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Shooting puts Texas leaders in spotlight
Podcast
Going to do a short version of FR today with a brief look at Thursday’s events from the perspectives of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry. I’ve also got a podcast about the poll results that came out this week.
One of the first political figures to respond publicly to the shootings was U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. On Thursday afternoon, Hutchison did at least three cable interviews — two on Fox News and one on CNN. Hutchison relayed some of the information that she was getting from Fort Hood, such as updates about the number of people who were wounded.
Hutchison, who as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a member of the Armed Services committee is deeply involved at Fort Hood, has canceled the campaign event she had scheduled for today and will be at the Army post with several members of the Texas congressional delegation.
Gov. Rick Perry had been at a campaign event in the Dallas area around midday and was scheduled to attend another campaign event in Denton in the afternoon before heading to Wichita Falls for a fundraiser. He was on his way from Dallas to Denton when he learned of the shooting. Perry, who canceled his campaign events in Denton and Waxahachie, held a press conference late in the afternoon and discussed the fact that state troopers and Texas Rangers had been sent to Fort Hood to help secure the perimeter. He said he did not want to go to Fort Hood until a point when his presence there would not be a distraction.
Perry’s office later said that the Texas Rangers would assist in the investigation into the shooting.
As for the latest updates, Fort Hood officials said at a news conference early this morning that there were 12 soldiers killed and one civilian killed. The suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is in stable condition but on a ventilator, and the civilian police officer who shot Hasan is also in stable condition. Officials did not want to discuss Hasan’s motives, but did confirm that he had orders to deploy.
We also have this from the Associated Press: “The base commander at Fort Hood says soldiers who witnessed a shooting rampage that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted ‘Allahu Akbar!’ before opening fire at the Texas post. Lt. Gen. Robert Cone told NBC’s ‘Today’ show on Friday that suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, made the comment, which is Arabic for ‘God is great!’ before the rampage Thursday that also left 30 people wounded.”
As you’ve certainly seen, we have complete coverage of the shooting at Statesman.com and it will be constantly updated today. Also, the Statesman is reporting information on Twitter, @fthoodshootings.
One other article I’d point you to: Victor O’Brien of the Killeen Daily Herald was on post when it was locked down Thursday, giving him a closer look than the rest of the media had.
The FR podcast
I’m skipping a lot of the usual FR bells and whistles today, but I do want to post the podcast I recorded Thursday morning with pollster Daron Shaw of the University of Texas. Shaw helped run the UT/Texas Tribune poll that hit the governor’s race this week.
The good people at UT allowed us to use their studio, so the sound quality is better than usual. We go through some dry-but-important stuff about online polling at the beginning, then get to some great analysis about the state of the race and voters’ concerns. We talk about why no Democratic candidate has emerged, why both nominations remain up for grabs, the number of truly independent voters in the state and the issues that voters say they care about most.
It’s about 28 minutes, and it’s a good one. Download it, listen in the car, in the yard or wherever you have some quiet time this weekend.
In the news
Breaking this morning: U.S. unemployment rate has topped 10 percent for first time in more than 25 years.
“Claiming that Judge Sharon Keller made contradictory statements to two separate courts, the daughter of executed inmate Michael Richard moved Thursday to reopen a federal lawsuit against the state’s highest criminal judge.” Austin American-Statesman
“State Board of Education member Rick Agosto will not seek re-election next year, he said.” Austin American-Statesman
“On Tuesday, the day City Councilman Peter Brown learned that $4 million of his family’s money couldn’t buy a runoff spot in the mayor’s race, another wealthy Houstonian pledged to spend $10 million of his own money to try to win the Democratic nomination for governor. Farouk Shami, who has been publicly flirting with a bid for some time, took the next step in the accepted political ritual by announcing to an Austin Democratic group that he will officially announce Nov. 19 that he is in the race.” Rick Casey
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Gilbert first candidate with platform on gay issues
Will Gilbert force others to the left? … Another delay signaled on health care, possibly stalling Hutchison … Strap your politician into the Texas PoliGraph
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Mostly sunny and mild. High of 77.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Wednesday highlights and the day ahead
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hank Gilbert unleashed Wednesday a robust proposal package on issues related to gay, bisexual and transgender Texans.
Gilbert called for the state to recognize same-sex civil unions. He also said the state should allow universities to recognize same-sex domestic partnerships, make it easier for transgender Texans to change their gender on birth certificates and drivers’ licenses, toughen anti-discrimination laws and give gay youth the option to use a similar defense as straight youth under “Romeo and Juliet” laws, which essentially say that a teenager who is sexually involved with a slightly younger teenager will not be treated as an adult sex offender. Gilbert also said he wants to end insurance practices that discriminate against gay Texans.
“Just because some people see this as controversial or say that Texas isn’t ready for this is not a reason I can use to justify remaining silent on this issue,” Gilbert said.
How will this play in the primary? Remember that in 2005, every county in Texas except for Travis voted for a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage. (Gilbert isn’t calling for gay marriage, but that’s at least a partial gauge on how voters feel about these issues.) If he can raise enough money to get his message out and make himself somewhat known to Democratic primary voters, his candidacy may provide a good look at just how liberal those voters are.
Gilbert is obviously taking a big risk here among general-election voters, should he become the Democratic nominee. But the more interesting question may be how these positions affect the rest of the Democratic field. Does he force Tom Schieffer, the choice of much of the Democratic establishment, to take positions on these issues that could come back to hurt him in a general election? Maybe Schieffer uses Gilbert to position himself as a middle-of-the-road Democrat (although I’d think his ties to George W. Bush would take care of that).
• Lost a little in all the election news this week: ABC News reported that senior congressional Democrats say they do not expect health-care reform to get done this year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was somewhat noncommittal himself, although White House spokesman Robert Gibbs did tell Chris Matthews on Wednesday, “This is going to get to the president’s desk before the end of the year.”
OK, so we have some conflicting signals. If the ABC report is correct, then it could be several weeks into 2010 before U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns — if she resigns at all. Remember that Hutchison has said she wants to stay in Washington to fight the Democrats’ health-care push. Even if Hutchison does resign in the early part of the year, the news cycle for at least a few days is going to be eaten up by all of the issues and politics surrounding her resignation.
Hutchison is in a tough spot. Almost as tough as all the people who want her job, and the people who want their jobs and, well, you get the point.
• A number of Texas school districts approved increases to their tax rates in Tuesday’s election. According to TexasISD.com, voters in 26 out of 41 districts approved increases to their tax rates to pay for school operations. In addition, voters approved bond proposals in 17 of 28 districts (in two of those districts, they approved part of a bond package and rejected another part.)
• Want to know whether your favorite politician is speaking the truth on the campaign trail? On our Virtual Capitol site, we’ve added a new feature called the Texas PoliGraph to gauge the relationship between rhetoric and fact on the campaign trail. We will continuously update it through the next year, so be sure to go there frequently.
Stat of the day
In September, the state spent $2 million on overtime for food-stamp eligibility workers, who earn an average salary of $30,321. That month, eligibility staffers, including supervisors — who earn comp time, not paid overtime — put in an extra 227,000 hours. Source: Austin American-Statesman
Poll watch
From Gallup: A majority of Americans now see President Barack Obama as governing from the left. Specifically, 54 percent say his policies as president have been mostly liberal while 34 percent call them mostly moderate. This contrasts with public expectations right after Obama’s election a year ago, when as many expected him to be moderate as to be liberal.
In the news
“When the new head of the agency responsible for the state’s backlogged food stamp applications sent an e-mail to employees asking for feedback about the agency, he got it. About 500 state workers replied to Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Tom Suehs, telling him about low morale and low pay, poor management, technology problems, insufficient training, long hours away from their families. They wrote about feeling frazzled, crying on the drive to work and actively looking for other jobs.” Austin American-Statesman
“I can’t decide whether Republican Todd Staples lately proved himself the savviest politician in Texas or instead monkeyed with state law in plain view.” Gardner Selby
“Republican Debra Medina says she’ll be the first candidate in the 2010 governor’s race with Spanish-language TV ads.” Austin American-Statesman
“It was a big election night for Republicans overall. But their lone disappointment - the loss of a New York congressional seat in a crossfire between moderates and conservatives - could portend struggles next year for GOP leaders. Channeling the Tea Party-inspired energy is a particular headache for Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions, whose costly effort to keep the New York seat was a casualty of the civil war.” Dallas Morning News
“The University of Houston moved Wednesday to raise its admission standards, one day after voters approved a measure to boost the stature of the university and several other Texas schools.” Houston Chronicle
“The U.S. Department of Education puts the Texas graduation rate at 71.9 percent — ranking the state 36th nationally. That would put the dropout population for each year’s graduating class at roughly 130,000 — or about the size of McAllen. Another estimate, using a formula called the Cumulative Promotion Index, indicates only 64.5 percent graduate in four years.” Texas Tribune
“Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was doing a victory lap on the morning shows Wednesday after the GOP gubernatorial candidates won in New Jersey and Virginia. ‘Look at the stories we’re talking about today,’ he told CBS’s Harry Smith, ‘and I think it’s about a transcendent party.’ Presumably, the chairman meant that his party is ascendant, meaning on the rise, and not transcendent, meaning beyond the limits of comprehension.” Dana Milbank
“Election Day losses in Virginia and New Jersey have congressional Democrats focused like never before on jobs — their own. While the White House and party leaders are urging calm, Democratic incumbents from red states and Republican-leaning districts are anything but; Tuesday’s statehouse defeats have left them acutely aware that their votes on health care reform and other major Obama initiatives could be career-enders in 2010 or beyond.” Politico
“A ‘debate’ between former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush has been nixed because the promoter overhyped it as a death-match faceoff between the men, The Post has learned.” New York Post
Everything else
Yankees won the World Series, four games to two. Beat the Phillies 7-3 last night.
Rockets lost to the Lakers in overtime Wednesday, 103-102.
Mavs lost in OT to the Hornets, 114-107.
The Cowboys’ Roy Williams sounds like an unhappy camper.
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Breaking down election night
Low turnout in Texas … Strake says Hutchison should stay … An instant Herman classic
Happy birthday to Will Fullerton, who works for the Michael Williams campaign; Richard Hudson, chief of staff to Rep. Mike Conaway; Eddie Solis of the Texas Municipal Retirement System; Jennie Kennedy with the University of North Texas System; and Rep. Lois Kolkhorst.
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Sun with a few scattered clouds. Continued mild with a high of 78.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it — including a Blackberry-friendly version.)
Tuesday highlights and the day ahead
Quite an election night around the country. Every constitutional amendment passes in Texas, Republicans win governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey and the Democrat won that congressional seat in New York.
• Here in Texas, all of the constitutional amendments passed. The amendment that aimed to create more tier one universities in Texas got 56 percent of the vote. Proposition 11, which put limits on the taking of the private property, got 81 percent o the vote. Every proposition got at least 55 percent.
Here’s our story from this morning’s paper.
• Voters in a number of Texas school districts rejected efforts to increase the tax rates for maintenance and operations. A lot of these districts are tiny and don’t have much info up on the Web, but from what I’ve been able to cull from TexasISD.com and various news reports, I’ve found 12 districts that approved these elections and 10 that rejected them. There are another 16 districts out there that aren’t accounted for at this point.
Hard to draw too many conclusions when there are so many unknown results, so I won’t try. Hope to have more on this as the day develops. If you know the results of any of these elections, e-mail me at jembry@statesman.com.
• In Houston, Anise Parker and Gene Locke advanced to a runoff in the race for mayor. Parker got 31 percent of the vote and Locke got 26 percent. But here’s the most interesting paragraph in the Houston Chronicle story: “Although no outcome could qualify as completely unexpected in one of the closest mayoral elections in recent memory, the big surprise of the night was the strong showing by Roy Morales, the race’s only conservative. The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, who ran with virtually no money and no endorsements compared to his opponents, placed only a few percentage points behind City Councilman Peter Brown, who poured more than $3.2 million of his family fortune into his candidacy.”
• Let’s look at the national scene:
Republican candidates for governor won in New Jersey and Virginia. See the “poll watch” section below for some interesting stats on those.
This Tweet this morning from our own Gov. Rick Perry: “Very well run races focused on smaller government in NJ and VA. Congrats to Christie and McDonnell on well deserved victories.”
Dan Balz has great analysis in the Washington Post: “Neither gubernatorial election amounted to a referendum on the president, but the changing shape of the electorates in both states and the shifts among key constituencies revealed cracks in the Obama 2008 coalition and demonstrated that, at this point, Republicans have the more energized constituency heading into next year’s midterm elections.”
In New York, Democrat Bill Owens won a congressional seat over Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate who effectively became the Republican nominee after the anointed Republican nominee dropped out. With 89 percent of the precincts reporting, Owens had 49 percent and Hoffman had 46 percent, according to Politico.
George Stephanopoulas looks at the winners and losers in the New York congressional race.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg won in New York with a surprisingly small share of the vote — 51 percent. (A sign that it was just a bad night to be an incumbent, considering his 20-to-1 spending edge). The New York Times looks at the race. And here’s a fun little fact: For some reason, the person who introduced Bloomberg at his victory party was none other than late-night host Jimmy Fallon.
• And now let’s talk about an election that’s coming up in four months. That would be the Democratic primary for governor here in Texas. The Statesman’s Corrie MacLaggan met yesterday with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami. Here’s her story from this morning’s Statesman.
The news that should cause other Democratic candidates headaches: Shami said he’ll spend $10 million on the primary.
Unfortunately for Corrie, Ken Herman was also there. With his camera. Let’s just say that it’s not every day that a candidate for governor asks a reporter how she cares for her hair (actually, in this state, it’s usually the other way around), but Shami isn’t your ordinary candidate.
Here’s the footage:
• Speaking of the gubernatorial primary, George Strake Jr., a critical player in building the Texas Republican Party, is circulating a letter telling fellow Republicans to ask U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to stay in the Senate and not challenge Perry. He writes, “We took a terrible beating in the 2008 national elections but we have a chance of picking up gains across the board in 2010 if we do not destroy ourselves in bloody and expensive primaries. By Senator Hutchison vacating her U.S. Senate seat and running in the gubernatorial primary, she jeopardizes the Republican majority, taking needed funds from local races in an election year that will determine who writes congressional and legislative district lines.”
• A quick note: I should have noted in Tuesday’s post that it was Quorum Report that first reported that Buddy Winn was planning to challenge Rep. Fred Brown in the Republican primary. My bad.
