Pete Sessions parks in fire lane for endorsement interview!

Actually, it was his assistant Emily Davis who parked in the fire lane at the Dallas Morning News, since she drove him to the interview and was there to comb his hair before he met the editors--as reported by David Smith, who reviewed the interview process on his blog: Review: Dallas Morning News Editorial Board endorsement interview.

But, seriously, isn't that just typical of Pete Sessions, allowing his assistant to park in a fire lane, assuming everybody else's rules don't apply to him?

To the Sessions Watchers who've been badgering the Dallas Morning News over the past few days, asking the editorial board if they're planning on ignoring this race, you can stop now. They actually did an endorsement interview, so they should be making their decision in a few days.

From past experience with Dallas Morning News, we expect something along the lines of their half-hearted endorsement of Pete Sessions over Will Pryor in 2006, in which the editorial board had a litany of "wishes" that Pete Sessions would be a totally different person, but endorsed him anyway.

At Sessions Watch, we have our own set of "wishes" for the Dallas Morning News in their coverage of Pete Sessions, starting with our wish that they would comment in print on his inability to give a straight answer to anything.

In debates, when Pete Sessions is speaking to a bipartisan group that isn't packed with his supporters, his roundabout answers actually get laughs from the crowd. So why does the Dallas Morning News constantly give him passes on his obvious lack of knowledge on the issues?

According to David Smith, Sessions performed as we've come to expect him to in the interview:

And to be honest, I'm not sure that Rep. Sessions answered a single question he was asked! He used words like "leadership" and "reducing spending," even referring to my bringing up the Allen Stanford affair as--I have to make sure to get this right--I LOVED this term!--"a political characterization by a political opponent." Totally blew off the issue....

Readers of Sessions Watch may not agree with everything David Smith proposes, but at least he would be able to conduct an honest debate, using actual facts to back up his ideas instead of throwing the word "freedom" around for a cheap applause line.

C'mon, TX-32 Republicans, you've been campaigning for a GOP primary challenger since you first got stuck with Sessions back in 2004. Vote now, or forever hold your peace.

Early Voting Starts Today!

It is not the policy of Sessions Watch to endorse candidates, but then again, we've never had anyone run against Pete Sessions in the GOP primary before. So you know what to do, Republicans. You've been telling us for years that you'd vote for anyone who ran against Pete Sessions, so here's your chance to put your vote where your mouth is and vote for "the other guy," David Smith.

It's easy--just vote for the very first name you see on your ballot! David Smith is listed before Pete Sessions; not only that, but he's the very first name on the ballot, since Congressional races are listed before the Governor's race.

The GOP ballot is available at this link from Dallas County Elections: Republican Party Primary Election.

For Democrats, it's the same easy vote; Grier Raggio is listed first on the ballot, no opponents, before the list of candidates for Governor. The Democratic Party ballot is available at Democratic Party Primary Election.

David Smith's congressional campaign website is at this link: David Smith for Congress and his blog is here: David Smith for Congress blog.

Grier Raggio's congressional campaign website is at this link: Raggio for Congress.

Early voting runs Tuesday through Friday, February 16, 2010 - February 19, 2010 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.; Saturday, February 20, 2010, Sunday, February 21 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., then again the next week, Monday-Friday February 22 - February 26, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Pete Sessions accidentally slams NRCC pick

Hoo-boy, we tried to warn 'em about Pete Sessions, but they picked him, anyway, to chair the NRCC. Now, they're having to put up with the same incompetent leadership we've "enjoyed" for so many years.

Pete Sessions has flip-flopped on Parker Griffith (AL-5) again. In our previous article, Pete Sessions was against Parker Griffith before he was for him, we highlighted the attack ad the NRCC ran when Griffith was a Democrat. Then, Griffith changed parties and Pete Sessions lavished praise on him saying, "Congressman Griffith’s party affiliation may have changed, but his conservative principles, values and commitment to Alabama families has never wavered."

Now, Pete Sessions has sent out a fundraising letter to Republicans in AL-5 slamming Parker Griffith, apparently forgetting that Parker Griffith switched parties and is now backed by the NRCC:

In a fundraising letter, NRCC chair Pete Sessions lets donors in AL 05 know their "Democrat in Congress has been falling in line with Nancy Pelosi's destructive liberal agenda." The only problem is the NRCC is backing that incumbent, Rep. Parker Griffith (R).
"We're airing hard-hitting ads against your Democrat Member of Congress, and it's making an impact!" the letter reads...

..."Airing TV ads in your part of Alabama gets expensive over time, and we need to make sure we can apply serious pressure on your Representative throughout the 2010 campaign season," Sessions wrote.

Pete Sessions: More hope than "change"

Under Pete Sessions' leadership, the NRCC is being outspent 6 to 1 by Democrats. From Dallas Morning News:

Republicans are riding high after a huge Senate win in Massachusetts, and many now talk openly of taking back the House in November.

There's just one big problem: money.

The party's House campaign arm, run by U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions of Dallas, has struggled to raise funds, leaving Democrats with a 6-1 advantage...

..."This is a serious deficit," said former Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, one of Sessions' more successful predecessors as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "If the numbers persist like this, you're not going to win anything."...

...Sessions could not be reached for comment, and staffers at the committee declined to discuss the matter.

TN-08: NRCC "gay-baits" former minister, father of 3

Sessions Watch readers in Tennessee sent in this story from the Nashville Post; it's not directly about Pete Sessions, but about NRCC tactics. Since Pete is Chair of the NRCC we decided to run with it, since it sounds like something he'd approve.

