Barbara Ann's Blog:
Rad-Note-Sky's
November 6
Nov 6
After an hour of radio this morning into Corpus Christi, we enjoyed good wishes from South Texas, as the front page of the Brownsville Herald heralded the south Texas poll, where Radnofsky leads Hutchison 52-40. I did work South Texas hard, and enjoyed several dozen visits, as the ride there is beautiful and diverse, especially if the route gores by the Intercoastal Waterway. We've spend two wonderful family vacations in the last two years on Padre Island, where my husband and I honeymooned long ago. And the small towns are loaded with Native American artifacts and stories of conquistadores and LaSalle's adventurers and heroes of the Texas revolution and pirates and a huge share of war heroes. I've seen two medals of honor at local Texas museums in the last 6 months. Pioneer women's stories and early newspapermen dominate, as do oil and agricultural history. And the birding... The best in the world.
So it was very pleasing to know how strong the campaign has been in the RGV (Rio Grande Valley), which recently hosted a pachanga for me on a ranch outside of Mission. Folks care about education, scant social services and overtaxed school districts, water, health care and treating our veterans fairly. (South Texas, lacking any VA hospital, is disproportionately represented by wounded, aging and retired vets).
Today, I wrote an essay on Ten Lessons of Vietnam. Far from a typical press release, it's engendered positive reaction from all over the country. Just as our military forgot Vietnam for a time in its teachings but has now adopted counterinsurgency strategies, based on others' experience in earlier wars, so have a generation of Americans grown up with no memory of the growing horrors of "McNamara's War," and the final realization that the war was badly mismanaged from inception. In 1995, the former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara published his searing confession of mistakes, some of which are summarized in "No more Vietnams, No More Iraqs, Redux" on the www.radnofsky.com website.
We drove, in a monster thunderstorm, to a GOTV Rally, packed tightly into the lobby of City Hall, with all major media present. We followed with a small dinner with staff and volunteers, as we reflected, discussed the essay, and shared favorite moments. It was nice to have the entire paid staff of the Radnofsky campaign... Both of them. All the volunteers statewide have done such a remarkable job statewide and are reporting in with plans for tomorrow. We has some last minute computer gremlins hit, but all have been solved by the IT "Department" which has been more responsive and able than any large firm or corporation could every desire. Arrangements are set with the volunteer band and volunteer videographer and volunteer chef to prepare the donated salmon, as our other volunteers arrange the last of our webcasts and parties at the same location we've used for meet ups and victory parties in Houston over the last three years: Maria Selma's.
Reflecting back, no regrets. Surprise at how supposed experts could so miss the mark. Example: pundits lament my need for a runoff, when I beat two men with 43 percent of the primary vote, then used 750,000 pieces of direct mail to energize the base and identify myself to voters I'd need again. The runoff was the best of all worlds for me, as it got my name out in April and gave the campaign and volunteers experience in media buying and drafting another vote plan. By the time the general came round, we'd won two state wide elections. (Believe me, there aren't a whole lot of Democratic campaigns in Texas who can say that). We did it without the expense of polling or consultants. We learned what we needed to from friends, experts, officeholders, and a nice array of former students. My best: Scott Perreault of Scott Radio, who I taught over thirty years ago at the Harvard Debate Institute. He a wonderful radio producer, adviser, and voice over whenever needed. He taught us media buying and did the general buying on his own. His implementation of the plan for emphasis on radio for our 25 target vote plan areas was beautifully executed. And we've been able to shift in and out of various ads and quickly as we'd like. People remember the ads too.
So I'm answering e mails tonight, looking forward to live radio in studio during traffic hour, then meeting voters at the polls. Then I'll slip out for a bike ride and get back in plenty of time for the Victory Party.
BAR
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November 5-6
We've been immersed in radio shows and releasing information on parallels between Iraq and Vietnam, now posted to the news section of the website at www.radnofsky.com.
I traveled to San Antonio for services and an introduction to the Congregation by Pastor Hagee. I enjoyed contact with thousands of congregants before, during and after, and over 60 other candidates and elected officials. Many enjoyed the distinctive radio ads and TV commercials.
We then enjoyed three networks coverage of my press conference on protect the ballot activities and practices, with Attorney General candidate David Van Os and state legislature candidate Daniel Boone hosted us at his and Robbi's Victorian Inn Bed and Breakfast.
Katie, my Communications Director, and I drove this trip (number 563) with our wonderful volunteer from Great Britain, Jo. She's never been to a "Buc-ees" so we stopped along the way and bought snacks and gasoline at the biggest roadside store imaginable, with massive collection of Texana, and watched as the hunters pulled in and out. She bought souvenirs and we've shared stories of favorite campaign moments, which center generally on the many kindnesses of people aiding the campaign and helping us achieve our goals and milestones.
