Bradley in DC
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5343489.html
2 foes stump to oust Paul
Lawmaker says he's not taking return to House for granted as he seeks presidency
By ALAN BERNSTEIN
ANAHUAC — Betty Stroud of nearby Winnie has voted for Ron Paul before. In the March primary she will have the rare chance to vote for him twice on the same day, assuming he is still running simultaneously for president and his District 14 seat in the U.S. House.
But at a gathering of Chambers County Republicans here last week, Stroud said Paul will get no more of her votes. When she saw him on national TV slamming America's involvement in the Iraq war, that was enough. Paul, with his passionate critiques of the Bush administration, is undercutting U.S. soldiers before they even get home, she said.
Such a remark from a core Republican voter is a lullaby to two men mounting uphill, thinly financed campaigns against Paul in the GOP primary. They clash with Paul on several issues. But Chris Peden, a Friendswood councilman and accountant, and Andy Mann, a League City computer technologist for a space exploration company that does work for NASA, count on the idea that Paul's anti-war message in New Hampshire and Iowa flops in President Bush's home state communities of Katy, Victoria, Lake Jackson, Galveston and Baytown.
Paul, though, is well-funded, resilient in elections and more well-known with each passing day that he runs for president.
Peden, a force for tax cuts and conservative social causes in Friendswood, portrays Paul as a kindred spirit for individual rights and small government — but one whose failure to sway legislative votes makes him an ineffective libertarian more interested in scoring philosophical points than changing laws in a practical way.
"If he doesn't win president, he has to win re-election to Congress so his voice will be heard. Well, what happened to our voice?" Peden, 43, told voters here. "Doesn't he want to go up there and tell the world what we think as opposed to what he thinks?"
Mann, a former Democratic congressional staffer who said his conservative stands on abortion and gun rights made him into a Republican now, said of Paul, "To me it is somewhat curious that someone in Congress can be so extreme."
The diverse, claw-shaped 14th District, which runs along the Southeast Texas coast, is home to many NASA employees and contract workers, and Mann, 40, is particularly irked that Paul has voted against space program funding.
Paul and his shrink-the-government message have proved effective in the region's politics, even as he has voted against federal funding for rice farming and other signature economic components of the district.
A winning record
Coming back from defeat as the Libertarian Party presidential candidate in 1988 and as a U.S. Senate candidate, the 72-year-old physician has beaten all sorts of opponents in House contests. When Democratic Rep. Greg Laughlin switched parties and ran in the Republican primary with the backing of national GOP leaders such as Newt Gingrich, Paul sent him to the political graveyard.
Paul had less than $100,000 in his congressional re-election account at the end of September, the last period for which records are available. But if need be, he can transfer to the local campaign some of the millions he has raised for his presidential crusade.
Besides, Paul is not taking the March primary for granted. His campaign conducted a private poll a few weeks ago on the House because "we don't want to be caught blindsided," the congressman remarked.
He called the survey results reassuring. For instance, he explained, voters who disagree with him that the Iraq war is unconstitutional and misguidedly interventionist "know I am for a strong national defense."
"Hopefully, when you are the incumbent, you can be elected on your merits," he said.
No Democrat yet
Paul gets to run for two offices at the same time thanks to the 1959 law passed by the Legislature to help Democratic U.S. Sen. Lyndon Johnson run for re-election and the presidency in 1960. Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen ran for re-election and the vice presidency in 1988; Republican Sen. Phil Gramm tried for re-election and the presidency in 1996. The re-election campaigns succeeded.
No Democrat has announced plans to run for Paul's seat in the November general election, according to a party spokeswoman. The deadline to sign up is a month from now.
The two GOP challengers said Congress should support the Iraq war effort and examine its flaws later. As for seeking an advantage over Paul on other issues and campaign approaches, Peden and Mann differ.
Peden is gathering endorsements of local officials, embarking on a fundraising effort and hoping his record on the Friendswood council makes an impression with GOP primary voters. At the city level, he pressed for property tax refunds and advocated stopping the funding of water conservation education kits for fourth-graders so the money could instead go to a Pearland pastor for sexual abstinence education for junior high school students.
Mann said he embodies run-of-the-mill, middle-class workers throughout the district. And in the shadow of Paul's popularity as an Internet subject, Mann is posting videos of his political talks on social networking sites.
