Rick Perry vs World

29 January 2010

GOP debate tonight

The debate starts at 7pm.

Posted by Evan @ 01/29/10 05:13 PM | Comments (0)

28 January 2010

Gramm Rudman 3

Perry is proposing a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget. Of course, it's a gimmick, but one that will work when people overreact.

Posted by Evan @ 01/28/10 11:00 PM | Comments (0)

Spin usually involves an element of truth.

Gary Martin, SAEN:

President Barack Obama urged lawmakers in his State of the Union speech Wednesday to drop partisan divisions and pass immigration reform legislation.

"We should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system," Obama said, "to secure our borders, enforce our laws and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation."

...

"I am going to give the president a lot of credit for broaching the subject in this particular environment of 'Just Say No to Everything,' " said Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio.

I support changing the law on immigration, but a mere mention in a laundry list during a State of the Union ain't gonna get it done. Obama so far hasn't really "broached the subject" and to say otherwise is stretching it. I understand Obama is trying to do other things -- hey, politics is a question of priorities -- but let's not make stuff up: there is no Obama plan on immigration.

And Gonzalez seems to want to re-write history, but it was the Democrats who chose to write bills like the "stimulus" package that couldn't garner a single Republican vote in Congress during a moment of strong Obama popularity. Congressman are pretty risk-averse by nature, so if they had crafted a bill that any Republican could possibly support, they would've picked up a vote or two. As it was, they couldn't even get Congressman Cao's vote in Louisiana.

Posted by Evan @ 01/28/10 10:51 PM | Comments (0)

The Kitchen Sink = Kay Bailey Hutchison's campaign so far

Kelley Shannon, AP:

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison took aim Thursday at Gov. Rick Perry's oversight of the Texas Enterprise Fund, saying he has kept the public in the dark about the fund's activities. She called for an immediate independent audit of the job creation program.

...

"If the senior senator is saying that David Dewhurst and Joe Straus have been poor managers of the TEF then she needs to say so," Perry said. "I would suggest to you that the enterprise fund, having created 54,600 jobs and $14.3 billion in capital in the state of Texas, I think I'll compare that to what they've done in Washington, D.C. any day."

Perry's stats should be taken with a grain of salt, but it doesn't look like Kay is saying that it shouldn't exist. She's saying that Perry operates it in a shady manner. Well if it's operated in a shady manner, wouldn't it be Dewhurst and Straus' responsibility not to sign off on the things that the governor's office proposes?

I just don't get Hutchison's campaign. It looks like she's trying to throw the kitchen sink and whatever else she can find. It's just this muddled, incoherent message.

Posted by Evan @ 01/28/10 10:37 PM | Comments (0)

bling blang blaow!

Farouk Shami attacks Bill White:

Hair products tycoon Farouk Shami said Tuesday that Bill White, his Democratic rival in the race for governor, took jobs from poor Houston residents and gave them to friends.

...

Shami was in Dallas to discuss his plan to create jobs in the state's low-income areas. They [sic] plan involves developing solar panel plants in blighted areas. Those plants would produce jobs for poor people and cut their energy costs.

"The American dream is still alive," Shami said at a breakfast in South Dallas. "My opinion is to start with the poorest people in the state. Unfortunately, we have a lot of those people."

Shami continued to take aim at White, blasting the mayor for not fixing potholes in poor neighborhoods.

"The holes are in Mexican-American and African-American subdivisions," he said. "The mayor has deaf ears to minorities. He took jobs from minorities and gave them to special interest."

Those are certainly some allegations that will grab Dem primary voters' attention.\

By happenstance, I happened to see that Shami addressed the Dallas Gay LULAC meeting yestereday. That's a...very specific group.

Posted by Evan @ 01/28/10 01:29 AM | Comments (0)

26 January 2010

Apparently, I like linkposts

* Will Hurd's candidacy in San Antonio CD23 is interesting to me. Former A&M student body president (sound familiar?) turned CIA agent now running for Congress:

Speaking to a College Republicans meeting at UTSA, 32-year-old Will Hurd recalled congressional delegations visiting CIA posts in India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. A senior member of the House intelligence committee, someone you'd think should have a nuanced understanding of the Arab world, asked him the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

Hurd thought he was joking. "I was shocked by the caliber of our elected leaders," he said.

Hurd may have been talking about Texas Congressman Silvestre Reyes, who as House Intelligence Chairman didn't know that whether al Qaeda is Sunni or Shiite.

* The Medina boomlet is starting to feel like a media-driven candidacy, is it not?

* RG Ratcliffe does abortion as a gubernatorial issue in the Chron. If I get around to it, I'll comment more.

* Fortune profiles the odd couple: libertarian Ron Paul and socialist Bernie Sanders. They've apparently convinced John Cornyn. If I were Ron Paul, I might want to be careful, as I wouldn't be surprised if some enterprising Republican decides to take you on.

* Texas Watchdog notices that HillCo Partners are giving free rent to the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. It's unlikely to get alot of media play, because it doesn't fit any of the media's narratives.

*Slampo had me laughing with this one:

It's been pathetic––even poignant, if you're the sensitive sort––watching Kay Bailey Hutchison trundle out her endorsements by these antediluvian, establishmentarian Republicans––Bush Senior (now sadly looking his age), James Baker, and, most curiously, at least to us, Dick Cheney. Surely Brent Scowcroft also has thrown one her way and we missed it.

