Rick Perry vs World

05 June 2007

LBJ for Nixon?

Bob Shrum suggests in his new book No Excuses: Confessions of a Serial Campaigner that LBJ was for Nixon:

[LBJ] did issue a pro forma endorsement of the Democratic ticket [after McGovern came to the LBJ ranch to meet with the former president] -- and then called the White House with the assurance that he was really for Nixon; after all, some of his closest aides and allies were running Democrats for Nixon.

That's news to me. Has anyone else ever heard this? Did news reports at the time say that LBJ was for Nixon?

Note: I originally typed this by Blackberry, so I cleaned it up afterwards. The "e" key on my blackberry is very finicky, so if you get emails from me that are missing e, then that's why.

Posted by Evan @ 06/05/07 09:55 PM | Comments (0)

Spoken like a trial lawyer*

John Edwards, limousine liberal poverty fighter:

"Everything I can do -- everything in my power that I'm able to do -- I will do to drive the issue of poverty in this presidential campaign, so that everyone is required to talk about it, because I think it is the great moral issue of our time," [John Edwards] said. He later added: "This is such a part of my life, that whatever happens in this presidential campaign, as long as I am alive and breathing, I will be out there fighting with everything I have to help the poor in this country."

What a jerk. I make it a point to never accuse people of hypocrisy, but what a hypocrite.

Everything he can do on the great moral issue of our time? He just built himself a $30 million mansion. No matter how much money I ever have, I would never dream of building myself something so ostentatious, wasteful and selfish...especially if I went around moralizing about poverty.

What a superficial jerk. He's willing to do everything he can do...with other people's money.

* Despite recent comments, I'm more trial lawyer friendly than you might guess. But there are so many sleazy ones...

Posted by Evan @ 06/05/07 05:56 PM | Comments (0)

Bonilla withdraws

Gary Martin, SAEN:

Former Rep. Henry Bonilla has withdrawn his nomination to be the ambassador to the Organization of American States, and announced Monday that he will join a lobbying firm as a consultant.

Bonilla, a San Antonio Republican, is among dozens of presidential appointees, including judicial and appellate court nominees, who have yet to receive a hearing from the Democrat-controlled Senate because of a disagreement with the White House over recess appointments.

"The process is pretty frozen, with no end in sight," Bonilla said.

The former San Antonio congressman is joining The Normandy Group, a $1 billion business-consulting firm.

Senate Democrats are refusing to confirm anyone. That's one of the downsides to our confirmation process -- people have their lives put on hold for years just for offering themselves for public service. Not to mention the lies, distortions and personal attacks that often accompany such long waits. See, eg, Miguel Estrada.

Posted by Evan @ 06/05/07 01:51 PM | Comments (0)

The ongoing assault on editing

Claudia Feldman, Chron:

John Kerry popped into Brazos Bookstore the other day. He was visiting friends and thought he might sell a few books and shake some hands.

"How y'all doing?" the four-term Massachusetts senator greeted the 50-odd fans waiting to hear his spiel on the environment and buy the book he and his wife completed in 2006, This Moment on Earth.

Maybe it's the Houston air. Maybe the ongoing assault on the environment is a restorative topic for disappointed presidential candidates. For whatever reason, Kerry was relaxed, even mellow as he addressed the crowd, fielded questions and signed books.

Right off there was a heckler, but he blew up and stomped off after just a few minutes. Then the lovefest was on. The crowd of environmentalists and old Kerry supporters listened raptly as the tall, chiseled politician slung figures and told stories from the book.

Does Ms. Feldman have a crush on Senator Kerry? Sheesh. I know this is in the "life" section, but still...the phrase "the ongoing assault on the environment" is not one that should make it past an editor.

Posted by Evan @ 06/05/07 01:30 PM | Comments (2)

04 June 2007

Oxford and Giuliani

Interesting law.com article about Rudy, Bracewell & Giuliani, Pat Oxford and the intersection between law firms and politics. I confess to finding it amusing that the writer, Susan Beck, spent so much time trying to get people to admit that Rudy doesn't practice law. Of course Rudy doesn't practice law! He's a symbol of prestige for the firm, no one ever expected otherwise.