Poll watch
According to exit polls reported this morning on MSNBC, the winning Republican candidates for governor in New Jersey and Virginia dominated among independents. In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie got 58 percent of the independent votes, compared to 31 percent for Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine. In Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell won 62 percent of independents, compared to 37 percent for Democrat Creigh Deeds.
In Virginia, said MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, “the Obama coalition didn’t show up.”
One other interesting exit poll reported on “Morning Joe” this morning: In New Jersey, 60 percent of voters in an exit poll said President Barack Obama was not a factor in how they voted in the governor’s race. Among those who said he was a factor, half supported Obama and half of them opposed him.
In the news
“IBM Corp.’s failure to protect state information under an $863 million data center consolidation contract has prompted the Texas secretary of state’s office to pull its elections system from the project.” Austin American-Statesman
“Despite a storm of controversy surrounding his shake-up of a state forensic panel, Gov. Rick Perry leads U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison among voters who say they plan to vote in the March Republican primary, according to a new poll.” Austin American-Statesman
“For the $300 million spent on merit pay for teachers over the last three years, Texas was hoping for a big boost in student achievement. But it didn’t happen with the now-defunct program, according to experts hired by the state.” Dallas Morning News
“Reports that Texas has created or saved 19,752 jobs so far with stimulus funding appear to overstate the impact of the program, according to interviews and an analysis of government data.” Dallas Morning News
“The Texas Youth Commission will stop releasing young offenders who are too mentally ill to rehabilitate until the agency is sure they’re receiving proper treatment in the community, officials said Tuesday.” Texas Tribune
Everything else
World Series tonight, Yankees try to close out the Phillies. 7 p.m. on Fox
Mavs beat Utah on Tuesday, 96-85
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Election Day, here and everywhere
You can rewrite the Texas Constitution today … New poll has Perry up 12 on KBH … Movement in House GOP primaries
Stephen F. Austin would have been 216 years old today (assist: General Land Office).
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Bright sunshine. Seasonable high of 77.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Monday highlights and the day ahead
It’s Election Day. We don’t quite have the sizzle of a race for president or governor, but there’s interesting stuff happening at just about every level of government, and no, I’m not just talking about the school bond election in Zavalla ISD.
Speaking of school districts, that’s an interesting place to start. Remember when the Legislature in 2006 put some pretty tight limits on how much local school boards could raise their tax rates unless they had voter approval? Neither do I. But the ever-helpful Joe Smith over at TexasISD.com does, and he reports that 28 school districts will hold elections today to see if they can increase their tax rates.
Another interesting stat from Joe Smith: The number of school districts rejecting proposed tax increases is on the increase. In 2006, the first year of such elections, 93 percent of them passed, and in 2007, it was 78 percent. Last year it was 60 percent. It will be interesting to see what sort of mood voters are in now that we’ve had more than a full year of economic doom and gloom.
Remember that these elections were key to resolving challenges to the state’s school finance lawsuit. Local school boards would rather not have to go to voters to increase their tax rates — after all, members of the Legislature don’t have to — but this is the system.
In Houston today, voters will start the process of replacing term-limited Mayor Bill White. It’s expected that the top two finishers will advance to a runoff.
Of course we have the constitutional amendments statewide. Will Texas take a big step toward more Tier One universities? Will the property-appraisal system see reforms? Will the proposition on eminent domain pass, even as comprehensive eminent-domain reform waits?
And nationally, there are three key races to watch, and everyone will try to draw way too many conclusions from them. First, there’s the race for governor in Virginia, which the Republican is almost certain to win. Then there is the governor’s race in New Jersey, where there have been conflicting polls. And finally you have that congressional district in New York, where you have Democrat Bill Owens trying to hold off Doug Hoffman, the nominee of the Conservative Party after the Republican nominee dropped out and threw her support behind the Democrat.
Those who are expecting a good day (Republicans) say it’s a referendum on President Barack Obama. Those who do not expect a good day (Democrats) say it’s not. Everyone wants to know whether this is going to be a sign of things to come. Sean Hannity even asked GOP pundit Jeri Thompson (Fred’s wife) that question on Monday. “It definitely may be,” she said. And as Dana Milbank points out in today’s Washington Post, “Hard to argue with a definite maybe.”
• There was some movement Monday in Texas House races. Former Tyler Mayor Joey Seeber, who had been in Austin meeting with leaders of political action committees in August, dropped his GOP primary bid against Rep. Leo Berman.
And Former Brazos County Tax Assessor-Collector Gerald “Buddy” Winn said Monday that he would run in the GOP primary for the seat now held by Rep. Fred Brown, R-College Station, according to the Bryan/College Station Eagle. Brown told the newspaper that he’s unsure whether he will seek re-election.
UPDATE: I should have mentioned that Quorum Report had the news of Winn’s candidacy a month ago.
• Democrat Mark Thompson dropped his bid for governor on Monday, throwing his support to Hank Gilbert, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
• U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s campaign announced Monday a group called “Aggies for Kay,” which includes former Texas A&M System regents, past presidents of the Association of Former Students and past chairmen of the Texas A&M Foundation. Jon Hagler, an investment industry executive and former chairman of the Texas A&M Foundation who is part of Hutchison’s new Aggie coalition, said he’s concerned about Perry’s involvement with the university. Hagler said, “The governor has now appointed every A&M regent, as well as the chancellor of our system. And the compelling common characteristic of our regents is their political support for the governor. The regents have endorsed a structural change in the relationship between the flagship and the system, which is led by the governor’s former chief of staff. Flagship no longer has the autonomy to create its own destiny and manage its own affairs. It has become an institution whose strategy and approach is effectively set in the governor’s office.”
Poll watch
The Texas Tribune launches today with a poll that shows Perry leading Hutchison, 42 percent to 30 percent. Debra Medina comes in at 7 percent. The poll shows nobody gaining much traction on the Democratic side, but Kinky Friedman leading the field.
Democrat Hank Gilbert finished at the bottom of the pack in the poll with 0.3 percent of the vote, and his campaign responded swiftly. In a lengthy statement e-mailed to reporters this morning, Gilbert spokesman Vince Leibowitz said, “It is a complete and total joke. In addition to Hank Gilbert having been left off part of the poll — a fact the Tribune fails to mention but which is clearly mentioned in a footnote of the poll — the company conducting the poll is one that conducts unreliable internet-based polls.”
The poll was conducted Oct. 20-27 in conjunction with the University of Texas. It’s worth noting that it came on the heels of a rough patch of news for Perry, specifically the national spotlight cast on his shakeup of the Forensic Science Commission. And yet it gives Perry the same lead as the last UT poll, conducted during the summer. This must be very discouraging for the Hutchison campaign, which to this point has been much more focused on Perry-bashing than laying out a vision for the state.
The Perry/Hutchison matchup is based on questioning of 357 respondents, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.19 percent. One sign of hope for the Hutchison campaign: Almost one in five respondents — 18 percent — remains undecided.
Said Hutchison spokesman Joe Pounder, “As we said when the last poll came out that showed Kay Bailey Hutchison leading, polls go up and they go down but the only one that matters is on Election Day. Our internals show a completely different race so we are comfortable with where we are. The Tribune has paid for a faulty poll.”
The poll was conducted online, and my experience with the UT poll taken right before the 2008 election was that it was pretty reliable. Here’s the rundown of their questions and answers. And here’s a rundown of the methodology.
(As a side note, congratulations to my many friends at the Tribune on today’s launch of their site. They’ve all worked very hard to get to this point, and that hard work is reflected in their product.)
In the news
“When State Board of Education Member David Bradley had a legal question about investing the Permanent School Fund, his first stop was not the lawyer hired by the board to answer such inquiries. It was Austin lawyer Kevin O’Hanlon.” Austin American-Statesman
“The Texas Medical Association’s political arm, TEXPAC, today announced its endorsement of Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election campaign. The group selected Perry because of his ‘unwavering support and defense of Texas’ medical liability reforms and his efforts to protect the sacred patient-physician bond,’ said Dr. William Fleming III, president of the association. But relations between the doctors and Perry haven’t always been so warm.” Austin American-Statesman
“Texas educators forcibly pinned down students with disabilities more than 18,000 times in the last school year, sometimes injuring them in the process.” Texas Tribune
“Unlike the complicated and controversial man, lawyer John O’Quinn’s will is quite simple — he’s leaving his riches to the charitable foundation that bears his name.” Houston Chronicle
“Houston, once considered the nation’s capital of dirty air, is on the verge of meeting federal limits for smog for the first time.” Houston Chronicle
“Gov. Rick Perry on Monday bashed Washington-style health care fixes, but he wouldn’t rule out taking federal incentives for insuring more people if Congress offers them.” Associated Press
“More than 10,000 people turned out Monday night for a North Houston Tea Party Patriots gathering to protest proposed health care reform and what they called big government spending and overzealous government leadership, according to preliminary attendance figures.” Houston Chronicle
“On Monday, the eve of Election Day, Bexar County’s elections chief gloomily predicted that fewer than one of every 20 registered voters will have cast ballots by the time polls close tonight. The early voting numbers, a strong indicator of overall turnout, were paltry.” San Antonio Express-News
Everything else
Phillies force a World Series game six, back in New York, after beating the Yankees 8-6. Game six will be Wednesday.
Great road win for the Rockets on Monday — 113-96 against Utah.
New Orleans Saints’ win on Monday Night Football gave them a 7-0 start, the best ever in franchise history. The Saints and Colts are the only unbeaten teams left in the NFL.
Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is getting the boot from “Melrose Place,” prompting big sister Jessica to unleash a mini-tirade on Twitter. Jessica: “Who writes this crap? i have had bad scripts to work with, but this? Thank God my sister is amazing and got you some press.”
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The March endangered list
Five House members who may lose their primaries … DMN chides Hutchison for her light-on-issues campaign … Rasmussen shows Obama slipping
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Plenty of sun with seasonable temperatures. Highs around 76.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it, including an easier-to-read version for mobile devices.)
The March endangered list
We kick things off this morning with my second list of the Texas House members who are most likely to lose their re-election bids next year. But so as to not confuse things too much, I’ve decided to focus the list on those who are in the most trouble in the March primaries. Once we get past March, I’ll turn to the general election, where, frankly, I think things will be a little more interesting this year.
I’ll count them down from least to most in danger. If you disagree, comment away.
(5) Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler. Berman is facing a challenge from former Tyler Mayor Joey Seeber. The former mayor must be taken seriously, but there’s not much activity from his campaign yet to discern from here. (UPDATE: Seeber dropped his bid today. So much for that.)
(4) Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra, D-South Padre Island. She captured this seat in the 2008 primary. Some of the local press published a story in August that took an unusual interest in the details of her personal life, although it wasn’t entirely personal — it involved a major campaign donor. Tough to know what effect that will have. J.M. Lozano is running against her in the primary. But as Paul Burka pointed out this year, he’s from the north end of the district, and the bulk of the votes are on the south end, and Rios Ybarra is from there. Plus, she’s been working all ends of the district very aggressively.
(3) Rep. Allen Fletcher, R-Tomball. Former Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale is considering trying to recapture the seat he lost to Fletcher in the 2008 GOP primary. Fletcher won that race by 800 votes (52 percent to 48 percent). But since then, Fletcher has been named one of the 10 worst legislators by Texas Monthly, and he did little to impress his colleagues in his first session. Here’s what the magazine said when it put the frehsman lawmaker on its list of the worst: “There are two things that even the rawest rookie must not do. One is to bring shame upon the body. This Fletcher did when he and several business associates became ensnared in a stock-manipulation investigation initiated by the Harris County district attorney’s office, which later turned the probe over to the U.S. Department of Justice. A federal complaint alleged that press releases quoting Fletcher and touting his political prominence had helped inflate the value of the stocks that were involved. (No charges are pending in the case.)”
(2) Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston. Edwards lost his seat to Boris Miles in the 2006 primary, but thanks to consistently bizarre behavior from Miles, he was able to get it back in 2008. Now Edwards faces a challenge from Billy Briscoe, a young lawyer. Was Edwards’ comfortable win in 2008 a product of a better campaign and newfound affection in the district for him, or just a repudiation of Miles? We’ll see.
(1) Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas. A couple of people I trust on these matters say I may have underestimated her popularity last month when I said she was the most endangered incumbent — and the idea that she’s far from dead was reinforced by Gromer Jeffers’ story in the Dallas Morning News on Sunday. Hodge has the backing of U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and County Commissioner John Wiley Price. Still, she is awaiting trial on bribery charges — her trial is set for just after the primary — and the investigation that ensnared her has generated huge headlines for months. Her opponent, lawyer Eric Johnson, is working the district hard, has had a very successful start to his fundraising and has just captured the backing of District Attorney Craig Watkins.
Poll watch
From Rasmussen: “In October, for the third straight month, 39 percent Strongly Disapproved of the president’s performance. The number who Strongly Approved fell two percentage points to 29 percent, the president’s lowest full-month total to date. That leads to a Presidential Approval Index rating of -10, also a new low for Obama. Also in October, the president’s total approval slipped a point to 48 percent. His total disapproval remained stable at 51 percent.
Texas Longhorns moved back into the No. 2 spot in the AP football poll.
In the news
“For Texas’ charter schools to secure permanent homes, they have long relied on friendly financial backers to buy into the education experiment. Someday soon, one of those backers might be the state’s 155-year-old public school endowment. The State Board of Education, which oversees the $22 billion Permanent School Fund, is looking into targeting a small portion of that fund to build or finance charter school classrooms and facilities.” Austin American-Statesman
“A New York finance company that lent state Rep. David Leibowitz millions of dollars for his small law practice claims the legislator failed to make payments that rose to $75,000 a month and has defaulted on $5.5 million in debt.” San Antonio Express-News
“If you like Tuesday’s constitutional amendments election, you might just love initiative and referendum. Or you may find I&R a nightmare.” Peggy Fikac
“”The Hutchison campaign has said for weeks that the senator plans a ‘rollout’ of policy positions, but she doesn’t appear ready to begin. The primary election is in four months. What’s the holdup?” Dallas Morning News editorial
“If politics is sometimes a game of musical chairs, then this is the quiet moment before the song starts.” Dallas Morning News
“Texas is among the first states to toughen its standards for colleges of education and other teacher-training programs amid criticism that too many are ‘cash cows’ that produce weak instructors.” Houston Chronicle
“After years of criticism that congressional lawmakers were reluctant to investigate their colleagues, the disclosure in recent days of a sensitive document from the House ethics committee offers the contradictory portrait of a panel actively pursuing a range of probes even as Democrats under scrutiny remain in positions of power. The 22-page document revealed that the ethics committee, as of late July, was looking into the activities of at least 19 lawmakers, including reviews of home mortgages and interviews about corporate-backed trips for members of Congress to Caribbean resorts.” Washington Post
“Fearful that the party had almost no chance of winning the Nov. 3 New York special election after Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava abruptly announced Saturday that she was dropping out, high-ranking national Democrats immediately began working to secure her endorsement of Democrat Bill Owens, POLITICO has learned. On Sunday afternoon, their vigorous efforts paid off.” Politico
“One year after the election of President Obama, a handful of off-year political contests — including governors’ races in New Jersey and Virginia and a Congressional race in upstate New York — offer some clues about how Americans are viewing Mr. Obama, as well as an early measure of the landscape for next year’s midterm elections.” New York Times
Everything else
Texans move to 5-3 with a 31-10 pounding of Buffalo.
