Blowback, Texas-Style
Eric Dondero, who commented on some of last night's debate threads, has made an announcement at Redstate.
I am this morning, declaring my candidacy for Congress in the GOP primaries against Ron Paul. If he does not resign his seat, and if another Republican candidate does not declare against him, I will run a balls-to-the-wall campaign for Congress in Texas CD 14.
I am the guy that got Ron Paul elected to Congress in 1996. I can and will defeat him in 2008.
Eric Dondero, Fmr. Senior Aide
US Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)
1997-2003
Dondero says he'll defer if another pro-war conservative, like former Rep. Steve Stockman, makes the run. Paul's 1996 win was sort of miraculous, given how the national GOP marshalled its strength against him and even backed a Democratic opponent to keep him out of Congress. I'd guess the party will have too much to worry about in 2008 to back a Paul primary challenge (it'll spend at least $3 million getting back Tom DeLay's seat, for example), but this is the kind of thing that could attract a nice fat stream of web donations.
Prediction: The overlap between people who thought the Democrats were wrong to purge Joe Lieberman and people who think the GOP would be right to purge Ron Paul will be around 100 percent.
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
I'd almost move to Galveston County just to vote against Mr. Dondero, but that's a hell of a drive to work.
Maybe idiots like Dondero and so many other Republicans will finally learn where the public stands when Democrats gain complete control of the Presidency, Senate, and House in 2008. Who cares about nation building? Is it our business or is our government supposed to look after Americans' interests?
"I'd almost move to Galveston County just to vote against Mr. Dondero, but that's a hell of a drive to work."
Same here. My sister lives in Galveston, but her boyfriend is a hawk. They'll probably vote for Dondero. I would vote for the Democrat before I would vote for an idiot like Dondero.
HA! HA! HA! HA!
Oh God! That is just so funny.
If the people of Ron Paul's district are dumb enough to give that moron a seat, they deserve him.
Just what we need. Another obtuse candidate who hears only what he wants to hear. We've had enough of hawk politicians try to justify everything under the sun while never addressing questions actually posed. Hey, if the moderator says that we invited 9/11, why not ascribe it to Paul, then slam Paul for our personal gain!!
I guess that's the mark of a politician.
I think most people thought that the Democrats were wrong to purge Joe Liberman because they agreed with him. It is not like anyone on the right would have said the Democrats were making a mistake if they had purged Nancy Pelosi. On the other side, the reason why people, oh like Dave Weigel for example, thought Ned Lamont was the greatest thing since canned beer was because they disagreed with Lieberman. Again, it is not like Weigel would have cared one way or another if the Lamont Liberman race hadn't involved one of the one or two Democrats in Congress he doesn't like.
Ultimately, if you don't agree with the war you will think purging Paul is a bad idea and if you do agree with the war you will think it is a good idea. It is really no different than Lamont Lieberman, just a different party and a anti-war incumbant rather than a pro-war incumbant.
Rattlesnake,
I am an idiot, and I am offended that you put Dondero in the same class as me.
oxymora
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health
pro-war conservative
So it'd be preposterous to suggest that Mr. Dondero is running against Ron Paul because he disagrees with his political opinions and actions in Congress, right? Obviously, he just hates Mr. Paul's freedom.
Dondero = X^2
Dondero! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Anonymous,
Dondero can disagree with Paul all he wants, and slander him with misattributed words and I can slander Dondero all I want and disagree with his idiocy (seeeeee).
Let's start an anti-Dondero campaign fund.
(When I say "Let's," I mean one of you do it and keep us informed.)
See also:
The Ron Paul Internet Dilemma
http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/12850/guest-voice-the-ron-paul-internet-dilemma/
Romney, Paul, Giuliani Won SC Debate - Fox News Viewers
http://hammer2006.blogspot.com/2007/05/romney-paul-giuliani-won-sc-debate-fox.html
VIDEO: Ron Paul vs. Rudy Giuliani
http://hammer2006.blogspot.com/2007/05/video-ron-paul-vs-rudy-giuliani.html
Blog This: Ron Paul Explodes Across Google, Campaign Site, YouTube,
Technorati and more. The mainstream media (MSM) has been ignoring Ron Paul's spectacular rise (see story for stats and details) across the Internet's top websites.
