire, and He gave me the spirit and the in-
telligence for the task: seafaring, astronomy,
geometry, arithmetic, skill in drafting spheri-
cal maps and placing correctly the cities, riv-
ers, mountains and ports. I also studied cos-
mology, history, chronology
and philosophy.”
Columbus himself could
be quoted at much greater
length but I will just cite
one other paragraph that
he wrote:
“. . .1 am a most unwor-
thy sinner, but I have cried
out to the Lord for grace
and mercy, and they have
covered me completely. I
have found the sweetest consolations since I
made it my whole purpose to enjoy His mar-
velous presence. For the execution of the
journey to the Indies I did not make use of in-
telligence, mathematics or maps. It is simply
the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied.
All this is what I desire to write down for you
in this book. No one should fear to undertake
any task in the name of our Savior, if it is
just and if the intention is purely for His holy
service. . . the fact that the gospel must still
be preached to so many lands in such a short
time — this is what convinces me.”
Interesting that so much “history” has been
rewritten that we believe people thought the
world was flat at that time and that Colum-
bus’s motives were based on greed and mate-
rial gain.
Columbus’s story, of course, is not the only
fallacy that has been perpetrated about Amer-
ica’s history. There is a rich Judeo-Christian
heritage worthy of discovery. This Monday,
why not give thanks to God for planting that
seed in the heart of Columbus and that His
purposes would not be thwarted but fulfilled
in our nation.
Peter Johnston, an East Bernard resident,
earned a history degree from Cornell Uni-
versity and is a former high school history
teacher. He can be reached at columnist.peter.
johnston@gmail. com.
Peter
Johnston
A Heritage
and a Hope
T ^ r
Drums in my heart are drummin'
We’ve all heard of people who suffer from
BO, and I don’t mean that smelly condition
we get from hanging around Joe Biden. I’m
talking about body odor. In the old days,
there were traveling sales-
men who carried it all
over America because they
pounded the streets all day
looking for customers. They
were called “drummers” by
around 1850 because they
were out beating the drum
for whatever product they
were selling. A lot of that
product was soap to rid the
body and clothes of BO.
Drummer is not used much anymore,
but I can still recall within the last couple
of decades a string of motels called “Drum-
mers Inn” that catered to the profession.
They more often call the professionals “Road
Warriors” nowadays but that’s just a fancy
name thought up by some fellows sitting in a
bar between appointments. Bartenders were
the pharmacists of their day. As you know
a pharmacist is just a bartender with an
unlimited inventory.
The Road Warriors of today are not on
stagecoaches but fly across the nation in
style, usually in a middle seat between
two people the size of NFL tackles who are
coughing and wheezing into the closed air
circulation system while working up mo’ BO
than befo’, if I might paraphrase the style
of the late Richard Pryor. So how do they
handle the pressure? Well, according to a
little booklet I read they have secret ways of
making travel more pleasant. Here’s what I
discovered:
• How to get the best fares — buy a round
trip ticket with a Saturday night stay over,
charge the company per diem and sleep in
the car.
• How to handle delayed flights — Pre-
tend you’re a lawyer and study at the bar.
• How to be more comfortable on the plane
— wear Vampire teeth and smile at everyone
who looks at the seat next
to you.
• Dealing with lost/de-
layed luggage — Learn the
art of turning your under-
wear inside out.
• Marking your luggage
so you can spot it — Paint
a caricature of Goofy, Pluto
or Tweety Bird on the larg-
est open space. Paint ‘Walt
Disney Consultant” under-
neath. It’s sure to attract new prospects.
• Getting through security with the least
hassle — Tell the security agent frisking you
that the only metal on you is silver in your
hair, gold in your teeth and lead in your...feet.
• Liquids and security — Never try to
smuggle liquids through security. Make a pit
stop before boarding.
• How to remember where you parked
your car — Tie something brightly colored to
the radio antennae, like a crime scene tape.
The lot attendants will remember for you.
• Eating to stay healthy on the road —
Honey is the only food that never spoils.
Eat lots of honey with something else that
improves with age, like Royal Jelly and Royal
Crown.
Yes, the Drummers have been replaced
by the Road Warriors but travel is still such
a romantic and time honored way to make
a living spreading joy, happiness and the flu
throughout the world. Nothing happens until
somebody sells something.
Doc Blakely is a humorist and motivation-
al speaker who resides in Wharton. For more
information, visit www.docblakely.com.
How to reach your elected/public officials
EDITOR'S NOTE: Because of redistricting, Wharton
County will be in a different U.S. Congressional dis-
trict and a new state representative district beginning
in January 2013.
UNITED STATES
• President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: 202456-1414
Fax: 202456-2461
Email: www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-ques-
tions-and-comments
Website: www.whitehouse.gov/administration/presi-
dent-obama
• U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 205104304
Phone: 202-224-5922
Fax: 202-224-0776
Email: www.hutchison.senate.gov/?p=email_kay
Website: www.hutchison.senate.gov
• U.S. Senator John Cornyn
517 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-2934
Fax: 202-228-2856
Email: www.cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=
ContactForm
Website: www.cornyn.senate.gov
• U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, District 14
122 West Way, Suite 301
Lake Jackson, TX 77566
Phone: 979-285-0231
Fax: 979-285-0271
Email: www.forms.house.gov/paul/webforms/issue_
subscribe.html
Website: www.paul.house.gov
(County's representative through December 2012)
TEXAS
• Gov. Rick Perry
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711-2428
Phone: 512463-2000
Fax: 512463-1849
Email: www.governor.state.tx.us/contact
Website: www.governor.state.tx.us
• State Senator Glen Hegar Jr., District 18
P.O. Box 1008
Katy, TX 77492
Phone: 281-391-8883
Fax: 281-391-8818
Email: www.hegar.senate.state.tx.us/#form
Website: www.hegar.senate.state.tx.us
• State Rep. John Zerwas, District 28
P.O. Box 434
Simonton, TX 77476
Phone: 281-533-9042
Fax: 281-533-9049
Email: www.house.state.tx.us/members/member-
page/ email/ ?d istrict=28&session=82
Website: www.house.state.tx.us/members/member-
page/?district=28
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Wallace, Bill. Wharton Journal-Spectator (Wharton, Tex.), Vol. 123, No. 79, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 3, 2012, newspaper, October 3, 2012; Wharton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth660618/m1/4/?q=b-58: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Wharton County Library.