BAR
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November 2-3
Houston/South Texas: The days have been filled with radio, television, print interviews and the issue which has taken the forefront is military and veterans affairs. We've kept up the pace of press releases, and the comments by opponent in the Rio Grande Valley, at a military cemetery, complaining of her D+ rating and, after thirteen years, conceding that a VA Hospital for South Texas was a necessity, have stirred much interest in why South Texas veterans are so ill served.
After a round of interviews and immediate news site postings, Big Spring VA served veterans contacted me and complained of the cutbacks in services. When they asked why, they were quietly informed of a fifty percent cut in budget, and Abilene veterans are up in arms.
In interviews, I detailed the GAO report on the looming VA scandal: the VA conformed its budget requests to whatever the President dictated in his budget figures. Since the needs were under estimated by three to four billion dollars, the VA had to falsely include "efficiencies", accounting terms which made it wrongly appear that certain cost saving measures were implemented and would save money. In truth, the entries were accompanied by nothing: no programs and no savings.
We sent to the reporters the Congressional Record excerpts from April 2005, when Sen. Hutchison stood on the floor of the senate, read a letter from the VA, and rubberstamped the administration's falsely low budget request, refused the information available from the leading veterans' organizations and her colleagues, who warned her of a more than $2 billion shortfall. She used her power to defeat the needed VA funding.
As we reported during the campaign at the time, scandal erupted when the administration admitted the shortfall, but at the time did not admit the use of the unacceptable false accounting devices. Many were outraged that the "mistakes" appeared to be a failure to take into account returning Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans.
A terrible shortfall exists to this day, and Texas is hardest hit, with disproportionately high numbers of injured and minority veterans with no safety net. Texas is number two in the country for veterans turned away from VA care.
What we try to convey via earned media and with radio (I've spent 420,000 dollars on radio ads in our target vote plan areas): If Sen. H is re-elected, Texas' senior senator will not use her power any better than she has for the last thirteen years. She will cut and run from office and refuses to pledge to stay in office for the six-year term. She has $9.5 million in her campaign fund, and that money will fuel whatever further political or retirement plans she has.
The issues chart in the www.radnofsky.com issues section lists, in footnotes, a long list of Sen. H's anti-military, anti-vet votes. She has never championed or advocated for a VA Hospital South Texas, a necessity. Never has she requested the hospital be funded or built. She's never introduced a bill for it. All she's requested is a study.
The recent flurry of activity has again raised my prediction she'll quit. She won't pledge to stay in office for her term, if re elected.
the recent media interest has also allowed for discussions (we'll see if they make it into the stories) of my proposals for --Assured funding mechanism for VA --VA Hospital for South Texas --Group 8 Veterans' benefits --A GI Bill for the 21st Century --Discharge briefings for military personnel so they know their rights --Depleted uranium screening --Ending the widow's tax and disability/pension offsets --Ending unfair lending practices targeting our military personnel
BAR
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Oct. 31-Nov. 1
October 30
October 29
October 28
October 27
October 25, Radio Interview, TV ads
October 24, Barbara Ann now blogging on The Hill
October 24
October 23, A Day in the Life
Guest blog: October 23
October 22, Houston
October 21, Campaign Activities
October 19-20, San Antonio and Dallas
October 17-18
October 15, Houston
October 11 Houston: teaching, interviews, blogging, and shooting greetings to students, supporters and commercials.
October 10: Houston, Guest Blog: Hazardous Duty
October 8-9, El Paso/Socorro/Katy/Houston
October 7: League City, Speeches, Debate, reception and surprise birthday
October 6, Houston
October 12, 2006. Houston: VA scandal, Horse Slaughter involves Sen. Hutchison
October 13, Houston and Bay Area
October 14, Sugarland and La Marque
October 5, San Antonio and Austin
October 4, Dallas and Houston
October 3: Houston to Huntsville to North Texas
October 2, Book Launched!
September 30, Senator Russ Feingold
September 29, Dallas
September 28, Book Intro
Sept. 27 Blog
September 26, Lufkin, Tyler, Marshall
September 23, Corpus and the Coast
September 23, Corpus Christi, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities
September 21-22, Houston, Victoria, Corpus Christi
September 20, Houston
September 19, Weatherford, Dallas
September 19: Protect-the-ballot activities dominate the emails.
September 17, Weekly blog
September 18, San Antonio, Eldorado, San Angelo, and Abilene
Sept. 13, Houston
Sept. 12, Blog
Sept. 11, LaGrange, Bastrop, Weimar
Sept. 10, Houston
Sept. 9: More campaigning across the state
September 8, Photo Blog
September 7, Odor Issue and Others
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