Dallas Morning News endorses Pete Sessions

No big surprise here, but the Dallas Morning News gave Pete Sessions their endorsement in the March GOP primary. Yesterday, when Sharon Grigsby announced on her blog that the endorsement would be in today's paper, one of our Sessions Watch readers posted this snarky note on her blog offering to do it for them:

I'll help write your endorsement of Pete Sessions:

"We wish Pete Sessions weren't so corrupt, we wish he cared more about the constituents he represents, we wish he'd give us a straight answer on questions instead of roundabout non-answers; in fact, we wish he was a totally different person. But we can't give the endorsement to a totally different person, we have to give it to Pete Sessions, 'cause we just like him. Don't ask us why, we just do! We really, really like him!"

C'mon, editorial board. Prove me wrong.

The endorsement wasn't quite as obviously sycophantic as that, just your standard "power of incumbency" nod, saying that Sessions is a better choice because he's been there longer, and the other guy just doesn't have the experience!

But they overlook the fact that he's not much of a leader in Congress. According to GovTrack, "Sessions is a follower according to our statistical analysis of bills in this legislative session. Sessions tends to cosponsors the bills of other Members of Congress who do not cosponsor Sessions’s own bills...Peter Sessions has sponsored 81 bills since Jan 7, 1997 of which 70 haven't made it out of committee and 2 were successfully enacted."

And the Dallas Morning News actually had the nerve to slam challenger David Smith for being partisan--after Pete Sessions said the GOP should use the Taliban as "model for insurgency. The Taliban! Not only is Sessions a hyper-partisan who can't work across party lines--or even with members of his own party--to get bills passed, he can't even find any "good guys" to identify with, he'd rather side with the enemy! Pete Sessions is one of the reasons Washington has turned into such a toxic hyper-partisan cesspool.

At best, we hoped for a "no endorsement" from Dallas Morning News, thinking the paper might follow the lead of all the Republican organizations that have refused to endorse Pete Sessions this time around. But there you have it, another endorsement from Dallas Morning News for Pete Sessions. No surprise there.

Pete Sessions dodges primary challenger at town hall

At a town hall meeting Saturday morning, Pete Sessions used a staff member to help him scoot out without having to face talking to primary challenger David Smith--no big surprise to Sessions Watchers who've seen him cut and run after debates to avoid constituents. What a coward.

None of the Sessions Watch writers were available to cover Saturday's town hall meeting, but David Smith has a good account of the event posted at The Examiner: "Same old same old" at Sessions Town Hall. The title is a direct quote from an attendee, who stopped to talk to Mr. Smith after listening to Pete Sessions for long enough.

According to David Smith, about 1/3 of attendees were friends of Pete Sessions--again, no big surprise since Sessions was quoted over the summer as saying, "The days of you having a town hall meeting where maybe 15 or 20 of your friends show up -- they're over. You've now got real people who are showing up -- and that's going to be a factor."

Uh, Pete--town hall meetings were never intended as a party for your friends. Those "real people showing up" are called "constituents." You know, the people you're supposed to be serving in Washington? They'd like to hear from you every now and then!

If any Sessions Watch readers went to the town hall, feel free to post your impressions of the event in the comment box below.

Pete Sessions will have GOP Primary Challenger!

From Dallas County Republican Examiner:

Today I am proud to announce my candidacy for the 32nd Congressional District from the Great State of Texas and I want you to be the first to know. My decision to run has not been made lightly, and I can no longer continue to witness the reckless behavior of our government. I respect your hard work as the backbone of the local Republican Party and look forward to meeting you, working with you and hearing your views on the pressing issues facing our nation and Texas' 32nd District.

I grew up in Farmers Branch and graduated from R.L. Turner High School. I went on to earn degrees in music education and finance (MBA) from the University of North Texas and am now a Corporate Finance and Accounting Analyst. I have always voted Republican, even in my youth, and participated in the Denton County Republican Party before returning to Dallas County after the last election cycle. My concentration the last two years has involved lobbying for reform in the Texas transportation system. This experience has included speaking from the steps of the Texas Capitol at a march / rally last spring and testifying before the Sunset Commission of the Texas Legislature last summer, and contributed to the death of the Trans Texas Corridor earlier this year. I was also honored to speak on several resolutions at the 2008 Denton County Republican Convention.

I am a conservative Republican that endorses the State Platform, and as a corporate accounting professional, I am also a strong fiscal conservative. And sadly I recognize that record budget deficits under Republican leadership led to the exponentially greater debt spending that we see today. I know that our government is broke, in more ways than one, and pledge to do the job our current leadership is failing to perform.

My campaign will focus on issues affecting Texas' 32nd District and our government: Accountability, Fiscal Responsibility and the Economy. In coming days you will learn more about my campaign as I move forward to Victory in 2010! I hope to earn your support and your vote, and am looking forward to meeting each of you soon...

Thanks for stepping up to the plate, David, and good luck to you--you'll need it. Pete Sessions is a dirty fighter, he'll refuse to debate you, he'll pay kids to pull up your political signs (and might even get caught doing it himself), and he'll send out lurid glossy fliers accusing you of stuff you never did. Stay calm, stay cool, stay positive, and let him dish it out and look like the bad guy.

The Sessions Watch team encourages Republican precinct chairs to attend David Smith's announcement party and fundraiser; details at The Examiner, at this link: Announcement of candidacy for US House District 32 and campaign kick-off event.