Rick Perry vs World

21 December 2005

When the staffers are the story...

...their candidates aren't usually happy. Jason Embry at the Statesman has the scoop:

Strayhorn spokesman Mark Sanders said he told Alison Bell that "there would be support for him" if Chris Bell ran to succeed Strayhorn as comptroller. Sanders said that he and Alison Bell have known each other since they worked on a campaign together 15 years ago and that he wanted to advise his longtime friends that they could not win the governor's race.

Sanders said that the call was not prompted by Strayhorn or any campaign donors and that he was not trying to clear the Democratic field for Strayhorn to switch parties.

...

Bell said it is not unusual for Sanders and his wife to talk.

"They did talk last week, and he mentioned the fact that if I were to exit the governor's race and run for comptroller, he thought there would be some support for me from some unnamed individuals," said Bell, a former congressman from Houston. "And obviously since that was the gist of the conversation, I didn't take it the least bit seriously."

Sanders, who worked for 2002 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tony Sanchez, said he does not think that Bell can win the governor's race because the state so strongly favors Republicans. "A Democrat will not win in 2006," Sanders said.

Asked why the same logic did not apply to the comptroller's race, in which Republican Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs has been running for months, Sanders said he knew only that Bell could not win the governor's race.

Sanders was not the only operative who called a would-be adversary. Bell spokesman Jason Stanford called Luis Saenz, Perry's campaign director, and told him about the Sanders call.

"Luis and I talk every once in awhile, trying to figure out what in God's name (Strayhorn) is going to do, and we've learned through observation that applying logic is an ineffective means of analyzing her," Stanford said. "He and I have a gentlemen's agreement to campaign aboveboard and do whatever we can to beat each other's boss."

Posted by Evan @ 12/21/05 09:59 AM | Comments (0)

Armbrister will retire; Patrick poll

State Senator Ken Armbrister will retire, according to the Victoria Advocate, via Chris Elam (who broke this story a month ago).

Meanwhile, Elam also reports that Dan Patrick has another poll showing him widening his lead. Elam's take:

As of Friday, none of these four candidates have actually filed for the race. That may mean nothing, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if this were only a three-candidate race on March 7th. I think Ellis sees the writing on the wall and might bow out. If not, there's plenty of consultants out there ready and able to take the money he's giving away.

I think Joe and Peggy have a couple of good reasons to stick around in this race. For Hamric, she's a woman, she's a moderate, and she is not polling at a paltry 9%. There's simply no way that's true. For Nixon, he has one great hope left to salvage his campaign, and it will be to attack Patrick for staying on the air at KSEV after announcing his candidacy, and for all the subsequent discussions of his campaign on-air. Look for a court challenge to be hurled against Patrick the day after he files to run. There will be a rash of free media for Nixon - he'll look to take advantage of every second of airtime, and every inch of newsprint. And if he's smart, run an old photo.

Both Hamric and Nixon have to force Patrick into a runoff to give themselves the greatest possible chance of victory. I would be highly surprised if there wasn't a chance for voters to come back in April to decide this race.

Posted by Evan @ 12/21/05 01:01 AM | Comments (0)

20 December 2005

Perry soliciting letters to the editor to attack Strayhorn

Wayne Slater:

Gov. Rick Perry's campaign is helping orchestrate letters to the editor designed to appear as spontaneous criticism of Carole Keeton Strayhorn.

In an e-mail to Perry supporters, North Texas field representative Lathan Watts offers "talking points and even sample letters" to help supporters write to The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

According to the e-mail, the Perry campaign wants letter writers to accuse Mrs. Strayhorn of using her state comptroller's office for political purposes.

UPDATE: Jason's take at Chris Bell's blog:

If you ask me, the problem with Team Perry's little ploy isn't so much that they're asking supporters to write their local paper (which campaigns have done since the beginning of time), but that the letters they're asking for are nothing more than petty personal attacks.

Posted by Evan @ 12/20/05 10:54 PM | Comments (0)

19 December 2005

Rick Perry files for re-election

Rick Perry filed for re-election today.

