Regarding Diana Maldonado: Voters Know a Hawk from a Handsaw

"I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw."
-Hamlet, Act II, Scene II

On a recent campaign mailer, Representative Diana Maldonado included this 2008 quote from the Austin American Statesman: "Maldonado has a reputation as a budget hawk." While I hardly think I need to go over the credibility problems inherent in a liberal town's liberal newspaper praising a liberal candidate, those familiar with Maldonado's work on the Round Rock School Board were baffled by the 'budget hawk' statement at the time. Since then, her actions in the 81st legislative session have proved that, like most Democrats, Representative Maldonado prefers to fly fast and free with taxpayer dollars.

During Diana Maldonado's tenure on the Round Rock ISD Board, 2003-08, voters were appalled by the proposal of a whopping $350 million bond package in 2005, one the voters soundly defeated. Even so, by 2008 RRISD debt had risen to nearly $630 million, and yet the district still failed to allocate the required 65% of funds to classroom instruction, and had to go back to taxpayers for an additional $294 million that year. Granted, the district's student population had grown by about 30%, but revenues had grown by 75% during the same period.  Furthermore, under then school board president Maldonado, the superintendent's contracted salary inexplicably rose by $38,480 giving him an annual salary of $243,080.00- significantly higher compensation than any governor of any state in the country. Not sure where the 'budget hawk' was in that mess.

Maldonado's disregard for budgetary restraint continued in the Texas House, and her first legislative proposal, H.B. 282, called for state employees to have a tax-payer funded paid holiday on Election Days. Never mind that Texas enjoys anywhere from 5 to 14 days of early voting for any election.  Employers with even the most rudimentary grasp of cost-benefit analysis understand that paid holidays add to the overall budget.  In order for every state employee to have 2 more paid holidays each year, Texas would have to add an estimated $54 million to the budget.  Happily, that rotten egg never made it out of committee.

On other votes regarding government spending and business, Maldonado continued to show a lack of fiscal restraint, and earned a 28% fiscal responsibility rating from Texans For Fiscal Responsibility/Empower Texans.  The average score was 56.7%, leaving Maldonado far below the majority of her peers in the House. 

On the 2010 campaign trail, Maldonado seems confused about the projected budget shortfall, and continuously refers to a multi-billion dollar deficit.  What Representative Maldonado doesn't seem to understand is that we are not talking about a current deficit, but a reduction in the estimated amount of tax revenue the state will collect next year, based on current trends.  In the 2011 session, Texas legislators will need to create a new budget in accordance with these projected revenues.  It is disturbing that Diana Maldonado's response to the projected shortfall is to talk about 'new revenue streams' and ending 'exemptions.'  Translation of government-speak for the voter:  'new revenue streams' = new taxes, and apparently the Democrat mantra this year is to call for a state income tax. 

In contrast, Republican candidate Larry Gonzales is campaigning on a fiscally conservative platform and promises spending cuts.  Last Saturday in front of some 40 volunteers assembled to canvass the district, he signed a Taxpayer Protection Pledge created by Empower Texans.  In his comments, Gonzales reiterated his commitment to doing "what every American family has to do" in cutting spending. 

With Americans already reeling under the weight of Obamanomics, the last thing the economy needs is more and/or higher taxes, which will only stifle growth.  What we really need are elected officials willing to cut government spending and allow people to use more of their own earnings as they see fit. Unlike some Texas House members, I think the voters are smart enough to tell the difference between a failed 'hawk' and a candidate ready to apply a scalpel, if not a handsaw, to the budget.

Maldonado Moving Right?

One positive thing I have to say about the Maldonado campaign: They have some very good handlers for the beleagured incumbent representative.  After her disastrous performance at a Round Rock Chamber event earlier this week, the campaign quickly trotted out a press release in which Maldonado seems to join Tea Party types in calling for increased border security. 

According to the release sent Thursday morning, Representative Maldonado allegedly joined "several colleagues in the Texas House" in addressing a letter to President Barack Obama.  To my knowledge, the actual text of the letter is not included in the release itself, which is posted at Texas Insider, and no other House members are mentioned by name. Supposedly, the letter requests two MC-12 Aircraft to beef up security on the border.

Wow.  I feel better already.

Sources who were present at the Round Table Discussions, said comments attributed to Representative Maldonado in the release are in stark contrast to her performance at the event earlier this week.  She was vague and somewhat evasive, especially on Voter Photo ID legislation, telling the questioner that they "just disagree on this issue."  Her answer to a border security query  included an ambiguous reference to troops returning from Iraq, leading the audience to wonder if she was suggesting placing combat troops on the Mexican border. 

Of course this isn't the first time Representative Maldonado has written to Obama.  In March of this year she joined other liberal politicians in the Progressive States Network to urge the President to push through socialized health care reform, specifically the Senate Bill (sans Stupak,) even though most Americans vehemently opposed the legislation.  Maldonado got her way, and now we are all gearing up to pay the consequences. 