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Blog_This_Ron_Paul_Explodes_Across_Google_Campaign_Site_YouTube/blog
lets see how dondero feels in 3 weeks when he calms the fuck down.
One thing does interest me about Mr Dondero.
His full given name is Eric Dondero Rittberg. Yet, he prefers to go by just his first and middle name. Of course, this is his right, but it is so unusual for someone to drop their surname that my curiosity is piqued.
Does anyone know why he does that?
BTW, you can already give money to an anti-Dondero campaign, give money to Ron Paul.
In fact, it would be funny if people who were really irritated by him would give money to Ron Paul everytime he posts on a board they read, and announce that fact.
So, for example, if he were to splash down on this thread, and ten to twenty people were to contribute a dollar for every thread he parachutes into, Ron Paul's war chest would swell pretty quickly.
It would provide a nice disincentive for his postings. 🙂
I love when he says he's "the guy that got Paul elected..."
Ha, like Ron was in a box somewhere waiting for Eric to tell him what to do.
Oh please Eric, get me elected.
Weigel:
I'm a Republican -- always have been -- and I am one foil to your "around 100 percent" overlap prediction about Lieberman/Paul.
I also rarely devour the souls of the young, almost never ask God to smite homa-seckshuls, and I find plenty of like-minded Reps at all our secret meetings. Just for the record.
We ended up having to ban Dondero from commenting at The Liberty Papers because of the tone of his comments. I'd hate to see him making a stump speech or challenged in a debate. It may turn into NSFW material.
The untold part of this story is that there have been rumors that Paul may not run for re-election to his Congressional if/when he fails to get the Republican nomination.
I'm a Republican -- always have been -- and I am one foil to your "around 100 percent" overlap prediction about Lieberman/Paul.
Hence "around." It could be only 99 percent!
"Hence 'around.'"
Hence "one foil", not "the foil". Put the safety back on, Trigger.
Let me get this straight: the people in that district have been electing Ron Paul since the 80s.
The difference between the 08 election and those of 06, 04, and 02 are that the Iraq War, George Bush, and neoconservatism in general are much, much, much less popular than they used to be.
So Eric Dondero is going to challenge Ron Paul in that district by running as a strong supporter of the Iraq War, George Bush, and neoconservatism in general.
Why, that's a GREAT idea.
So has Eric just not been paying attention to Paul's views until now? Or is he just being an asshat now because so many other people are paying attention.
Eric Dondero must think that the war in Iraq is going swimmingly. He must think that the 3,400 Americans have achieved something beautiful in setting up the nascent Iraqi state. He must think that the 50-100 dead Iraqis, freshly blown up each morning, are thankful for the freedom America has delivered them. He must think that our current situation vis-a-vis Iran and the rest of the middle east is better than it was 5 years ago.
Wouldn't it be nice to live in douchebag Eric Dondero's world? Everything is coming roses and sugarplum fairies guard our dreams!
His family must be so ashamed...
The controversy about my name?
Simple:
Dondero = Biological Father's name
Rittberg = Adoptive parents' name.
You gotta problem with that?
Tarran,
Rittberg makes it obvious he's a Jew. "Dondero" sounds more Latino which would go over better in south Texas.
I have no problems with that, but it doesnt clear anything up.
Are you Eric Dondero or Eric Dondero Rittberg, which will be on the ballot? Im fine with either, but just wondering which you are, and which you are legally, and what you prefer to be, and why they arent the same (unless they are)?
That shoud be:
Rittberg. Which
Eric Dumbdero sounds like a good name for a aspiring politician. We need 400 Ron Pauls in Congress, 70 in the Senate and 1 in the White House.
Eric Dondero is crazy. He obviously has a grudge against his former boss. Dondero is butthurt because Paul has different views on the war issue. Paul isn't a frothing hawk who thinks that war solves problem.