But Oxford's main outside passion has been politics. In 1970, when he was just three years out of law school, he worked on his first campaign, George H.W. Bush's unsuccessful run for U.S. senator from Texas. In 1978 Oxford took a leave from Bracewell to be deputy campaign manager for the late John Tower in his re-election run for U.S. senator from Texas. "I was probably getting a little restless in practice," Oxford explained. Over the years, Oxford has aligned himself with a series of successful Republican candidates in Texas, including the state's two U.S. senators. He has played significant roles in all of Kay Bailey Hutchison's three campaigns for that office and was Texas co-chairman of her last campaign, in 2006; he has been treasurer of John Cornyn's fund-raising committee since 2003. (Cornyn has raised $5.6 million since then.) One Republican insider says that Oxford's success in politics is partly due to his engaging personality. "Pat's just a good guy," he says. "He works hard at maintaining friendships, and he's very good at it."

I hadn't realized that Oxford had been a campaign staffer. Huh.

I drive by Oxford's house almost every day, so that occasionally prompts me to wonder whether Bracewell has made money on its Giuliani gamble. Impossible to know, but it sounds like they aren't unhappy.

Posted by Evan @ 06/04/07 05:31 PM | Comments (0)

Snippets

1. The US Men's National Team had a solid 4-1 victory over China on Saturday. Texan (Plano native, if I recall correctly) Lee Nguyen got his first cap when he was substituted on late in the game. This kid appears to have limitless potential, and is part of the next generation of American soccer players who are going to the elite clubs of Europe and succeeding.

What was most impressive about the China game is that the US dominated in the air. I've long thought that when the US got good in the air, that would really be a sign that we've arrived. Granted, China isn't known as a powerhouse in the air, but it was exciting to see.

2. Washington Post piece on Spanish in political dialogue:

It is not yet 8 a.m. and four members of Congress are practicing the sound of the Spanish letter "g," reciting words in a bashful chorus conducted by their tutor, who stands at an easel in the Cannon House Office Building.

" . . . Gato, general, guerra, gigante . . . "

The sharp Worcester brogue of Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the soft Houston honey of Rep. Gene Green (D-Tex.) and the more unassuming accents of Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) meet somewhere in Mexico, more or less.

It's amazing to me that Gene Green has managed to avoid a serious Latino primary challenge. Perhaps that's because Houston's Democrats haven't produced any stars. One might've thought Carol Alvarado would be such a person, but her luster is quite tarnished after the Mayor Pro Tem scandal.

More from same article:

"You have to reach out to Spanish-speaking Latinos even before they become citizens," says Rodriguez-Ciampoli, now director of Hispanic communications for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. "We as Latinos have brand loyalty. . . . The sooner you start talking to them, the sooner you start helping them to identify with the Democrats."

San Antonio-based media consultant Frank Guerra, so successful at crafting messages for the Bush brothers, says that for the president and the former Florida governor, "it goes way beyond the language piece. Hispanics perceive them as two individuals who understand them, who are interested in them, and are attempting to communicate with them, whether it's in halting Spanish on special occasions" -- George -- "or whether through fluent conversation" -- Jeb.

Guerra worries that some GOP rhetoric in the immigration debate could turn off the new brand-shoppers that President Bush won. Guerra's advice to the GOP could stand for the Democrats as well:

"You're speaking to the fastest-growing, youngest population in the country. And what we do now will forever set the course for what kind of party we're going to be in the future -- majority or minority."

Guerra did pretty good work for the Gipper too, if memory serves. Plus, he's right.

And then there was this:

But then here comes Charlie Gonzalez, leaving Nancy Pelosi's office after a gathering of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss immigration reform. In that meeting, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and some others spoke Spanish, but not Gonzalez. His Spanish is not so good.

He is the son of the late, legendary representative Henry Gonzalez, who was the son of Mexican immigrants who did not speak much English. Henry Gonzalez spoke beautiful Spanish, as well as English, according to his son.

"Dad was just horrified as my Spanish deteriorated," Charlie Gonzalez says.

"People expect if your name is Gonzalez that you can speak Spanish. It's always going to be a source of kidding."