Cowboys move to 5-2, beat the Seahawks 38-17.
New BCS poll: 1.Florida 2.Texas 3.Alabama 4.Iowa 5. Cincinnati
Yankees beat the Phillies 7-4 to take a 3-1 series lead. New York will try to end the series tonight, 7 p.m. on Fox.
Meanwhile, it will be an NFC South battle tonight on Monday Night Football — the unbeaten Saints take on Atlanta.
Rolling Stone has produced a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” is at the top of the list.
Tops at the weekend box office: “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” followed by “Paranormal Activity” and “Law Abiding Citizen.”
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Bolton draws GOP challenger
Can Republicans win a seat in Travis County? … Gilbert talks transportation … Selby steps into the Texas Political Parlor
Happy birthday to Republican operative Dave Beckwith.
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Lingering morning clouds and scattered showers followed by gradual clearing. Breezy and cooler with a high around 65.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Thursday highlights and the day ahead
Republican Paul Workman, founder of Austin-based Workman Commercial Construction, will announce today that he’ll challenge second-term Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, in a House seat that’s based in southwest Travis County.
An Aggie, Workman has been active in the Associated General Contractors of Texas for several years.
Republicans are confident about their chances of defeating Bolton. Her seat, previously held by GOP Rep. Terry Keel, was the last one in Travis County to turn from red to blue. Bolton got 51.2 percent of the vote in 2008 against Republican Donna Keel. That’s a small margin in a strong Democratic year, although some of Keel’s success could be attributed to the strength of her family’s name in that part of the county.
Democrats beat Republicans up and down the ballot in Keel’s district in 2008. President Barack Obama won the district by 10 points, but Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega edged out Republican Sen. John Cornyn by a little more than a point, 48.6 percent to 47.4 percent. As is often the case in close House races, Republican success could depend on whether a Libertarian runs — the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate got 4.1 percent of the vote in Bolton’s district in the 2008 U.S. Senate race, and conventional wisdom says Libertarians take more votes from Republicans than Democrats.
Republican operatives see Bolton’s as one of a number of seats where a national surge of Republican support could push their candidates over the top, just as some Democratic candidates were helped by anti-Bush sentiment in 2006 and 2008. But Democrats are on an incredible winning streak in Travis County, so much so that it spilled over into Williamson County last year, so Bolton will be tough to beat.
• Speaking of House races, I’m working on an updated list of the most vulnerable House incumbents as part of Monday’s post. So if you have an argument to make, e-mail me at jembry@statesman.com or make your case in the comments section. I will say there are some interesting races brewing out there that I overlooked with my initial list earlier this month.
• Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hank Gilbert rolled out his transportation plan on Thursday. His plan includes an 8-cent increase in the gas tax (plus an effort to tie gas taxes to inflation), a ban on all future toll roads unless they are approved by voters in major metropolitan areas and a reworked Texas Transportation Commission of 14 elected members.
The level of detail in Gilbert’s plan impressed Dallas Morning News editorial writer Rodger Jones, who wrote, “At least Gilbert has the guts to own up to the cost of building and maintaining a first-class transportation system. Tom Schieffer came out critical of an 8-cent increase today but neglected to make clear that he was responding to his Democratic rival. We have yet to see a fleshed-out Schieffer plan, however.” U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison also hasn’t told voters much about how she’d address the state’s transportation woes.
• The FR podcast will be back very soon, but in the meantime, check out the latest edition of the Texas Political Parlor. The Statesman’s W. Gardner Selby joins the KUT crew to discuss the new GOP state party chair, Tuesday’s constitutional election and a Texas congressman talking about just how talkative he is.
Poll watch
From Fox News: “Nearly half of Americans — 48 percent — say President Obama is meeting or exceeding expectations, down from 66 percent who thought so in March. At the same time, nearly half — 47 percent — say he is falling below their expectations — twice the number (23 percent) who thought his performance was sub par when polled in March 2009. Forty-four percent of Americans say Obama is keeping more promises than he is breaking. Almost as many — 39 percent — think the president is breaking more promises.”
From Gallup: “About a year after Obama’s election, optimism that a solution to the country’s race problem will eventually be worked out has settled back down to 56%. This certainly remains higher than in a number of previous years, particularly at points in the 1990s. But the current reading is not significantly improved from the sentiment that prevailed in more recent years prior to Obama’s election. Blacks continue to give much more negative responses to this question than do whites. The majority of whites are optimistic that a solution will eventually be worked out; the majority of blacks disagree.”
In the news
“A two-story addition should be built to the north of the arson-gutted Texas Governor’s Mansion to make the home “more livable” for the state’s first families and add much-needed space, according to new details of the showcase project revealed Thursday.” Austin American-Statesman
“Higher education enrollment in Texas rose 9 percent, to 1.4 million students, in the past year, with community colleges accounting for 75 percent of that increase, according to preliminary figures released by the state Thursday.” Austin American-Statesman
“In August, Perry was given the ‘Defender of Jerusalem’ award. So Perry and his wife flew first class to Israel at more than $5,000 per ticket. The governor’s security detail of four Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers was also along for the trip. They all took the 7,000 mile journey to accept the award at a time when the governor was asking everyone else in state government to cut back on travel. During a speech in Houston, Perry directed state agencies to curtail taxpayer funded travel.’” KTVT
“House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July.” Washington Post
Everything else
Yankees beat the Phillies, 3-1, to even up the World Series at a game apiece. Interesting stat from “Mike and Mike” on ESPN2 this morning: When the World Series is tied at 1-1, the team that wins game three has won 36 out of 51 times. Game three is 7 p.m. Saturday on Fox.
Spurs lost to the Bulls, 92-85.
Great sports weekend on the way — World Series, UT vs. Oklahoma State, Favre returns to Green Bay and the Texans will beat Buffalo to improve to 5-3, which will be their best record ever after eight games.
Jessica Simpson says she’s looking for an “intellectual” man.
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Perry picks up builders’ backing
Another trade group for Perry … Barbour helps him, also … Branch pulls out of AG race he was never in
Happy birthday to Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones and Jennifer Harris (the one who works for Michael Williams).
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Occasional rain and thunderstorms likely with a cold front crossing the region. Early highs in the 70s falling to the 50s later in the day.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com to get a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Wednesday highlights and the day ahead
Gov. Rick Perry today will pick up the endorsement of the Texas Association of Builders. Then he will speak to the group.
He will also hold fundraisers today with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who is chairman of the Republican Governors Association — a job that Perry used to hold. Barbour will appear with Perry at an event in Fredericksburg and two in the Dallas area.
• And speaking of the Dallas area, I reported on Postcards on Wednesday night that Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, has opted to run for re-election to the Texas House instead of running for attorney general.
While Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainright may jump in at some point, this means former solicitor general Ted Cruz is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for attorney general.
Yes, Attorney General Greg Abbott hasn’t officially said he’s going anywhere. But once the smoke clears, we expect Kay Bailey Hutchison to have resigned from the U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to be seeking her Senate seat and Abbott to be running for lieutenant governor.
When all of this plays out, of course, depends on when Hutchison resigns, or if she resigns. In a press release that will be distributed today, Branch says of a statewide run, “While the prospects for a successful run looked good, with only a month to go now until filing, the prospect of an open seat appears unlikely.”
Read: Branch doesn’t think that Hutchison will resign before the end of the filing period. That could well be true, in which case the State Republican Executive Committee could ultimately pick the nominees for attorney general and lieutenant governor.
Cruz has been courting SREC members.
I’m told that Branch isn’t pulling a Dewhurst here (where a politician says he’s running for one thing but everyone expects that he’s really biding his time until the job he really wants comes available). Branch really isn’t going to run for attorney general this time.
• Ken Herman recently saw Kinky Friedman at a book signing in San Antonio. And he was skeptical:
Here is Herman’s column on the Friedman campaign.
Stat of the day
Texas lost more jobs in September (44,700) than California (39,300) and Michigan (21,500). The only state that lost more than Texas that month was New York. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Poll watch
A new poll from CNN shows Mike Huckabee leading the prospective GOP field of presidential candidates in 2012 among Republicans, followed by Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty in a distant fourth.
And congratulations (I think?) to Gov. Rick Perry, voted the most overrated governor in an online, completely non-scientific survey conducted by Chris Cilizza’s excellent Washington Post blog, the Fix. Perry edged out Florida’s Charlie Crist.
In the news
“As Texas begins hiring hundreds of food stamp workers to help erase an application backlog that has left families waiting months for aid, no one expects the problems to disappear any time soon. The new state workers are entering a system in crisis. They’ll have far fewer experienced colleagues than they would have five years ago. Training is shorter. Mentoring has mostly fallen by the wayside. And employees are working an average of 13 hours of overtime per week — which, in some cases, is mandatory.” Austin American-Statesman
“Former Vice President Dick Cheney will help U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison next month in her bid to unseat a fellow Republican, Gov. Rick Perry.” Austin American-Statesman
“The car was headed off a cliff with Republican powerhouse Cathie Adams of Dallas destined for 13 broken ribs and months of little activity. Boy, did she recover.” Gardner Selby
“Led by former Republican leader Dick Armey, the conservative group FreedomWorks has attacked the Washington establishment this year, challenging bailouts, health care legislation and other policies that violate the group’s free-market ideology. But for more than six years, FreedomWorks’ own chairman flourished at the heart of that establishment, earning $750,000 a year to lobby for banks, green-energy producers and companies trying to shape the stimulus package that FreedomWorks opposed.” Dallas Morning News
“About 45,000 Texans who have exhausted their unemployment insurance payments — or soon will see them run out — may tap additional benefits for up to seven more weeks.” Houston Chronicle
“When we asked Gov. Rick Perry’s press office earlier this month whether or not the governor had asked Austin Sen. Kirk WatÂson to consider 3rd Court of Appeals Justice Jan Patterson for possible appointment to Travis County’s 353rd Civil District Court bench, we were told by spokesman Chris Cutrone on Oct. 9 that the Chronicle would have to file an open records request for that information; he could not answer the question, he said, but filing a request for records would provide a ‘clearer picture’ about what transpired. So we did. That same evening. And on Oct. 21, we got our answer in an e-mail: ‘After reviewing our records,’ Mark Adams, of Perry’s general counsel office, wrote, ‘we have determined that the Office of the GoverÂnor has no documents responsive to your request.’” Austin Chronicle
Everything else
The Phillies beat the Yankees in the first game of the World Series, 6-1.
Spurs beat New Orleans, 113-96.
Rockets beat Golden State, 108-107.
Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher will announce today whether his starting quarterback this week will be Kerry Collins or Vince Young. Pick your poison, Tennessee fans.
Corey Feldman is getting a divorce.
My lasting impression of Vegas from the long weekend: A newly minted bride and groom, likely born during or after Reagan’s second term, walking through Harrah’s Casino looking for the Toby Keith theme restaurant.
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Fact-checking Perry’s CNBC claims on taxes
Revised history on the revised franchise tax … Group that condemned Hutchison now praises her … Videos, we’ve got videos
Happy early birthday (Saturday) to consultant Luke Legate.
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Mostly sunny and comfortably mild. High of 73.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Thursday highlights and the day ahead
Gov. Rick Perry went on CNBC’s “Kudlow Report” on Thursday and was asked a series of questions about the state’s tax structure.
Here’s the full segment, or at least as much as CNBC posted on the Web:
Perry made a couple of claims that are worth revisiting.
As Perry and host Larry Kudlow were discussing the state’s lack of a personal income tax, Kudlow asked him about taxes on business. Kudlow said, “You do have corporate revenue taxes as far as I know and they have been raised.”
Perry said, “They have not been raised. As a matter of fact, we lowered them in 2006, it was a 4 and a half percent rate on our franchise tax, we moved it down to 1 percent. So I hate to disagree with you there. You know for a fact that Texas is a low-tax state.”
When Perry and the Legislature came up with a new franchise tax in 2006 to offset cuts in school property taxes, sure, the rate lowered. But that rate was assessed on something entirely different under the new tax. The old franchise tax captured 4.5 percent of earned surplus (also known as profit). The new tax captures 1 percent of total revenue minus the cost of goods sold or minus total compensation.
The point of all that was that the Legislature didn’t simply lower the rate of the tax, which is a conclusion one could draw from Perry’s comments.
Perhaps the more significant change in 2006 was that the new franchise tax was applied to many more businesses than the old loophole-ridden franchise tax. Using the projections that were in play at the time, the new tax was created so that businesses would pay, in total, $3.39 billion more per year in franchise taxes, because many businesses had been paying nothing under the old one.
That’s a large number, but it can’t be looked at in a vacuum. Because while franchise taxes went up by $3.39 billion (according to the projections at the time), property taxes on businesses went down $3.04 billion, leaving a relatively small net tax increase on businesses. And here’s the most important piece — it was passed in order to give homeowners an annual property-tax savings of $2.79 billion per year.
Here’s one other statement from Perry’s interview Thursday that’s worth revisiting: He said that in 2006, “we cut our property taxes by one-third.” He then repeated it a few seconds later.
That’s a little too simple a way of putting it. The state cut tax rates on school district operations by one-third, but that didn’t affect other aspects of property-tax bills, such as county and city taxes and taxes levied (with voter approval) to build more schools. And the one-third cut hasn’t fully held up because school districts have had to increase their tax rates to pay for operations. Plus there is the issue of rising appraisals, which Perry said the Legislature needs to address.
The Hutchison campaign put out information last night saying how much state tax collections have increased over the last couple of years. But what the campaign didn’t point out is those state taxes have gone up in order to make possible a larger cut in local property taxes.
