“Establishment” Republican Senator Faces Primary Challenge From “Outsider”

WHO CONTROLS THE OUTCOME OF ELECTIONS?

by Sharon Rondeau

(Feb. 17, 2014) — In a December 16, 2013 press release, Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX36) announced that he would challenge Sen. John Cornyn for his seat in the upper chamber of Congress in this coming November’s election.

In the announcement, Stockman stated that he is “honored to be called one of the most fearless conservative [sic] in Congress.”  He is pro-life and supports an audit of the Federal Reserve System.  Stockman opposes restrictions to the Second Amendment, over which he threatened to draft Articles of Impeachment against Obama when he issued “executive actions” outside of Congress last year to change firearms policies nationally.

Stockman rejects any involvement with the United Nations unless proof can be shown that it would not impinge on national sovereignty.  HR575 stockman

Three days before Stockman declared that he would challenge Cornyn in the March 4 primary, Politico reported that according to a “GOP” poll, “Texas Sen. John Cornyn starts out his 2014 primary fight a whopping 44 points ahead of his most prominent conservative challenger, Rep. Steve Stockman.”

The Politico reporter, Alexander Burns, described Stockman as “a flamboyantly pugilistic back-bencher who took the Republican Party by surprise this week when he announced his campaign to unseat ‘liberal John Cornyn.’”  The Free Online Dictionary defines “pugilism” as “The skill, practice, and sport of fighting with the fists; boxing.”

Rachel Maddow of MSNBC described Stockman as an “over-the-top extremist,””hysterically conservative,” and an “outsider.”

Cornyn states that he opposes Obamacare, but Stockman cites him on a new website his campaign launched for having “issued a memo to GOP Senators and Senate Candidates promoting Obamacare’s passage.”  Stockman wrote that “John Cornyn and his Establishment GOP Senator friends” are guilty of “aiding and abetting Harry Reid in pushing Obamacare down our throats so they could go home for the Christmas holiday.”

On September 24, 2013, The Washington Post crowed that because of votes from Cornyn and Sen. Mitch McConnell, who also faces re-election this year, to “bust Ted Cruz’s Obamacare bubble” after Cruz’s marathon filibuster protesting the health care bill, Cruz’s “lonely road…just got even lonelier.”  On the cornynlovesobamacare website, Stockman stated that Cornyn had “abandoned” Cruz at the time.

An “analysis” of Stockman’s allegations against Cornyn in The Dallas Morning News describes them as “damning and startling — and they hinge on contorted logic, fuzzy facts or outright speculation.” The same writer, Todd Gillman, claims that Cornyn’s record shows that Stockman’s statements are “a tough sell for anyone who’s paid attention to Cornyn’s record on the topic.”

After Cruz’s filibuster and attempt to defund Obamacare in the Senate in September, The Washington Post claimed that “McConnell and Cornyn support defunding Obamacare, which they are demonstrating by not blocking the bill that cleared the House.”

Gillman also claimed that “Hyperbole has long been part of the Stockman repertoire.”

More than 6,000,000 Americans have reportedly lost their health care plans because of the implementation of Obamacare.

Stockman had stated in a press release dated January 29, 2014 that he had walked out on Obama’s State of the Union address this year to protest “how the President is further abusing his Constitutional powers.”

Stockman opposes Obama’s agenda on health care, the economy, and “class warfare.”  “Obama’s plan for higher taxes and more spending is a blueprint for perpetual poverty. The last thing America needs is more of the Democrats’ class warfare that has left our economy a barren landscape.  Even worse, Obama has openly vowed to break his oath of office and begin enacting his own brand of law through executive decree. This is a wholesale violation of his oath of office and a disqualifying offense,” Stockman wrote.

According to the Maricopa County, AZ Cold Case Posse, Stockman has agreed to assist in bringing forth the posse’s findings of forgery and fraud regarding Obama’s long-form birth certificate and Selective Service registration form. Members of the public who support Stockman’s reported stand on the issue have written letters expressing their desire to “expose the fraud and criminal in the White House.”

When Mike Volin and his team from WheresObamasBirthCertificate.com traveled to Washington, DC in November to distribute “Sheriff’s Kits” containing a presentation made by Zullo on the forgeries, Volin reported that they made “a special stop” at Stockman’s office.

