BNSF sponsors Democratic convention but not Republican convention

When I was at the Democratic convention last week, I took note of who the corporate sponsors of the convention were. I assumed -- correctly -- that most of the corporate sponsors of the Democratic convention would also sponsor the Republican convention.

I thought I would catch one of the utilities playing only one side of the fence, because House Democratic Caucus Chairman Jim Dunnam of Waco killed a bill in the closing days of the 2007 legislative session that some of the utilities didn't like. Much to my surprise, almost all of the utilities who sponsored the Democratic convention did an equivilent sponsorship at the GOP gathering. (My apologies to the fine utilities that we have in Texas and the many fine people who work for them.)

Instead, I caught one of the railroads -- the BNSF (formerly Burlington Northern Santa Fe) -- sponsoring the Democratic convention and not the Republican convention. When I asked BNSF for comment, I received the following response from Joseph Faust: "BNSF has sponsored the Republican state convention in the past and will likely do so again in the future. This year we focused on the Democratic state convention in Austin for the first time. BNSF promotes a fair and balanced political process by supporting candidates and events of both major political parties."

Chairman candidates make their case to convention delegates

Yesterday, the candidates for GOP chairman made their case to the delegates. Incumbent Tina Benkiser is being challenged by Paul Perry of Ellis County. Ellis's speech was largely a policy speech. He thrashed the Trans-Texas Corridor. He talked about making the party more responsive to the grass-roots and a party that follows its rules. Much of his speech was devoted to the Trans-Texas Corridor.

Benkiser discussed her approach to being chairman of the Republican Party. She talked about working for the grass-roots and how to run an effective party. She said she wanted to grow the party's infrastructure with integrity and promote conservative prinicples. She talked about going to Washington DC to help express concerns about immigration and her recent media tour to talk about protecting private property. Instead of speaking from the podium, Benkiser walked from side to side looking straight at the delegates, a technique that worked very effectively. She emphasized the need for "battle-tested" warriors to lead the party into the next election and highlighted her experience working for conservative ideas.

Dewhurst breaks major policy ground in speech

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst decided to give a policy speech to delegates at the Republican State Convention. Dewhurst called for passage of a constitutional amendment tightening the constitutional spending limit. He proposed limiting the increases in government spending to inflation and population growth, excepting federal mandates. (Perry mentioned this item in his speech as well.)

Dewhurst brought the house down with his attacks on the Texas Department of Transportation and the Trans-Texas Corridor. "For the last four years we've provided TxDOT $42 billion in cash and bond money. TxDOT needs to build roads, reduce congestion and stop making excuses!" Dewhurst said.

And the Trans-Texas Corridor? Folks, you can't build toll roads in rual Texas! For Heaven's sake -- don't mess with Texas private property rights!" Dewhurst added.

Dewhurst also called for either lowering the revenue cap on local government or putting a cap on increased property tax revenue. He also said he wants to look for alternatives to property tax funding and he said he wants to take a serious look at the margin tax next session.

Not surprisingly, Dewhurst's desire to pass a bill requiring picture identification to vote got prominent mention in the speech. (The question many have is what is more important to the Lieutenant Governor: passing the voter identification bill or the Senate's tradition requiring a two-thirds vote before bills are considered.)

For the most part, the speech was well-received. Dewhurst did get razzed by the crowd a bit when he suggested putting fingerprints and citizenship status on the magnetic strip on the back of a drivers' license. But his core points were well received and provide an interesting preview of his agenda for next session.

Rick Perry speech well received

Gov. Rick Perry addressed the convention this afternoon and gave one of the most effective speeches of his governorship. Perry started by mentioning the fire at the governor's mansion and emphasizing that the mansion will get restored. "It's a place where good people have pondered grand things for a great state," Perry said of the mansion. "And it will be again."

Perry then talked about how proud he is to govern a state where people respect human life. He highlighted the parental notification and parental consent laws he helped to pass. He then lauded the Texas economy and the state's record on job creation. Perry cited the 2003 legislative session as critical to the state's economic success, in particular tort reform and the decision not to raise taxes. Perry also called for a revised state constitutional spending cap.

One of Perry's better applause lines was on the subject of change. "When Democrats talk about change they really mean the change they'll be sucking out of your pockets, along with your dollar bills." He also pledged to support more police on the border and to oppose giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.

At the end, Perry brought in a group of musicians. He noted that "like a musical instrument with a unique and pleasing tone, we can only do so much alone" (then one musician plays). But if you assemble these instruments under the direction of an inspired leader, with an agreed upon song and a common purpose, you'll have more than a mob; you have a movement." (then a whole band starts playing)

The speech was well received. Here's the key. When Perry gave his State of the State address, he rubbed it in to the legislators. He made prominent mention of both the Trans-Texas Corridor and the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine (HPV) mandate, two of his policy initiatives that infuriate legislators and grass roots activists alike. This time he avoided both entirely.