I realize it probably seems like we’re a little too fixated on that 2006 special session here at FR World Headquarters. But it’s clear that in this Republican primary, we’re going to continue to return to the question of whether the Legislature cut taxes or raised them in 2006. The overall answer is that, taken on the whole, taxes were cut. It’s why we have a structural deficit. But obviously the debate can be sliced any number of ways.
• A few videos have piled up over the last couple of days. First, from the Perry people, Hutchison and the financial rescue plan:
The Hutchison campaign on on Perry’s fundraising ethics:
And everyone please welcome to the debate the Texas Democratic Party. Here’s their look at what they describe as Perry failures:
• A day after naming her “porker of the month” for her many earmark requests, Citizens Against Government Waste praised Hutchison for fighting cap-and-trade legislation with Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri. “Senators Hutchison and Bond should be commended for exposing the true costs of climate-change legislation,” the group said in a letter to senators.
• Todd Gillman with the Dallas Morning News in Washington got the big-time brush-off from Hutchison a couple of days ago.
• Programming note: For at least the first few days of next week, perhaps the whole week, I will be out of pocket and won’t be posting FR. Check back here Thursday to see if I’m back up. Sorry bout that, but I’m taking a few days off to visit a very special place.
Poll watch
From the Associated Press: “The number of Americans who believe there is solid evidence that the Earth is warming because of pollution is at its lowest point in three years, according to a survey released Thursday. The poll of 1,500 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that only 57 percent believe there is strong scientific evidence that the Earth has gotten warmer over the past few decades, and as a result, people are viewing the problem as less serious. That’s down from 77 percent in 2006.”
Gallup says President Obama’s approval rating fell 9 points — an unusually large drop — during the second and third quarters of his time in office.
Countdown
41 days until the filing period begins.
73 days until the filing period ends.
116 days until early voting begins.
130 days until the March 2 primary.
In the news
“It’s time for our periodic live look-in at the state of play in the 2010 elections. Today’s update comes with a special bonus for Democrats who stay tuned to the bottom of the page. At no additional charge, I will tell you how to make Republicans spend millions of dollars they don’t want to spend. You like to make Republicans spend their money, don’t you? Sure you do. Stay tuned.” Ken Herman
“Gov. Rick Perry says he’s OK with his re-election campaign getting help from the head of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, who solicited donations from the owners of the bars and restaurants his agency regulates.” Associated Press
“Proposition 11 has sparked a fundamental, statewide debate. It’s between those who hate eminent domain and those who hate it even more.” San Antonio Express-News
“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is leaning toward putting a public insurance option in the Senate health reform bill — a signal that Reid increasingly believes he can get the votes needed for a plan that would allow states to opt out of the program, senators said Thursday.” Politico
Everything else
Angels beat the Yankees on Thursday to force a game six, Saturday at 7 p.m. on Fox.
Magic Johnson says in a new book that he and Larry Bird helped write that he lobbied to keep Isaiah Thomas off of the original “Dream Team.” Thomas says he’s hurt by the revelation.
This weekend is the Austin Film Festival. Our great team at austin360.com has compiled some of the highlights.
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No First Reading today
I’ll be back on Friday.
Happy birthday to KXAN’s Jenny Hoff!
Also, please check out our Virtual Capitol page page for blogs, stories, today’s Selby column and other good stuff.
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Hutchison hits back on earmarks
Debate continues over earmarks … Fault lines in battle for GOP chair … A&M contacted Perry about president’s job
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Cloudy with rain developing. Breezy and mild with highs around 75.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Tuesday highlights and the day ahead
The whole issue of earmarks — taxpayer-funded projects often handed out based on congressional influence rather than demonstrated need — in many ways fits perfectly into Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign playbook as he tries to fend off a challenge from U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. When members of Team Perry talk about earmarks, they not only get to remind voters that Hutchison’s day job is in Washington, but they also get to make the debate about spending. Or, as they’d prefer we all call it, out-of-control spending.
But while it’s probably not her favorite topic, Hutchison hasn’t sidestepped the earmarks issue. Her claim has been that there is a certain amount of taxpayer dollars out there that’s going to get spent somewhere, and she’s been working to bring that money to Texas instead of allowing it to go to other states. And, she says, she doesn’t just dream up the projects she seeks, but rather responds to requests from local officials around the state.
The Perry campaign has been trying to draw attention this week to the fact that Citizens Against Government Waste has just named Hutchison “porker of the month” for her vast earmark requests. But Hutchison hit back Tuesday with some evidence that some earmarks sit just fine with the state government that Perry leads.
Let’s turn first to the state’s Office of State-Federal Relations and its strategic plan for budget years 2007-2011, published in July 2006. Among its recent accomplishments, the group brags that “OSFR and TXDOT worked closely together to secure over $669 million in highway earmarks for the state, $78 million in bus and bus facility earmarks, and $505 million in New Starts transit earmarks in the five-year surface transportation bill.”
The OSFR’s advisory board at the time: Speaker Tom Craddick, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Perry.
The Hutchison campaign also produced two letters — one written in March 2003 and one written in February 2004 — in which the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation submitted earmark requests to Hutchison. “Your efforts to earmark funding for any of the projects included among these recommendations will bring us closer to realizing our goal to maximize federal transportation funding for Texas,” executive director Michael Behrens wrote in the 2003 letter. And in the 2004 letter, Behrens wrote, “The Texas Department of Transportation is eager to work with you and your staff to promote your active involvement in providing additional federal funding for Texas transportation projects.”
When I wrote a story for the Statesman about Hutchison’s earmarking ways last month, Perry spokesman Mark Miner stopped short of saying Hutchison should not be requesting earmarks. He said it was about setting priorities.
• Gardner Selby wrote on the Postcards blog Tuesday about some fighting breaking out in the race for interim chair of the Texas Republican Party. Selby wrote, “Cannons are suddenly roaring in a Republican Party of Texas internal fight over who should be elected Saturday as the party’s interim chairwoman, succeeding Tina Benkiser, who recently resigned to become an adviser in Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign. Candidate Cathie Adams of Dallas, who heads the Texas Eagle Forum, was recently taken to task in an e-mail sent members of the decisive 62-member State Republican Executive Committee. The e-mail, fetchable at the end of this blog, largely questions Adams’ past opposition to a tort-reform ballot proposal.”
• Here’s something interesting from the Battalion, the student newspaper at Texas A&M: Neither Perry nor Defense Secretary Robert Gates is under consideration to be the university’s next president (Gates previously held the job). But the newspaper reports that both were contacted about the job.
Poll watch
Washington Post/ABC News: A majority of Americans — 63 percent — say the Obama administration does not have a clear plan for dealing with the problems in Afghanistan, even though 57 percent of Americans approve of how Obama is carrying out his role as commander in chief. The public is nearly split down the middle on whether Obama should send 40,000 more troops in.
From CNN: “For the first time since he took over in the White House, Americans don’t see eye to eye with President Barack Obama on the important issues, according to a new national poll. But the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey does indicate that a majority approve of how Obama’s handling his duties as president. According to the poll, which was released Tuesday, 48 percent of people questioned say that they agree with Obama on the issues that matter most to them, with 51 percent saying no. That’s a switch from April, when 57 percent said they agreed with the president on important issues, with 41 percent disagreeing.”
Countdown
43 days until the filing period begins.
75 days until the filing period ends.
118 days until early voting begins.
132 days until the March 2 primary.
In the news
“When asked today whether he is considering a moratorium on capital punishment, Perry said that ‘our process works and I don’t see anything out there that would merit calling for a moratorium on the Texas death penalty.’” Austin American-Statesman
“Rising unemployment led to 396,900 Texas adults losing their health insurance between January and August, according to a new report from an advocacy group.” Austin American-Statesman
“Texans had less access to the swine flu vaccine last week than residents of all but one other state, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal officials said the explanation is simple: Texas got fewer doses because it asked for less than other states.” Dallas Morning News
“Well, what do you know? A real, live idea has emerged in our governor’s race. Instead of the hourly whack-the-opponent press releases that come from each side, Gov. Rick Perry announced Thursday his plan to increase the number of T-Stem academies in Texas.” William McKenzie
Everything else
Yankees beat the Angels 10-1 on Wednesday to take a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series. Game five is Thursday.
Phillies will try to finish off the Dodgers tonight at 7:07 p.m. on TBS.
Kevin Durant returned to the Erwin Center on Tuesday, scoring 23 points as his Oklahoma City Thunder fell in a preseason game to the Spurs. Writes Cedric Golden, “It didn’t really matter that the Spurs won 119-102 and it didn’t matter that that split between Durant fans and Spurs fans was more Spur than KD. What mattered is Durant’s college fans got a chance to see him doing his thing against real pros.”
Sarah Palin will go on “Oprah” next month.
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Keel won’t challenge Bolton again
Republican nominee in 2008 opts not to seek Travis County seat … Homer draws a GOP challenger, as expected … Hutchison gets award she probably didn’t want
Austin weather: Mostly cloudy skies, high of 82. Rain likely coming Wednesday.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Monday highlights and the day ahead
Republican Donna Keel, who lost her 2008 bid to unseat Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, says she won’t run this cycle.
Keel wrote to supporters in an e-mail Sunday evening, “I appreciate everyone’s patience as I wrestled with the decision of whether or not to file for District 47 State Representative. A variety of circumstances have finally led me to conclude that this is not the right time for me to run again. I look forward to supporting whoever the Republican nominee is.”
No clear front-runner for the GOP nomination has emerged.
Keel got 48.8 percent of the vote in 2008, which, nationally, was a very strong year for Democrats. Some Republicans believe that this is just the kind of seat that can switch to the GOP column now that the national mood appears to be more favorable to Republicans. (Two important caveats: We don’t know how the whole anti-incumbent thing plays out in Texas, where Republicans are in charge, and we don’t know what the national mood will be a year from now.)
Anyway, expect Republicans to make a big push for Bolton’s southwest Travis County seat if they can find the right candidate.
• CORRECTED: Erwin Cain, chairman of the Hopkins County Republican Party, is planning to challenge Rep. Mark Homer, D-Paris. Harvey Kronberg reported Monday. Homer’s GOP challenger got 48.2 percent in 2008.
(Earlier I said Cain would challenge Chuck Hopson. My bad.)
• Republican James Bernsen confirms that he is no longer seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock. Bernsen is endorsing Republican Larry Gonzales for the seat.
As an aside — if you know of, or are working for, someone running for the Legislature in any part of the state, please send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com .
• U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has been named “porker of the month” by Citizens Against Government Waste. The group chided her for requesting, “149 projects worth $1.6 billion for authorization and appropriations bills for fiscal year 2010.”
• Democrat Juan Escobar, who lost his House seat last year to Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra, is now raising money for a 2010 run for county judge in Kleberg County.
Poll watch
Overall, 45 percent of Americans favor the broad outlines of the health-care proposals now moving in Congress, while 48 percent are opposed, about the same division that existed in August. Among independents, 52 percent are against the proposals and 42 percent favor them. But among all voters, a growing majority of Americans support the so-called public option. And while approval of President Barack Obama’s handling of the issue is growing among independents, it’s shrinking among Democrats. Source: Washington Post/ABC News
Rasmussen Reports: Among likely GOP primary voters, Sarah Palin trails Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee by wide margins in hypothetical 2012 matchups.
Obama approve/disapprove: 49/50, according to Rasmussen. Gallup says it’s 51/42.
Countdown
44 days until the filing period begins.
76 days until the filing period ends.
119 days until early voting begins.
133 days until the March 2 primary.
In the news
” What is Rick Perry doing? That’s the question of the day in Texas politics. The governor largely has led Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in their GOP gubernatorial race, but his repeated strongman tactics have folks scratching their heads.” William McKenzie
“A particularly hearty chain e-mail warning against two property tax-related constitutional amendments has been breeding in inboxes across the state as polls open for early voting.” Lisa Falkenberg
“The Perry camp has a lot of very savvy folks who have run a lot of successful races, but this is the first time they have had to deal with a candidate who has lost his discipline.” Paul Burka
“Questions about whether Gov. Rick Perry allowed the execution of a man some arson experts say may have been innocent, and then hindered an investigation into the evidence, continue to reverberate across Texas, where issues surrounding capital punishment have rarely stirred such controversy.” New York Times
“Convinced that Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) is on the ropes because of a tangle of ethical issues, House GOP leaders are debating whether to aggressively press for his removal as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee or try to drag out the controversy as long as possible for maximum political advantage.” Politico
“A group of liberal activists called the Yes Men made up a Web site (http://chamber-of-commerce.us instead of the real http://uschamber.com) and e-mailed fake news releases announcing that the business lobby had suddenly changed its view on global warming. It used a bogus name to rent a room at the National Press Club and stuck the Chamber’s logo on a lectern as it made the phony announcement to a group of reporters — some actors and some real.” Dana Milbank
Everything else
Dodgers’ closer Jonathan Broxton couldn’t finish out the Phillies on Monday — Jimmy Rollins had a dramatic, two-run, game-winning hit in the ninth to give the Phillies a 5-4 win and a commanding 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series.
Angels showed some life Monday, beat the Yankees to trim New York’s lead to 2-1 in the ALCS. Game four is at 7 p.m. tonight on Fox.
How about those Denver Broncos? They beat the Chargers on the road Monday to improve their record to 6-0.
Snoop Dogg turns 37 today.
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Lawmaker battles claims of a proposed state property tax
E-mail warns of a state property tax … Unemployment continues to increase … Perry and Hutchison each raising money today
Austin weather: Mostly sunny, high in the upper 70s.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Weekend highlights and the day ahead
Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, is fighting back against a claim that two proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution on the Nov. 3 ballot create a state property tax.
The source of the claim seems to be an e-mail circulating in various parts of the state, particularly in Houston and Dallas. It warns that Propositions 2 and 3 would allow the state “to start taxing residential homeowners. So if you own a home, and these laws are passed, you will be taxed by the state.”
Not even close, says Otto, who carried the legislation that put the propositions on the ballot. “This claim is patently false,” Otto wrote in a letter to House colleagues last week.
Proposition 2 would require appraisers to appraise a residence as a home, rather than looking at its maximum value as a commercial property. And Proposition 3 would require universal appraisal methods and standards around the state. The enabling legislation for the propositions, which also enables Proposition 5 on next month’s ballot, did not draw a dissenting vote in either chamber.
