Sanchez: more Mexican drug money needed

SANCHEZ

Well, here we have Tony Sahnchz, the favorite son of the Democratic Party for the last 15 months. He is the man the press has steadfastly proclaimed could buy the governor's office. He manifests the corruption of Key Lay. He is the clone of Claytie Williams times two and headed for three; and that is just to get through the Primary. I'll bet that he never realized that the $30 million he promised to spend was going to happen in 10 weeks. 

So why does a guy who was the favorite son of the Party, the darling of the of the press, the guy who is all alone in running ads to be governor, the guy who has everything but physical stature and a personality, have to spend $30 million just to be in the RUNOFF in the Primary? 

Yes, that is right folks: just to be in the runoff. Think about it. There is no way with three other candidates in the race that Tony is going to win on the first pass. He is spending to make sure that he is in second place. Hello!

And every time he runs 1000 ads statewide, the press reports the redundant and moronic Morales regarding Tony's corruption and money laundering. ( The Republicans are prepared to make an issue of Tony Canales, legal counsel for Tesoro, defender of drug lords and participants in the Henry Cuellar homosexual smear last year. And they have the Tony Sanchez/Morris Jaffe/Carlos Marcello Mafia connection. These bullets will come right after the Primary if Tony wins; just as clean and smooth as the Phil Gramm's retirement bullet two hours after the little guy declared his candidacy on September 4 and usurped the press coverage. The Republicans play for keeps. And oh yeah, since Tony was a Republican, they have all the records about his activities when he was a Republican.)

Hey, "Its the corruption, stupid".

MORALES

And then there is Danny Morales. Yeah buddy. He is running high as number two of the front runners. Yet in two full months of his blistering candidacy he has only collected $131,000 in contributions. Something is not adding up about this front runner.

WOW. This is the ex-attorney general. This is the hot shot Hispanolo candidate that drives around in an oversized greyhound bus. This is Mr. Tax'em. This is the man who spends his day trying to understand my web page.

I wonder what is holding back the contributions: 1) the ongoing Federal investigation? 2) his anti-affirmative action stance? 3) "Diva?" 4) Increased taxes?

All this amounts to one undeniable conclusion. The Hispanics are not the front runners in the governor's race. They are in the rear and losing ground. But the press is going to ride these Ben Barnes mules toward the finish line like they were real candidates rather than just a "dog and pony show" that has gone on for 15 months. Maybe someone will write an Opera about this. Call it the "Dos Bandidos y Diva."

I have to laugh at all this. I am visualizing these two buffoons that have hurt the Hispanic agenda for decades to come. They will be forever remembered as the "Hispanic Folly of 2002."

The toilet has been flushed and Morales is intently reading my web page for help and Tony is writing checks as fast as he can but nothing is working. And it is not working because both were never more than a big fat lie foisted on the public by Ben Barnes and company. How do you like your little burros now, Ben?

In the end, WorldPeace

John WorldPeace
The next governor of Texas
No more corruption. No more Monicas.
God Bless Texas

March 5, 2002

_________________

Sanchez breaks a spending record, is nearing another
By Ken Herman

American-Statesman Staff

Tuesday, March 5, 2002

The Tony Sanchez gubernatorial campaign, a one-man spend-a-thon unprecedented in Texas political history, has now spent more than $18.4 million.

The latest campaign finance report, filed Monday and listing $8.8 million in February spending, shows that about $16 million of Sanchez's money has come from his open-wallet policy.

Sanchez has now contributed $2.7 million to the effort and personally guaranteed $13.3 million in loans that he may or may not personally repay, making him the state's all-time champion self-financed candidate. 

"He believes very strongly in giving something back to the state of Texas," Sanchez spokeswoman Michelle Kucera said of her boss's generosity to his campaign.

But others, including Dan Morales, his prime opponent in the March 12 Democratic primary, said Sanchez has been generous to a fault.

"I think that Mr. Sanchez is obligated to let the people of Texas know today what his intentions are with regard to attempting to seek reimbursement from political contributors," Morales said. "I think that is simply a matter of being straight with the voters."

A report filed Monday by Morales shows that he spent $433,000 and collected $111,000 from Feb. 1 to March 2. Overall, he has spent $561,000 and raised $131,000 since getting into the race in January. Morales also is spending money left over from his two terms as state attorney general.

Morales, ever upbeat, was undaunted by Sanchez's February spending, which crunches out at $11,500 per hour.

"There is no question in my mind that Mr. Sanchez's campaign is pushing the money panic button," Morales said. "Mr. Sanchez is used to purchasing things. He buys personal jets, and he buys vacation homes around the world. And now he is attempting to buy the office of governor of Texas."

Morales, Sanchez, Houston lawyer John WorldPeace and Waxahachie businessman Bill Lyon are vying for the nomination to challenge Gov. Rick Perry.

Perry, unopposed in the GOP primary, did not have to file a campaign finance report Monday.

The latest Sanchez numbers, which come on top of $6.1 million spent in January after Morales' surprise entry into the race, brought a simple reaction from Tom Smith, Texas director of Public Citizen, a public interest group that believes big political money is the biggest hole in American democracy.

"Oh my God," Smith said. "They are alarming."

Most alarming, he said, are the loans Sanchez has personally guaranteed.

"The question Texans should ask is, who is going to pay it back?" said Smith. "It will be a who's who of those who want favors from government, whether it be insurance companies, bankers, utilities, builders. They will all come courting in what's known as the 'get-well period' immediately after the election with their checkbooks open helping to retire this debt and expecting favors in return." 

Smith called on Sanchez to swear off that future money.

"He should say, 'I'm going to write a check for whatever I owe' or slow down his spending," he said.

The Sanchez campaign said no decision has been made on whether the candidate will personally pay off the debt or seek post-election contributions to help cover it.

In the early 1990s, Texas lawmakers tried to cap the so-called late-train money that helps winning candidates pay off loans. Under the law, candidates who make personal loans to their campaigns can recover only $500,000.

But candidates — like Sanchez — who personally guarantee loans made by financial institutions to their campaigns face no limits. Smith said that's a loophole that needs a legislative fix. Of the $13.3 million in loans Sanchez has reported, only about $700,000 was a direct loan from the candidate. The rest were through a financial institution. 

Sanchez's top contributor in February, other than himself, was longtime friend Nick Kralj, an Austin lobbyist who gave $50,000. Sanchez got $25,000 contributions from Dallas businessman Tom Hicks, Houston oilman and former Sanchez business partner Brian O'Brien and the Texas Automobile Dealers Association.

Sanchez now holds the record for personal spending in a Texas political campaign. The previous record holder, Republican gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams, lost in 1990 to Democrat Ann Richards. 

Williams, who, like Sanchez, amassed a personal fortune in the energy business and diversified into other businesses, spent more than $8 million out of his own pocket.

Sanchez is now a few TV ads away from breaking Williams' record for the most money spent by a campaign: more than $22 million.

If he wins the nomination, Sanchez, who has promised to spend whatever it takes to win, could be on track to challenge national spending records. 

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent $79 million to win that job last year, making him the king of self-financed candidates. He succeeded Jon Corzine, who spent $60 million to win a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey in 2000.


keherman@statesman.com; 445-1718