Highlights of statewide elected official's speeches

Most of the statewide elected officials addressed the convention today. Here are the highlights of their speeches:
Comptroller Susan Combs: Combs emphasized her support for transparency in government. "It's always your money," she said. Combs also emphasized how she has worked to save taxpayers money at the comptroller's office. She also called on the Republican party to commit to its core prinicples.

Attorney General Greg Abbott: The attorney general focused on the first and second amendments to the United States Constitution. He talked about how his office defended the Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds. He also discussed the Second Amendment and his support for interpreting the Second Amendment as an individual right to keep and bear arms. The Texas Attorney General signed an amicus brief before the US Supreme Court supporting an individual right to keep and bear arms. His best applause line was when he told the convention that Barack Obama "has given us hope of an America without Hillary Clinton as president."

Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams: Williams emphasized the importance of a strong domestic oil and gas industry and the need for more domestic oil production. Williams emphasized the importance of nuclear power. He also warned that the "cap and trade" global warming bills pending in Congress would be extremely expensive and harmful to America's national security and economy. He blasted House Democratic Caucus Chairman Jim Dunnam (D-Waco) for killing the retail electricity bill (SB 482) in the 2007 legislative bill. The bill would have provided additional consumer protections and Williams put some of the blame on Dunnam for recent hikes in retail electric prices.

Circling the wagons

Earlier, we wrote about the fairconvention.org website, the debate over the party rules, and the efforts by Ron Paul supporters to have more influence at the convention. Since we did that, it's only fair to talk about the other side of the equation.

The Pro-Life, Pro-Family Coalition includes representatives from most of the major social conservative organizations and, for the most part, supports the current leadership of the party. The group has endorsed Party Chairman Tina Benkiser for re-election. It has sent a mass-email to GOP activists. “Also,” according to a coalition e-mail, “an organized effort is underway to ‘take over’ the convention, trying to elect National Delegates who have declared that they will not support the Republican nominee...The current State Party Rules have worked very well for our conservative grassroots activists. Any attempt to change our Rules by those who do not hold to our pro-life, pro-family values must be opposed, and we would caution against any amendments that would substantially alter the current Rules.”

The group includes many heavy-hitters from the social conservative movement. Some of the key players in the coalition include (groups listed for identification only) Kelly Shackelford (Free Market Foundation), Merry-Lynn Gerstenschlager (Texas Eagle Forum), David Barton (former party vice chairman, Wallbuilders), Joe Pojman (Texas Alliance for Life), and many more.

Portrait vs. Landscape

We start our coverage of the Republican convention with a quick description of the building layout. (We did the same thing with the Democrats). The convention is on the ground floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. The Democratic convention hall was like printing portrait. The podium was at the top of the page and there was a long series of rows of delegates thereafter. The GOP convention is like a landscape printout. It's lengthwise. The podium is in top, centered. The delegate seats fan around the podium. There is a large podium stage center for the main speaker, with a side podium stage right (of course) for an additional speaker. There are two large banks of tables on either side of the main podium for party officials. The exhibit area is easier to reach in this convention hall. It's just to south of the main convention floor.

Unlike the Democratic convention, there is no wireless Internet connection at the George Brown Center. So the Lone Star Report decided to co-sponsor the RightOnline.com blogger booth (which is part of the Americans for Prosperity Booth on the convention floor). I'll be blogging from this booth throughout the convention. Feel free to come by and visit.

Lawsuit against state GOP dismissed. Polland to appeal

Harris County Court at Law Judge Roberta Lloyd has dismissed the lawsuit against the Republican Party of Texas. The lawsuit, filed by several GOP activists, seeks to order the party to follow the Texas Election Code, which requires the election of a permanent chair of the convention before conducting any party business. The court ruled it did not have jurisdiction in the matter. The court had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the party, which has since expired. “For all of Gary Polland’s and Debra Medina’s histrionics, both have shown an incredible lack of understanding of the Party process or the Texas Election Code," said Republican Party of Texas Spokesman Hans Klingler. "The Republican State Convention has always and will continue to be conducted in full compliance with the law and the rules passed by the grassroots. If someone wishes to change the law, they have an opportunity next year when the Texas Legislature convenes. You would think two political operatives like them would know that?” Klingler questioned.

Gary Polland is the attorney who filed the lawsuit and a former chairman of the Harris County GOP. Debra Medina is the current chair of the Wharton County GOP and a plaintiff in the suit. Said Polland, "Instead of the party coming in and debating the issue on the merits, [the party] filed what I believe is a spurrious motion to say the court had no jurisdiction, even though the election code specifically says injuctive relief is one of the available options for people having trouble in having the election code followed." Polland added that the judge ruled that the proper remedy is not an injunction but a writ of mandamus, which is handled by appellate courts in Texas. Polland said he will file an emergency appeal with the Court of Appeals. "We are hopeful the Court of Appeals will follow the rule of law, and inform the court [it does] in fact have jurisdiction and the case can go forward." Polland said he has not decided whether to file for a writ of mandamus. He added the First Court of Appeals rejected the Republican Party's request for a writ of mandamus.