“In no way, shape, or form do these propositions create a way for the state to tax property,” Otto said. “I regret that someone who might profit if these amendments fail has decided to attack them with falsehoods.”
• Unemployment, already at its highest point since the 1980s, continues to tick upward in Texas. The Texas Workforce Commission announced Friday that the state’s unemployment rate increased from 8.0 percent to 8.2 percent in September. The national rate is 9.8 percent. Texas shed 44,700 jobs in September.
• The Sheila Marshall Band is starring in a fundraiser for Hutchison this evening at Stubb’s in Austin. Tickets start at $75 per person.
• Perry is holding a fundraiser this evening at the Amarillo home of Mark Bivins.
Stat of the day
Drivers and homeowners in North Texas with poor credit ratings are paying on average at least 35 percent more for insurance coverage than those with good credit - even when all other factors, such as driving records and recent damage claims on homes, are identical. Source: Dallas Morning News
Countdown
45 days until the filing period begins.
77 days until the filing period ends.
120 days until early voting begins.
134 days until the March 2 primary.
In the news
“At a glance, the wood-frame house on West 11th Street looks as if it’s still recovering from the Dec. 23, 1991, fire that asphyxiated three young girls and eventually led to the execution of their father, dark turns that scarcely drew attention beyond Navarro County during the 12 years that passed between the events. Part of the wall above the front window appears blackened. Inside, a piece of cardboard leans against the window. Small plastic bottles of motor oil rest on the concrete porch. With a truck parked in the driveway, the house appears to be occupied, little changed. But lately, a national storm has swirled over what Cameron Todd Willingham did there early that morning.” Austin American-Statesman
“The barrage of negative headlines about the State Board of Education’s oversight of the $19.5 billion Permanent School Fund was fresh in the minds of the board members who set out on Friday to tweak the board’s ethics policy.” Austin American-Statesman
“So, this is what you get with a governor who’s appointed everyone to everything after nearly nine years in office: You name it, Gov. Rick Perry has a hand in it.” Peggy Fikac
“Embroiled in a national controversy over whether he allowed the execution of an innocent man, Gov. Rick Perry adamantly has refused to release an advisory memo from his general counsel about granting a 30-day reprieve for Cameron Todd Willingham.” Houston Chronicle
“The Chicago Tribune reported Sunday that the ex-wife of Cameron Todd Willingham has told journalists that her husband never confessed to setting the fire that killed their three children, contradicting an affidavit released last week by Corsicana officials.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“As the debate over whether the state executed an innocent man spills over into the governor’s race, Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison are operating by a longtime rule of Texas politics: Don’t mess with the death penalty.” Dallas Morning News
“White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Sunday that the Fox News Channel is ‘not really a news station’ and that much of the programming is ‘not really news.’” Politico
“The episode that transfixed the nation last week — a spaceshiplike balloon floating through the Colorado skies with a 6-year-old boy named Falcon believed to be inside — was declared a hoax by the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday.” New York Times
Everything else
Cliff Lee and the Phillies beat the Dodgers 11-0 Sunday to go up 2-1 in the National League Championship Series. Game four is tonight at 7:07 p.m. on TBS.
Game Three of the American League Championship Series is at 3:13 p.m. today on Fox. Yankees lead the Angels 2-0 in the series.
The first BCS poll came out Sunday: 1. Florida 2. Alabama 3. Texas 4. Boise State 5. Cincinnati.
While that other Texas team was idle, the Texans posted a very impressive road win against the first-place Bengals on Sunday, 28-17. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans seem determined to embarrass the legacy of the Houston Oilers, losing 59-0 to New England.
“Where the Wild Things Are” won the weekend box office, followed by “Law Abiding Citizen” and “Paranormal Activity.”
On “Saturday Night Live,” Barack Obama turned into The Rock Obama:
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Most overheard comments at a Hutchison singles mixer
Gen K event unites the beautiful … Obama gets his Aggie on … Claims of a Willingham confession
Happy birthday to lobbyist Chuck Rice and Katherine Cesinger, press secretary to Gov. Rick Perry. And happy early bithday (Sunday) to Joel Romo of the American Heart Association.
Austin weather: Sunny with a high of 75.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Thursday highlights and the day ahead
Gen K, the arm of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s campaign that aims to attract young professionals, recently held a mixer at the Bolla Bar in Dallas. Based on the Facebook photos, the crowd was quite fetching and the theme was something along the lines of “Friends don’t let friends date Democrats, unless they’re voting for KBH.”
I actually sent an undercover First Reading correspondent to the fundraiser and he returned with some very interesting observations. In fact, he reported back to me some of the conversations that he kept overhearing again and again. So I’ve compiled a list.
Yeah, I know. A top-10 list. Next I’ll do a Christopher Walken impression. But as unoriginal as it may be, remember that this is a free blog. And if an item doesn’t make sense, click on it and you’ll get the back story.
TOP TEN THINGS OVERHEARD AT THE KBH MIXER:
(10) “Want to come to my place and watch ‘La Marque: Uncensored?’”
(9) “So which name do you use on Burkablog?”
(8) “Ours could be a classic love story: Purse boy meets girl.”
(7) “Yes, Matt, I saw your Tweet… Wait, are you now Tweeting that I saw your Tweet?”
(6) “We should get a drink in October. Or November. Or January. Or after health care.”
(5) “No, you cannot nibble on my earmark.”
(4) “Brian Newby heard you were here. He called your boss. You’re fired.”
(3) “Which Pi Phi chapter are you from?”
(2) “Drinks are in the fridge. Next to the makeup.”
(1) “The Perry mixer paid better.”
But seriously folks …
• Houston Mayor Bill White expanded his fundraising lead over the rest of the announced candidates for Hutchison’s U.S. Senate seat, The Associated Press reports. He has more than $4 million in the bank. None of the Republicans reported to the AP that they have more than $1 million on hand, but Roger Williams continued to be the fundraising leader among announced GOP candidates. (A group that does not include Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who could quickly poor millions of his own money into the race.)
• President Barack Obama will be in Texas today, speaking to the Points of Light forum at Texas A&M University at the invitation of former President George H.W. Bush. Lots of demonstrators expected, the Statesman’s Nathan Adkisson reports.
• Look for the September jobs report this morning from the Texas Workforce Commission.
• My apologies that the FR podcast didn’t come together this week, but you can listen here to a brief discussion I had Thursday with Gardner Selby and KUT’s Ben Philpott about the week in politics.
Stat of the day
According to MSNBC, the following Texas metro areas moved from recession to recovery in August: Austin-Round Rock, Brownsville-Harlingen, Dallas-Plano-Irving, El Paso, Lubbock, McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr, San Antonio. The report says Texas as a whole is still in a recession.
Countdown
48 days until the filing period begins.
80 days until the filing period ends.
123 days until early voting begins.
137 days until the March 2 primary.
In the news
“Two affidavits have been released by the City of Corsicana that seem to dispute the declarations in the national media that Cameron Todd Willingham was innocent when he was executed in 2004 for murdering his three daughters.” Corsicana Daily Sun
“The arson expert at the center of a death penalty storm said Thursday that the political fight over whether Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongly executed is obscuring a broader problem: flawed science that is failing the justice system.” Dallas Morning News
“The founder of the nationally acclaimed Prison Entrepreneurship Program has abruptly resigned after she was banned from entering state prisons for having improper relationships with four ex-convicts who graduated from her program.” Austin American-Statesman
“At least one member of the jury that sentenced Cameron Todd Willingham to death in the arson homicides of his three children says she is struggling with the idea that she might have convicted an innocent man.” CNN
“The leader of one of Texas’ most troubled charter schools was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for tampering with government records.” Houston Chronicle
Everything else
I’m not a Longhorn, but everybody can pretty much agree that Texas is going to beat Oklahoma, right?
Phillies beat the Dogers 8-6 in game one of the National League Championship Series. Game two is today at 3 p.m. on TBS.
Yankees and Angels play game one of their series at 7 p.m. tonight on TBS.
Jerry Jones said Thursday he won’t fire Wade Phillips during the season under any circumstances.
New in theaters: “Where the Wild Things Are,” “A Serious Man,” “Afghan Star,” “Coco Before Chanel,” “Law Abiding Citizen,” “More Than a Game” and “The Stepfather.”
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Fire scientist knocks Perry
Beyler enters the fray … Perry attempts to leave little room for doubt on Willingham’s guilt … Key fight on public option
Austin weather: There may be fog in patches in the Austin area this morning and a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon, the National Weather Service says. It should be mostly cloudy with a high of about 90. The 20 percent chance of rain continues tonight with some cooling and an overnight low near 60. Winds may gust as high as 20 mph.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Wednesday highlights and the day ahead
Dogged by three weeks of news coverage questioning his decision to shake up the Texas Forensic Science Commission, Gov. Rick Perry appeared intent Wednesday on recasting the story to make it about Cameron Todd Willingham, the Corsicana man executed in 2004 for killing his children in a house fire, and not about the expert reports that have found major flaws in the arson investigation that was the basis for the case against Willingham.
But late Wednesday, the fire scientist who was set to address the forensic commission before Perry shook it up offered some severe criticism of Perry’s handling of the case. Craig Beyler, a nationally recognized expert, said in an interview with CNN that Perry was trying to protect his political hide. He also said the newly appointed members of the forensic commission should resign, and he called Perry’s actions “unethical.”
“(Perry) should have recused himself from any appointments to that commission because now it gives the appearance he’s using his political clout to protect himself against any incrimination by the commissioner,” Beyler told CNN.
See the full story from Anderson Cooper, which includes an interview with Willingham’s stepmother, below. Interestingly, Cooper asked the stepmother whether Willingham beat his wife. Yes he did, the stepmother said, but she pointed out that the wife also beat him.
Perry’s comments Wednesday to the Texas press corps — a dramatic change in tone from just a couple of weeks ago —Â followed a speech he gave to the Texas Association of Realtors Government Affairs Conference, where he was warmly received.
After he highlighted Willingham’s death-bed tirade against his wife and said Willingham tried to beat her into having an abortion, Peggy Fikac said to Perry, “It sounds like you’re saying he should be executed because he was a bad man.”
Perry responded, “No, I’m saying, look how many courts looked at this? There were nine federal courts that looked at this case. It was before the Supreme Court of the United States four times. Now surely Peggy you’re not saying that the supreme court of the united states fouled up four times.”
Perry took a somewhat combative tone, saying reporters were being distracted by sideshows. The implication seemed to be that Beyler’s review, which was sought by the Forensic Science Commission, was a sideshow.
Listen to the full audio of Perry’s gaggle below. It’s a little loud in there and so the quality isn’t as good as you’d find on, say, a First Reading podcast. But it works.
• Dogcanyon.org, the new site from Democratic operative Glenn Smith, is having a launch party tonight at the Broken Spoke from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Poll watch
According to Gallup, Hillary Clinton’s approval rating now exceeds Barack Obama’s. In January, his was 78 percent and her’s was 65 percent. Now his is 56 percent and her’s is 62 percent.
“President Obama is holding onto a positive approval rating in the latest Marist poll, but he’s losing independents. Thanks to strong support among Democrats, Obama still has 53% approval, but he’s slipped into negative territory with independents for the first time in the Marist survey, with 45 percent liking the job the President is doing, and 47 percent unhappy with it.” New York Daily News
Countdown
49 days until the filing period begins.
81 days until the filing period ends.
124 days until early voting begins.
138 days until the March 2 primary.
In the news
“After two weeks of national scrutiny of his role in the state’s 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, Gov. Rick Perry spoke Wednesday about the case, describing Willingham as a “monster” and noting that the courts repeatedly upheld a jury’s verdict that Willingham set fire to his house to kill his three young daughters.” Austin American-Statesman
“If you’re not a Texan yearning for a statewide office you don’t currently hold, there’s nothing troubling about Kay Bailey Hutchison’s waffling over leaving the U.S. Senate to focus on running for governor. But if you’re angling for her could-be-available seat or another possible opening, it’s all right to cry.” Gardner Selby
“Yes, by most accounts, Cameron Todd Willingham was a “bad man,” as Gov. Rick Perry declared Wednesday to reporters. But being a bad man isn’t a crime punishable by death, even in Texas.” Lisa Falkenberg
“Eighth- and fourth-grade students in Texas, like those in much of the rest of the nation, didn’t show improvement on a national mathematics test, according to results released Wednesday.” Austin American-Statesman
“As the White House and Congressional leaders turned in earnest on Wednesday to working out big differences in the five health care bills, perhaps no issue loomed as a greater obstacle than whether to establish a government-run competitor to the insurance industry.” New York Times
“Some of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s closest aides, none of whom faced Senate confirmation, earned millions of dollars a year working for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and other Wall Street firms, according to financial disclosure forms.” Bloomberg
Everything else
Game One of the National League Championship Series is at 7:07 tonight, Phillies and Dodgers on TBS.
Rush Limbaugh has been dropped from a bid to buy the St. Louis Rams.
Captain Lou Albano died Wednesday at 76.
Avril Lavigne has filed for divorce from Mr. Avril Lavigne.
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Justice’s impact seen at Capitol in recent years
Justice presided over huge cases … More stories on Willingham … Perry and Hutchison raising money today
Happy birthday to Texas Monthly editor Jake Silverstein.
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Warmest day of the week with highs around 90. Limited sun with still a few scattered showers.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Tuesday highlights and the day ahead
Federal Judge William Wayne Justice, who presided over a number of landmark cases involving school integration, sweeping prison reforms and health-care expansions, died Tuesday at the age of 89.
Justice was involved with a number of landmark class-action cases. His impact was most recently felt at the Legislature when he presided over the Frew lawsuit, which forced lawmakers to invest hundreds of millions of dollars more in efforts to reach children eligible for Medicaid.
• Today’s papers are filled with more stories about Gov. Rick Perry’s changes to the Forensic Science Commission as it was about to zero in on the arson investigation that contributed to the conviction of Cameron Todd Willingham.
The Statesman’s Chuck Lindell reports that Judge Barbara Hervey of the Court of Criminal Appeals says the case has led her to believe the state’s criminal justice system needs a better understanding of fire science. Last week, Hervey went to the state archives to read Willingham’s case file. Lindell writes, “she came away from her reading with no conclusions about Willingham’s case but with a desire to have the Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit investigate fire science.”
Ousted Forensic Science Commission chairman Sam Bassett told the Houston Chronicle that Perry aide Mary Anne Wiley told him the commission’s $30,000 hiring of fire scientist Craig Beyler sounded like a waste of taxpayer money. Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle told the Chronicle about Perry lawyers’ meetings with Bassett, “They did not ask him to discontinue this review.”
