Morales won't fight because of his wife's background

The following article is interesting because it comes right off my web page. There is nothing in the article that you won't find on my web page. And most of what is in the article has been on my web page for over eight months.

That being said, the real reason that Morales won't go negative against Sanchez is because Morales' wife is an ex-stripper. All the other stuff in the article against both Sanchez and Morales is damning but the fact that Morales has an ex-stripper wife is so volatile that Ken Herman would not even mention it because he knows that would end the Morales campaign immediately. The whole stipper wife matter was written up in the Houston Chronicle three years ago but no reporter has been willing to repeat it in this campaign.

There is a whole lot more negative baggage on Sanchez that was not reported: 1) He is a Viet Nam era draft dodger, 2) He uses illegal drugs, 3) He called Henry Cuellar, the ex-Secretary of State, a homosexual, 4) He lied about receiving a 'death threat' letter from Henry Cuellar, 5) His best friend and Tesoro corporate counsel, Tony Canales, defends Mafia drug lords like Juan Abrego who brought 16 tons of cocaine into the United States, 6) He used to work for Ben Barnes as an intern before Barnes' corruption ended his political career, 7) He worked for Morris Jaffe who had ties with Carlos Marcelo, the New Orleans crime boss, and Jaffe also ended Jim Wright's political career and funnelled money to Henry Cisneros mistresses.

The dirt on these two guys is deep and dark. How the Hispanic community can hold these guys up as shining examples of their culture and race is hard for me to understand.

The Democratic Party needs to flush both these fellows. Rick Perry is just waiting to see if the Democratic Party is so crazy as to put one of them up as their candidate for governor.

Something else that is interesting about Mr. Herman's article is his failure to mention that John WorldPeace has no negative baggage. I have been on the campaign trail since January 1, 2001 (a year ago) and no one has reported anything negative about me except that they think I am a minor candidate, a fringe candidate, a long shot candidate despite the fact that I have been leading Sanchez in the polls since last November.

Texas will never elect either Morales or Sanchez as governor and everyone knows it. Texas is racist as is the Nation as evidenced by the fact that there are no Hispanic or Black governors or U S. Senators in the United States of America. Then you add to the political disadvantage of race the corruption of Morales and Sanchez and you end up with a sad commentary on the Democratic Party's admission that these guys are the best they have. (The Democratic Party bosses disavow WorldPeace because he refuses to ignore the corruption of Sanchez and Morales)

Sanchez is the Party favorite because he used his great wealth to buy off a lot of people in Texas. But he can't buy off the entire state.

John WorldPeace
The next governor of Texas
No more corruption. No more Monicas
God Bless Texas

February 4, 2002

___________________

Despite tough race, Morales says he won't attack first
By Ken Herman

American-Statesman Staff

Monday, February 4, 2002

So far, Dan Morales has blasted opponent Tony Sanchez as a rich guy whose only qualification for governor is a "big fat wallet."

But now, as the March 12 primary approaches and Sanchez is using that wallet to buy wall-to-wall TV ads, Morales' chances of winning the Democratic nomination may depend on whether he is willing to say even nastier things about Sanchez.

Whether to go negative is Morales' call, and he and his campaign aides have been debating the strategy in recent days.

"My counsel to him is that it needs to happen," said Jim Moore, senior campaign adviser. Attack ad scripts are ready, and an aggressive statement questioning Sanchez's business background can be printed at the click of a mouse. All that's needed is the go-ahead from Morales. 

It's not coming, he said Friday from a campaign swing in East Texas.

"To the extent that activities in Mr. Sanchez's past are relevant for voters to consider in terms of considering his qualifications, I will be prepared to talk about them," he said. "But I will not be prepared to allow my staff to employ tactics or use paid TV or radio attacks that could be characterized as negative attacks or personal attacks, unless Mr. Sanchez engages in that first."

Morales knows the risks. "This may very well be an exercise and an experiment to see whether, indeed, it is possible for a candidate to win a statewide office without resorting to that type of campaign tactic," he said.

Pros of staying positive


Geronimo Rodriguez, Morales' campaign manager, says he thinks his boss can win with a positive campaign, especially during wartime.

"One of the things you see (since Sept. 11) is voters aren't really interested in personal attacks on the other candidates," he said. 