Although the findings were announced on March 1, 2012 at a formal press conference, no member has yet launched an investigation into the forgeries, to the public’s knowledge.  However, Rep. Ted Yoho stated last August that he will assist Stockman in drafting “a bill” to deal with the issue.

Stockman recently solicited the public’s input as to whether or not he should file Articles of Impeachment against Obama for abuse of power.

In recent newsletters received from his campaign, Stockman stated that Cornyn’s political action committee had lied about Stockman’s record.  As reported in The Houston Chronicle on January 31, 2014, Stockman filed a lawsuit claiming libel against the PAC, stating that “This case involves some of the most outrageous, malicious defamation ever recorded in Harris County.”

In January, the PAC claimed in television advertisements that Stockman’s record includes “lies, shady deals, ethical failings” and quoted The Houston Chronicle as having reported that “Congressman Stockman failed to disclose business deals in places like the Virgin Islands, was fined 40 grand for violating federal law and is now trying to hide the facts amid calls for an ethics investigation.

The Chronicle referenced a report it published in 1995 which reportedly stated that Stockman had    , but the link does not lead to the article quoted.  Rather, it leads to a “Houston Chronicle” general search with nearly 2,000,000 entries.

Stockman is angry that Cornyn did not support defunding Obamacare or the filibuster carried out by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

On January 10, 2014, The Dallas Morning News reported that Cornyn was “ignoring Rep. Steve Stockman, his best-known rival in the March primary.”  It stated that the action committee, “Texans for a Conservative Majority,” was “doing the dirty work for him” by launching a website called “Shady Stockman,” which describes the congressman as Cornyn’s “top rival in the March primary.”

The PAC is reportedly linked to political strategist Karl Rove at a Virginia address.

In a newsletter sent by Donny Ferguson, Stockman’s press representative, the headline reads:

Poll: Cornyn won’t win March 4 Texas GOP primary, Republicans turning to Stockman

The release stated that in five recent polls, Stockman now garners 28% of the vote against Cornyn’s reported 43%, with 29% of those polled “undecided.”

Ferguson gleaned the information from a Gravis Marketing poll reported in Human Events on Monday.  Because Cornyn reportedly has less than 50% support, a runoff election will be held on March 4.  In the Human Events report, Ferguson is quoted as having said that ““The buzzards are circling around Cornyn’s campaign office. A runoff election is a death sentence for an incumbent.”

The Post & Email asked Ferguson for comment on a blog post which raised the specter of Stockman’s alleged felony charge when he was 20 years old, which Stockman said was “before I became a Christian.”

On February 12, 2014, Cornyn voted against raising the debt ceiling, stating, “we need sensible reforms to cut down on spending and restrain Washington going forward.”  However, later that day, according to progressive writer Dave Weigel, Cornyn and Sen. Mitch McConnell “saved America” by “voting to raise the debt limit,” which was confirmed by other news outlets as a vote “ending debate” over the matter.

The U.S. is more than $17 trillion in debt.

In a clearly biased piece in The Texas Monthly from February 1996, when Stockman served a term in Congress, the author, Mimi Swartz, wrote that Stockman, among other congressional freshmen, was “linked to the Republican right-wing fringe—to the rabid, gun-toting fundamentalists—but they have more in common with the people who call talk radio programs: Isolationist, uninformed, and impulsive…”  Swarz went on to editorialize that Stockman exercised poor judgment in his personal affairs and won the 1994 election over his opponent as “a lost man.”

Another featured video on Cornyn’s website is entitled “National Debt is Gambling with Our Future.”

The Hill reported that on the day of the debt ceiling vote, “another group of Republicans met in a room off the Senate floor. They returned, and several switched their votes from no to yes.  Some members said they switched their votes to give cover to McConnell and Cornyn.”

McConnell is also being “primaried” by contender Matt Bevin, who tweeted after McConnell’s vote to end debate on the debt ceiling vote, “Once again #McConnell caves to the left, and votes to break conservative fillibuster on #DebtCeiling. #KYSen.”

As of press time, Ferguson had not returned our request for comment.