Curious as to whether Dondero has an AIPAC Gold Card in his wallet. It appears to me that he is using the Libertarian party as a way to cozy up to the machine and get himself a piece, all the while claiming he is doing it in the interest of his party and liberty. Just another wannabe politician, looking for an establishment nipple to gorge on.
Poor Eric. So anxious to kill brown people that the rest of Paul's record doesn't matter.
That's really the meme to push as the Republican establishment goes apeshit about Paul: that his record and positions on taxes, regulation, racial quotas, federalism, etc. don't matter. The only thing that matters is that he doesn't want to kill any more Iraqis. That is the only platform plank in the modern Republican party's repetoire: kill kill kill, oh wait take a break and torture, kill kill kill. The rest of it doesn't matter and you're out of the party if you don't play ball.
Hey, now, a lot of people went a little bit nuts on 9/11. I know my brain spat out some thoughts I'm not terribly pround of when I watched the towers fall that day.
It's just taking Eric a little longer to get his wits about him.
Blowback, Texas-Style
David, I think what you meant was Blowhard, Texas-Style...
Given that I've been banned from commenting on RedState (apparently I'm not Pro-Zionist enough for them) I will comment here...
Eric, you will lose. And the fact that you droped your sir name, to sound more "ethnic" to the district Rep. Paul is in, is another way of showing your colors as being nothing but a RNC Hack.
If I wanted to hear an asshole talk, I'd fart.
I'm sure Rep. Paul is quivering in his boots...
Is it just me, or am I actually seeing this? Am I actually seeing the Republican Party dumping all pretense of being anything other than a big government paternalistic interventionist shill? All across the GOP landscape, "conservatives" are shedding their sheeps clothing and showing themselves to the welfare-warfare fans they really are.
Screw abortion. Screw illegal immigration. Screw tax cuts. The real litmus test of the GOP is unwavering adherance to neverending war.
Pig Mannix | May 16, 2007, 12:28pm | #
Blowback, Texas-Style
David, I think what you meant was Blowhard, Texas-Style...
lol!
It's a trip to Blowback Mountain for everybody!
/hey! who here's out of pudding?
Is it just me, or am I actually seeing this? Am I actually seeing the Republican Party dumping all pretense of being anything other than a big government paternalistic interventionist shill?
It's not just you. What's worse, the Republican party seems to have gotten the rest of the world to adopt its view of what constitutes "conservatism." Thus, National Journal recently published its ratings of members of Congress on the liberal/conservative scale, and Ron Paul came out as one of more "liberal" Republicans.
Maybe Paul will join Lieberman's party-of-one and they'll change the name to "Connecticut and Texas for Lieberman and Paul".
Prediction: The overlap between people who thought the Democrats were right to purge Joe Lieberman and people who think the GOP would be wrong to purge Ron Paul will be around 100 percent.
"Prediction: The overlap between people who thought the Democrats were wrong to purge Joe Lieberman and people who think the GOP would be right to purge Ron Paul will be around 100 percent."
This sort of thought is a symptom of "Republican in your head disease", as joe would say. From my observations, Republicans are much more forgiving of a member who is out of line on one or two main issues than are Democrats. For example, the Republicans might actually nominate a moderately pro-abortion candidate for president. No pro-life candidate would see light of day in the Democrat party (at the national level). Save for privatization. A Reub could disagree and there would be little problem. But if a Democrat stopped goose-stepping with the national socialist majority, he's history. Its not at all a stretch to think a randomly selected republican might think poorly of the activist democrats that tried to oust Lieberman and at the same time have little problem with one of their own being against the Iraq war.
This reminds me of an item linked to from opinionjournal yesterday. Obama was talking about how all options are on the table when it comes to socialism security reform. But they aren't really all on the table...
http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/05/obama_brushes_a.html
Its a great example of just how rigid and/or close minded the Democrat party can be.
Dondero, you are sinking to a new low here. You are a real backstabber.
I was already planning to send Ron Paul a donation, but with you running against him in the Congressional primary I'm going to have to send him more.
