Remeber Me!!

[white cloud]

Senate candidate can't escape sports scandals
By JIM VERTUNO, Associated Press – 1 day ago
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — In the sports world, Craig James was a star football player for Southern Methodist University and the New England Patriots. He later became a household name in Texas as a television analyst for ESPN.

Now that he's running for the Senate, James can't separate his Republican politics from football, which accounts for nearly all of his name recognition. But drawing attention to his athletic exploits also means revisiting a pair of well-known scandals going back to the 1980s.

So instead of fielding public-policy questions, he must constantly fend off comments about how he took improper payments at SMU and played a role in firing a popular Texas Tech coach.

"I'm ready to move on," James, now 51, said last week in an interview at an Austin restaurant. It won't be easy in a state where football inspires almost religious devotion, and fans cling to long memories.

James, who has never run for office, says his years as a small-town rancher, businessman and dad make him an ideal candidate to bring common sense to Washington. His rookie campaign sticks to broad conservative talking points: attacking President Barack Obama on the federal health care law, protecting the Constitution, cutting off illegal immigration and easing regulations on business.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLXXxk8XC5JhOCUdF_klIaMV5S_g?docId=943062b81e8b429a833ae8998bba7b27

[Gothmog]

1. Craig James can forget about any votes from any Tech fans

My son follows some sports blogs and Craig James is very unpopular in West Texas and with Tech fans.

[DCKit]

2. "...protecting the Constitution..."

Whose version? The founders, or the Republicans?

Cafeteria Christians I get - some good, some really bad - but Cafeteria Constitutionalists are dangerous to our Democracy.

[sonias]

3. Ruh roh!

They always think they can cherry pick their biography. They want voters to remember the good stuff but forget about the corrpution. This guy sounds like a Tom DeLay in the making.

James had already been gone from SMU for several years when the penalty was imposed, but he acknowledges taking "insignificant amounts" while playing there. He says he can't remember how much or who gave it to him. He dismisses it as the mistake of an 18-year-old kid who wasn't mature enough to say no.

Another republican close loser.