Rick Perry vs World

01 February 2010

It seems to me that one of the criticisms of Perry has been cronyism. He must not do it very well, since even the TTC builder has decided to support KBH.

Posted by Evan @ 02/01/10 11:15 AM | Comments (0)

Kinky is weird

Jessica Meyers does the DMN's Kinky running for Ag Commish piece.

The entertainer – characterized by his signature cigar, black hat and wry one-liners – has given the agriculture commissioner race sudden allure. A gubernatorial candidate in 2006 and briefly last year, the author-musician says he's found his niche as a Democratic commissioner candidate.

He drops lines like "no cow left behind," and he's subbing his typical cigar shop visits for university talks and lecturing on sustainable fuels and organic farming. He's even snagged former Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower as an adviser.

"He has a genuine interest in being an elected official, but I don't know what the motivation is for this position," said Laura Stromberg, Friedman's press secretary in the 2006 governor race. "I don't think he has come out with anything that shows he learned something in the first race, no new ideas, nothing really bold."

So, he's run for local office as a Republican, for governor as a high-profile independent, and now a downballot statewide race as a Democrat after bombing as a potential Democratic candidate for governor...oh, and if he meets the requirements that Texas law requires to be Ag Commish, it's only on a technicality. Yeah, sounds like a great plan.

Like other folks, it seemed part of Kinky's original run was to sell books. And there was at least some plausible opening for him to be governor, I suppose. But running this time won't attract the same media attention to sell books, and he seems as likely as not to lose the Dem primary. I don't get it.

Posted by Evan @ 02/01/10 10:57 AM | Comments (0)

More Greg Mankiw, less Ron Paul please

I noticed that both Texas' senators voted against Bernanke getting another term. As I said before, I think it's an irresponsible vote.

It compromises the independence of the Fed, which leads to more inflation. It gives rise to turbulence in the markets, which isn't something the government should be promoting in these days. But most importantly, is there any chance that Obama would appoint someone better? Absolutely zero.

I wonder how many of the votes against Bernanke would still have been "nay" if they were the deciding vote. Not many, it seems that many of those nay votes indicated. So it's essentially a protest vote. And while there's certainly plenty to protest in TARP and foolhardy stimulus packages, I hardly see how voting against Bernanke solves that or improves what has already happened.

While I'm often critical of Democrats' Keynesian approach to having the federal government attempt manage the economy, Carter, Clinton, and Obama have so far made intelligent choices with regards to the Fed Chair. Democrats making good economic decisions? That's something Republicans should support.

Posted by Evan @ 02/01/10 10:46 AM | Comments (0)

Farouk Shami couldn't name the comptroller, the AG, or his own reps in state government.

On the other hand, he could name the size of the state budget. That does seem a bit more relevant.

Posted by Evan @ 02/01/10 10:33 AM | Comments (0)

High School Civics question

If George W. Bush were to endorse a candidate, how much would it matter for each candidate?

Posted by Evan @ 02/01/10 08:53 AM | Comments (0)

31 January 2010

Politifact is Politipinion: Houston IS a sanctuary city

Politifact holds itself out as a John Roberts-like umpire of political campaigns, dispassionately calling balls and strikes.

If you're going to do that, then you have to be careful. You have to refrain from favoring certain candidates. And neutral people should overwhelmingly not only agree, but think that disagreement would be childish.

Politifact rated as "false" a claim by Texas GOP Chair Cathie Adams that Houston under Bill White was a sanctuary city.

The Congressional Research Service said that Houston is a sanctuary city. Politifact disagrees because 1) there is no policy posted online, 2) the policy is not backed by ordinance, 3) the CRS didn't explicitly delineate why each jurisdiction was considered a sanctuary city and 4) "there is no official policy."

These things are all correct, but irrelevant and/or misleading. Houston is a sanctuary city. As the Houston Chronicle reported in 2003:

The Houston Police Department's controversial policy, in place for almost 11 years, forbids police from asking about someone's citizenship status and prohibits them from detaining or arresting people solely on the belief they are in the country illegally.

