The 2006 election season begins in earnest next week, as Texas has the very first set of primary elections for this year’s congressional contests on March 7. It’s through these elections that voters get to decide which candidates will represent the political parties in the general elections for Congress in November.
So, for those of you who complain that the Democratic Party is not progressive enough, the primary elections provide the chance to make that complaint official. There are a few primary campaigns in Texas in which Democrats will actually be offered a choice. I’ll review these primary contests in the days to come, and make my recommendations.
Let’s start off with the Senate campaign. It’s an easy one to make a choice on, because only one of the Democrats comes off as serious. Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who we interviewed last year at the very beginning of her campaign for Senate, is no liberal Barbara Boxer, but she is level-headed progressive on most issues, and would be a welcome addition to the United States Senate from Texas.
Here’s what Radnofsky has to say about Iraq, for example: “Rather than a Texas senator who rubberstamps failed administration policy, who displays an absence of interest in learning about the real military situation from our military leaders and coming up with good solutions, we need an earnest, thinking, committed, and responsible senator. We should set a timetable and safely withdraw.”
Radnofsky’s rival for the Democratic nomination, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be playing quite on the level. His campaign web site is a strange combination of references to religion and references to the state of the weather. One sweet thing about Hunter’s campaign is that, instead of taking campaign contributions, he’s suggesting that people donate to charity. But even this approach, which could add dignity to his campaign, is expressed in such a way as to make Hunter seem just plain eccentric: “Please send no contributions for Federal law requires you to swear to many things,and please vote for, Darrel Hunter, in the Democratic Primary.”
My suggestion to Texas Democrats:
Vote for Radnofsky
