A little back I wrote a post about John Manlove who is seeking the Republican nomination for Texas’ 22nd Congressional District. And… in a more than immature way… I poked fun at him simply because his name was “Manlove”.

Well upon looking at this race more in depth, I learned that some interesting stuff has happened in Texas’ 22nd Congressional District in the past two years.  

In 2006, Rep. Tom DeLay resigned from his seat (for being a corrupt SOB). Texans voted on Nov. 7, 2006 casting two ballots: one to fill the remainder of DeLay’s term, and the other to determine who will serve the next term.

Republican Houston City Councilwomen Shelley Sekula-Gibbs won the special election to fill DeLay’s seat for the remainder of his term, however Democrat Nick Lampson won on the general election. Lampson most likely beat Sekula-Gibbs because her name wasn’t on the ballot. In a last ditch effort to stop the Democrats from taking a safe-Republican seat, the RNC pushed a voter education drive to learn how to spell Sekula-Gibbs name to write her in on the ballot. They failed.  

In 2008, it looks like Rep. Lampson is extremely vulnerable. Up to a week ago, there were 3 (of an original 10) Republicans vying for the opportunity to take the Republican nomination to defeat Lampson. Among those was John Manlove, a former businessman and missionary. They all seem to be flexing their conservative creds, and so I have no idea how Lampson can be anything in Congress other than a Democrat in name only if he intends on keeping his seat. It’s normal to have a wide array of primary challengers in a contested election; it’s not so normal to be the only moderate in the race and have every other guy vowing to uphold strict conservative principles (and stand a decent chance of winning).

Manlove dropped out of the race last week, and the field has been narrowed to two. It’s been getting contentious for the Republican nom… probably because Republicans feel they can beat Lampson in this district by a significant margin no matter what happens. The RNC probably believes, possibly rightly so, that Lampson’s victory was only a fluke.

But let’s get to the real story: there won’t be a Congressman Manlove (R-Texas). Oh well… it’s upsetting I know.

But in January of 2008, there might not be a Rep. Lampson either.

Lets have a chat.

I love your weather, your amazement parks, and the great family atmosphere (I have so many Florida memories! :))… But I resent the fact that you’re trying to ruin our party in 2008!

Kathleen Harris and her skum Governor Jeb Bush stole the election in 2000 from Gore… I don’t blame you so much for that. It really wasn’t your fault. But in ‘08, the Florida Democratic Party is shooting itself in the foot!

They knew they were violating party rules, and damn it, they moved their primary up anyway. Did they think that the party would just “excuse” them because they’re Florida? Who do they think they are? Look Floridians… it’s not because the Democratic party doesn’t like you that you’re Jan. 29 vote shouldn’t count, it’s because your party leaders are idiots. I’m all for a revote, hell I think Florida should have voted on Feb. 5 like a normal state.

And hey, if you want to vote early, apply through the DNC to be an early state in 2016. I’m sure they’ll be delighted to accept your offer!

Lets look at the reality though: no one campaigned there. You had the lowest Democratic turnout (per capita) than any other state. Many voters didn’t vote, because they thought their vote didn’t count.

And from an economic perspective, you missed out on big rallies, the offices that open all across the state, the tourism of incoming volunteers, and the major income revenues in your media market. Not to mention the exciting atmosphere and buzz.

Really, for a state which knows how to run a very profetable tourism industry, you really missed f-ed up this opportunity.

And now this talk that you’re mail in vote program isn’t going to work? It’s your best shot! The DNC said it’s not seating your delegates, just accept that reality that move on. If the DNC seats your delegates, imagine the precident. We won’t have a democratic system anymore; in future elections, we’ll have early states and Feb. 5 states and no one will listen to the DNC. You need to be an example. So either get your act together, do the mail in vote/another primary/ a caucus (which is the cheapest option by the way!) and be happy.

And vote Democrat in ‘08. We need you Florida… lets be sensible again.