While Representative Maldonado doesn't necessarily understand the reasons for voter frustration, she and her campaign must realize to some extent that the future does not bode well for liberal-progressive candidates in conservative-leaning districts.   Their actions indicate they are trying very hard to 'move Maldonado to the Right,' but unfortunately for them, her record doesn't leave much doubt as to where she really stands. 

Push Polls and Other Desperate Tactics in SBOE Race

As expected, the Judy Jennings campaign is denying any connection with the recent push poll I wrote about on Monday.  This is not surprising since this kind of dirty work is usually done by third parties so that the candidate can deny participation.  Here are just a few more facts about the poll:

Several individuals in Travis county have reported receiving the calls, which are identified as coming from the 702 area code, a Las Vegas, Nevada code.  In addition to the question suggesting Dr. Marsha Farney attended a white supremacist rally last Summer, the poll asks several push questions, including whether the voter prefers Judy Jennings, who desires to bring in "specialists" to create curriculum, or Marsha Farney who wishes to "implement a political agenda."  (No mention of the fact that Dr. Farney IS a curriculum specialist.)  These questions leave no doubt that the purpose of this poll is not to gather information, but rather to 'push' voters to Democrat Judy Jennings. 

Democrats are determined to take control of the Texas State Board of Education, since controlling public school curriculum will allow them to influence the minds of the majority of American children.  They will continue to try to paint Dr. Farney as a radical, and have even been manipulating the rules for debate, a tactic Republican Party of Texas Chairman Steve Munisteri warned about earlier this week.  Astute voters should not be deceived by these desperate tactics, and make the right choice.

Diana Maldonado and the Problem of Voter Fraud

Last week, the Liberal-Democrat insistence that "there is no evidence of voter fraud in Texas" took a serious blow when the King Street Patriots announced the discovery of thousands of possibly fraudulent voter registrations in Harris County.  About 5,000 registrations submitted by Houston Votes (allegedly a re-named ACORN group)either were incomplete, listed vacant lots as resident addresses, or named non-existent persons or previously registered voters. 

The problem for Texas Lib-Dems, is that they have been using the 'no evidence of fraud' argument as justification for opposing voter photo ID legislation. Never mind that Texas is somewhat historically infamous for voter fraud, due to the 1948 'Box 13' scandal.  Under current Texas law, voters may present various forms of non-photo identification, including a voter card, utility bill, or bank statement.  Even most rank and file Democrats recognize that requiring an ID at the polls is just common sense, and 82% of all Texans support voter photo ID laws.

However, the most liberal wing of the Democrat party is so afraid of voter ID requirements, that in the 2009 legislative session, they were willing to kill hundreds of bills beneficial to their own districts and constituencies in order to stop passage of the law. Representative Diana Maldonado (D-Round Rock) was among those who participated in the 'chubbing,' or filibuster, of Voter Photo ID.  Observers such as Will Lutz expressed surprise at Maldonado's actions:

There are significant divisions within the Democratic caucus about whether this was a good idea. Only a handful of Democrats in mostly safe districts partook in the filibuster. Rural Democrats and most of the suburban ones from swing districts (with the notable exception of Rep. Diana Maldonado [D-Round Rock] who chubbed) stayed away from the back microphone during this exercise.

Unfortunately for Round Rock and the rest of House District 52, Maldonado placed her desire to stop election workers from checking ID above the legislative needs of the district.  Among the legislation thwarted by chubbing was an especially important TXDOT Sunset bill.  I will be taking a closer look at some of the 'killed bills' in the coming weeks. 

While Democrats try to downplay the issue, preferring to call it 'voter impersonation,' evidence indicates that voter fraud continues to be a problem in Texas. Voter photo ID requirements cannot completely stop those determined to commit election fraud, but a well-crafted law will be a deterrent to the most egregious offenders.  Voters would do well to remember Representative Maldonado's actions in the 2009 Session, and limit her to a one-term-wonder.

Republican Commissioners Court Cuts Spending, Keeps Tax Rate Down

Much Kudos to the Williamson County Commissioners Court, who yesterday approved a restrained budget and kept property tax rates steady.  Although under heavy pressure from a vocal minority in the county employees union, Commissioners heard the pleas of Wilco taxpayers already struggling to cope with the Obama economy. 

The 2010-2011 fiscal year budget reduced spending by $496,104.26, allowing for a total general fund budget of $124,355,685.15.  Although some county employees lobbied to raise the rate to provide for a COLA raise,  tax rate will remain at .489999, and may even reduce some homeowner tax bills next year.  As a compromise, Commissioners designated $500,000 for bonus pay for non-tenure plan, non law enforcement employees.  (Law enforcement personnel are paid on a completely different plan). 

Interestingly enough, the county auditor estimates the county will have a cash ending balance of $55 million on September 30, 2010.  The Commissioners Court approved authorizing the auditor to transfer about $4.3 million from the cash ending to balance the budget.  Seems like a pretty obvious solution?