Everyone please go to http://www.RonPaul2008.com and make a donation. It would be a real travesty to see Ron Paul lose his seat to Eric Dondero.
I was already planning to send Ron Paul a donation, but with you running against him in the Congressional primary I'm going to have to send him more.
Oddly enough, I sent him a donation this morning before Dondero opened his mouth.
Damn! Now I'll have to double it....
Based on Dondero's previous comments on this board, Dondero is just a Pro-War, Pro-State hack and Ron Paul is doing exactly what he needs to do to bring liberty into the spotlight.
But if a Democrat stopped goose-stepping with the national socialist majority, he's history.
Bill Clinton did just fine when he supported welfare reform, restriction of gay rights, etc. Both parties go through their own periods of heightened demands for loyalty to the platform, depending on the political climate of the time.
Eric Dondero? Not his real name... =)
As far as Eric getting Dr. Paul elected to the Congress again in 1996, what a joke. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
A "balls to the wall campaign" eh, Eric? I surely hope rhetoric like this e-mail exchange dated 2/28/07, from the Texas RLC e-mail listserv doesn't come back to bite you in those testicular appendages...
"Legalization of Prostitution is one of my top three issues. Not sure where you got the idea that I don't support legalized prostitution from? I'm an ex-Sailor. I absolutely used the services of Prostitutes overseas in the Phillipines, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Spain, all over the world, when I was a young buck Sailor. And each time was worth every penny.
As a matter of fact, it's an absolutely tragedy that the US Military is not allowing servicemen these days to utilize prostitutes in Iraq. There are severe restrictions on prostitution for Military Personnel nowadays. We Libertarian Republicans need to work to overturn that. "
I'm not so sure that these comments will endear you to the voters of CD14 over the experience and professionalism of a medical doctor who served in the Air Force, has been married for over 50 years to the same woman, raised five children, and delivered over 4000 babies. But it will be fun to see you try. =)
Not at all. As I said, it is your right to change your name however you wish. I was just curious.
Of course, I do think you are a moron, and the fact that Ron Paul thought enough of you to keep you on his staff for many years raises questions about his judgement in my mind. But I honestly don't care whether you call yourself Eric Dondero or Fluffy Moon-Child.
Whoa, Tarran, I don't dig Dondero either, but he was probably a good employee who tried to do right by his boss. Now that he's his own boss, he's able to explore the limits of his extremist views.
"I surely hope rhetoric like this e-mail exchange dated 2/28/07, from the Texas RLC e-mail listserv doesn't come back to bite you in those testicular appendages..." - ce
Chris,
LOL ... I've had a few drive-by Dondero comments on my blog. Whatever else you want to say, he is an extremely productive commenter. If he does run, I will contribute to Paul generously. However, as funny as your comment is, it does seem peculiar that one libertarian would call out another libertarian over a purely libertarian position.
mw - I am not a libertarian, rather, I'm a conservative Republican who just so happens to have a little inside baseball knowledge of Dr. Ron Paul, his campaigns, and his staff.
Lamar,
I've participated in too many discussions with the guy to conclude otherwise.
Read the following links. Read what Eric says. Try to come up with another conclusion.
http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/04/13/rudy-giuliani-a-big-city-liberal-republican/
http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2007/03/09/why-rudy-giuliani-should-not-be-president/
The guy is a Cynthia McKinney wanabee.
Nobody mentioned the bit where Dondero claims he speaks "10-15" languages. Uh-huh. "I speak so many languages I can't remember them all!"
Oh yeah, and that isn't counting English or Spanish. Dondero, if you're still following this thread, please list these "10-15" languages. I double-dog dare ya.
"The guy is a Cynthia McKinney wanabee."
Ouch!
So, was it Dondero that got Nolan Ryan to stump for Ron Paul in 1996 or does Ryan actually know Paul personally?
Or maybe it was the fact that the Republican machine was supporting a turncoat Democrat who was under investigation and the citizenry of the district weren't buying.
Should Frank Langella play Eric Dondero in the movie?
