Now hear this!!! WorldPeace wins primary

Here is the political reality of 2002. If Sanchez and Morales actually duel it out, then they are going to split the Hispanic vote. Neither will get Black votes and they will only get a small percent of the White vote. WorldPeace will get the Black and White vote and will therefore get more than 50% of the primary vote with Sanchez and Morales splitting the 30% of the Hispanic vote.

Barnes knows this. Barnes knows that Tony has to get out of the governor's race. But Barnes knows that the S & M fight cannot look fixed so Sanchez and Morales are doing a little kissy fight right now. Tony may even call Dan a homosexual to make it look real. He will use the old Cuellar stategy.

Barnes owns Morales because Barnes was talking up increasing state taxes and that it would take a real man to do it. Barnes told Peggy Fikac this on Monday in an article that seemed out of sync. But then Dan Morales stepped into the governor's race at the last minute on Wednesday and Barnes tax increase BS made sense.

The other piece of the Barnes plan requires Dan Morales to try to high jack WorldPeace's agenda. Only WorldPeace has an agenda. One of the reasons I post to the internet is because it keeps records of when things were done and I can say see, I told you so.

Ben Barnes owns the press, the Democratic Party, Sanchez and Morales and part interest in Perry. But that is all coming to an end. There is a new king in Texas. A real Texan who lives and believes in truth, justice and one nation under God. Barnes has harvested enough souls to make him Prince in Satan's Hell. Now it is time for him to go there along with his mules; Sanchez and Morales.

And let us all be real. Democrats will cross Party lines to vote for Perry if Sanchez or Morales is the Democratic candidate for governor.

John WorldPeace
The next governor of Texas

January 4, 2002

________________

Morales: Backers urged me to switch races
Ex-attorney general's surprise decision to run for governor divides analysts: Can he defeat Sanchez?
By Laylan Copelin

American-Statesman Staff

Friday, January 4, 2002

Former Attorney General Dan Morales said Thursday that he was merely responding to a growing drumbeat of support when he decided to run for governor instead of the U.S. Senate. 

"I didn't really take it seriously at first," Morales said. "The closer we got to filing (for office), the drumbeat got stronger and stronger."

Whether Morales has tapped into the heart of Texas or is just hearing his own heartbeat, his stunning announcement got the pulse of politicos racing as they anticipate Morales tackling Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez in the March 12 Democratic primary.

"It's going to be great for Hispanic turnout," predicted Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velasquez Institute, a Latino think tank. "You have the Hispanic with the highest name ID, after Henry Cisneros, running against the darling of the Democratic leadership, the anointed one."

Morales, a two-time winner of statewide races in the 1990s, is running against a political novice recruited by key Democrats for his Hispanic heritage and personal fortune, which, according to some estimates, would allow him to spend $30 million on the race. The Democrats hoped Sanchez could increase turnout in the state's fastest-growing minority group enough to lead the ticket to victory in November against the Republicans.

Now political observers can't agree on who will win the two-month sprint to the Democratic primary.

"I think it means that the likely Democratic nominee for governor will not be Tony Sanchez," said Austin political consultant Bill Miller. He said Morales' experience and a million-dollar campaign surplus from his days as attorney general make him the favorite in such a short race. 

"He never lost a race, he quit while he was ahead, and he's got a million dollars to run the campaign," he said. "I'd put my money on him any day of the week."

But Gonzalez said the race is Sanchez's to lose because of his money and alliance with Democratic leaders. He argued that the challenge from Morales will force the Sanchez campaign to immediately address its biggest handicap — the candidate's lack of political experience.

"The Sanchez campaign was sitting it out, conserving their money and keeping their candidate under wraps. That's all changed," Gonzalez said. "He becomes a real candidate instead of a handled one."

On cue, the Sanchez campaign e-mailed its supporters Thursday announcing a "barnstorming" tour of Texas. "We hope you will help spread the word about Tony's aggressive campaign — and let everyone know that you were with Tony Sanchez from the very beginning," the e-mail read.

John Sharp, who is running for lieutenant governor, is one of the Democratic leaders who recruited Sanchez to lead the state ticket. Many Democrats view Morales' last-minute switch to the governor's race as "a sneaky deal," Sharp said, and it may be a blessing in disguise for Sanchez.

"It seems to me that virtually all of the party folks, especially in the Hispanic community, are mobilizing around Sanchez," Sharp said.

Morales will launch his campaign Saturday in his hometown of San Antonio. A former state legislator and attorney general, Morales said running for governor is a natural extension of a political career that he walked away from in 1998.

A million-dollar campaign, according to experts, could buy Morales at least a week's worth of statewide television. With his high name identification, he could increase his TV buy in the last couple of weeks of the campaign by focusing it on selected regions.

Bruce Buchanan, a University of Texas government professor, said Morales will have to explain himself to Democratic voters. In 1998, he refused to lead a Democratic ticket when the party needed him. Since then, Republicans have tarred his $17 billion legal victory against the tobacco industry in early 1998. 

As attorney general, Morales hired five private lawyers to sue the tobacco industry, promising them a percentage of any award. Once the legal team won a $17 billion settlement — far beyond anyone's expectations — Republicans began objecting to the huge legal fees.

But it was Morales' hiring of a friend to help with the case that struck a nerve. He did not disclose an arrangement to pay the friend, Houston lawyer Marc Murr, up to $520 million until the case was about to settle. In addition, the other lawyers on Morales' team said they were unaware of any contribution that Murr had made to the case.

Morales denied any wrongdoing, saying he hired Murr to advise him, not to work with the legal team. Morales' successor, Republican John Cornyn, sued. Murr then renounced any claim to the money as Morales retired to private life.

Last fall Morales resurfaced, saying he was running for the U.S. Senate to clear his name by defeating Cornyn, who is seeking the GOP's Senate nomination.

Buchanan said Morales also has to answer concerns that he's "flaky and indecisive" about his political career and dispel the controversy about the legal fees.

Given the quick race to the primary, Buchanan said, "it's a tall order, but it can be done."

Sanchez, on the other hand, has his own issue — whether he should attack Morales as Sanchez is trying to introduce himself to the Democratic faithful.

Morales dismisses the flap over the legal fees — and a subsequent federal investigation that so far has gone nowhere — as politics. "I spent time with grass-root Texans," he said, "and I'm convinced that attack simply won't work."

On Thursday, Morales talked like a man ready to raise his hand to take the oath of office.

He predicted that Republicans will control the Legislature for the first time in modern history and that the 2003 legislative session will be difficult because of the state's tight finances.

"Texans will be interested in having a Democratic governor to act as a check on the legislative branch," he said.

Morales also said he is motivated to protect the $17 billion he won from the tobacco industry for use on health care. He said he doesn't want to see "Republicans raid that fund and use it to avoid making tough political decisions about state finances."


You may contact Laylan Copelin at lcopelin@statesman.com or (512) 445-3617.