Posted by Evan @ 12/19/05 02:56 PM | Comments (0)

The Jesse Ventura is to Kinky Friedman analogy

I was wondering when the first profile comparing Kinky Friedman's bid to Jesse Ventura Minnesota. The Statesman's Selby wins the award for being first:

To gauge Texas writer-singer Kinky Friedman's starting-gun strategy running for governor as an independent, look north 1,000 miles and flash back to 1998 (just before the U.S. House approved articles of impeachment against President Clinton).

That is when retired wrestler Jesse Ventura hammerlocked two high-powered opponents to win election as the Reform Party candidate for governor of Minnesota.

...

Friedman's campaign, leaning on two Ventura stalwarts, hopes to repeat Ventura's venture next year by selling Friedman as a down-home alternative and driving up voter interest, particularly among young Texans and people who have not voted (or registered to vote) in years.

There's a catch, though. Friedman faces three hurdles that Ventura did not. He has to collect thousands of voter signatures to make the November ballot, he can't count on public dollars to supplement his kitty, and he has to live with the fact that Texas, unlike Minnesota, doesn't allow voters to register at the polls on Election Day — a factor judged pivotal in Ventura's upset victory.

...

The Ventura veterans helping Friedman are Dean Barkley, campaign director for Ventura and Friedman, and Bill Hillsman, an advertising consultant for both who hatched "action figure" TV ads for Ventura and similar spots for Friedman. Hillsman and Barkley also helped conjure a Drive to Victory Tour, bringing Ventura by mobile home to targeted communities in the 72 hours before the election.

Ventura started with an advantage by automatically qualifying for his spot at the top of the ballot because the Reform Party's U.S. Senate nominee, Barkley, won at least 5 percent of the vote in 1996. Texas law requires Friedman to raise more than 45,000 signatures from voters who sit out the party primaries — and signatures must be collected in 60 days or less this spring.

Ventura joined six candidate debates, while Friedman isn't guaranteed any opportunity to pitch and woo alongside major-party nominees.

In the debates, Ventura emerged as a straight-talking alternative to the bickering Humphrey and Coleman.

Humphrey, the frontrunner most of that year, made what now seems like a tactical error by insisting that Ventura be included in the debates. His campaign calculated that if Ventura gained ground, he'd draw voters mainly from Coleman. Humphrey's decision, said Gerry Drewry, Ventura's campaign spokeswoman, "was a terrible error on his part, but it was wonderful for us."

Barkley and Hillsman are the reason Friedman never had a chance of joining the Democrats, despite the occasional rumor and Charles Soechting. When your main advisers are committed to the idea of a third party, there isn't much chance that the candidate will switch.

The biggest difference is that Texas doesn't have same day voter registration.

Posted by Evan @ 12/19/05 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

Strayhorn in Waco

Carole Strayhorn is in Waco today for a fundraiser:

The grandma for governor campaign is rolling into Waco today with a fund-raising party for Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn as she challenges Gov. Rick Perry next year.

Strayhorn, who is touting her event as "A Christmas Carole," seeks to bolster her campaign before the March 7 Republican primary, where she will face Perry. Some rumors suggest she may even run as an independent in the general election.

The official invitation lists a host committee of 72 supporters for the party at a Waco home this evening, including former Republican congressional candidate Dot Snyder and businessman Bill Clifton.

"I think Carole is a very straight talker," Clifton said. "I understand where she stands on issues."

Clifton, an active local supporter of U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, who claims to support more Republicans than Democrats, said Strayhorn has attracted fans outside her party who will help her campaign.

"I'm concerned about the poll numbers, but I still like her best," Clifton said. "A lot of her approaches are very common sense to me."

...

Strayhorn campaign spokesman Ruben Bonilla said he didn't know how many people are expected to attend tonight's event in Waco or how much it will raise for Strayhorn's campaign.

He also rejected rumors that Strayhorn is considering running as an independent.

"Those are just rumors right now," Bonilla said. "I don't know who started those."

Adding "right now" is an interesting modifier to the rest of the phrase.

Posted by Evan @ 12/19/05 12:20 PM | Comments (0)

18 December 2005

Peggy Fikac, on Democrats in the San Antonio Express News:

Underfunded, so it seems.

