UNDER THE DOME
Donations down, but pols not crying in their beer; Radnofsky steps through time warp on marriage issue
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Political contributions, beer sales both sinking?
Houston beer distributor John Nau, a chief fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's gubernatorial campaign, says the sagging economy is affecting both beer sales and how much people donate to causes (though he said Hutchison remains on target to raise what she needs).
 Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN Barbara Ann Radnofsky  Matt Rourke/AMERICAN-STATESMAN John Nau |
"The economy is definitely impacting all aspects of American life," Nau said.
Under the Dome confirmed that less beer has flowed to distributors responsible for stocking Texas retailers.
Through September, total shipments from breweries to distributors were down 0.5 percent compared to the same date a year earlier, according to data analyzed by the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas.
In contrast, total beer shipments increased more than 4 percent by the end of September 2008 compared with a year earlier. Key factor this year: Shipments of popular "premium" beers like Bud Light and Miller Lite — which accounted for 8.7 million of 14.2 million barrels shipped — were down nearly 1.5 percent.
Mike McKinney of the wholesalers' group said he didn't know why there's been a drop, nor did he sob in his soda.
"I wouldn't cry and doom and gloom," he said. "The industry is down slightly."
— W. Gardner Selby
Marriage ban not just for gays, office aspirant argues
Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer poised to seek the Democratic nod for attorney general, told a newspaper last week that the constitutional amendment adopted in 2005 to ban gay marriage effectively bans all marriages in Texas.
Those were fighting words for an aide to Attorney General Greg Abbott, who was quoted by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram saying the amendment solely restricts people of the same sex from marrying one another.
Under the Dome credits Radnofsky for resurrecting an oldie — that is, an argument lofted against the ban by opponents before voters adopted it.
The beef then: The second sentence of the amendment says, "This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."
Critics said that not recognizing anything "identical" to marriage could mean not recognizing marriage.
In an American-Statesman article published in October 2005, two lawyers said the language could be construed to ban all marriages. But they also agreed that no Texas judge would dare do so. Of course, there's no law against office-seekers reviving old fights.
— W. Gardner Selby
