Cowan criticizes Conaway

In keeping with the conservative consternation of a tea party gathering, voters lobbed few softballs Al Cowan’s way Monday night as he defended his decision to run for Congress in District 11 and sought to convince a sanctuary of Odessans they had been betrayed by Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland.

Speaking before the Odessa Tea Party at Odessa Bible Church, the Austin businessman took questions for more than an hour on topics ranging from gay rights to his decision to change his homestead to Llano County.

Cowan has based much of his campaign on the promise of imposing term limits in Congress. Forestalling careers in politics, he has argued, would lead to fresh ideas and new faces. In attacking Conaway’s voting record, Cowan has reserved his harshest criticism for Conaway’s October 2008 vote in favor of the federal TARP bailout of several Wall Street banks.

On Monday, Elizabeth Wooldridge, president of the local tea party, pressed Cowan on why he did not run against Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, the congressman who represented Cowan at the time the bailout passed.

“You’re really new to this district,” Wooldridge said. “Austin is a totally different place than West Texas. What do you bring to us, coming out of the Austin area?”

Cowan, who has dismissed previous suggestions that he would be ill suited to represent the wants of an oil patch, said that he admires the “hard-working people” of the district and expressed confidence that voters, at the end of the day, would find him most qualified for the job.

“I guess I’m asking you not to hold my geography in Llano County against me,” Cowan said.

In other questioning, Cowan suggested he was opposed to gay rights.

“I’m not sure I fully understand that lifestyle,” Cowan said, adding he has been married to his wife Penny, for nearly 39 years.

But regardless of the topic, Cowan frequently reverted back to his promise to pursue term limits. He said studies show more than two-thirds of the country support the idea of imposing limits to how long members of Congress can serve, adding that sentiment is even more widespread in District 11. Cowan has pledged to serve a maximum of three terms if elected.

Conaway, in a phone interview last week, said he opposed term limits because voters would have no leverage on their representatives during their final term. He added that Cowan’s promise to serve only three terms would have the effect of making him a “lame duck from Day One.”

“You don’t aspire to be a leader if you’re only going to be there three terms,” he said.

Cowan is challenging Conaway for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is contending with Conaway and San Angelo resident Chris Younts in the March 2 Republican primary. Cowan is scheduled to speak tonight at the Crane County Republican Party meeting at 7 p.m.