Two of the these Commissioners will be on the ballot this year for re-election:  Cynthia Long for Precinct 2, and Ron Morrison for Precinct 4.  (The terms of Lisa Birkman, Precinct 1, and Val Covey, Precinct 3, will not expire until 2012).  We need to make sure we keep these fiscally conservative folks on the court, so click the links and give them a little help if you can.

Desperate Democrats Smear Marsha Farney: Updated

Wow, Democrats working for Judy Jennings, left-wing ideologue for State Board of Education, must be getting desperate.  Recently, they launched another push poll on the SBOE 10 race in which they ask if voters know that Dr. Marsha Farney "attended a white-supremacist rally" last Summer. 

Seriously?   Have you met Dr. Farney?

These lefties are hoping that voters won't ask which 'white-supremacist rally,' since they are actually referring to a Williamson County 4th of July weekend TEA Party Rally that was attended by U.S. Congressman John Carter,  and Texas House candidates Dr. Charles Schwertner and Larry Gonzales.  According to the Austin American Statesman, about 1,200 folks attended, and nary a white hood was in sight.

This ludicrous description of a TEA Party rally not only shows how desperate these people are, but how completely out-of-touch they are with voters.  According to recent polling data, 56% of mainstream voters approve of the Tea Party Movement, and 52% said the members of the Tea Party have a "better understanding of the issues than the average member of Congress."  One might venture to guess that these numbers are much higher for Texans. 

Perhaps what's really got Judy Jennings and her band of leftists in a panic, is the fact that Dr. Farney is not afraid to call them out on their extremist views of America and their desire to re-write history.   In reaction to Dr. Farney's speech at the July Rally, the Jennings camp expressed faux outrage that they might possibly be considered America-bashing.  While protesting that her 'personal ideology' will not play a role in education policy, Judy has demanded that school curriculum remove any references to the difference between 'legal' and 'illegal' immigrants, and wants to make sure no schools teach about the Venona Papers, primary source documents housed in the Library of Congress which reveal the extent of communist infiltration of the United States in the mid-twentieth century.  Sounds like the usual educational indoctrination loved by the Left.

 Since Americans are in no mood to put up with socialist ideologues this year, the Jennings camp is desperate to smear Dr. Farney by painting her a raaaaacist.    Unfortunately for Judy and the Dems, the fact that Marsha Farney spoke at a popular Tea Party Rally is likely to bring even more support to the Farney campaign.  Voters would do well to examine Judy Jennings' extremist, anti-American views, and choose a candidate who is not only highly qualified, but actually proud of her country.

Update: 
I just learned that calling Dr. Marsha Farney a racist is even more ironic in light of her history; Her doctoral dissertation was an in-depth study of the Georgetown Independent School District from 1850 through desegregation. During her research, Dr. Farney revealed the remarkable journey and successes of the segregated black school in Georgetown, known as the 'Carver School.' She has given many presentations on the historic Carver School to large audiences at the Williamson County Courthouse, during which she shared authentic photographs and primary sources documenting the numerous academic and athletic achievements earned by Carver students. Distressed by the disappearance of the Carver School trophies, Dr. Farney is personally financing the creation of replicas, and is working with the Williamson County Museum to plan an awards ceremony honoring the achievements of the Carver School and its students next year.

New Coattails For Diana Maldonado

In 2008, Democrat Diana Maldonado rode to a narrow 1% victory on the coattails of Barack Obama. Like Obama, Maldonado portrayed herself as a moderate in conservative-leaning Williamson County, and carefully avoided discussion of the liberal-progressive agenda. Of course now that the Obama presidency is crashing and burning in such spectacular fashion, Democrats like Maldonado played 'duck and cover' during the recent Presidential visit, and are avoiding association with Obama at all costs.

This year Representative Maldonado will have a difficult time convincing voters she is a moderate since she has a rather inconvenient legislative record to defend. For example, she earned a 36% rating from the Texas Association of Business and a 10% rating from the Young Conservatives of Texas. Furthermore, her actions in the 2009 session to kill voter photo ID legislation reveals her to be at odds with 82% of American citizens.

So whose coattails will she attempt to ride in 2010? Apparently, Rep Maldonado has attached herself to gubernatorial candidate Bill White. She was an early supporter of the former Houston Mayor in the 2010 Primaries, (see video below) and after playing "Duck and Cover" during the presidential visit, she teamed up with Bill's wife, Andrea White for campaign activities in Williamson County,

Unfortunately for Maldonado, former Houston Mayor Bill White has quite a bit of his own baggage to carry, baggage that won't play well in HD 52. For example, White left the City of Houston essentially bankrupt and with more debt per capita than California. White, an unwavering supporter of abortion, courted Planned Parenthood executives in Houston and encouraged the establishment of the 'world's largest abortion clinic' in the city. Most recently, White's refusal to rule out increased taxes and debt for the Lone Star State has earned him the new moniker, "Bill White for Taxes."

If in fact, these are the coattails Ms. Maldonado is hoping to ride to victory, she is in serious trouble indeed.