Texas Republican candidates have met the enemy … and it is themselves

[TexasTowelie]

One of the perils of Republicans running for office in a Republican state is that they find themselves promising to fix all the problems left by … Republicans.

Take Greg Abbott, who wants to be governor. At a campaign stop in Denton on the first day of early voting, Abbott took aim at traffic jams. He singled out I-35, telling supporters they probably found themselves in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to get to his event. “A guy in a wheelchair can go faster than cars on I-35,” said Abbott, who is a guy in a wheelchair. Gov. Rick Perry, the man Abbott wants to succeed, had an ambitious plan for expanding the state’s roadways. But it didn’t go anywhere. Abbott’s point was simple and seemed to resonate with people – state leaders have failed miserably to unclog highways. In other words, Rick Perry has failed.

Barry Smitherman, the Railroad Commission chairman who wants to be attorney general, derided workers in the state attorney general’s child support division, calling them “disinterested paper pushers” in a League of Women Voters guide. He said that the child support division accounts for over half the attorney general’s budget, but that the agency is “no longer working to ensure the best interests of the child are met. I will make certain mothers and fathers are receiving mandated visitation rights.” In other words, after more than a decade in office, Greg Abbott has failed.

Dallas Rep. Dan Branch, who also is running for attorney general, took on President Barack Obama in his first TV ad – a pretty safe target for Republicans. But in doing so, he couldn’t avoid taking an indirect shot at Abbott, the man he wants to replace. As attorney general, Abbott has made a big deal about suing the Obama administration on everything from environmental issues to health care. The results have been mixed. Abbott has won some, lost some. As for Branch, who is appealing to a conservative GOP base, his commercial says, “Texas needs an attorney general who can take on Obama – and win.” In other words, Abbott has failed.

More at http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/02/texas-republican-candidates-have-met-the-enemy-and-it-is-themselves.html/ .

[malokvale77]

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"Barry Smitherman, the Railroad Commission chairman who wants to be attorney general, derided workers in the state attorney general’s child support division, calling them “disinterested paper pushers” in a League of Women Voters guide. He said that the child support division accounts for over half the attorney general’s budget, but that the agency is “no longer working to ensure the best interests of the child are met."


I know of someone personally who has not received thousands in back child support that the AG's office clearly shows the father has paid. Nobody seems to know where it went.