A veteran aide to a state senator has resigned after allegedly impersonating first a state representative, then a newspaper reporter in politically motivated schemes.
Todd Gallaher resigned yesterday after acknowledging that he’d called an ethics watchdog and identified himself as a reporter. He then asked about an ethics complaint the group had filed against Gallaher’s employer, Republican state Senator Bob Deuell.
Gallaher was already on leave since February. That’s when he admitted to Deuell that he’d used an e-mail address that apparently belong to a Democratic lawmaker to send out embarrassing, 20-year-old photos of a South Texas sheriff who was up for re-election.
The sheriff’s opponent has a connection to Gallaher. The sheriff lost his primary election race and is asking the state to investigate whether Gallaher broke state law.
Everyone is out to make a quick buck this political season. “America’s Love Doctor” now has a book out about staying together through these trying political times. If you and your mate are on different ends of the political spectrum, here are some quick tips:
Try changing up the way you normally argue about hot button topics or what news channel to watch - new communication skills are the key to better relationships!
When you begin to communicate in a positive, workable way, your relationship with your lover, kids, and friends will begin move in a positive direction and become more pleasant.
Having your point of view understood and then VALIDATED creates a truce between the sexes and builds Dr. Olson’s Three C’s of love: Chemistry, Compatibility and Commitment.
Have you noticed whenever those who don’t like Obama call him by his middle name Hussein, the Obama camp gears up for damage control?
I’m just curious as to why it is acceptable for politicians like Iowa’s Rep. Steve King to say things like “Al-Qaida would be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11 because they would declare victory in this war on terror.”….if Barack “Hussein” Obama is elected president.
Obama’s response is not, “why should it matter if my father is Muslim or if I were Muslim?” Instead, Obama’s response is “But I have to say that Mr. King and individuals like him thrive on offensive or controversial statements as a way to get in the papers, so I don’t take it too seriously. I would hope Sen. McCain would want to distance himself from that kind of inflammatory and offensive remarks.”
Being called Muslim, apparently, is offensive and no one balks when a politician directly says that.
Here is the response from the Muslim community, according to The American Muslim Association: “AAI is deeply troubled that Senator Obama’s name continues to raise suspicions about his religious affiliation and is especially concerned about how commonplace and acceptable it has become to defame and degrade Islam. Any notion that questions the fitness of any loyal American to elected office because of race or religion is unacceptable and must be addressed.”
Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York is apologetic today. We’re not sure if he’s sorry for hiring prostitutes from a prostitution ring or for getting caught.
From CNN: “Spitzer, a Democrat, rose to prominence as a hard-charging attorney general hailed by Time magazine as “Crusader of the Year.” He was nicknamed “Eliot Ness” by the New York tabloids in reference to the incorruptible hero of “The Untouchables.” He was known for rooting out corruption within Wall Street and on the streets.”
“He also made a name for himself by busting prostitution rings.”
Rep. Dawnna Dukes, now that she doesn’t have to fight for her house seat, is wagging her finger at the Austin City Council over their decision regarding Villa Muse (for those of you out of staters who might be reading, it is a huge studio complex for entertainment production in Austin).
Here are a few excerpts of the 2 page, single-spaced letter.
“The Villa Muse multimedia, entertainment production, post-production facilities and residential development would have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Central Austin area, especially Eastern Travis County.”
The aerial view of “what would have been…”
“Having an Austin native, Jay Podolnick, and other Austinites who truly love their city behind the creation of the project would have been the icing on the cake. We have already encouraged “big chain” conglomerates like the Domain to build in the Austin region through financial incentives. Why not work with home grown projects like Villa Muse as well?”
She goes on to say the Council’s decision to give a tax break to Villa Muse will ensure they will take their business to a more accomodating region of the state.
While his winning streak ended, he picked up momentum again in Wyoming..not that it paid off big. He got 7 delegates in the state to Clinton’s 5 delegates. If they don’t broker a deal soon, this could likely go to the Democratic convention this summer and in the end, give Democrats only a couple of months to form a solid campaign against McCain. Perhaps, it won’t hurt them that much with less time for McCain to target one of them and they continue to steal the spotlight.
Here’s an e-mail I just received from the campaign:
“By fighting the primary to a near-draw and earning a resounding victory in the caucus, the people of Texas have moved Barack Obama one step closer to claiming the Democratic nomination for president,” said Adrian Saenz. “Texans in both parties and of all ages sent a clear message that the American people are ready for the kind of change that Barack Obama will bring to Washington, DC as our 44th President.”
Because of the close finish, Senator Clinton will likely net only two delegates up-for-grabs in the Texas Primary. Based on a large sample of caucus results in all 31 state senate districts, Senator Obama is projected to post a substantial victory in the Texas caucus and, thereby, net at least seven delegates. This means that Senator Obama will win at least five more pledged delegates from Texas than Senator Clinton.”
I guess we’ll find out soon enough if their math adds up.
If you watched Austin legend Carole Keeton Strayhorn give her political analysis on Austin News last night, you were in for a treat. With punchy soundbites and political humor, Strayhorn broke down the local and national races with ease and a good dose of Texas sayings. She has a fan in me.
In case you have been under a rock, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in Texas last night.
Clinton got 51% of the total votes to Barack’s48%. CNN has a great map of each county and how they voted.
Out of the 126 Delegates awarded through the actual primary:
Clinton: 65
Obama: 61
67 delegates will be awarded with the results of the caucus. The caucus numbers are still being calculated and you can get the updates throughout the day here.
Here are the caucus results thus far for our counties:
Sen. Bob Deuell
The aerial view of “what would have been…”
