Corpus Christi Caller Times endorses Kerry!

[2bfree]

They had a great op-ed piece about choosing Kerry. Good for them!

[efhmc]

1. Go CC. I love that place.

[sonias]

2. Another sane Texas newspaper yeah!!

Sonia.

[Tims]

3. South Texas tends towards the democrats

Corpus Christi is about 50% Hispanic and although the Hispanic population in South Texas has moved gradually to the right over the last few years, it is still pretty much a solid Democratic base. The Caller Times, though, has not been a left leaning paper and has historically not tended to align itself particularly with the Hispanic community, so a Kerry endorsement here is significant. One thing I can say is that the people in Corpus Christi take their politics seriously and a Caller Times endorsement will not go unnoticed.

Given that the economy in Corpus Christi is based primarily on oil, petrochemicals and the military, this should be Bush's demographic. My experience living in Corpus is that when the economy goes down, it gets hit harder than most other places. Friends still living in the area tell me that most people are not very optimistic about the economy and are being very cautious. People are also becoming more vocal about their concern for the future if Bush is reelected.

[2bfree]

5. Didn't Nueces county go Bush in the last election?

I'm thinking 51%. You are right about that endorsement not going unnoticed. The republicans will be spitting mad about this.

[Tims]

4. Link to op-ed piece

Registration required

www.caller.com/ccct/editorials/article/0,1641,CCCT_840_3278146,00.html

It is clear that endorsing Kerry was not an easy decision. They strongly endorsed Bush in 2000 and believed he was a good Governor.

Here are some quotes from the endorsement:
<snip>

Members of Congress gathered on the steps of the Capitol to sing "God Bless America." There were no party labels that morning. Three years later, the nation stands bitterly divided.

<snip>

The president is responsible for setting the tone of his administration. The tone in Bush's presidency has been fractious, politically divisive, and aggressively partisan.

<snip>

Bush as president squandered the great opportunity handed him to forge a national consensus on the conduct of the war on terrorism. The big failures of the Bush administration come down to the conduct of the war in Iraq, and the inability to rein in the federal deficit.

<snip>

...Kerry stands closer to the mainstream thinking that has framed American foreign policy throughout history. Seeking, but not requiring, international cooperation to deal with world threats...

<snip>

Kerry has a long record of supporting fiscal discipline. He wants to return the nation to a pay-as-you-go policy that helped end decades of deficit-spending. But the pay-as-you-go policy was discarded by the administration and the Republicans in Congress.

<snip>

We feel far better about Kerry after seeing him perform capably in the presidential debates. He is not the weak-kneed flip-flopper portrayed in the Bush campaign ads.

<snip>

Endorsing Bush, however, would be tantamount to an endorsement of the administration's past and continued mistakes, not only at home, but in Iraq.....Bush has indicated there would be no change, and that he has no reservations about the nation's course in Iraq.