Austin Statesman touts its candidates Morales/Sanchez

Ken Herman of the Austin American Statesman continues the Statesman endorsement of Morales and Sanchez for governor by writing seriously slanted articles that have more to do with fantasy than reality.

Truth: Sanchez and Morales have no details or concrete actions regarding their respective non-agendas a governor. The Statesman continues to refuse to acknowledge that WorldPeace has many concrete plans of actions for his agenda ($2,500 raise for teachers, half of his appointments allocated to women, legalize gambling on the Indian Reservations and earmark the money for education, return a moment to acknowledge God to the schools, rewrite the 1876 Reconstruction Constitution.)

Truth: Morales expanded Hopwood to kill affirmative action in the colleges and universities and hurt all children of color trying to enter college.

False: That Tony Sanchez has done anything of significance as a UT regent to break down the barriers that Hispanics face at the UT.

GIVING MORALES AND SANCHEZ WORLDPEACE INDIAN GAMBLING ISSUE. 

Herman shamelessly handed WorldPeace's issue to legalize gambling on the Indian reservation to Sanchez. (Just like the Statesman handed Sanchez WorldPeace's return prayer to the school issue which Sanchez subsequently ran from: but the Statesman did not report that.) WorldPeace was advocating this issue way back into last year when it first came up. Sanchez has had no opinion until now.

It is becoming obvious what a right wing fascist that Morales is. He is against affirmative action and he is against allowing the Native Americans to be able to support themselves and provide much needed money for education in Texas. Dan Morales won election as Attorney General because he is a Republican in disguise. Sanchez is a turncoat Republican. Morales has never won an election carrying the baggage of an ex-stripper wife.

REGARDING THE DEBATES

Morales says he will not debate WorldPeace in Beaumont because he knows that he, Morales, is just another corrupt politician with an ex-stripper wife and no chance of holding his own in a debate with WorldPeace. Morales like Sanchez for the last 13 months refuses to appear anywhere near WorldPeace.

Regardless of what anyone thinks, there will be no debates with only Sanchez and Morales because they are racially motivated and against the Texas and United States Constitutions. Mr. Herman continues to refuse to understand that WorldPeace is an attorney and is more than likely going to have to file suit to stop the debates unless WorldPeace is included.

The polls show WorldPeace on par with Sanchez against Perry. Morales has no such numbers. Morales is a corrupt Hispanic who cannot obtain any significant support because the people of Texas are not going to put an ex-stripper in the governor's mansion.

John WorldPeace
The next governor of Texas
A real Texan for ALL Texans
No more corruption. No more Monicas.

January 23, 2002
_________________

Morales, Sanchez debate debates
Democratic candidates blame each other for impasse over schedule
By Ken Herman

American-Statesman Staff

Wednesday, January 23, 2002

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Morales said Tuesday there will be no pre-primary debates if opponent Tony Sanchez does not agree to more than one in English and one in Spanish.

Morales wants a series of debates, perhaps as many as six, in the weeks leading up to the March 12 primary.

"I would feel as though I was participating in a sham," Morales said of the two-debate plan accepted by Sanchez. "I believe I would be participating in an attempt to fool the voters to make them believe that one debate (in English) could come anywhere close to adequately treating the full range of issues and challenges facing our state."

But the Sanchez campaign said a single debate in each of the state's major languages would be plenty.

Glenn Smith, Sanchez's campaign manager, chided Morales for "fussing and fretting about debate negotiations."

"As a professional politician, Dan knows that negotiating debates is a process and that process has begun," Smith said. "We're happy to debate Dan Morales but wonder if he is interested in debating issues of real concern to Texans and not just debating the issue of debates."

Smith said Sanchez has offered his final, non-negotiable position.

"Two debates," said Smith, adding that it would be Morales' fault if there are none.

Morales, who has agreed to six proposed debates (though not the two that Sanchez has OK'd), called the Sanchez plan "woefully inadequate."

"I cannot understand what in the world Mr. Sanchez is afraid of," he said.

So far, each candidate has dealt mostly in campaign generalities, opting to delay offering details on any plans or programs. Morales said he believes a debate series would be a good place to lay out details.

He noted that, to date, the candidates' only policy disagreement has been on affirmative action programs aimed at helping minorities get into state universities. As attorney general, Morales said a federal court decision striking down such programs at the University of Texas Law School applied to all state universities.

Sanchez, a UT regent, said that decision was incorrect and has hurt minority admissions at state universities.

Morales said Tuesday that a series of debates would allow the candidates to air their differences on other topics.

"I think it is imperative that that our next governor be in a position to hit the ground running on all of those issues," said Morales, a former two-term attorney general and three-term legislator. "They don't have an idea in the world where my opponent stands on any of those issues," he said.

The candidates' disagreement leaves the debate schedule uncertain at best. The English debate is set for March 1 in Dallas. No date or location has been tapped for the Spanish debate.

Even more uncertain is the fate of several other proposed debates. In Beaumont, Miles Resnick, news director at KBMT-TV, said Tuesday that his station's 30-minute debate set for Feb. 22 will go on as scheduled as long as any candidate shows up.

So far, Democratic contenders Bill Lyon of Waxahachie and John WorldPeace of Houston have said they will be there. Morales, after initially agreeing to participate, has downgraded his acceptance to "tentative," Resnick said.

Sanchez responded with a "definite no," but Resnick said he will ask Sanchez to change his mind.

Texans on Tuesday did get a glimpse of another issue on which Morales and Sanchez disagree. Morales said he sides with last week's federal appeals court ruling upholding a lower court decision that the Tigua tribe's casino in El Paso is illegal and must be shut down.

Though Morales, as attorney general, refused to pursue the casino matter when then-Gov. George W. Bush referred it to him, he said Tuesday that state law bars the kinds of games the Tiguas offer at their casino.

Morales, as attorney general, decided it was a matter for federal prosecutors. The case was pursued by Republican John Cornyn, now a candidate for U.S. Senate, when he succeeded Morales as attorney general.

Sanchez said last week that he was "outraged and disappointed that the Tigua people will be forced to shut down an enterprise that has given them hope for their futures. The Tiguas have suffered at the hands of cold-hearted government bureaucrats for hundreds of years."

Morales, who as a House member voted against legalizing pari-mutuel gambling, said "some state officials" have used the casino issue for "political exploitation."

"I think that some officials clearly would like to be seen in more conservative parts of the state as being able to brag about the fact that they filed the lawsuit against the Tiguas, that they are against gambling, that they are against casinos," said Morales, who favors negotiations with the tribe "to see whether some type of accommodation" could be reached to help the tribe.


You may contact Ken Herman at kherman@statesman.com or (512) 445-1718.