District Attorney Ronnie Earle Endorses Dan Grant

It may not carry the same weight as his endorsement of Rosemary Lehmberg to be his successor as Travis Count D.A., but today Ronnie Earle announced his support for Dan Grant for the 10th Congressional District.

Who will win this Dem primary, Grant or Larry Joe Doherty? Which do you consider the better predictor of success – endorsements or campaign funds? As of Feb.13, Doherty had considerably more money to spend: He's raised $447,529 ($100,000 of which was a loan from himself) and still has $102,515 in the bank. Grant has raised only $183,443, and has only $18,243 left.

However, Grant appears to be considerably more popular with the Democratic base, as he has swept almost all of the major endorsements to be had.

The winner will challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Michael McCaul in November.

Press statement from Earle follows:

Today I am announcing my endorsement of Dan Grant for Congress in the Democratic Primary.

My duty to see that justice is done depends on the rule of law. That in turn depends on democracy. And democracy requires us to make sure that our country is led by those who can set an example worth following.

It is unusual for me to make an endorsement in a race that is not solely about law enforcement. But crime trickles down, and the tone of corruption at the top is reflected in violence on the streets. In order to avoid the latter we have to clean up the former.

We all know that our country is in trouble. We are endangered by corruption and we are threatened by the kind of over-simplistic warmongering that insults the intelligence of the voters.

Dan Grant has seen first hand what happens when corruption erodes the peace upon which public safety depends.

We have a remarkable opportunity to elect a person with the kind of wisdom and experience that we need to face the challenges of the future.

Dan has worked as a warrior for peace, putting his civilian boots on the ground as a peacemaker in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He has extensive experience that is grounded in realism and gained literally under fire for years. He has shown his courage by his service to his country as a peacemaker. Now he has brought his experience and his concern about democracy to make a difference here at home.

That experience has produced a man of courage with an independent perspective formed not just out of abstract high ideals and not the product of military chain of command.

Dan has chosen to personally take command of what he as one person can do to make a difference. He is too good an offer to pass up.

He has three qualifications that set him apart, and they are the three issues that are most important to the voters:

First, he has seen through his service overseas the consequences of corruption and he is committed to clean government.

Secondly, he has actual experience doing the real work of democracy; he doesn’t just talk a good game.

Third, he believes in the high ideals that made our country great and that are now in great danger.

His campaign has not been showered with cash by the large moneyed interests who profit from their business before Congress. As a result, he has been considerably outspent financially.

That gives us, as voters, the chance we need to set a better example by proving that politics does not have to be ruled by money. Democracy is not for sale in Texas.

Voting for Dan Grant for better reasons than those that can fit into slogans or sound bites is our chance to prove to politicians, big money, and the system in general:
• that voters are smarter than 30-second TV ads,
• that voters are independent thinkers who have the courage to make up their own minds, and
• that doing whatever it takes to collect and spend vast amounts of money to spend on TV advertising is not the way to convince us to vote for or against anyone or anything.

Today’s voters are too smart to let advertising alone determine their choices. Voters have outgrown the need to be spoon-fed TV images and sound bites as a basis for making their decisions. Voters have experience, courage, and independent thought, just like Dan Grant.

This is our chance as voters to show the political system that we have them too. A vote for Dan Grant will show that we are not controlled by big money.

We look deeper than that now to decide what’s right. Some cynics have believed that there was a time when voters felt overwhelmed and powerless about their ability to self-govern.

If it ever was, that time has gone. This is our chance to prove it.