Thursday, July 31, 2008

Noriega's Buddies Welcome Obama To Houston

Rick Noriega and his trial lawyer friends are rolling out the red carpet tonight for Barack Obama.

The AP reports Obama “heads to Houston for two high-dollar private fundraisers.”

One event host is mega-trial lawyer, and close confidante of Rick Noriega, Richard Mithoff who held a fundraiser for Noriega just last month.

Noriega is sure to be there, pledging his undying devotion to the most liberal member of the United States Senate.

Please click here now to donate to John Cornyn, a real representative of Texas values.

It will send a loud and clear message to Rick Noriega and all his deep-pocketed liberal buddies…Texas values are not for sale!

Obama is the latest national, big-money Democrat to embrace Rick Noriega.

Senator Chuck Schumer, head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a recent press release that Noriega “has a real shot this November.”

The man who refuses to allow a vote on giving Texans real relief at the pump, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said recently, “This is the year. Rick is the candidate to defeat John Cornyn and finally turn Texas back from Red to Blue once again.”

Noriega recently traveled to Washington D.C. to plead his case to big money Democrats to invest in his campaign.

He spent the next weekend hob knobbing with high dollar Democrat donors on Martha’s Vineyard.

Texans deserve a Senator that represents them and their values, not one beholden to east coast, elitist, ivy league liberals.

Click here to contribute to a real Texan who represents real Texas values…John Cornyn.

Texans need someone who is more concerned with lowering gas prices and reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil than they are with filling their campaign coffers.

John Cornyn is just that man. Please contribute $15, $25 or $50 now to make sure Texas values are represented in Washington.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

17 Years Old=Second Class Citizen

Memo to Senators Kay Baily Hutchinson, John Cornyn, Congressman Mike McCaul, and respective staff personnel (as well as all other interested parties):
I am fed up with being a second class citizen because I am not 18! Allow me explain: I must pay taxes, but I cannot vote (taxation without representation); I can earn money, but I can't invest said money; I can buy a book, but I can't sell a book; I can put money in a bank account, but I can't take it out; I can buy a cell phone, but can't get service for it; I am taxed, but I can't voluntarily contribute to a campaign; I could go on and on, but I will stop. And BTW all of this is because of either State or Federal Law. Either don't do things like tax me, or allow me to have the privileges of citizenship as well!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Noriega Flip-Flops on Energy

Well my friends,
After months of saying that we cannot "drill our way out of this problem" of high gas prices by drilling offshore and in ANWR, Rick Noriega has flip-flopped. He has now stated that he IS in favor of drilling offshore, and that he would have to "Take another look" at drilling in ANWR. I guess his problem is just that he can't think of anything better than Cornyn can. Well, unless you count pulling all our military out of Iraq and then drilling there for our oil, which he advocated.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Noriega Releases Energy Plan--or Lack Of

Rick Noriega has just released an ad on Youtube promoting his energy policy. You can watch the video here. What this ad boils down to is, Rick Noriega has NO energy policy. He spends almost the entire video attacking John Cornyn. Just as a note, he finds that he can only spend 38 seconds talking about this extremely important issue. Of course, he says how gas prices have risen $2.64 since John Cornyn took office, but I noticed that he does not mention that $1.72 (65%) of that amount has been in the last two years, coinciding with when Democrats took power. He also says that John Cornyn has opposed alternative energy, which is an outright lie. Rick Noriega opposes drilling in ANWR, opposes nuclear energy, opposes clean coal, opposes increased refineries. He is the one who opposes creative solutions to our energy crisis. You can watch Cornyn's videos on the issue here. I encourage you to watch all of Cornyn's videos. Who do you think will be the most capable to deal with our energy problems, Senator John Cornyn, or State Representative Rick "I can't figure this out" Noriega?

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Does Rick Noriega Support Trial Lawyers Over National Security?


AUSTIN, Texas—A bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate is set to pass legislation today to modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), allowing American intelligence professionals to gather critical additional information to detect and deter terrorists. Yet U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega opposes the measure, putting him far outside the mainstream and on the opposite side of most Texas Democrats in Congress.

Noriega objects to a provision in the FISA reform that prevents lawsuits against telecommunications companies that acted in good faith at the request of the administration and monitored potential terrorist communications. Thanks in part to disruption of terrorist planning, the U.S. has not suffered another domestic attack since Sept. 11, 2001.