Moore acknowledges that Morales was not a master of attack in his previous campaigns, including two successful races for attorney general.

"He is consistently positive and unflappable, and it is not his character to do negative attacks on people," Moore said. "But this is politics, and one of the sad truths of our current system is that sometimes good guys have to get involved in bad stuff so they can get elected and do good work."

Moore says he thinks it is "improbable" that Morales can win without an aggressive attack on the business record that Sanchez touts as his primary qualification for the state's top job.

The Democratic field also includes Waxahachie businessman Bill Lyon and Houston lawyer John WorldPeace, who has waged a negative and personal campaign against Morales and Sanchez. The winner faces incumbent Rick Perry, who is unopposed on the GOP ballot.

For Morales — who expects a negative blast from the other side — swearing off a first assault may be partly high-minded and partly pragmatic. A first launch is sure to draw a counter-attack, which could be dicey for a candidate under federal investigation for his handling of legal fees from the state lawsuit that led to a $17 billion settlement from the tobacco industry.

Glenn Smith, Sanchez's campaign manager, said his side would be ready to respond to any negative attacks from Morales.

"We are not going to discuss what kind of tactical plans we might have," he said. "In any campaign it is very important to be prepared for as many contingencies as you can. So of course we are prepared."

The pressure to attack


With five weeks until the primary, there is a general feeling that the Morales campaign has plateaued after a high-energy start triggered by his dramatic last-day entry into the race.

At Sanchez headquarters, Smith won't talk numbers, but there is a smile in his voice when he is asked whether the TV ad blitz has shown up in internal polling.

"Let's just say we are extremely happy with the support we've received," he said.

Morales currently has no TV ads on the air, a result of having much less money on hand than the opposition. 

It's all the more reason why a negative ad blitz might be needed, according to Chuck McDonald, a veteran consultant for several Democratic campaigns.

"If you're behind in the polls and you're being outspent and your opponent is establishing an identity through paid media, you're forced into a position where you have to try to alter the positive paid-media perception he is buying for himself," McDonald said. "And if you've got fewer dollars than your opponent and you have to stretch your dollar further, that puts you in a position where you get more bang for your buck by going negative,."

The aggressive approach favored by Moore includes a proposed Spanish-language radio ad about the failed savings and loan Sanchez once headed, and reminding voters that Sanchez backed Republican George W. Bush for president. 

Sanchez campaign officials have also braced for negative campaigning over allegations that a Mexican drug cartel laundered money throughthe thrift, Tesoro Savings and Loan, in the early 1980s. Some details of a federal investigation are outlined in a libel lawsuit Sanchez and his father filed against the Laredo Morning Times over an article about the allegations.

Sanchez and his bank have never been charged with any violation in connection with that money, and the candidate has said he knew nothing about it.

Sanchez's S&L at issue


The Morales campaign has drafted a statement questioning Sanchez's business background, based on documents that found their way to the campaign and most political journalists in town. The documents relate to the Tesoro failure that ended with Sanchez paying a $1 million settlement to preclude a lawsuit.

They include a 1989 draft memo from attorneys brought in by federal regulators to look into the Tesoro collapse. The draft memo recommended an aggressive lawsuit to recover money from Sanchez's deep pockets.

The allegations are specific and damning, but, to date, there is no evidence that the draft memo became anything more than a draft.

The documents also include a series of "voluntary statements" that look like depositions. The statements, which raise questions about how Tesoro was run, were collected from former Sanchez associates and clients at Tesoro. The statements are not notarized, and one person recently contacted about his statement said he has never seen it and was never given the opportunity to review it for accuracy.

Moore said Morales told his lawyer to return the documents to the Kleberg Law Firm in Corpus Christi, which prepared them. His lawyer, former Bexar County District Attorney Sam Millsap, questions in a letter to the firm whether the documents are protected by "the attorney work-product privilege" and notes that they would be of "compelling public interest."

Morales says he thinks the information in those documents is relevant to the race, but he said he has no plans to use it.

"My understanding is this particular CD-ROM has been floating around in Austin political and journalistic circles so widely that it is just a matter of time before that information makes it to the public arena in one fashion or another," he said.


You may contact Ken Herman at kherman@statesman.com or (512) 445-1718.