District 10 congressional candidates Ben Streusand and Mike McCaul are still hustling for votes in the April 13 Republican primary. Both spoke at a candidate forum hosted by the Katy Chamber of Commerce and The Katy Times noticed that a few differences between the two conservatives surfaced (if its typo-riddled story is correct -- this is a newspaper that has needed a proofreader desperately for years.)
The two differed on their approaches to reforming America's healthcare system."I would have the federal government reimburse Medicare providers. Customers should choose their doctor and healthcare provider from the best guy or institution at the cheapest possible price. Healthcare is not competitive; it's a series of monopolies," Streusand said.
"It's truly a government-run system. We need to streamline it. I like a step toward free market principles. It would restore the relationship between the patient and physician. Congress and federal employees have a better healthcare system than the American people," McCaul said.
Streusand and McCaul each explained why they feel American jobs are migrating to foreign markets.
"We need to create the most favorable environment for businesses to stay in the country and create more jobs here. It's almost impossible to compete on a level playing field with foreign countries that don't have taxation," McCaul said.
"We should not impede the growth of American jobs. I don't think penalizing companies is the way to go. We need to enforce copyright laws and allow the currency to float against dollar. Chinese imports cost so much less and American exports cost so much more," Streusand said.
They are each generally in favor of a flat tax to replace the progressive income tax.
Both candidates said they would support action to replace the IRS with the National Fair Tax."I support the a National Fair Tax, which would be a federal sales tax. Every study I've seen has shown that it reduces the costs of goods and services in the country. The time has come, no longer can we fix a 100-year-old system with Band-aids," Streusand said.
This national retail sales tax would apply to everyone including foreigners and illegal immigrants and it is impossible to cheat," McCaul said.
McCaul has been endorsed by both of our fair state's U.S. Senators -- John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson have appeared in recent TV ads for him. At our house, we also received an endorsement letter signed by local Republicans Sheriff Tommy Thompson, Harris County D.A. Chuck Rosenthal, and Harris County Attorney Mike Stafford.
In fact, as noted last week by the Houston Chronicle, McCaul's better connected than I had realized previously.
McCaul was hired as an assistant U.S. attorney during the administration of former President Bush, who is supporting him. He served throughout the Clinton administration and during the current Bush administration until October, when he stepped down to run for office.On Wednesday, former President Bush will attend a McCaul fund-raiser being hosted by McCaul's father-in-law, Lowry Mays, the chief executive officer of San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications and head of Texas A&M University's board of regents.
McCaul's latest direct mail has included several brochures about homeland security and his "experience fighting criminals and terrorists."
Streusand's recent flyers include a gun rights piece and a pro-life pitch. The one that came today is a purely attack piece headlined "After spending six years with Bill Clinton and Janet Reno, it's no wonder Mike McCaul has a problem telling the truth." It also claims "You've heard Mike McCaul's accusations, but once you know the truth, you'll realize what thousands of voters have discovered... we can't trust Mike McCaul."
Not long ago Streusand told the Brenham Banner-Press that he's definitely "not running a negative campaign."
Streusand is picking up some endorsements of his own, including prominent social conservative Gary Bauer and Cathie Adams of the Texas Eagle Forum, but not from the big officeholders.
Ben Streusand, a candidate for the 10th District seat in Congress, has received an endorsement from a second former opponent. Streusand said today that he has received the endorsement of Patrick Elliott, who was also a candidate for the seat in the March 9 Republican primary. Elliott, who is from Washington County, finished sixth in the eight-person Republican primary.Streusand earlier picked up the endorsement of former District Judge John Devine, who finished third in the primary.
The leftie Austin Chronicle isn't too impressed by the campaign, which is mostly OK with me, considering what they'd like to see.
Perhaps the highest-profile is the CD 10 run-off between Austin's Michael McCaul and Houston's Ben Streusand, since the winner will face no Democratic opposition in November and will likely automatically become one of Tom DeLay's D.C. minions. Even by the ever-declining standards of the genre, this race has become a stupid mess, with talk of issues drowned out by tub-thumping over which candidate has the larger, tougher, and more conservative Republican [well, you know]. Thousands of disenfranchised Austin liberals weep.Posted by Alan at April 3, 2004 04:35 PM