I'm a bit hawkish, but I really like Ron Paul (and I'm going to vote for him). Dondero sounds like an ass.
I believe that blowback is one of the reasons we were attacked; it's just not the only reason. I suppose that most people can't imagine more than one reason for anything.
Single-issue voters (sorry SIV) have tiny, tiny minds.
It's retroactive!
Eric Dondero is such an egomaniac that he created his own wikipedia entry
"Nobody mentioned the bit where Dondero claims he speaks "10-15" languages. Uh-huh. "I speak so many languages I can't remember them all!""
The precise number depends on how he counts the Elvish and Klingon variant dialects.
"The creator of or main contributor to this page may have a conflict of interest with the subject of this article.
Due to issues of maintaining neutrality and avoiding promotional articles, Wikipedia's conflict of interest guidelines strongly advise that editors do not directly edit articles on topics where they have a close personal or business connection. If this applies to your edits, you are advised to collaborate with independent editors via the article's talk page only."
Busted!
Can't even get anybody to ghostwrite for him. Some candidate he'll make.
Somebody needs some serious head shrinking! Writing your own Wikipedia entry is a sure sign of narcissism.
LOL. Apparently Chris Elam is unaware that Congressional District 14 has changed dramatically since the redistricting. Its largest city is now Galveston.
That's right, Galveston, Texas, home of the Nation's wildest and most outlandish annual Mardi Gras celebration.
Galveston is hardly what one would consider to be a "prudish" city. It is rather a socially libertarian city. As are many other parts of CD 14.
You think my stance in favor of legalized prostitution will prove to be problematic. No more problematic than Ron endorsing legalized drugs, including cocaine and heroin in his past races.
I dare say, most CD 14 voters are more tolerant of legalized prostitution than crack.
And let's not forget Ron Paul is opposed to the death penalty for any reason.
Not an expert, but one could guess fully 70 to 80% of our District in South Texas is Pro-Death Penalty.
And how is being a defacto supporter of Islamo-Fascism consistent with Conservative Texas District 14?
I dare say my Pro-Defense, Pro-Death Penalty views match District voters much more so than Ron Paul's despite my stance on legalized prostitution.
You and your Dad's Ron Paul machine want to slam me on that. Be my guest.
Chris Elam says, "Dondero not his real name."
Elam, perhaps you ought to take that up with my Dad, Neal Dondero up in Coxsackie (near Albany), New York.
Or you can contact my sister in Phoenix Elyse Dondero. Or my cousins in New Jersey: The Donderos.
I'm sure all will be surprised to learn that "Dondero is not Eric's real name."
Elam, don't tempt me. I know more about the inner workings of Ron Paul's campaign than you or your Dad will ever know.
And I know EVERYTHING about Ron Paul, and his family from the personal perspective to boot.
Let's not go down that path. Shall we agree to stay away from the personal stuff.
You wanna push it, fine. That's your choice. But let the record show, I was against such a campaign from the very beginning.
There are too many people out there who could be hurt,and 90% of them are on your side of the aisle.
You forget Elam, I go back to the Presidential Campaign days of 1987/88. I was there through the whole Nadia Hayes fiasco. I don't think we all wish to relive that one. Or the other "questionable" events within the Ron Paul organization in the last 12 years or so.
I'd advise you to lay off.
Yes Tarran, I am a Jew. (And also half-Italian). I am sorry you have a problem with that.
There was another guy who had a little problem with people who were Jews. What was his name???
Damn, slipped my mind. Right on the tip of my tongue.
Adeus, no that's not it. Adam. No, not it either.
Adolph! Yeah, that's it. He hated Jews too.
This is going to be fun.
Wow! Mr. Elam, I would surmise that Dr. Paul will not be queasy if he's so fortunate as to face an Eric Dondero? Rittberg? challenge in the Texas GOP primary. I just did a Google image search on his name and found a picturue of a poor man's Randy Quaid, but with a pornstache!
