I agree that most everyone in Texas was watching High School football or mourning Big Tex, but last night's debate was good and worth watching. It can be viewed on CSPAN's site.
There were some very good moments for Paul Sadler. He clearly understands what it takes to be a legislator and has a practical approach to solving problems. There was a beautiful moment when Paul Sadler and a moderator explained to Cruz that his tax loophole changes would be raising taxes on someone. It reminded me of another debate where a Republican candidate was helped by a moderator when he couldn't grasp the facts.
From The Texas Tribune's liveblog:
7:38 p.m. by Aman Batheja
Does Cruz want to raise taxes?
Sadler thinks so.
Cruz spoke about his interest in closing loopholes in tax law in order to raise more government revenue without raising the tax rates.
Sadler said people like anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist considers closing loopholes the same thing as raising taxes and that Cruz would be vilified by his Republican base if he successfully closed tax loopholes.
“I’ve lived through this before. If you close those deductions, you’re raising taxes,” Sadler said.
Cruz’s response: “I think Mr. Sadler and I have different definitions of raising taxes.” He said eliminating loopholes while lowering rates is not raising taxes.
Ramsey pointed out that closing a loophole but reducing a rate will raise taxes on some people. Kofler moved the debate to another topic before Cruz could respond.
Deja Vu? I felt a bit.
The Teabaggers had their moments of joy:
Not sure why Cruz doesn't propose building some submarines to troll the Rio Grande. Swim across the swirling orange rapids for a bit more.
The commentary from the Texas Democratic Party is underwhelming.
Texas Democratic Party website has nothing. Nothing on Texas Democratic Party Twitter account.
It's no wonder one of the Teabaggers talking points is that Paul Sadler is not supported by the Texas Democratic Party. It might be true. I realize that Paul Sadler isn't perfect, but it's almost guaranteed we will be hearing more about Ted Cruz in the future, some of it on this very website. I wish Ted Cruz wasn't available for our future diaries.
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