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A statewide political action committee serving home schoolers for more than 20 years
November 11, 2008
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In This Issue
Around Texas
Presidential Election
National News
Commentaries
General Election Review
Around Texas

Davis Narrowly Beats Brimer; Tarrant Dems Gain No Ground in House

Democrat Wendy Davis edged 20-year Republican lawmaker Kim Brimer on Tuesday in the state Senate District 10 race, but Democrats gained no ground in several competitive state House races in Tarrant County, according to unofficial and incomplete results.

 

Texas GOP Spared, This Time

by Christy Hoppe

Texas Republicans were spared the flood of change that swept the nation, but they have begun to notice it's raining.

 

County Leadership to Get Bipartisan Look

It was all a matter of timing. More precisely, the time the votes were counted.  What looked early like something close to a Democratic sweep of countywide offices was really just a matter of which votes were counted first. As the hours slipped by, the Republicans turned the tables in a few races. The margins grew slim. For people whose names were all but eclipsed on a historic night in American politics, it was an agonizing wait.

 

Hutchison Mum on Challenge to Perry

For months, she has campaigned for fellow Republicans and delayed any announcement of whether she'd make a bid to become Texas' governor in 2010 - potentially setting up a partisan primary battle between her and GOP Gov. Rick Perry - after Tuesday's election. On Wednesday, her staff had little to say.

 

Hopefuls in Texas House District 105 Race Separated by Handful of Votes in Irving

The eyes of Texas are on Irving, where the balance of power in the state House could hinge on a race that probably won't be decided for days, if not weeks.

 

Are Dems on Their Way Back?

by W. Gardner Selby

Texas Democrats claimed promising gains in Tuesday's elections, which leaders labeled a big step toward ending Republican dominance in the state.  Maybe so - or maybe not so fast.

 

Texas Stores Say Gun-Control Fears Spur Sales

While watching Republican presidential candidate John McCain's concession speech, gun owner AJ Sullivan had a sinking feeling.

 

Exit Poll: Breaking Down the Texas Vote

Even in losing Texas, Barack Obama cut into Republican strength among young voters, those in rural areas and even among the affluent, but like other Democratic presidential candidates, he struggled to win over whites, according to final figures from an Associated Press exit poll.

 

Texas Must Avoid Need for Handouts

by Bill Hammond

In the weeks since the Emergency Economic Wall Street Rescue measure was approved by Congress and signed into law by the administration, global markets have continued to experience erratic fluctuation.

 

Read more State News....
Presidential Election
   
McCain's Texas Win Shows State Still Solid GOP
Texas voters bucked the election trend, playing the role of political maverick by sticking with Republicans and stinging Democrats.
 
An Election That the Republicans Needed to Lose - Good Luck Obama
by Dick Morris
If ever there was an election that was not worth winning, it was the contest of 2008. While it was hard-fought on both sides, had McCain won, it might have spelled the end of the Republican Party. As it is, the party is well-situated to come back in 2010 and in 2012, if it learns the lessons of this year.
 
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
by Gary Bauer
In his concession speech last night, Senator McCain rightly noted, "This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and the special pride that must be theirs tonight." As President-elect Obama said in his victory speech last night, "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible ...tonight is your answer." For any Americans who may have felt disillusioned or cynical about politics, last night's election was truly historic, and we should take some pride in that. America has taken a major step in atoning for the national sin of slavery.
 
Just Say "NO!"
by Gary Bauer
Within hours of Senator Barack Obama's election, those on the Left, in the media and even some in our ranks began making demands for conservatives to cooperate with the new administration in the early months of his presidency. I reject those demands.

Read more about the Presidential Election....
National News
 
Voters Approve Proposition 8 Banning Same-Sex Marriages
A measure to once again ban gay marriage in California led Tuesday, throwing into doubt the unions of an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who wed during the last 4 1/2 months.
 
Four Senate Races Still Undecided
With four razor-close U.S. Senate races yet to be decided, Democrats hoped on Wednesday to further expand their majority in the new Congress and act quickly with President-elect Barack Obama on an ambitious agenda.
 
Dems Lower Expectations
by Mike Soraghan
Democratic leaders are tamping down on expectations for rapid change and trying to signal they will place a calm hand on the nation's tiller.
 
Emanuel Accepts Post as Chief of Staff
Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago Democrat known for slash-and-burn Washington tactics but widely respected for his keen political instincts, accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer Thursday to serve as White House chief of staff.
 
Read more National News...
Commentaries
 
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace
by Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.
 
Have We Become Unfit for Democracy?
by S. Michael Craven
In ancient Athens, two political parties-or social classes-vied for power: the oligarchs and the democrats. The oligarchs sought to establish a state in which only wealthy property owners could vote and hold public office, while the democrats insisted that all male citizens have the same rights. Aristotle summarized these competing approaches to government in Politics, writing, "An oligarchy is said to be that in which the few and the wealthy rule, and a democracy that in which the many and the poor are the rulers."
 
The Only Quantum of Solace for the GOP? New Leadership
by Denise McNamara
The new James Bond movie premieres next week, and thank goodness.  After the longest presidential campaign in history, we need a diversion, or maybe a medium dry vodka martini.  Republicans have been shaken andstirred.  And coincidentally, the parallels between conservatives andAgent 007 are striking.

Iran, Israel React to Obama Victory
by Joel Rosenberg
Congratulations to Sen. Obama. His victory last night was an historic moment, further evidence of how far Americans have come in moving beyond the racial divisions of the past. This is good, and should not be underestimated.
 
Hiring Emanuel Shows Obama's Hand
by Carol Marin
If you hire a shark, does that make you a shark? If you send in an enforcer, are you, de facto, an enforcer, too?

Read more Commentaries....
 
General Election Review

tim06

  Tim Lambert
 

The 2008 General Election is now history, and the question is: How will the results affect home schoolers? Let me give you my opinion on where we are at this point in time.

At the national level this was an historic election with the Democrats picking up about twenty seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as I write this they now have fifty-seven seats in the U.S. Senate, with seats in Alaska, Georgia, and Minnesota still undecided.  The goal of the Democrats was to have a filibuster-proof sixty seats, and they may still attain that goal.  Regardless, even if Republicans win all three remaining seats, the Democrats will likely be able to break most filibusters by reaching out to several liberal Republican senators. 

In the U.S. House, Democrats expanded their thirty-six seat majority by another twenty or so seats, and the liberal leadership of Nancy Pelosi has signaled that they will follow the agenda of President-elect Barak Obama.

Read the article....

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