And in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram story about criticism of Perry’s shakeup from Hutchison and Wharton businesswoman Debra Medina (who is also seeking the GOP nomination for governor, Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle responded that if they “oppose the death penalty for someone who murdered his three children, beat his wife while she was pregnant with twins in an effort to force an abortion, repeatedly changed his story, who confessed and whose last words were an obscenity laced tirade aimed at his ex wife, and whose conviction was upheld numerous times over the course of more than a decade, including nine times by federal courts then they should just say so.”
And CNN did another story last night on Anderson Cooper’s show:
• Hutchison missed a Tuesday cloture vote in the Senate on an appropriations bill, which the Perry campaign was quick to point out. “To ensure the Senator doesn’t miss any more votes, she may want to talk to her staff and tell them to remind her when she needs to show up for work,” said Perry spokesman Mark Miner.
Cloture votes cut off debate, meaning they allow the Senate to proceed toward voting on legislation.
Responded Hutchison’s Joe Pounder, “Despite Rick Perry’s full campaign day yesterday of two fundraisers, a press conference and radio interview, it’s not surprising that his campaign would send out a press release on a cloture vote considering we all know now how much Rick Perry likes cutting off debate and delaying critical work.”
• Hutchison has a fundraising lunch in Houston today. Perry is holding a fundraiser at the home of Gayle and Woody Hunt of El Paso.
Poll watch
A new Gallup poll finds that two-thirds of Americans support the death penalty for those convicted of murder. That number has changed little in recent years.
Countdown
50 days until the filing period begins.
82 days until the filing period ends.
125 days until early voting begins.
139 days until the March 2 primary.
In the news
“William Wayne Justice was a giant in Texas history, the foreman of an audacious legal assembly line that churned out bulging packages of civil rights, equal justice and opportunities for the least among us.” Austin American-Statesman
“U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Tuesday that some people are suggesting that she remain in the Senate as she challenges fellow Republican Rick Perry for governor instead of resigning this fall as she said she would.” Associated Press
“One group is nearly unanimous in telling the governor that Texas should leave the union: The rest of the country.” Wayne Slater
“Now they have an enemy. For months, President Obama and his administration waged their fight for a health-care overhaul without a clear opponent, even courting the industry executives and interest groups that helped kill reform efforts 15 years ago. But attacks on the leading Democratic reform plan this week by the insurance lobby left little doubt that two of the most powerful institutions involved in the debate — the White House and the nation’s insurance companies — have abandoned any real hope of forging a compromise. What was a tenuous truce has turned quickly into an all-out battle, with both sides ratcheting up the hostilities.” Washington Post
Everything else
Corrie MacLaggan and her husband and I were reminded at Guero’s last night why Austin’s a great place to cover politics. You never know which politician you might see out on the town:
Friedman was with a group that won the right to dine with him in a charity auction.
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Numbers point toward Democratic momentum, but is it enough?
Factors to consider when weighing who will control the House … Perry can’t shake the Willingham story … Hutchison knocked for campaign that’s light on specifics
Happy birthday to Karl-Thomas Musselman of the Burnt Orange Report.
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Cloudy and warmer with a good chance of rain. High around 80.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Monday highlights and the day ahead
Harvey Kronberg at Quorum Report wrote Monday about some very interesting number-crunching by Dana Chiodo of “Texas Candidates.” Looking at previous election returns, particularly down-ballot statewide races, the numbers show that, while it’s not yet time to pronounce Texas a two-party state, Democratic momentum is gaining. The Republican House districts that Democrats have picked off in recent years continue to become more friendly to Democrats in general, and Democrats are seeing better numbers in the suburbs.
Of course, this will all play out in the battle for control of the Texas House over the next year. Republicans have a slim 76-74 advantage right now, so if two seats flip, there will be a lovely, recently remodeled two-bedroom apartment available at 12th and Congress. (The commute is great!) And the Chiodo numbers are very instructive when looking at the trend lines.
What else will determine which party has the House majority come 2011?
The national mood — Democrats picked up a net of 11 Texas House seats in 2006 and 2008 (including one party switch), when George W. Bush’s popularity took a nose dive during his second term. It was during these years that Democrats also gained huge majorities in Congress. It’s difficult to tell where the country will be in a year, but oft-cited statistics are oft-cited for a reason, and a president’s party usually loses seats in a mid-term election. This would seem to favor Republicans, but, again, who knows where we will be in a year.
Top of the ticket — Whoever the Republican nominee for governor is, that candidate is likely to have much more money than the Democratic nominee. Same goes for the Republican nominees for other key statewide offices such as lieutenant governor and comptroller. This money will be used, in part, to identify Republican voters and drive them to the polls. On the other hand, the Democratic statewide ticket in 2006 was about as low-profile as a statewide ticket can be, and the Democrats had a huge year in House races.
The Straus effect — Republican Speaker Joe Straus is raising money very aggressively around the state. And every indication is that he won’t be nearly as slow to help candidates in his party as Tom Craddick was. If the Straus money is combined with a couple of PACs that have sprung up to help Republican candidates in recent months, plus the usual GOP-friendly sources such as Texans for Lawsuit Reform, Republicans could have an even bigger-than-usual money advantage over Democrats, whose financial fortunes will largely depend on how much money the trial lawyers are willing to give.
The candidates — Republicans have made some puzzling candidate-recruitment decisions in recent years, such as nominating school-voucher supporters in rural areas. GOP operatives have sent signals that they’ve learned their lesson, but it’s ultimately up to the primary voters to choose the candidates, and then it’s up to those candidates to come up with messages that fit their districts and run the appropriate campaigns. It will also be worth watching which candidates retire over the next couple of months. If Democrats lose another David Farabee (who represents a GOP-heavy area), their realistic hopes for a majority could evaporate.
In summary, a number of factors seem to point toward Republicans keeping control in 2010. But based on the last two cycles, it would be foolish to discount the Democrats.
• The Republican gubernatorial candidates don’t seem to be winning a lot of fans recently among the opinion-makers at the Dallas Morning News.
The paper’s editorial writers say in an editorial this morning that Perry needs to make clear that he will allow the Forensic Science Commission to follow through with an investigation into the arson findings that played a key role in the conviction of Cameron Todd Willingham. The editorial comes a day after the Chicago Tribune reported that former commission chairman Sam Bassett said Perry aides expressed displeasure with the commission’s work in the Willingham case months ago.
The newspaper writes, “The governor must back off. No more closed-door meetings with Perry aides and commission members. No more not-so-subtle suggestions about the direction of the investigation. No more sarcastic remarks from Perry about ‘supposed experts.’ Perry has overstepped in his attempts to delay or quash this important inquiry. Unless he adopts a hands-off approach, his motives and the commission’s work will be suspect.”
Meanwhile, DMN editorial writer Rodger Jones chides Hutchison for a “failure to articulate any vision at all on transportation.” He writes, “Her statements on the subject have been overwhelmingly politically opportunistic — essentially, what she’s against — and scarcely illuminating on what kinds of programs she would put forth. Look at the “issues” section of her campaign website. Instead of stating what she stands for, she asks opinions from the public. And this after identifying transportation as one of her big five issues. At least I know where Perry stands — or stood.”
Hutchison has been running for governor for all of 2009 but has not detailed a policy vision in any area of state government, be it education, transportation, taxes or the environment. In fact, one could argue that the only candidate for governor who has given any real detail about where to go over the next four years is Democrat Hank Gilbert, and Gilbert has avoided the hard work of explaining how to pay for his ideas, which, taken collectively, are very expensive.
• Perry has two fundraisers scheduled for today in Houston. While in Houston, he’ll make an official stop at a school to discuss school accountability, according to a release from his office.
• Big vote in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee today on the Baucus health-care bill.
• Peggy Fikac reminds us that you never know whom you might see at the airport.
Countdown
51 days until the filing period begins.
83 days until the filing period ends.
126 days until early voting begins.
140 days until the March 2 primary.
In the news
“As members of the State Board of Education trade accusations of ethical lapses, board leaders say it is time to revisit the ethics policy that governs their management of the $19.5 billion public school trust fund.” Austin American-Statesman
“‘Friday Night Lights’ will not receive some of the economic development money the City of Austin offered it two years ago because the NBC show did not include a ‘Filmed in Austin, TX’ credit at the end of each episode during Season Two, city officials say.” Austin American-Statesman
“A group of experts dubbed ‘academic rock stars’ by one observer will study the pros and cons of merging the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio with UTSA.” San Antonio Express-News
“Gov. Rick Perry’s refusal to release documents he reviewed in the hours before the Cameron Todd Willingham execution is the latest fight he’s waged over records kept in his office. Many believe he is the most secretive modern-day governor Texas has seen.” Dallas Morning News
“Public schools are used to dealing with children in poverty, but this school year, San Antonio school districts are seeing more children than ever from families that have gone from struggling to put food on the table to keeping a roof over their heads. School social workers say the increases are extreme.” San Antonio Express-News
“President Obama announced in March that he would be sending 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. But in an unannounced move, the White House has also authorized — and the Pentagon is deploying — at least 13,000 troops beyond that number, according to defense officials.” Washington Post
Everything else
Phillies beat the Rockies, advance to the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers. So in the first 13 games of the baseball playoffs, the four teams that got eliminated won all of one game.
Conan O’Brien on the possibility of an all-Los Angeles, Dodgers-Angels World Series: “It could be the first World Series where everyone leaves in the second inning to beat the traffic.”
David Letterman: “Alex Rodriguez is playing so well that today the Yankees retired Kate Hudson’s number.”
Rush Limbaugh said on “Today” this morning that Obama is “polarizing the country.”
Nancy Kerrigan turns 40 today.
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Ousted head of forensic panel says Perry’s team pressured him
New questions about Perry’s reason for removing Bassett … Combs reports fourth straight month of double-digit losses … Questions about CPS reforms
Happy birthday to Larkin Tackett of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and to Daniel Greer, who actually does the work at Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.
And congratulations to Eric Opiela, executive director of the state Republican Party, and wife Lara. Son Ryan was born at 4:38 this morning and everyone is doing well.
Austin weather: Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of light rain. High of 71.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it. If you’ve already done so and you’re not getting them, send me another one.)
Weekend highlights and the day ahead
Gov. Rick Perry’s office has repeatedly said that Perry removed Sam Bassett from the helm of the Forensic Science Commission simply because his term was up. But according to a story in this morning’s Chicago Tribune, Perry lawyers had for months expressed unhappiness with the commission’s investigation into the case of Cameron Todd Willingham. The newspaper reports, “According to Bassett, the governor’s attorneys questioned the cost of the inquiry and asked why a fire scientist from Texas could not be hired to examine the case instead of the expert from Maryland that the panel ultimately settled on. Following the meeting, a staffer from the general counsel’s office began to attend the commission’s meetings, Bassett said. And although Bassett said he had hoped his work on the commission would focus solely on forensics, the meetings he described likely will add to questions about Perry’s moves.”
Bassett claims Perry’s office told him that the commission, whose hired expert found a number of faults with the arson investigation that led to Willingham’s conviction for murdering his children, was putting too high a priority on the Willingham case, and Bassett claims Perry lawyer Mary Anne Wiley called payments to fire scientist Craig Beyler — the expert hired by the commission — a waste of taxpayer money.
Perry’s office does nothing in the Tribune story to dispute Bassett’s claims. His staff has refused to give any public rationale for replacing Bassett. Similarly, Bassett has previously claimed to Texas reporters that he did not know why he was removed.
On a related note, the Houston Chronicle reported Sunday that Perry’s office declined to release records related to a late-hour request for a reprieve from Willingham’s lawyer. Similar records were released by former Gov. George W. Bush, the Chronicle reported.
• Comptroller Susan Combs reported Friday that state collections from the sales tax dropped 12.5 percent in September as compared to September 2008. It was the eighth consecutive month of declining sales tax receipts and the fourth consecutive month with a year-to-year drop of more than 10 percent.
The economy continues to perform worse than projected at the start of the year. Combs said in her biennial revenue estimate in January that, for fiscal year 2009, sales tax collections would tick up 0.4 percent. But last week she reported that sales tax collections were down 2.7 percent for the 2009 budget year compared to 2008.
Combs also projected in January that the state would lose 110,000 jobs in fiscal year 2009. But last week she said Texas had lost 296,000 jobs in the 12-month period ending with August 2009.
The national economic downturn has been worse than experts across the country expected at the start of the year. Combs took the sales tax drop into consideration in June when she certified the state budget, saying the state would have enough money from other revenue sources and savings to cover the sales tax shortfall.
The Friday report was the first of the 2010 budget year — a year in which Combs has projected that sales taxes would grow 0.5 percent. We’re just at the very beginning of the new biennium, but if sales taxes come in under expectations for 2010 and 2011, lawmakers could have to spend more money next session filling the gaps in the current budget. And as has been discussed in this space many times, lawmakers are already expecting a tough budget climate that year, thanks in large part to the so-called structural deficit created by the property tax cut of 2006.
But there are signs that things could be turning around out there, at least nationally. The New York Times reported Friday that big retail chains reported a small increase in sales for September. It was their first year-over-year increase since July 2008. And a Gallup poll found consumer confidence in September at its highest point in a year.
• Hutchison is having a “Women for Kay” fundraiser today at the Four Seasons in Austin. According to Peggy Fikac’s column in today’s Houston Chronicle, she’ll have another one Wednesday in Houston.
• And if you’ll allow me for a second, the demise of in-depth reporting about state government in this state has been greatly exaggerated. In this weekend’s newspapers, you have the Statesman reporting that more cell phones than ever are getting into Texas prisons, the Statesman reporting a change atop the Teacher Retirement System board before it was even announced, the Houston Chronicle reporting on troubles with Child Protective Services reforms instituted four years ago and the Dallas Morning News reporting about a pattern of tolerating misconduct by the Texas Medical Board. All of those stories are under the “in the news” heading below.
Poll watch
CBS News poll: While 47 percent of Americans approve of the way President Obama is handling health care, 60 percent disapprove of the way congressional Democrats are handling the issue, while 67 percent disapprove of how congressional Republicans are handling the issue.
According to a new Pew Research Center poll, 57 percent of respondents back same-sex civil unions. But 53 percent oppose legalizing same-sex marriage.
Countdown
52 days until the filing period begins.
84 days until the filing period ends.
127 days until early voting begins.
141 days until the March 2 primary.