[email protected]
2 foes stump to oust Paul
Lawmaker says he's not taking return to House for granted as he seeks presidency
By ALAN BERNSTEIN
ANAHUAC — Betty Stroud of nearby Winnie has voted for Ron Paul before. In the March primary she will have the rare chance to vote for him twice on the same day, assuming he is still running simultaneously for president and his District 14 seat in the U.S. House.
But at a gathering of Chambers County Republicans here last week, Stroud said Paul will get no more of her votes. When she saw him on national TV slamming America's involvement in the Iraq war, that was enough. Paul, with his passionate critiques of the Bush administration, is undercutting U.S. soldiers before they even get home, she said.
Such a remark from a core Republican voter is a lullaby to two men mounting uphill, thinly financed campaigns against Paul in the GOP primary. They clash with Paul on several issues. But Chris Peden, a Friendswood councilman and accountant, and Andy Mann, a League City computer technologist for a space exploration company that does work for NASA, count on the idea that Paul's anti-war message in New Hampshire and Iowa flops in President Bush's home state communities of Katy, Victoria, Lake Jackson, Galveston and Baytown.
Paul, though, is well-funded, resilient in elections and more well-known with each passing day that he runs for president.
Peden, a force for tax cuts and conservative social causes in Friendswood, portrays Paul as a kindred spirit for individual rights and small government — but one whose failure to sway legislative votes makes him an ineffective libertarian more interested in scoring philosophical points than changing laws in a practical way.
"If he doesn't win president, he has to win re-election to Congress so his voice will be heard. Well, what happened to our voice?" Peden, 43, told voters here. "Doesn't he want to go up there and tell the world what we think as opposed to what he thinks?"
Mann, a former Democratic congressional staffer who said his conservative stands on abortion and gun rights made him into a Republican now, said of Paul, "To me it is somewhat curious that someone in Congress can be so extreme."
The diverse, claw-shaped 14th District, which runs along the Southeast Texas coast, is home to many NASA employees and contract workers, and Mann, 40, is particularly irked that Paul has voted against space program funding.
Paul and his shrink-the-government message have proved effective in the region's politics, even as he has voted against federal funding for rice farming and other signature economic components of the district.
A winning record
Coming back from defeat as the Libertarian Party presidential candidate in 1988 and as a U.S. Senate candidate, the 72-year-old physician has beaten all sorts of opponents in House contests. When Democratic Rep. Greg Laughlin switched parties and ran in the Republican primary with the backing of national GOP leaders such as Newt Gingrich, Paul sent him to the political graveyard.
Paul had less than $100,000 in his congressional re-election account at the end of September, the last period for which records are available. But if need be, he can transfer to the local campaign some of the millions he has raised for his presidential crusade.
Besides, Paul is not taking the March primary for granted. His campaign conducted a private poll a few weeks ago on the House because "we don't want to be caught blindsided," the congressman remarked.
He called the survey results reassuring. For instance, he explained, voters who disagree with him that the Iraq war is unconstitutional and misguidedly interventionist "know I am for a strong national defense."
"Hopefully, when you are the incumbent, you can be elected on your merits," he said.
No Democrat yet
Paul gets to run for two offices at the same time thanks to the 1959 law passed by the Legislature to help Democratic U.S. Sen. Lyndon Johnson run for re-election and the presidency in 1960. Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen ran for re-election and the vice presidency in 1988; Republican Sen. Phil Gramm tried for re-election and the presidency in 1996. The re-election campaigns succeeded.
No Democrat has announced plans to run for Paul's seat in the November general election, according to a party spokeswoman. The deadline to sign up is a month from now.
The two GOP challengers said Congress should support the Iraq war effort and examine its flaws later. As for seeking an advantage over Paul on other issues and campaign approaches, Peden and Mann differ.
Peden is gathering endorsements of local officials, embarking on a fundraising effort and hoping his record on the Friendswood council makes an impression with GOP primary voters. At the city level, he pressed for property tax refunds and advocated stopping the funding of water conservation education kits for fourth-graders so the money could instead go to a Pearland pastor for sexual abstinence education for junior high school students.
Mann said he embodies run-of-the-mill, middle-class workers throughout the district. And in the shadow of Paul's popularity as an Internet subject, Mann is posting videos of his political talks on social networking sites.
[email protected]