"In my statements, you don't hear any personal attacks or slams on anybody or their motives or anything else their doing," Polland said. "Our motives are very pure. Follow the law ... we want the rule of law followed by our party because we're better than the Democrats."

Democratic convention adjourned

Having completed all required business, the 2008 Texas State Democratic Convention adjourned at 12:07 a.m., Sunday, June 8.

National delegate slate approved

The convention has approved the Texas slate to the Democratic National Convention. The vote on the at-large portion of that slate was about two-thirds in favor, one-third against.

Fireworks break out late night over national convention delegates

A lot of Democratic state convention attendees are disappointed they don't get to go to Denver to be a national delegate. Several of them are trying to get the at-large slate voted down. Their main argument is that the demographics of the list do not comply with the demographic representation goals adopted as a part of the state's delegate selection plan. The convention debated whether to adopt the slate recommended by the nominations committee. This is now going to a roll call vote of the convention delegates (and it's 11:25 p.m.) This is the latest I've seen a party convention go in either party in the ten years I've been covering Texas politics.

Terri Hodge calls for clean government

Talk about ironies. Rep. Terri Hodge (D-Dallas), who was the subject of a federal indictment last year relating to misconduct in office, took to the microphone accusing the Democratic convention of conducting its business in private. She said the Obama campaign was holding a caucus in private to determine the delegates to the Democratic National Convention behind closed doors. She asked the convention chairman whether this is in compliance with the rules of the Democratic Party and the Texas Open Meetings Act. (I guess she missed all the kum-bay-yah lectures coming from the podium Friday evening).

The Texas Chairman of the Obama Campaign, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, told reporters that the at-large slate was considered and approved in a public meeting that complied with the rules of the party. He also said he understands the frustration of the many good people who were not able to be selected as national delegates.

Now I think I've seen it all. Terri Hodge trying to lecture anyone on clean government ...

Democratic convention goes into overtime

The Democratic State Convention has gone into overtime. Most of the time, the party conventions adjourn by 7. It's 9:30 p.m. central time and the only press people still present in the press room are myself and the Austin American-Statesman's W. Gardner Selby. All business of the party has been completed except the naming of the at-large delegates to the Democratic National Convention. In some ways, the Democrats have a nice problem to have. There are so many people who want delegate slots that they are having trouble picking which ones to send. I've heard there is a rules challenge pending at the nominations committee. Once the at-large delegates are ratified, all business of the convention will have been completed, and the convention can be adjourned.

Party platform adopted

The convention has adopted the nearly 40-page Texas Democratic Party platform that platform committee chairman Rep. Garnet Coleman of Houston described as "beliefs that are shaped by Democratic values." The following are highlights on which LSR will expound later this week.

The platform proclaims that all Texans should have access to a "quality public education, from childhood through college." It also states that tuition should be affordable, calling for repeal of tuition deregulation and a lowering of tuition in the state. It also calls for the federal government to fully fund No Child Left Behind. The platform also supports the top-ten percent rule, which guarantees high school students in the top ten percent of their graduating class admission to the state-run higher education institution of their choice.

It also goes after the "unscrupulous homebuilders" by calling for a "reshaping of the Texas Residential Construction Commission to include homeowner representation and empowering it with the authority to take meaningful actoin on their behalf."

The platform also calls for universal health care, the expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program, education and services for HIV and STDs, state funding for stem cell research, preservation of "choice" and the encouragement of "family planning."

Greenhouse gases must be reduced, the platform says. It calls for alternative energy includingsolar, thermal and wind. Coleman said that the environment "is as important as anything."

In criminal justice, the platform calls for further reforms of the Texas Youth Commission, aswell as work on the incarceration rate in the state, which is the second highest among the 50 states. It also calls for a moratorium on the death penalty and the development of the "Innocence Project" which deals with cases of alleged wrongful convictions.

The platform also takes shots at the Trans-Texas Corridor -- at least Gov. Rick Perry's vision thereof. "Eminent domain should not work against our people," Coleman said. He went on to say that Perry's vision of the TTC would benefit corporations and be "no benefit" to Texans. The platform places more emphasis on eminent domain issues and curtailing abuses of it than in years past.

And of course, the platform denounces photo ID to vote or other voter ID measures. It also calls for an end to the "Iraq occupation" as Coleman described it. It also calls for a "new G.I. bill" to address veterans' affairs. Several speakers at the convention have argued that the government needs to provide returning veterans more resources to reenter society.

The platform was adopted with few if any audible nays from the audience.

Precinct conventions in Spanish?

The Democratic Party has amended its rules in a way that may require precinct conventions be conducted in Spanish. Specifically, the convention required in presidential years that proceedings at precinct conventions be conducted in English and, upon request of any participant, any language in which the U.S. Department of Justice has required ballots be printed. In other words, if there are ballots in Spanish (which the voting rights act sometimes requires), then any participant can request that the precinct convention be conducted in Spanish. I wonder how the Republicans would react to this rule change and whether it gets mentioned in their platform.