In the news
“A year after a Texas death row killer’s cell phone threat to a powerful state senator embarrassed prison officials and triggered the largest shakedown of prisoners in state history, more cell phones are getting into prisons than ever.” Austin American-Statesman
“Gov. Rick Perry plans to reshuffle the board leadership of the state’s $88 billion teacher retirement system, an unexpected move that has reignited concerns among the members that Perry is meddling with their pension fund. Linus Wright, a retired school superintendent who was appointed in January to lead the Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, said he has been notified by the governor’s office that he will soon be replaced as chairman. Wright said he was given no reason for the change. He will be succeeded by Dallas real estate investor R. David Kelly, a board trustee since 2007, Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle said. Kelly is also a member of the finance team for Perry’s re-election campaign, according to a June news release.” Austin American-Statesman
“An ambitious plan to save more children by hiring former law enforcement officers to improve abuse investigations lies in disarray with more than half the investigators leaving Texas Child Protective Services since the program began in 2005, state records show.” Houston Chronicle
“Seven years ago, after a scathing series of stories in The Dallas Morning News, the Texas Medical Board promised to crack down on bad doctors. Patient endangerment would be dealt with severely. And sexual misconduct, one official said, would become ‘intolerable.’ It hasn’t turned out that way.” Dallas Morning News
“John Bradley, the Williamson County district attorney whom Gov. Rick Perry recently appointed to head the Texas Forensic Science Commission, is fighting to keep a man convicted of murdering his wife — mostly on circumstantial evidence — from getting a DNA test of a bloody bandanna found about 100 feet from the couple’s home near Round Rock.” Rick Casey
“From Texas’ ranking as the No. 1 state in the percentage of its residents without health insurance to a college financial aid program that’s been estimated to leave a huge chunk of eligible students uncovered, Shapleigh sees government failing Texas.” Peggy Fikac
“Tens of thousands of financially distressed Texans are applying for food stamps, only to have their paperwork mishandled or to learn they can’t schedule required interviews with state workers for months, forcing many to go without.” Dallas Morning News
“While the energy of the anti-tax and anti-Big Government tea party movement may yet haunt Democrats in 2010, the first order of business appears to be remaking the Republican Party. Whether it’s the loose confederation of Washington-oriented groups that have played an organizational role or the state-level activists who are channeling grass-roots anger into action back home, tea party forces are confronting the Republican establishment by backing insurgent conservatives and generating their own candidates — even if it means taking on GOP incumbents.” Politico
“Higher health spending, increasing energy prices and stretched governments at all levels may squeeze future disposable incomes — what people have to spend — and public services. Are we condemning our children to downward mobility?” Robert J. Samuelson
Everything else
Despite a 24-point victory over Colorado, Texas fell back from No. 2 to No. 3 in the AP poll and now sits behind No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Alabama.
In a game that ended early this morning, the Phillies beat the Rockies 5-6 to take a 2-1 lead in their National League playoff series.
The Cardinals, Twins and Red Sox got swept out of the baseball playoffs over the weekend. So the Yankees will play the Angels for the right to go to the World Series, while the Dodgers await the winner of the Phillies and Rockies.
Cowboys needed overtime Sunday to beat the hapless Chiefs, but a win is a win and Dallas is 3-2.
The Texans stormed back from 21 points down, then fell victim to two terrible throws from Matt Schaub and a terrible goal-line running game to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, losing to the Cardinals, 28-21. Houston is 2-3.
Despite mediocre reviews, “Couples Retreat” outperformed expectations and won the weekend box office.
And here is “Saturday Night Live’s” take on Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize:
And just in case you haven’t seen it and, like me, you’re curious, here is the real-life wedding video that inspired the shenanigans at the end of “The Office” on Thursday:
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The 62 people who may pick the next lieutenant governor
Podcast
- audio: First Reading: 10.09.09.
Hutchison’s uncertain timeline could push nomination to SREC … Our new venture with KUT… Podcast with Harold Cook
Happy birthday to Travis County Attorney David Escamilla, and happy early birthday (Saturday) to Reps. Chris Turner and Patrick Rose.
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Morning cold front will bring showers and storms with locally heavy rain. Clearing late in the day. Highs falling through the 70s.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
BREAKING: In case you haven’t seen it elsewhere, Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Thursday highlights and the day ahead
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has said in a number of recent interviews that she wants to stay in the Senate to fight the Democrats’ efforts at reforming health care before she resigns to focus on her run for governor. That means her resignation could come well after the 2010 filing period begins on Dec. 3.
So what happens if filing time comes, she hasn’t announced her resignation and the folks who want to replace her don’t have anywhere to go?
This could go all sorts of ways. If she announces a resignation date during the filing period (Dec. 3 - Jan. 4), then perhaps Republican candidates can make their adjustments accordingly. And the move that would set everything else in motion would be for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to say he will seek the U.S. Senate seat in a special election, whenever Gov. Rick Perry sets it, as many expect Dewhurst to do. Then Attorney General Greg Abbott could file for lieutenant governor, others could file for attorney general and we’re on our way.
But what if there is no special election date set during the filing period, or what if Hutchison does not announce a resignation date until after the filing period?
In that case, you’ll likely see Dewhurst file for re-election as lieutenant governor and Abbott file for re-election as attorney general. A candidate cannot withdraw from the primary election ballot after Dec. 30. So if Perry either appoints Dewhurst or Dewhurst announces he wants to run for Senate between Dec. 30 and the March 4 primary, Dewhurst’s name would remain on the ballot.
If Republicans nominate him for lieutenant governor on March 4, but by that time he is either running for the U.S. Senate or has been appointed senator by Perry, the 62 members of the State Republican Executive Committee would choose the new Republican nominee. If the committee chooses someone who has already been nominated for another office (say they choose Abbott, who has just won the Republican primary for attorney general), then the committee would also choose the nominee for that office.
Let’s just say it plays out this way — Dewhurst gets nominated for lieutenant governor but no longer wants the job. And let’s remember that Democrats haven’t won a statewide election in 15 years, so you have to assume that the GOP nominee for any statewide office is a heavy favorite.
So you have 62 Republican activists choosing who could very likely be lieutenant governor of Texas for the next four years. And if they choose Abbott, they could also choose the attorney general for the next four years. And let’s also remember that the executive committee — generally a much more conservative bunch than even your usual Republican primary voter — may not be inclined to offer the job to whoever is next in line. Maybe they choose a state senator or a talk radio host (or someone who is both) to be the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor.
The bottom line is that, if she resigns after the first of the year, Hutchison could well kick the task of nominating candidates for two of the top three jobs in state government to a small group of fiercely conservative activists.
• On a somewhat related note, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told the Statesman’s Gardner Selby and other reporters Thursday that he is planning on a special election in May 2010 to fill Hutchison’s seat. But Cornyn also noted that Perry has latitude to set that election for another time. As for Hutchison, he said, “I know she’s determined to run for governor.”
The FR podcast
Democratic consultant Harold Cook stopped by Thursday. We had a pretty healthy back-and-forth about whether Democrats should be concerned about their lack of announced candidates for statewide office (spoiler alert: he said they shouldn’t). Cook predicts the winner of the Republican primary, describes why he thinks the Democratic field for governor may not yet be full and predicts that his party will not nominate Marc Katz for lieutenant governor.
I gotta tell ya, this podcast never closes. Actually, it does, after about 18 minutes. Please download and listen.
And I’ve got one more for those of you (Mike Ward) who like to hear the sound of my voice as much as possible over the weekend. The Statesman’s Capitol staff will soon be teaming up with the good folks at KUT to produce a weekly podcast and radio segment talking about the world of Texas politics. It won’t fully launch for a couple of weeks still, but Ben Philpott, Corrie MacLaggan and I did a test run on Thursday. You can listen and/or download here.
Countdown
144 days until the March 2 primary.
129 days until early voting begins.
In the news
“An Austin federal jury on Thursday found that two top state parole officials violated the constitutional rights of an ex-convict who was denied a required hearing for 576 days.” Austin American-Statesman
“A controversial provision to build an additional 300 miles of pedestrian fence along the U.S.-Mexico border was stripped out of a $42.8 billion spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security, officials said Thursday.” San Antonio Express-News
“Houston Judge Eva Guzman, the child of an immigrant welder and cleaning lady, became the first Hispanic woman to serve on the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday when Gov. Rick Perry appointed her to the court.” Houston Chronicle
“What’s the point in having laws if there’s no accountability? It’s just one of many questions that San Antonio-area bicyclists are asking after the deaths last week of Gregory and Alexandra Bruehler. The couple were on their tandem bicycle, riding on the shoulder of Highway 16 north of Helotes, when a truck struck them from behind. The Bruehlers left a 7-year-old daughter. The bicyclists’ ire has several targets - reckless drivers and law enforcement’s inconsistent handling of auto-bike accidents, for instance. And then there’s Gov. Rick Perry, who in June vetoed legislation that would have required motorists to give bicyclists and other ‘vulnerable road users’ a clearance of at least 3 feet when passing on most highways.” Veronica Flores
“Gov. Rick Perry has hammered Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison time and again as a Washington-style big spender. He decries the $2.6 billion that she slipped “secretly” into the last two annual budgets.” Dallas Morning News
Everything else
In the baseball playoffs Thursday, the Rockies beat the Phillies to tie their series at 1-1; the Dodgers beat the Cards to go up 2-0; the Angels beat the Red Sox to go up 1-0.
New in theaters: “Couples Retreat,” “A Woman in Berlin,” “Beeswax,” “Crude,” “From Mexico with Love,” “Paris,” “Revanche,” “Seraphine” and “We Live in Public.”
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More on Hutchison and contribution limits
Murky record on Hutchison and campaign limits … TAB ratings illustrate power shift in House … The cost of the departed Trans-Texas Corridor
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Partial morning sun, with showers and thunderstorms developing late. Hot and windy with a high around 91.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Wednesday highlights and the day ahead
I talked in this space yesterday about how U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said this week she wants limits on contributions in political campaigns. She has not specified what those limits should be.
Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign put together a video Wednesday comparing that stance with comments she made on campaign finance reform legislation in 1996.
But as the Houston Chronicle’s R.G. Ratcliffe points out, there is some evidence from her full remarks in 1996 that Hutchison was advocating limits on expenditures, not contributions. And yet she cites “limitations on contributions” as her main concern with the bill. It’s a head-scratcher, but Ratcliffe breaks it all down really well.
After all, surely the Perry campaign wouldn’t take a video clip out of context, right?
• The Texas Association of Business released Wednesday its legislative scorecard, which scores lawmakers on how business-friendly their votes were this year. As John Reynolds points out on Quorum Report, those who got the highest marks from TAB aren’t exactly part of Speaker Joe Straus’ leadership team, for the most part.
• Gov. Rick Perry and his aides have said he made changes to the Forensic Science Commission because three members’ terms were up. But as I noted yesterday on the Postcards blog, he previously allowed members to serve with expired terms for almost three months.
• The numbers won’t be out until next week, but Democrat Bill White’s campaign is already touting how well he did in fundraising during the third quarter of the year. Through the first half of the year, White raised more for a possible U.S. Senate seat than any Democrat or Republican, and his campaign seems to be hinting that things haven’t slowed down. Also, Gardner Selby reported yesterday that U.S. Rep. Ron Paul might jump into the Senate race.
• The Texas Public Policy Foundation is hosting a panel discussion at 11:30 a.m. today on juvenile justice.
• Reps. Bill Callegari, Sid Miller and Charles “Doc” Anderson will be raising money at the Austin Club tonight. And remember, if an invitation to a fundraiser lands on your desk, please send it my way at jembry@statesman.com.
Poll watch
Interesting stuff in a new poll from Public Opinion Strategies. Democrats, Republicans and Independents are all showing more interest in politics this year than in 2005, the last post-presidential election year. But Republican interest has surged much more — an increase of 15 percentage points in four years, compared to 4 percentage points among Democrats and 7 points among Republicans.
Countdown
145 days until the March 2 primary.
130 days until early voting begins.
In the news
“Texas already has spent close to $60 million on the recommended-for-death parallel to Interstate 35 once envisioned as part of the Trans-Texas Corridor. More money — perhaps millions more — will be spent as Texas closes the environmental review process and gets public comment on the recommendation to the federal government, state transportation officials said Wednesday.” Houston Chronicle
“Texas House Democrats, saving the White House from an unwanted political fight, are recommending that a San Antonio lawyer be the next U.S. attorney for the state’s Western District, which includes the Austin area. After sometimes tense consultations with the state’s Republican senators, the Democratic delegation announced Wednesday that it is backing Michael McCrum, former chief of the major crimes unit in the San Antonio division of the U.S. attorney’s office, for the job, over Travis County Attorney David Escamilla.” Austin American-Statesman
“I flashed to the ’80s when George Gilder strolled past before Ed Meese glided by. Gilder, once President Ronald Reagan’s most-quoted living author, spoke Friday at an Austin gathering of the nation’s most celebrated conservative movers, including Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the Eagle Forum; James Dobson, whose Focus on the Family professes to defend the institution of the family; and Meese, a former U.S. attorney general.” Gardner Selby
“Texas, trying to avoid a big bump in taxes on businesses next year, may let its unemployment compensation fund pile up huge debts.” Dallas Morning News
“Does it strike anyone as strange that very few legislators have made endorsements in the governor’s race?” Burkablog
Everything else
Good day for the home teams on the opening day of the baseball playoffs. Phillies beat the Rockies, Yankees beat the Twins and the Dodgers beat the Cardinals.
Former Texas Tech star Michael Crabtree finally signed with the San Francisco 49ers.
Longtime “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert’s office, complete with Buffalo Bills pennants and a journalist’s clutter, will go on display next month at the Newseum. The office will be reassembled to look as it did June 13, 2008, the day Russert died of a heart attack at age 58.
Paul Hogan of “Crocodile Dundee” fame turns 70 today.
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Campaign limits and more on forensic shakeup
Should advocates for limits limit themselves? … More coverage of forensic panel … Apparently you can kill what’s already dead
Austin weather from News 8 Austin’s Maureen McCann: Slim chance of isolated showers, otherwise more clouds than sun. Not as hot with a high around 84.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to FR as soon as I post it.)
Tuesday highlights and the day ahead
Not a ton of material to work with this morning, so let’s take a quick look around the news and then get to clips.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said during a campaign appearance in Waco on Monday that she supports limits on campaign contributions, the Texas Tribune reported. Hutchison and her campaign aides have not given details about where the limit would be.