So here's the story: NRCC spokesperson Andy Seré has been using his blog to imply that congressional candidate Roy Herron (running for TN-08) is gay. For proof, he points to Roy Herron's blog, where he writes about physical fitness and avoiding the heart disease that claimed his father's life:

Dad never got to see his younger two sons (my brother Ben and me) finish our education. The next heart attack got him. But I definitely want to see our sons grow up and complete their educations.

So, I work out. And like everyone, I try to watch what I eat, sometimes with less success than others. One of my friends reminds me, "You know, Roy, gluttony is still a sin."

And since it's one of my sins, I have to work out more than some to keep my weight down. But my heart seems strong with a morning resting heart rate (pulse) of 34, sometimes lower. I'm hoping it'll hang in there for a while yet.

Another part of my motivation is to encourage young people to be active. And as someone once said of proclaiming the Gospel, "Preach the Good News--use words if you must." It's much easier for me to preach and fuss, but most young people get enough preaching and fussing, but not enough good examples. And they sure know the difference between the talk and the walk. So, I know I've got to continue to try to eat less and work out more than I otherwise would.

Now, I'm fortunate. All three of our sons are runners on Dresden's Cross Country Team...

Sounds like pretty good advice, especially since there's been such an emphasis lately on personal responsibility in the health care debate.

But according to Andy Seré, physical fitness is for gay people. From Talking Points Memo:

When I first spoke to NRCC spokesman Andy Seré on Wednesday, Seré used Herron's personal blog against him. In addition to his legislative work, Herron uses a good portion of the blog to discuss his physical fitness, and his family's history of heart disease. "Rather than protecting small businesses, rather than protecting taxpayers, he often seems more interested in watching what he eats, making sure he's jogging enough miles everyday, and just watching his body image very closely," said Seré.

Hmmm...Sarah Palin is a runner, right? And George W. Bush is into physical fitness, right? If physical fitness is only for gay people, does that mean George and Sarah are...?

But we digress. Apparently, Andy Seré is using his blog to make a weak link between pictures of Roy Herron in jogging shorts to his vote to overturn a ban on gay people adopting kids. "So why can't Roy Herron just be straight with West and Middle Tennesseans" Seré writes on his blog.

So, what journalists wanted to know next is, what's behind Andy Seré's obsession with gay people? John Aravosis of AMERICAblog writes about what he found on Seré's Facebook page:

In unrelated news, it must have been one hell of a party that same NRCC spokesman, Andy Seré, attended last May, according to his Facebook page. The Fete was called the "GOB Freedom Festival." It caught my eye since "gob," among other things, is gay slang for oral sex, and for young gay sailors (and, an even odder coincidence, the party was for a military friend coming back to the states). It gets even odder when you look at the photos from the GOB "festival" that I found on Facebook...

Here's one of the photos--for the rest, check out AMERICAblog--or better yet, become one of Andy's Facebook friends:

Our readers in Tennessee say that Ron Herron is a devoted family man and father of 3, and that he's a former minister; they assure us that he isn't gay but add, "Not that there's anything wrong with that! :)"

Libertarian John Jay Myers joins TX-32 race

From Dallas Morning News:

Onetime city council candidate and longtime Libertarian John Jay Myers has announced his plans to runs for U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions' seat. The campaign will officially kick off Jan. 28.

Myers ran a spirited but doomed campaign for City Council member Carolyn Davis' 7th district seat. Virtually unknown to the district's political and religious establishment, he nevertheless won quite a few votes through tireless campaigning and a message that seemed to resonate with voters from Buckner Terrace to East Oak Cliff...

The Sessions Watch team welcomes John Jay Myers into the race, and wishes him all the best. We invite our Libertarian readers to check out John's website at this link: John Jay Myers for United States Congress.

"Allen Stanford Helped Pete Sessions Score His Biggest Political Victory"

From Talking Points Memo:

"I love you and believe in you," Sessions wrote Stanford in an effusive Feb. 17 e-mail, according to the Miami Herald in an exclusive report Monday. "If you want my ear/voice -- e-mail."

Why the warm-fuzzies?

Perhaps because five years ago, in Sessions' greatest moment of political need, Stanford and his associates proved staunch allies.

A Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates that employees of Allen Stanford-led Stanford Financial ranked No. 2 among Sessions' donors during the 2004 election cycle, accounting for $24,275.

Of course, that amount alone won't win an election. But the Stanford donation total ranked ahead of massive firms such as SBC Communications, Ernst & Young and Crow Holdings, all of which have notable presences in Sessions' Texas District 32, situated in Dallas and its suburbs.

And it was the 2004 election cycle that Sessions, an incumbent, grappled with another longtime incumbent congressman in Democrat Martin Frost...

And, again, there's an interesting item in the comments section of the blog:

My family is represented by Sessions in Congress and we invested millions of dollars of our family's trust with Stanford last year that is now completely gone. This was a trust for two disabled members of our family. We have contacted Sessions' office no fewer than a dozen times with no return phone call. He is a disgrace to our community. He should be fighting for all the Stanford investors he helped Allen Stanford deceive. Part of the reason we trusted Stanford Group so much was because of the company's roots with our trusted elected officials like Sessions and Senator John Cornyn. We would have been better off investing with Madoff because at least those investors were able to get securities insurance. Sessions should be fighting in Washington to help the Stanford depositors to get at least the same relief the Madoff victims got. What Sessions did to help Allen Stanford is called AIDING AND ABETTING.