Sunday's Debate

The Texas Obeserver Blog contains a commentary written by Forrest Wilder, a freelance writer, concerning Sunday’s debate between Tom Craddick and his challenger, Bill Dingus. In this blog, http://www.texasobserver.org/blog/, Wilder makes the point that lobbyists with financial ties to a candidate to moderate a debate should be considered a scandal. The debate which was sponsored by AT&T had three panelists moderating. In the blog, Wilder discusses one of the moderators, Leslie Ward, an AT&T vice president and lobbyist. Wilder makes the point that while most corporations do indeed underwrite debates, they do not usually have one of their lobbyists as a moderator. He uses a few quotes and gives examples of endorsements given to the party to illustrate his point. Furthermore, Wilder states that Ward asks a question in the debate that Craddick could easily answer, thus showing lack of objectivity. During the debate, it was also noted that Ward became a little defensive with the Midland newspaper. I agree with Wilder’s argument. The point of a moderator in a debate is to be fair and objective. However, how can one serve this purpose if they have financial ties or are affiliated with the party they are endorsing? There are doctors who won’t treat patients that they know and will refer them to one of their colleagues or sometimes teachers who would rather not have their kids in their classrooms because of the position they may be put in. I think that moderators should use this same standard of thinking when choosing to participate in a debate.

Electing Judges

Craig Enoch, a former Texas Supreme Court judge, wrote a commentary in the Austin American Statesman about why electing good judges matters. This commentary is directed to Texas citizens who are registered to vote. Enoch begins his argument by giving a comparison about how Texans seek information to find out about their children’s teachers or their doctors because these people impact their lives. He states this in the first paragraph and informs the reader that they should also research their judicial officers because they also make a difference in our lives. This is a good opening because it appeals to the readers’ logic and draws in their attention.

The basic argument is that people should make it a point to learn about their judges. Enoch argues that out of the 3 branches of government, that the judicial branch is the least understood. The author assumes that the audience has a basic understanding about the structure of our state government, how it works and what it does. He places value into the fact that the judiciary meets and makes important decisions about numerous topics, such as education, health care, and the economy. Enoch also uses numbers and surveys to illustrate his argument about how citizens vote for judges. With this being said, his argument is clear and easy to understand.

As mentioned above, Enoch uses many different ways to make his point to the readers. The use of facts and observations rather that feelings, appeal to one’s logic and help to make him a credible source.

I believe the argument is successful. The author convinces me to research our elected judges by giving me all the different ways in how these people affect my life. The commentary just reiterated to me that we should always make informed decisions about who/what we are voting for because the people are given this power or put in these positions can affect us greatly.

Texas Legislature

On Monday, Attorney General Greg Abbott was asked to issue an advisory opinion on the House Speaker, Tom Craddick’s power. Last month, Craddick used his position to refuse to recognition of lawmakers who wanted to call for a vote to remove him from his position. Chairmen, Jim Keffer and Byron Cook wanted clarification on if Craddick was in his legal authority to do this and have asked that Craddick not seek a fourth term. Keffer and Cook are arguing that if the rules say that the speaker has this type of power, then this same power can also be used for “constitutionally impermissible reasons” as well. http://www.chron.com/news/specials/lege/ This article is worth reading because it is very informative and thought provoking. It makes you wonder if someone has the power to do this on a state level, what would happen nationally if our lawmakers continued this trend.