Istook On Culberson
Friend Rob Booth points out this letter to the Comical from Oklahoma's Ernest Istook:
Two Democratic congressmen from the Houston area have seized on this dispute over cost estimates to impugn Rep. Culberson's effectiveness and integrity. Houstonians should see this exactly for what it is: an ill-informed, partisan attack on a respected member of Congress.I'm surprised they printed it.As a member of the Transportation, Treasury and Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives, Culberson has worked diligently to ensure that Metro reports its financial status accurately and completely, that its estimates for future grants are thorough and that the Houston area gets its money's worth from Metro. Culberson has asked the questions that others would not and conducted the research that others left undone.
His hard work on my subcommittee and, in particular, his meticulous oversight of Houston's federal transit dollars, has been admirable. He should be commended as a fine public servant who is looking out for the best interests of his constituents.
I'm also surprised that Istook will not be pursuing the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Don Nickles. Istook may not have the statewide name recognition to win that race, but he surely is as well known as Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys. Does anyone know if the Gaylord family is pushing Humphreys (over, say, Istook)?
For that matter, it's surprising that Drew Edmonson is not running for the seat, given his statewide name recognition.
I can't help but wonder if Karl Rove won't be phoning J.C. Watts and pressuring him to reconsider.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/30/03 17:05 | Other | Technorati
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Istook initially announced very publicly that he was going to run, but then backed out a few days later. I suspect his backing out was to placate the party. I don't think the Republicans wanted to try to run him for Senate and then try to fill his seat with another Republican and lose even more seniority in the House. Just a guess.
Haven't heard who the Gaylords are backing, but I would suspect it would be Humphreys.
Drew Edmondson has name recognition, but the voters have never embraced him for the "big" elected offices. And, at 57, I think he might be too old to garner enough seniority to help Oklahoma over the long run. Just a guess, though.
Posted by Dave H @ 09:21 on 10/31/03
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