Relatively unknown, so far.

But they say they are not to be underestimated.

They are Democrats vying to do what no one of their political persuasion has done since 1994: carry their party's banner into victory in a statewide race.

Never mind that political experts give them — at best — little chance of winning next November in the Republican-red state. They believe in themselves, their message and the chance that lightning will strike.

"Some of the professional cynics who operate in the embedded corporate media need to open their eyes and understand that ordinary people everywhere are fed up with power-grabbing 'Bushite' government in both the United States and in Texas," said San Antonio lawyer David Van Os.

Undaunted by two unsuccessful tries for a Texas Supreme Court seat, Van Os filed for the Democratic nomination to challenge GOP Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Abbott's campaign director, Daniel Hodge, declined to comment on Van Os' criticism and said Abbott will run on a record of "arresting child sex predators, protecting consumers, preserving taxpayer dollars and defending Texas values."

State Democratic Chairman Charles Soechting estimated Van Os will be outspent by "millions to one" but dismissed the importance of the TV ads millions can buy. "People are sick of it," Soechting said of such advertising.

Former Houston congressman Chris Bell, a Democratic hopeful for governor, said he would "match up extraordinarily well with (Republican Gov.) Rick Perry" assuming each is anointed.

...

Democrats such as consultant Kelly Fero aren't concentrating on statewide races this time but on legislative races as part of a plan for resurgence. But Fero emphasized he's not in the business of counting out hopefuls.

"It is obviously a very tough thing to do to run statewide when you are outspent so heavily," Fero said. But he sees a "sky-high frustration among voters" that could make a difference in this election.

Even with the odds against them, experts don't discount the value of Democratic efforts. Choices make a democracy, help a party build for the future and allow it to capitalize on any incumbent missteps, said Andy Hernandez, a political scientist at St. Mary's University.

...

Former Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, who lost the governor's race to a vastly better funded Bush in 1998, points to the need for confidence in one's self and one's cause in taking on such an endeavor.

He still says he should have won his race, which was viewed as an uphill climb to start with and which, he said, suffered as impeachment proceedings were pending against then-President Clinton.

Mauro said he started with "two basic beliefs" — that Bush was a "terrible governor" and that people disagreed with most of Bush's positions once they knew them.

"I believed if I could highlight his positions, I could beat him," Mauro said. "I really thought I should have won the race. ... That's the kind of confidence you have to have."

Posted by Evan @ 12/18/05 03:29 AM | Comments (0)

17 December 2005

hotline headlines

Thursday: TEXAS: [Chris Bell's call for more sex ed, healthcare] Is The Sorta Story Where A Strayhorn And A Friemdan Comment Would Be Fascinating

Wednesday, when the talk was about Strayhorn going indie: TEXAS : Do Nat'l Dems Realize That In A 4-Way General, The Official Dem Could Finish 4th?

The Hotline is a pricy subscription, but if you're a political person, it's worth it.

Posted by Evan @ 12/17/05 07:45 AM | Comments (0)

Gammage makes the run

Selby -- Statesman:

A former Texas Supreme Court justice last on a ballot 16 Novembers ago filed to seek the 2006 Democratic nod for governor today, blasting GOP Gov. Rick Perry for drumming up school finance ideas on a campaign-funded trip to the Bahamas.

Bob Gammage, 67, stood next to a blown-up photograph of a yacht on shimmering waters — though not the boat enjoyed by Perry, supporters and advisers.

SAEN take here.

Who is Gammage's political consultant? Why did Gammage file without announcing?

For a candidate with almost zero name ID, the first thing you'd want to do is get your name in the papers. If Gammage had announced first, he could've had a round of coverage across the state, and then repeated that coverage by filing. Color me puzzled.

Posted by Evan @ 12/17/05 03:07 AM | Comments (0)

16 December 2005

Politics as usual

Kinky Friedman has opened a campaign store for the next week on Burleson Road in southeast Austin.

Just your run-of-the-mill everyday campaign fundraising.

Posted by Evan @ 12/16/05 06:04 PM | Comments (0)

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