Hutchison called for stricter contribution limits when she first ran for the U.S. Senate in 1993. Back then, she said political action committees should be allowed to give $2,000 per election cycle. But the limit today is $10,000, and in the two years leading up to her 2006 re-election, Hutchison took $10,000 apiece from 25 PACs.
Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign is charging hypocrisy because, on an invitation for an Oct. 12 “Women for Kay” fundraiser at the Four Seasons in Austin, Hutchison’s campaign solicits contributions up to $100,000 per person. (Tickets to the luncheon cost as little as $75 per person, which is a fairly small number for a gubernatorial fundraiser.)
State Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, is one of the state’s most avid proponents of campaign contribution limits. But he also defends the right of candidates to accept as much as they can from one donor as long as there are no limits in place.
He told me last year, “You just don’t bring a switchblade into a gunfight. But the rules should create a level playing field where neither of us can do it.”
• It’s another rough day for Perry on the editorial pages of the state’s major newspapers. Editorial writers at the Houston Chronicle, referring to the shakeup of the state’s Forensic Science Commission, write, “It seems that with criminal justice, as with higher education, the top priority for Perry appointees who want to keep their positions is protecting the governor rather than carrying out their sworn duties.”
And this from the San Antonio Express-News: “The evidence that Perry is trying to delay or even quash a commission finding that could prove to be detrimental to his re-election effort is at least as sound as the evidence that sent Todd Willingham to the death chamber in Huntsville.”
Stat of the day
Texas comes in 49th out of 53 states, territories and the District of Columbia in a new federal ranking of how quickly food stamp applications are processed. But the data is a year old, so it doesn’t take into account the state’s recent problems with food stamp processing. Source: Austin American-Statesman
Poll watch
Americans’ approval of the job Congress is doing is at 21 percent this month, down significantly from last month’s 31 percent and from the recent high of 39 percent in March. Source: Gallup
“President Barack Obama’s approval ratings are starting to rise after declining ever since his inauguration, new poll figures show as the country’s mood begins to brighten. But concerns about the economy, health care and war persist, and support for the war in Afghanistan is falling.” Associated Press
Countdown
146 days until the March 2 primary.
131 days until early voting begins.
In the news
“Several members of a state commission investigating whether Texas executed a man based on a flawed arson investigation had urged Gov. Rick Perry not to replace the commission’s chairman as a critical hearing approached.” Austin American-Statesman
“The toll road twin to Interstate 35, once the centerpiece of Gov. Rick Perry’s Trans-Texas Corridor plan, is officially dead, the Texas Department of Transportation announced Tuesday. The department, which has spent years and millions of dollars on an environmental study of the corridor between Dallas and San Antonio, will recommend to the Federal Highway Administration that no action be taken on the proposed road.” Austin American-Statesman
“U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has received huge contributions in her race for governor, says she wants limits on the size of campaign donations in Texas, where enormous cash gifts are commonplace.” Associated Press
“Late Monday, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison was crowing after the Senate voted to allow prisons to jam cell phone transmissions. A year ago, a Texas death row inmate made threatening calls to state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston. That led to a lockdown, and searches that uncovered even more smuggled phones on death row and in other units. Hutchison has made the jamming bill a top priority for her final months in office. But Gov. Rick Perry - on whose watch the Whitmire calls were placed, as Hutchison pointed out in a fund-raising piece early this year- is determined not to let her bask in this swan-song victory.” Dallas Morning News
“Republican and Democratic senators negotiating a possible compromise on climate change legislation insisted Tuesday that the measure must include provisions to boost nuclear power and expand offshore drilling.” Houston Chronicle
“After taking control of the House in 2006 — and again when President Barack Obama was elected president in 2008 — Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) boasted that lawmakers would work four or five days a week to bring change to America. But midway through Obama’s first year in office, Hoyer’s House has settled into a more leisurely routine. Members usually arrive for the first vote of the week as the sun sets on Tuesdays, and they’re usually headed back home before it goes down again on Thursdays.” Politico
“Bertha Lewis, the head of ACORN, is one tough nut. She came to the National Press Club on Tuesday, ostensibly to report on the community group’s ‘internal probe’ into the ACORN workers who were caught on tape advising people posing as a pimp and a prostitute. But Lewis made it clear that, far from apologizing, she was on a ‘set-the-record-straight tour’ — and a tour de force it was.” Dana Milbank
Everything else
Twins beat the Tigers on Tuesday to win the AL Central.
Today’s playoff games, all broadcast on TBS:
Colorado at Philadelphia, 1:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Yankees, 5:07 p.m.
Cardinals at Dodgers, 8:37 p.m.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Longhorn freshman defensive back Kenny Vaccaro for misdemeanor assault, following an alleged fight he had with a UT student during a pick-up basketball game, Suzanne Halliburton reports.
Tom DeLay dropped out of “Dancing With the Stars” due to stress fractures in both his feet. Here’s a highlight package from Politico:
“American Idol” judge Simon Cowell turns 50 today.
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Hutchison knocks Perry’s handling of forensic panel
Senator says death-penalty supporters should want investigation to move forward … Perry aide draws ire of Farm Bureau … Ogden held up food-stamp workers
Happy birthday to U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett.
Austin weather: The National Weather Service says there is a 40 percent chance of rain, but not until early afternoon. Some of the showers might be heavy and turbulent. Maybe the rain will cut into the expected high of 91. Severe weather chances are 50 percent tonight, with lots of clouds and a low of 71.
(Send me an e-mail at jembry@statesman.com if you want a link to First Reading as soon as I post it.)
Monday highlights and the day ahead
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison moved all over the state Monday touting her endorsement from the political arm of the Texas Farm Bureau. More on that in a minute.
But first, during her Austin stop, she was asked to weigh in on Gov. Rick Perry’s decision to replace three members of the Forensic Science Commission just before it received a key report in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, whom the state put to death in 2004. Willingham was convicted of killing his children, but an expert who was going to report to the commission has recently found a number of faults with the arson investigation that led to his conviction.
The Houston Chronicle’s R.G. Ratcliffe asked Hutchison whether she would support a moratorium on the death penalty.
She replied that she supports the death penalty. “But I also believe that 100 percent of the people that also believe that the death penalty is a deterrent think we need to have all of the evidence and all of the technology to assure that when such a punishment is given, that we have all of the evidence and the capability to assure that the person is guilty. And I think I definitely disagree with the governor changing the commission just before the hearing that would perhaps lend some light on the technology that would be able to determine if arson was a factor. So I think it’s another case where the governor is trying to maintain a loyalty to him but not to the responsibility that the person who’s on the commission has taken to the people of Texas and our justice system.”
In response, Perry spokesman Mark Miner said, “Senator Hutchison is once again using political rhetoric with little regard for the facts, much like she has done during her 16 year career in Washington. After their terms expired, the Governor appointed new members who will look at the issue.”
Their terms were up, but it’s worth noting that gubernatorial appointees often stay in their posts for months or years after their terms expire.
• The Perry campaign’s response to Hutchison’s endorsment from the Farm Bureau didn’t do much to smooth things over.
Early Monday, Miner told the AP’s Kelley Shannon, “We’re not surprised that an insurance company who supported the bailout would endorse somebody who voted for it.”
Farm Bureau officials responded that, while affiliated companies offer insurance, they have not received any money from the Troubled Assets Relief Program.
“By some of his statements (Miner) demonstrates more than anything else an astonishing lack of understanding of what the Texas Farm Bureau is,” said Farm Bureau spokesman Gene Hall. “Rick Perry has won four statewide races with the endorsement of the Texas Farm Bureau Friends of Agriculture Fund. At the time he received those endorsements he thought they were just fine, trust me.”
• Hutchison also called during her Austin stop for ethics reform: “I think it is time that we have government reform, also some ethics reform that will put Texas in the 21st Century, that will make sure that we have no longer a revolving door between lobbyists and key people of the governor’s office and key members of the Legislature. It’s time that we have ethics reform so that we put in place the standards for our government that will last for a long time to come.”
But Hutchison has talked about the revolving door before — in her 1993 campaign for the U.S. Senate, when she said she wanted to “close the revolving door of the Congress and the executive branch whose members and staff become lobbyists.”
I explored this issue as part of a story I wrote about Hutchison last year. I wrote then:
“Some of Hutchison’s staffers have used that door. In September 2005, Dick Ribbentrop became her chief of staff. Until the end of April 2004, Ribbentrop was a registered lobbyist for the New York Stock Exchange. It’s unclear what he did between those jobs. He did not respond to requests for comment.
“Ribbentrop left Hutchison’s office in April 2007. By the second half of that year, he was lobbying for UBS Americas Inc., an investment bank.
“Lindsey Dickinson left Hutchison’s payroll as legislative counsel on June 12, 2007, according to Senate records. By the end of June, she was lobbying for telecommunications giant Comcast Corp. Mary Schneider left her job as Hutchison’s deputy regional director in July 2003. That October, she registered as a lobbyist for the Harris County Hospital District.
“Hutchison’s office noted that Hutchison voted last year for legislation that extends from one year to two the amount of time senators must wait before they can start lobbying. That legislation also mandates that senior Senate staffers and officers cannot lobby the Senate for one year after leaving their jobs.
“Said her office: ‘There are constitutional limits on restricting the actions of public servants who have entered private life.’”
• Apparently Statesman editorial writer Ken Herman was a little bored, or at least distracted, during Hutchison’s Austin appearance:
• There’s been plenty of discussion in this space recently about the state’s struggle to process food-stamp applications quickly and without errors. There was a seven-week wait between when the Health and Human Services Commission asked for more employees and when legislative leaders signed off on hiring some, but not all of them.
The Statesman’s Corrie MacLaggan reports today that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden was the one who held up the hiring of the new workers. “I should have gotten on it sooner,” Ogden said.
• Gardner Selby reported on the Postcards blog Monday that Melinda Fredricks of Conroe will vie for chair of the Texas Republican Party later this month.
Poll watch
When the leanings of those without an opinion are taken into account, 51 percent of Americans favor or lean toward favoring a health care bill, while 41 percent oppose it or lean toward opposition — a more sizeable gap in favor than three weeks ago. Source: Gallup
From Politico: “Perceptions of the effectiveness of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package differ dramatically between racial groups, according to a new poll released Tuesday. The poll, sponsored by New America Media, a corroboration of 2,500 ethnic media outlets, reported that less than 40 percent of whites, Hispanics and Native Americans said the stimulus has made the economy better, compared to 59 percent of African-Americans and 47 percent of Asian-Americans.”
Countdown
147 days until the March 2 primary.
132 days until early voting begins.
In the news
“Federal officials say Texas should appoint a food stamp czar to take charge of fixing the application backlogs and high error rates plaguing the program.” Austin American-Statesman
“THE Senate Finance Committee has for the moment rejected the idea of creating a public health insurance plan. It’s difficult to see how Americans will be able to find good, affordable health insurance without one. But if we are to go forward without a public option, it is more important than ever to make sure that we get another part of health reform right: the exchanges, where it is envisioned that small businesses and people without employer-sponsored insurance could shop for policies of their own. Back in the 1990s, I was the founding chairman of Texas’ state-run purchasing alliance — an exchange, essentially — which ultimately failed. There are lessons to be learned from that experience, as well as the similar failures of other states to create useful exchanges.” Cappy McGarr
“The Texas Farm Bureau bucked the trend of lobby groups lining up behind Gov. Rick Perry on Monday as it endorsed U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for governor. But the Farm Bureau also may have exposed itself to political payback. Just ask Kimble D. Ross.” Houston Chronicle
“His predecessor left office to become President but Rick Perry has now become the longest-serving and most powerful governor in the history of the state of Texas. That is very much due to his use of wide-ranging appointment powers that have allowed him to dominate state boards, commissions and courts that control many aspects of daily life in Texas. But, in the past week, a brouhaha over his refusal to reappoint three members of an obscure forensic-science commission has political observers wondering if Perry, who is facing a potentially bruising GOP primary battle, has made a political misstep.” Time
“A Texas-based oil company won its bid Monday to hang on to about $350 million - part of billions in Gulf oil royalty payments the federal government will lose - as the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider the closely watched case.” Dallas Morning News
“Stagnant salaries. Larger class sizes. Smaller scholarships. The biggest stock market meltdown since the Depression will play out at Texas colleges and universities during the next few years. University endowments lost billions of dollars over the past 15 months, and financial managers are still assessing the damage.” Houston Chronicle
Everything else
Baseball playoffs kick off today. Twins and Tigers meet in Minneapolis for a one-game playoff to see who wins the AL Central and gets to face the Yankees in the first round.
My World Series pick: Yankees over Phillies. Yeah, I’m really putting myself out there.
Brett Favre torched his former team as the Vikings beat the Packers, 30-23, on Monday night.
David Letterman on his newfound troubles: “I got into the car this morning and the navigation lady wasn’t speaking to me. Ouch.”
Also: “It’s fall here in New York City, and I spent the weekend raking my hate mail.”
Jimmy Fallon: “Airport officials in Beirut confiscated a necklace from Snoop Dogg because it had bullets on it. Snoop said, ‘Really, that’s all you’re gonna confiscate?’”
Have you wondered how Mark Sanford’s confession would have gone had he made it to a festive studio audience, as David Letterman did? Wonder no more:
Get more Legislative coverage inside the Virtual Capitol
Latest comments
Guteb Tag Ich haise Goga
... read the full comment by narkaudindy | Comment on GOP colleague blasts Cornyn Read GOP colleague blasts Cornyn
Memo to Mr Obama—-it is JOBS people care about not HEALTH CARE STUPID!!!
Memo to the Austin American—-it is information on where we can find jobs that people care about. Not information on a witch hunt against Judge Keller.
... read the full comment by Joan | Comment on Shooting puts Texas leaders in spotlight Read Shooting puts Texas leaders in spotlight
What no comment on the 10.2% unemployment numbers?????? You and your other leftist reporters and editors down there as the Austin American cannot hide anymore the facts that this Obama stimulus boondoggle is a failure. FAILURE. Instead of providing tax
... read the full comment by Jerry | Comment on Shooting puts Texas leaders in spotlight Read Shooting puts Texas leaders in spotlight
So the last exotic name according to the Chronicle was Beuford H. Jester, and Texans ususally like height and plain vanilla names. That is hilarious, and we all thought it was about the issues.
How scary, you can take the guy out of the Middle East
... read the full comment by sad day | Comment on Shooting puts Texas leaders in spotlight Read Shooting puts Texas leaders in spotlight
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