“What is more important to Rep. Noriega—the safety of the American people, or his close relationship with trial lawyers?” asked Kevin McLaughlin, spokesman for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s re-election campaign. “There is only one group that would benefit from the vindictive, frivolous lawsuits that Noriega is trying to protect. That is the trial lawyers who would bring massive suits against companies attempting to act in the national interest.”

Noriega is a longtime, dependable recipient of trial lawyer campaign donations. And several recent fundraising receptions staged by his cash-starved campaign have been hosted by trial lawyers such as Fred Baron (Dallas), Richard Mithoff (Houston), Robert White (Odessa) and Clay Jenkins (Dallas).

Noriega has come up with inventive reasons to justify his trial lawyer-friendly position. For example, in a campaign video last week, he made the novel accusation that he opposes monitoring communications between terrorists because he suspects national security authorities eavesdropped on conversations he had with his wife!

“When we got on the computers to wake up our families on that Christmas Day, I suspect that the government probably listened in on my and Melissa’s conversation because it was communication between two countries,” Noriega said in the video.

Noriega apparently believes the National Security Agency (NSA) was eavesdropping on his conversation via the Terrorist Surveillance Program. It is a comment that, at best, reveals an unpardonable misunderstanding of the FISA program. At worst, it is a reckless charge levied in an attempt to mislead Texas voters. No mainstream news outlet has reported a similar charge made by any other serviceman. It appears Noriega is the only federal candidate, Republican or Democrat, to throw this wild idea into the political mix.

The FISA reform bill is the product of extensive bipartisan negotiations and is widely supported by a majority of Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate. “This legislation strengthens the ability of our intelligence agencies to conduct lawful surveillance of foreign targets,” said U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, last month.

In addition, U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said that without these measures our intelligence will be “degraded.” The Director of National Intelligence said that if the bill is not approved, the U.S. would lack the necessary tools to intercept communications between foreign nationals.

Only four members of the 32-person Texas congressional delegation voted against FISA modernization. Among those joining Senator Cornyn in supporting this legislation include Reps. Chet Edwards, Henry Cuellar, Al Green, Gene Green, Nick Lampson, and Silvestre Reyes, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

In advocating the compromise, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has cited an incident in Iraq last year that demonstrates need for FISA reform. Three U.S. troops were kidnapped in Iraq, south of Baghdad, by al Qaeda terrorists. The U.S. military immediately launched a search and rescue operation.

Within hours, a new source of information was discovered that required electronic surveillance of phone conversations. Then, a maze of complicated U.S. laws kicked in, stopping progress on the new lead for nearly 10 long hours. U.S. rescue efforts were complicated as government lawyers were forced to sort through a legal quagmire to develop “probable cause” for electronic surveillance. Read this New York Post story for more.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has continually urged Congress to pass FISA modernization legislation to make sure our intelligence professionals have the necessary tools to keep America safe.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Rick Norieaga's Energy Plan

This week, Senator Cornyn’s opponent Rick Noriega finally announced a plan to deal with our nation’s soaring energy costs. After weeks of ambiguity on his ideas for a solution, Noriega finally admitted we need to start drilling – but only in Iraq!

As the Midland Reporter-Telegram reported: “Noriega said Tuesday that America should not try ‘to drill our way out of this problem’ of soaring gasoline prices but instead rely on Iraqi oil and alternative energy sources.” (Campbell, 6/25/08)

Yes, you read that right. Rick Noriega wants to increase our dependence on foreign energy sources. In explaining his “plan,” Noriega wants us to rely on a country that he claimed for a year is in a “civil war” and insisted that U.S. troops immediately withdraw from Iraq.

Despite the bizarre nature of Noriega’s strategy, it was not just a one-time thought. During three other campaign appearances in the Permian Basin, he repeated his desire to drill in Iraq – including at a press conference in Odessa and at a meeting with the Midland Democrats. The San Antonio Express-News stated that throughout the day “Noriega repeated his call for exploiting Iraq's oil.” (Ratcliffe, 6/27/08)

Of course, once the people of Texas heard about this bizarre and illogical “plan” and began to voice their strong opposition, Noriega tried to wiggle his way out of the comments by claiming he was joking. W. Gardner Selby reported in the Austin American-Statesman: “Noriega's campaign insisted Thursday that the candidate was kidding. Spokeswoman Holly Shulman said: ‘He was clearly joking.’” (Selby, 6/27/08)

So this troubling and unbelievable explanation on Noriega’s part begs the question: was Rick Noriega really making jokes about drilling in Iraq? Watch the video of one of the many times he discussed this plan. You be the judge.