He can laugh about it. The voters in Gonzalez's majority-Hispanic district in San Antonio understand. The Spanish of their grandchildren is disappearing, too. This is what happens. They've elected Gonzalez five times. "This is a shared experience," the congressman says. "The degree of proficiency in Spanish varies from generation to generation."

3. Mack, Chron:

Neither got everything it wanted, but Houston and Harris County fared better than usual in this year's legislative session.

Among the more visible changes locals can expect: backyard July Fourth fireworks will be safer, though perhaps a little less festive; dog owners will be held responsible the first time their pets seriously injure another person; all 20 acres of West 11th Street Park will be preserved; and red-light cameras are here to stay.

I guess Ms. Mack was talking about our elected officials. I certainly don't see how red light cameras being here to stay is faring well for Houston or Harris County. I mean, unless you want to live in Bill White's Orwellian police state!

4. Via David Bernstein at the Volokh Conspiracy, I took the "Al Gore or the Unabomber?" test. The quotes are all taken from Gore's "Earth in the Balance" book or the Unabomber's manifesto. I got a 58%...just slightly higher than random.

That's...amusing.

Posted by Evan @ 06/04/07 04:34 PM | Comments (1)

P for Fred

Fort Worth's George P. Bush has signed on with Fred:

George P. Bush, a nephew of President Bush, has contributed to the prospective campaign of Fred Thompson and signed an e-mail asking friends and associates to do the same, The Politico has learned.

Good call, P.

Mike Allen also reports that Lawrence Lindsey is in charge of economic policy for Fred, David McIntosh will direct domestic policy, and Michael Turk will do the web. Sounds like good choices all around.

Update: I should also note that Michael Toner is supposed to be the general counsel, which is also quite a "get."

Posted by Evan @ 06/04/07 02:40 PM | Comments (0)

Texas House Rep. Kevin Bailey lost his house to a fire this morning:

A state representative woke up early Monday morning to find his home on fire, KPRC Local 2 reported.

The fire broke out at Rep. Kevin Bailey's home on Sulky Trail Street at about 4 a.m.

"There wasn't a lot of smoke in the house," Bailey said. "My wife woke me up and there was just a little bit of smoke in the house, but the roof was on fire and burned up pretty good."

Bailey represents district 140 in Houston. Northeast-ish, loop 610 to Beltway 8, if I recall correctly.

This comes after the tragic death of former state Sen. Frank Madla in a house fire last year. Fortunately Bailey survived.

Posted by Evan @ 06/04/07 02:13 PM | Comments (0)

01 June 2007

Did you hear the one about the trial lawyer and the state rep?

Kronberg:

With today's announcement by San Antonio plaintiff's attorney Mikal Watts of the formation of an exploratory committee and with rumors swirling about the intentions of state Rep. Rick Noriega, Democrats seem more confident about their prospects to grab a statewide office than at any point in the last 10 years.

While surely they didn't get excited about Chris Bell and Barbara Radnofsky, Kronberg must have a short memory. He's either easily convinced or wants to be. A trial lawyer and a state rep?

Remember how excited the Democrats were in 2002? They were so confident that they were going to win early in the cycle. They had the dream team, which John Sharp thought was his ticket! Going into election day, they still thought they were going to win the Lt. Guv. post. They lost that by 6%. Heavily touted Ron Kirk -- 60 Minutes was so hyped about him that they did a fluff piece on him a week or two before election day -- lost by 12% to the underrated John Cornyn.

And Tony Sanchez, despite spending something like $70 million, lost by 18% to Rick Perry. What an investment.

Posted by Evan @ 06/01/07 05:37 PM | Comments (0)

woot

Fred created a campaign committee, "Friends of Fred Thompson."

Let's hope he stays committed to the idea of running a different sort of campaign.

Posted by Evan @ 06/01/07 04:42 PM | Comments (0)

[Previous 10 Entries] [Next 10 Entries]

SITE MENU

+ Rick Perry vs World
+ About Me

+ Archives

+ Email:
perryvsworld* at *gmail dot com

ADVERTISING

SYNDICATION

DISCLAIMER

Rick Perry vs. World is powered by Nucleus.

Site design and Nucleus customization by Kevin Whited.