Gibbs V. Lampson Round Two

I've already taken a look at the claims asserted in Sekula Gibbs mail flyers. Now let's take a look at Gibbs' platform and constrast it to Lampson's platform.

The first thing I noticed is Gibbs' rather anemic platform. It's a single page, compared to Lampson's verbose positions. That's not a problem for Gibbs' supporters, because it hardly matters what her platform is. It's her job to go to DC and blindly support everything that Bush wants, and oppose everything the Democrats support.

Gibbs and Lampson share common support for the Second Amendment, NASA, Ellington Field, and immigration. These are big issues in TX-22, so basically taxes, tort reform, and abortion are the areas where you can find differences. However, I suspect that voters are likely driven by other factors this year. Iraq and Accountability is a bit more important than tort reform.

Issue	Lampson	Gibbs
Homeland Security	1. Supports Ellington Field 2. Demands accountability for faulty pre-war intelligence 3. Supports pay bonus for troops 4. Supports the extension of health care for Reserve and Texas National Guard troops 5. Wants to raise alarm bells in Congress regarding insufficient port security	1. Supports Ellington Field
Gibbs doesn't really have many ideas for Homeland Security. She supports Ellington Field, but so does everybody else in this area. That's like saying you support the Fire Department. But what else does Gibbs have to offer us? Nada, unless you happen to be a gun nut. Lampson offers a platform that indicates that he's actually spent time consider our District's homeland security issues.
Immigration	1. Sympathetic toward those seeking amnesty and freedoms in America. 2. More Border Guards! 3. More Border Technology! 4. Border Fence? Sure, if it's feasible. 5. Crack down on employers that hire illegal immigrants by enforcing existing laws. 6. No Amnesty!	1. Secure our borders! 2. No Amnesty!
Again, Gibbs doesn't have much to say. In fact, her two points were pulled from a single line on her platform page. I don't see much different in her multi-faceted position when compared to Lampson's. Oh, except that he seems to have a firmer grasp of the issue.
NASA	1. In 2002 introduced The Space Exploration Act. Many parts were accepted by the Administration. 2. Increase NASA Funding. 3. Stop 'Flight Gap' between Shuttle and CEV programs. 4. Support Manned Space Exploration. 5. Need a realistic 'Vision' of space exploration that is actually funded.	1. Longstanding advocate of NASA. 2. Supports Bush's 'Vision' of people on Mars.
Gibbs is a longstanding advocate of NASA. Basically, this means she doesn't go around calling astronauts 'nas-holes'. She also supports Bush's Exploration 'Vision'. Let's be clear about something here: Bush couldn't care less about manned space exploration, Bush cares about exploring our space defense options. Lampson offers a position that is nuanced and informed. I work for an aerospace corporation, and I can attest that our water-cooler conversations are represented fully in Lampson's NASA platform. If I had to vote solely on this issue, then Lampson would receive my vote. Gibbs has shown absolutely NOTHING that indicates that she could support NASA better than Lampson.
Bay Area Traffic / Transportation	1. Supports light rail and Metro funding. 2. Served as a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 3. Helped to pass the Maritime Transportation Antiterrorism Act 4. Doesn't like the snarled traffic in the Bay Area.	1. Traffic Reduction!
Gibbs is taking a stand on traffic in my area. No mas! No mas! Again, Lampson's position is just slightly more nuanced than Gibbs. But I'll give her a point for trying.
San Jacinto Railroad	1. Did not support the San Jacinto Railroad.	1. Blocked the San Jacinto Rail line
Again, Gibbs has listed a position on her platform that is not different than Lampson's. She should consider writing in HIS name!
Tort Reform	1. Not sure.	1. Pro Tort Reform through the Free Market!
Ahh, here's a big difference. Gibbs wants to use the markets to reduce any possible liability to the consumers. That's what this is about. Did you like Enron, Houston? Because Gibbs is making it clear that she's very supportive of Enron-style responsibility. That's what these key words mean in her literature. High health costs? It's because of lawyers, therefore we should limit the paths of recourse available to victims of fraud and negligence. I don't know Lampson's position on tort reform, but I'll assume that he is pretty tired of the Republican Record of irResponsibility.
Family & Life	1. Not sure.	1. Supports Life! 2. Supports Family!
Gibbs is for life! Gibbs is for family! I will vote for Lampson since I hate life and family.
Second Amendment	1. Received an A from the NRA.	1. Defend.
Yeah, they both want to defend the second amendment. That's fine. I guess that's something we should all embrace while Bush is still in charge of defending our country...
Federal Income Tax	1. Leave it.	Replace it with Fair Tax
Poor Gibbs can barely make ends meet on her measly dermatologist's paycheck. I'm not too fancy on the FairTax, tho, because according to this chart it seems that my tax burden would increase. Actually, it seems like everybody's would increase unless you make over $200K a year. I guess dermatologists make more than software engineers...
Agriculture	1. Supports Bush's Farm Security Act passed in 2002. 2. Continue looking for new markets for Texan agricultural goods. 3. Push for 'Country-of-Origin' labels for American food to compete with foreign food.	N/A
Gibbs has nothing on her platform page about agriculture. Lampson wins by default. I wonder if Gibbs knows about the agriculture industry in this district.
Education	1. Congress must rededicate itself to education. 2. No Child Left Behind isn't perfect; continue supporting it, find more money for it.	N/A
See above. Well, I guess she mentions her spawn on the platform page. I guess that's some type of stand on education. Right?
Small Business	1. Expand loans and funds available for small businesses with five or fewer employees and revenues under $500,000. 2. Wants 30% of Federal Contract work to go to small business. 3. Support refundable tax credits for business to help with medical insurance costs. 4. Reduce tax burden for small business.	N/A
You'd think that Gibbs would have said something about small business. Isn't that a Republican bread-and-butter issue? Looks like she was trumped again by the Democrat.