I have to agree with Mr. Dondero? Rittberg? on one aspect. Keep the inside baseball out of the discussion and focus on the issues at hand. Might I recommend further discussion on his insinuations that Galveston is a hotbed of wild party activities that are welcoming of legalized prostitution? The local chamber of commerce and newspapers will be eager to have that image splashed across campaign literature!
LOL at the Wikipedia narcissism on display and the various aliases. I agree with mw, this is going to be a lot of fun. I'm going to go give money twice to Ron Paul in honor of this new and so-called challenger.
"Adolph! Yeah, that's it. He hated Jews too."
Don't worry Eric. All these Libertardian 'Paulsians' supporting their Great Leader are all anti-semitic, conspiracy theorists at their core.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned how the noble Dr. Paul opposes the 'Zionist Agenda' of the IMF!
Put on your tinfoil hats and keep skewing internet polls with your spam in your dishonest attempts to show Paul having anything more than 'lunatic fringe' support. It'll just show how nutty him and his cultist followers are.
I just did a Google image search on his name and found a picturue of a poor man's Randy Quaid, but with a pornstache!
Poor man's Randy Quaid? Well, maybe. I thought he looked more like a young John Gacy. I'll bet he looks great in a clown suit. Maybe he should campaign in one.
I said,
He says,
As I said, a moron.
Huh. The picture does not match the mental image I had formed. I was thiking more along the lines of a William Shattner character (Boston Legal not Star Trek).
You know, sitting behind a desk, puffing on a cuban cigar, nodding sagely, and constantly repeating "Eric Dondero... Eric Dondero."
So, Paul just freed up Dondie's future by letting em go?
Eric is a FORMER Ron Paul employee cuz he didn't show up for work.
So if he runs, do you think he'll show up for the campaign? Nope, way too much work.
.......and I wonder why he doesn't have the funds to run? Oh yeah, you have to work to make money.
Now you get it?
Far wealthier, smarter, and better-connected dirtbags than Dondero have tried to unseat Ron, and failed.
Piss off, pissant.
Perhaps we are not really thinking this thing through. Work with me here. The general MSM takeaway on the Republican Debate is that Rudy should send Ron a check for lobbing that softball into his wheelhouse. If we want Ron to look good at the plate, who better to be on the mound pitching than Mr. Dondero?
"Let's start an anti-Dondero campaign fund. (When I say "Let's," I mean one of you do it and keep us informed.)" - highnumber
Well this may not be exactly what you had in mind highnumber. But here is graphic you can grab, and a acronym you can use.
Bloggers
United
To
Thoroughly
Head off the
Election of
Asshats like
Dondero.
Ok... B.U.T.T.H.E.A.D. is a reach. But if you want create a fund, that already exists. Run Paul 2008
Oh MW,
You're good. If you could just change H.E.A.D. part to H.O.L.E.
There is nothing in or about the head that Dondie uses.
How do the Jews feel about swingers I wonder.
Who is this guy?
In an earlier post, Eric Dondero says:
"And how is being a defacto supporter of Islamo-Fascism consistent with Conservative Texas District 14?"
Eric please show me where Ron Paul is a defacto supporter of Islamo-Fascism. This statement alone disqualifies you from serious consideration. Your campaign is toast. Get a real job and support your family. Are you really so stupid that you don't believe in the law of cause and effect? Are you a complete knuckledragger? Do you really think that Ron's referring to facts presented by the 911 Commission make him pro islamofascist? You must be one dumb jew. Most of the jews I know are extremely smart and wise people. What happened to you? Oh, that's right, you were adopted by jews. Too bad you did not get the DNA part.
Crawl back into the hole from whence you came.
I don't care one bit about Eric Dondero's views on the death penalty, nor on Dr. Pauls views thereof. Keep it, get rid of it, it doesn't matter much. There's a much bigger issue here.
Eric Dondero is a de facto supporter of terrorism by Islamic radicals. Anyone who would try to oust Dr. Paul, the only candidate running whose policies can help protect us from Islamic terrorism, clearly wishes to see more terrorist attacks perpetrated against America. Eric Dondero is not the kind of person I would wish to vote for.