Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
Doesn't Like 'Chronicle' Endorsement or Reasoning Behind It
RECEIVED Sat., Feb. 16, 2008
Dear Editor,
As someone who reads the Chronicle for a progressive take on current events, I was disappointed in your endorsement of Rick Noriega over Ray McMurrey for the U.S. Senate [“'Chronicle' Endorsements,” News, Feb. 15]. McMurrey is a true progressive who supports publicly financed elections, single-payer national health care, and a 15-month timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Noriega has only spoken in the vaguest generalities about clean elections and health care and twice refused at a debate last week to commit to a timetable for bringing home the troops. Further, Rep. Noriega voted last year to expand the death penalty in Texas, a position that no progressive should support.
By far the most frustrating justification for the Chronicle’s endorsement of Noriega is the claim that he is the only candidate with any chance to beat John Cornyn, and as good Democrats, we should be more concerned with picking up a Senate seat than with promoting progressive values. This sort of shortsighted, single-election-cycle thinking is a big reason why this country and this state have moved so far to the right in recent years. If we’re ever going to create a progressive majority in Texas, we need to use the free publicity that elections generate to let people know where we stand and to create excitement about our policies in the public at large. John Edwards gave us a powerful example of this strategy in action when he gave legitimacy to universal health care. But don’t tell that to Rick Noriega, who did not even have a platform page on his website until a few days before last week’s debate. In contrast, Ray McMurrey has advocated for a truly progressive platform from day one. It’s a shame that the only candidate who has a compelling progressive vision for this country is not worthy of the Chronicle’s endorsement.
As someone who reads the Chronicle for a progressive take on current events, I was disappointed in your endorsement of Rick Noriega over Ray McMurrey for the U.S. Senate [“'Chronicle' Endorsements,” News, Feb. 15]. McMurrey is a true progressive who supports publicly financed elections, single-payer national health care, and a 15-month timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Noriega has only spoken in the vaguest generalities about clean elections and health care and twice refused at a debate last week to commit to a timetable for bringing home the troops. Further, Rep. Noriega voted last year to expand the death penalty in Texas, a position that no progressive should support.
By far the most frustrating justification for the Chronicle’s endorsement of Noriega is the claim that he is the only candidate with any chance to beat John Cornyn, and as good Democrats, we should be more concerned with picking up a Senate seat than with promoting progressive values. This sort of shortsighted, single-election-cycle thinking is a big reason why this country and this state have moved so far to the right in recent years. If we’re ever going to create a progressive majority in Texas, we need to use the free publicity that elections generate to let people know where we stand and to create excitement about our policies in the public at large. John Edwards gave us a powerful example of this strategy in action when he gave legitimacy to universal health care. But don’t tell that to Rick Noriega, who did not even have a platform page on his website until a few days before last week’s debate. In contrast, Ray McMurrey has advocated for a truly progressive platform from day one. It’s a shame that the only candidate who has a compelling progressive vision for this country is not worthy of the Chronicle’s endorsement.
Jeff Versteeg
