Top 10 Election Moments: From Their Lips to God's Ear
From their lips to God's ear
Fri., Jan. 7, 2005
1) "This boy's got moral values and Christian leadership on his heart. Pray for him." Moral Majority leader Rev. Jerry Falwell, endorsing GOP candidate Alan Askew at a South Austin church. Askew lost to incumbent state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs.
2) "That fundraising letter [was] signed by some of the most liberal anti-job growth, anti-business, anti-conservative activists in the state." Jack Stick's description of several of Austin's business elite, including former Dell Computer exec Tom Meredith and Centex Beverage CEO and former UT regent Lowell Lebermann, who supported Democratic opponent Mark Strama.
3) "I knew kelly white was a lying male hating liberal, but I did not know we were living across the street from one as well." Courtney Baxter, wife of state Rep. Todd Baxter, in an e-mail insta-spam to a neighbor who supported Baxter opponent Kelly White. A sheriff's deputy later caught the neighbor and four other women toilet-papering Baxter's house on election eve.
4) Jack Stick, an insurance-lobby favorite, said he was joking when he asked for campaign contributions during a meeting with an industry group at a state office building, and he vowed to reject funds from those industry reps. His financial report later showed nearly $10,000 from three industry lobbyists who reportedly heard the pitch.
5) Hubert Vo a fledgling challenger vying to be the first Vietnamese-American Texas legislator beat 22-year incumbent Houston state Rep. and House Appropriations Chair Talmadge Heflin by just 33 votes after two recounts. Stay tuned: A House challenge is pending.
6) "We took down two Keels!" Democratic Party activist (and former Austin state Rep.) Glen Maxey, celebrating the losses by Republicans Patrick and Thornton Keel (both brothers of state Rep. Terry Keel) in races for district judge and constable, respectively, helping keep Travis County a blue island in the reddest of states.
7) "In a district that is 66% Democratic, Armendariz Klein managed to secure 31% of the vote." Rebecca "Armendariz!" Klein, following her defeat by Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett in the radically re-redistricted CD 25.
8) "The state [Democratic] party hasn't done crap for me, and the national party won't even return my calls. We'll keep being Quixotes until the party wakes up." CD 31 Democratic challenger Jon Porter, speaking of the uphill battles and landslide defeats suffered by his congressional campaign and those of (CD 10 write-in) Lorenzo Sadun and (CD 21) Rhett Smith.
9) "There's an old saying in Tennessee I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee that says, fool me once, shame on shame on you. Fool me you can't get fooled again." President George W. Bush, demonstrating his mastery of American folk wisdom on the campaign trail. Guess what he was wrong.
10) "Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaarrrrgggggggggh!!!"
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