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U.S. Senate candidate Noriega rallies support in Waco after winning primary
Rick Noriega, a five-term state representative from Houston, laid out the future of his campaign in Waco Tuesday night at a local Democratic Party club meeting, making his case on how he plans to take down U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in November’s general election.
It was his first public appearance since winning 51 percent of the vote in the March 4 primary election in which he faced three other candidates running for the nomination. By winning more than 50 percent, Noriega avoided facing a runoff and can now focus his efforts on unseat Cornyn, Texas’ Republican junior senator.
Noriega described his opponent as “extremely vulnerable” and said he suffered from name ID problems across the state. However, Noriega, who is running his first campaign for statewide office and is known little outside of Houston and Austin political circles, has his own problems with recognition.
In fact, Noriega lost in the primary in McLennan County to perennial candidate Gene Kelly, who voters often confuse with the late legendary dancer from musicals of yesteryear. Kelly, who virtually did not campaign at all, beat Noriega in the county 40 percent to 29 percent.
During the meeting, Noriega acknowledged he still has work to do broadcast his name and his message across the state. But he said he was pleased to be the first Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate to avoid a runoff since 1990.
Here’s a few of the issues Noriega addressed during his talk with the Texas Democratic Women’s Club of Central Texas:
On high gas prices and the economy:
“The cost of oil rising, what that means is when Oak Farms and the bread truck that has to make that run to the grocery store, the cost of gas increases for them too. A gallon of milk costs about $4.25 At the end of the year it is going to cost $4.50 if not $5. … Almost every commodity that we depend on as working families in this state is going to go up. People are going to be losing their houses and I will tell you that the junior senator of this state has done nothing but work for those special interests of Washington, D.C. and has not stood up and fought for working families in Texas. And what I am going to do, by gosh, as your Democratic nominee is I am going to stand up and call it like it is. I am going to speak truth to power.”
On the war in Iraq:
“The other thing that continues to be right in our face whether we like it or not and why our economy is in such a catastrophe is because we are still spending $12 billion a month on this occupation in Iraq. I will tell you this. Those eight soldiers that died yesterday and the day before in Iraq, not one of their lives that were lost is going to change the Iraqi mindset to take responsibility for their own country.”
On conducting retention interviews this weekend with soldiers as a colonel in the Texas National Guard:
“Almost invariably they tell me this: Sir, I’ve been in the army now for so many years, I’ve done two tours, my youngest child I didn’t know when they were born. The first year of their life I was gone and my wife says we just can’t do it any more. I’m finally getting back on my feet. I want to go back to school. We want to try to save up to buy a house and I just can’t do it any more.”
“As a commander I say, ‘We’ll we want to thank you for your service. You have served our state and our nation honorably. You have always got a home. We appreciate what you did and we wish you the best of luck. We are always here to support you if you ever need anything.”
“That was my weekend. That’s what I did this weekend. John Cornyn will never, ever, understand what that’s like to look into those soldiers eyes with what they have given to us as Texans and Americans. It is time we had a new United States senator.”
On waterboarding:
“For any member of Congress or the Senate, before voting on waterboarding they should actually have to go through it to offer an informed decision. I think if you are going to make an informed decision, I think you need to be masked, placed down flat and have water poured run on your face for a period of time and then determine whether that is torture or not. I think anything short of that is an uninformed decision.”
“I know the attorney general hasn’t done it and I know Mr. Cornyn hasn’t done that. Where we lose our way as a nation and why we have lost credibility across the world is because we don’t walk the talk. We say ‘Do as I say not as I do.’”
On Cornyn:
“The polling data that we have seen is that few Texans know Mr. Cornyn and those that do know him don’t particularly like him in large part because he really hasn’t done anything. Mr. Cornyn is extremely vulnerable. His re-elects are in the low 40s… . Mr. Cornyn arrived in Washington, D.C. with a Republican Congress, a Republican Senate, a Republican president from Texas and wasn’t able to bring home the bacon if you will.”
“I believe it is a good assumption on my part to say that we are going to continue to have a Democratic Congress, a Democratic Senate and a 50/50 shot at a (Democratic) president. So how is it then that the junior senator will be able to get anything done as a back bencher when he couldn’t get anything done when he had all the cards stacked in his favor.”
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By Judas Carruthers
March 15, 2008 2:33 PM | Link to this
First I thought Noriega was in a Panamanian jail. Now they tell me he’s a Reliant Energy lobbyist dressed in populist’s clothing. No thanks.