Republican Candidates Debate in the Texas 23rd

Tuesday night, the Young Republicans of Bexar County hosted a great debate for Republican primary run-off candidates. I live in the Texas 23rd and was eager to hear the exchange between our two candidates William Hurd and Francisco "Quico" Canseco. I did support Canseco in the primary, but came to this event with an open mind.

They begin by making opening statements. Hurd touts his 9 yrs in the CIA and willingness to serve his country. Canseco talks about his values: personal responsibility and integrity as well as his experience running a small business that he feels is badly needed in Washington.

The first questions was on Mexican drug violence spilling across the border. Canseco talks about his experience doing business in Mexico as an asset in understanding the culture and the interactions that are important in developing strategies to address such violence and drug activity. He reminds the crowd that he is from Laredo, a border town that has experienced spillover violence for years. Canseco advocates for treating cartels like insurgents. If they cross the border into our country we should pursue them into Mexico and apprehend or kill them. He says we must take a harder line with Mexico because they have far more resources at their disposal than they are currently using to curtail the violence.


Hurd agrees and echoes Canseco's insurgent sentiment. He adds that he has experience in the area, having chased Al Qaeda for a decade in Afghanistan. Hurd goes on to pledge to start border caucus in House. Curiously (and admittedly, I did not know this at the time) the House of Representatives already has a border caucus that was introduced in 2006. I don't know if he misspoke or did not know this as well.

The next question was on which piece of legislation would the candidate first introduce if elected. Canseco says first piece of legislation he'd introduce would be a repeal of the health care bill, in what I would call a pretty predictable populist statement. Next however, he says he would focus on reducing the size of government at the federal level. Finally, he would introduce legislation to make the Bush tax cuts permanent and eliminate the "death tax."

On his first piece of legislation Hurd briefly echoes the desire to repeal the health care bill, but seems to be more interested in introducing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, similar to the one that is law in the state of Texas. He gets a little more broad and vague in saying next that he would cut spending. He says, "you can't spend more than you make."

A great follow-up question from the moderator Chris Marrou: What spending exactly would you cut? Canseco answers that his first focus would be The Department of Education as he says in his opinion it is too intrusive and ineffective in its mandate. Next, he speaks of pork projects in the President's 2009 budget that he would strip out. Finally, in broad terms, he advocates for "trimming" the money spent by The Department of Energy. No specifics on what areas he would "trim" however.

Hurd answers this question very vaguely, perhaps betraying a lack of knowledge on the subject. In fact, he doesn't really answer the question at all. Hurd says to follow the GE model: cut 20% across the board, missing the point of the question to speak to specific cuts. I think this was an important turning point in the debate, at least for me. I supported Canseco in the primary and continue to. But I did like what I had heard from Will Hurd. But cutting spending is a popular and easy thing to say until you actually have to do it. It often involves making tough choices and always leaves some constituency unhappy. Hurd either doesn't know what he would cut or is unwilling to take a side during the election. In either case, he began losing my support at this juncture. Hurd continued by talking about his experience with cutting CIA budgets in the face of opposition from bureaucracies. He also advocates for abiding by strict debt limits which again, may betray a naivete regarding Congressional process: as the setters of the debt limits and the spenders at the same time, Congress can never be relied on the abide by debt limits. If they want to spend more, they will never hesitate to raise the debt limit to avoid paralyzing the federal government.

The next question is regarding something that has been the main topic of this primary: how important is it to be Hispanic if you want to win the Texas 23rd? Hurd says being Hispanic is not important in the 23rd. He criticizes the thought that Hispanics are homogenous and would only vote for a Hispanic. Hurd thinks likability and engagement is more important to the Hispanic community. He is mixed race for what its worth.

Canseco handles the question gracefully. He states that he has lived in south Texas his whole life. He knows and understands the "culture." He says that it is important to remember that the GOP Primary is very different from the general election. He indicates his belief that fewer Hispanics vote in the primary than in the general election. He clearly thinks his heritage will be an asset to the party. I tend to agree, as the history of the 23rd shows us. In a humorous moment, Canseco finishes his answer in Spanish, leading Hurd to respond with a soliloquy in Spanish as well, just to prove that he could speak the language as well.


Marrou comes back with an intriguing question: he asks why the GOP has any fiscal credibility after its actions during the Bush years. Canseco says to remember that the fiscal conservatism during Clinton's term began in 1996 and that the budget did get get balanced until Republicans won back the House. He goes on to talk about the benefits of a divided government, a President from one party and a Congress of another for cutting spending. Hurd clearly didn't have an answer. He simply states that Republicans must continue to fight for their principles and he is ready and willing to continue that fight.

In the final question of the debate, Marrou asks how to get our economy back on track. Hurd says the most important thing is to let people keep more of their own money to grow economy out of recession. Canseco answers that the Great Depression showed us that government spending does not work in the long run. He says government does not create jobs, small businesses create jobs. When the economy is in recession, Canseco says it is important to cut back on government programs, maintain balanced finances and cut taxes to put more money in the hands of consumers and stimulate private sector job growth.

Finally, the closing statements. Canseco begins by telling the crowd that he has lived in south Texas his whole life. He says that he has created jobs here, supported the economy, and given by by working for the community. He says his experience running a small business-balancing a budget, making payroll, and weathering an economy-is what we need in Washington. He also pledges to abide by term limitations. He said 5 years, but I am not sure if perhaps he meant 5 (2 year) terms.

Hurd is more brief. He says we need folks in Washington that can make tough decisions, not politicians. He reiterates his experience in the CIA, saying it proves that he has made tough decisions. He says after the CIA, he had many lucrative opportunities but that it was more important for him to return to Texas and continue to serve his country.

In closing, I want to say that I genuinely like Hurd. I think he is a good and eloquent man with a good future in politics. I think he might even make a good Congressman one day. I don't think that time is now, however. I wish him well, but I believe Francisco Canseco is the best choice to defeat Ciro Rodriguez in November.