I'm running against freshman Republican Mike McCaul in a Texas District engineered by Tom Delay just for him. He has repaid Delay by voting with him 97% of the time. He supported the rules changes that would have left Delay in power duting his trial. He was a major beneficiary of contributions from ARMPAC. It's payback time for Mr McCaul.
CONTRIBUTE, www.tedankrum.com
Rep McCaul is a multi-millionaire, whose wife is the daughter of the owner of Clear Channel Communications (anybody out there know Howard Stern? Tell him about me if you do). He spent $2 million of his own money and $500 thousand of PAC money in his primary campaign. He was unopposed in the General Election in 2004, and
did not campaign. This time he will have a Democrat as opponent, and he will want to win big to cement his place as a "comer" in the Republican Party. Immediately after the 2004 election, Rep McCaul went to Washington to campaign for, and win, the position of "Freshman Representative to the House Leadership". He has supported all of Tom Delay's legislation, differing only on the Congressional pay raise (why not--it solidifies Congress as the bastion of millionaires). He was even one of the few members that voted to disapprove the Pentagon's Base Closure Commission recommendations, and thereby attempt to deny our troops of the badly needed body armour and uparmored vehicles the freed-up funds will pay for. He didn't even have a Base in his District being closed; but Tom Delay did!
The way things work in the Republican-controlled Congress is that Members in uncontested seats, or seats without a serious challenger steer money to the campaigns of those Members that do. They buy influence among their peers. Mr McCaul has demonstrated that he has ambition, and given free rein, he will spread around his own money, that of Clear Channel Communications Executives, and any other money he can lay his hands on. I don't intend to give him free rein. He will outspend me 10 to 1, and if he has to spend it on his own campaign, it won't go to Tom Delay, and other Republicans in contested Districts. You may not think much of my chances, but you should see the wisdom of a 10 to 1 tiedown of money in a race we might not win; but keeps the money out of other races we can win. My first post to my Diary describes how I beat Tom Delay, when I was an executive at NASA. I want to beat him and his crony again, with your help.