You and I might agree or disagree on whether that is a wise policy, but around the country cities that have policies like this are called sanctuary cities. Houston, under Bill White, was a sanctuary city. When Politifact calls people liars who say this, they are crossing the bounds of reason and wading into mere editorializing

Politifact is just mere politipinion.

Posted by Evan @ 01/31/10 11:28 PM | Comments (0)

Politifact is Politipinion: Houston IS a sanctuary city

Politifact holds itself out as a John Roberts-like umpire of political campaigns, dispassionately calling balls and strikes.

Politifact rated as "false" a claim by Texas GOP Chair Cathie Adams that Houston under Bill White was a sanctuary city.

These things are all correct, but irrelevant and/or misleading. Houston is a sanctuary city. As the Houston Chronicle reported in 2003:

The Houston Police Department's controversial policy, in place for almost 11 years, forbids police from asking about someone's citizenship status and prohibits them from detaining or arresting people solely on the belief they are in the country illegally.

Politifact is just mere politipinion.

Posted by Evan @ 01/31/10 11:28 PM | Comments (0)

I missed something in Scharrer's lt gov race profile.

Earle, who grew up on a small ranch outside Fort Worth, retired last year after 32 years as the Travis County district attorney, during which he made himself a thorn in the side of Democrats and Republicans alike in high-profile prosecutions. He also is a former state representative and a former municipal judge.

During his career, Earle brought charges against 18 politicians, including former House Speaker Gib Lewis and former Attorney General Jim Mattox -- both Democrats -- as well as against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison -- both Republicans. Earle also once filed charges against himself for missing a campaign finance report deadline and ended up paying a $200 fine.

It's probably worth noting that all of those Dems and Republicans were political enemies. And that $200 fine sounds rather PR stunt-ish to me.

Meanwhile, Marc Katz said:

He blames the Democrats' long Texas losing string on fielding too many well-qualified candidates with intellectual power that does not connect with voters.

"We need to talk to the people -- not at the people," Katz said.

Yes! Democrats aren't winning races because...they're fielding too many well-qualified candidates with intellectual power! The problem is the messenger, not the message!

Self-deception is a powerful force, but it probably isn't going to help you win elections.

Posted by Evan @ 01/31/10 04:37 PM | Comments (0)

the Dem lite guv race

Gary Scharrer profiles it for the Chron/SAEN this weekend.

But the odds remain long that a Democrat will knock off Dewhurst in the fall, said Cal Jillson, a Southern Methodist University political science professor who studies state and national politics.

Katz still will be selling sandwiches next year, Jillson predicted.

"Ronnie Earle and Linda Chavez-Thompson have visible strengths," he said. "Earle is a Texas populist in the (Ralph) Yarborough/(Jim) Hightower tradition, and Chavez-Thompson is a national Hispanic activist. Neither is terribly well-known. Hard to tell who wins the primary, but neither is likely to have the money to stand in against Dewhurst."

Jillson says Katz has no strengths. Well, he announced he was going to raise millions from family members, only to then announce that he wasn't going to do it. Perhaps he is going to self-fund for millions, I don't know, but it does seem unlikely that he is going to win without enough money to counteract his lack of name ID. And it doesn't help when you apparently base your campaign plan on something that you change your mind about a week later...not exactly a solid way to convince donors/activists/voters that you have the qualities to be lieutenant governor.

Presumably Jillson wanted to say something like: all 3 would be longshots against Dewhurst in this state, especially in what appears to be a strong Republican year, but the fact that they probably can't raise enough money precludes any possibility. However, as quoted, it seems to suggest that money is the only factor. Which clearly isn't the case: Earle and Chavez-Thompson simply aren't the types of candidates who are going to win statewide in modern day Texas without a lucky fluke.

Posted by Evan @ 01/31/10 04:31 PM | Comments (0)

In case you were wondering...

In case you were wondering where the Texas trial lawyers' money goes...

Posted by Evan @ 01/31/10 04:02 PM | Comments (0)

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