He later asks, "would even half of potential Republican primary voters be able to accurately identify James Baker, if forced to do so at gunpoint?" I'd take the under and feel pretty good about my bet.

* The Dems running against Todd Staples called him names yesterday. But maybe they should stop getting in fights with each other before they start throwing stones?

Posted by Evan @ 01/26/10 05:14 AM | Comments (1)

25 January 2010

Grinding the workweek

* John Cornyn is going to vote against Bernanke. That's...not good. Given that Bernanke is going to be confirmed and that there's no way Obama would appoint someone better...that's just just irresponsible, Senator.

* Evan Smith interviews Michael Williams for Texas Monthly Talks.

* Peggy Fikac does the Farouk Shami bio.

* Perry gets the NRA nod, which isn't a surprise since they endorse friendly incumbents.

* Democratic candidate Hank Gilbert has a theft charge, incidences of which he's still paying off years later. Apparently he is now accusing rival Kinky Friedman of disseminating the charges, and getting in Friedman's face at campaign events....man, I tell you what, I'm glad I'm not a Democrat, where this is the best my party can do. But demographic changes will soon usher out candidates like this anyway.

* KBH is in Amarillo today.

* I've always been surprised by the lack of metal detectors and such at the Texas Capitol. But I came to like it. Apparently Rick Perry has too.

* Apparently some of the folks getting paid through Perry's sign'em-up program have criminal records.

Posted by Evan @ 01/25/10 03:41 AM | Comments (0)

22 January 2010

A thought about HW and Baker

George H.W. Bush and his Sec of State James Baker are obviously big names. And it certainly says something to primary voters when big names like that endorse the challenger.

On the other hand, political decisions such as voting are largely driven by emotion, and I think people respect former President Bush and Sec Baker, but I'm not so sure that they move many votes these days among Republican primary voters. I'm not so sure that non-Republicans understand this.

Posted by Evan @ 01/22/10 06:37 AM | Comments (0)

Getting started on Friday links

* George H.W. Bush to endorse Hutchison. By the way, Wayne Slater, only Democratic activists use the "Tea Bag" phrase that you use. Too much MSNBC can lead to slips like that.

* Meanwhile, Sarah Palin will appear with Rick Perry in Houston on Dec 7th.

* The Supreme Court's decision threatens Texas' ban on corporate contributions as a 1st Amendment violation of free speech.

* Former Mexico president Vicente Fox was in Laredo and blamed America's thirst for drugs for Mexico's gang problems. The sad thing is: he's right.

* Wayne Slater devotes newspaper space to speculating that a $50k donation to Perry from a normal Democratic donor is meant to help Bill White by helping KBH win. All I want to know is: how slow was the newsday? I mean, it's possible, for sure since John McHale has apparently only given to Lamar Smith on the GOP side until now (according to the link, I haven't verified). But only $50k? That would be extremely stupid to only donate $50k if the objective is to influence the outcome of the race. $50k is so extraordinarily unlikely to change the outcome.

* John Cornyn is trying to recruit recruit recruit candidates to run for the Senate this year.

* Looks like the Dem establishment is backing Gilbert over Kinky in the Ag Commish race.

* I suppose it's fair to note that Craig James is now on the board of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

* There's a whole list of longer posts I have planned but...well, if you've been around for awhile, you'll know that my blog promises are worth what you pay for them.

Posted by Evan @ 01/22/10 03:37 AM | Comments (1)

21 January 2010

Wrong on almost every point

Richard Murray:

Debra Medina is not, of course, anywhere near as well-known as Rick Perry or Kay Bailey Hutchison, but her years of work within the Republican Party give her credibility with party activists like precinct committee members. These unpaid party volunteers can be very helpful in a low-vote primary, as we seem likely to have March 2nd. And because Ms. Medina will get better known as the election approaches because of the debates and other free media coverage, this gives her a good chance to grow her vote base, especially among the undecided voters who know Perry and Hutchison well, but have not yet decided to support either one.

The whole post was pretty...strange. But the bolded part...really? Rick vs. Kay is going to be low turnout?

The point of Murray's post is that Medina is going to keep rising in the polls. Truthfully, this sounds more like the hoped-for musings of a Democrat (which is what Murray is) than solid political analysis based on theory or empirical evidence.

Edit: I just can't let this part of Murray's post go:

A Perry-Hutchison runoff would be good news for Democrat Bill White, as it would consume millions of dollars in GOP campaign funds, and likely leave the eventual winner in a weaker position to unite the party for the General Election than would be the case if a clear winner emerges on March 2nd.

It's hard to argue that a runoff is bad for Bill White, but it helps him alot less than many old-time politicos think.

Does anyone really think that Perry or Hutchison are going to lack for funds if a Democrat (which may be Bill White, but we probably shouldn't yet take it as an absolute given like Murray does) looks like a credible challenger? I can't believe that Murray is really proposing such a thing in a Republican state with no contribution limits.

And the old saw about primaries dividing the party is largely outdated. This was true when there was only 2 months inbetween the primary and the election, but even if there's a runoff, there will be 6 months between the runoff and the general election. Plus, the media cycle has obviously shortened so much that 2 months back then is more like 2 weeks now. It's hard to argue that a runoff is so different in terms of splitting the party from the primary. While what Murray said might have been true 30 years ago, it's not relevant today.

Posted by Evan @ 01/21/10 06:07 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.