Rick Perry vs World

03 January 2009

The end of the non-partisan vote?

Is this the end of the non-partisan vote for speaker of the Texas House?

If Craddick isn't re-elected speaker, let's just say that I would be quite surprised if there wasn't a widespread effort to make every Republican running for the Texas House in 2010 sign a pledge to support the pick of the majority of the House Republican Caucus.

Many of the media types are reporting the Republican grassroots' dissatisfaction. They are interpreting it as being ginned up by Craddick and his allies in support of Craddick. That may be true, but I think they're missing the point. It wasn't that long ago that Republicans had never had a GOP House Speaker. There's alot of feeling among the activists that they didn't work that hard and wait that long in order to have Democrats and a splinter group of Republicans pick the Speaker.

I don't know how it will happen...whether the SREC will ask all primary candidates to sign the pledge and then negatively endorse those who don't...or what. I just have a very good feeling that it will happen. It won't be about Craddick (presumably he'll retire if he's not re-elected Speaker) as much as about Republican activists wanting to ensure that Democrats don't pick who the Republican leaders are.

I rather like the current system in Texas, to be honest. Yet perhaps the move to a partisan vote was inevitable all along. I don't have any data, but I'd assume the Texas House is one of the few (the only?) statewide legislative bodies in the US where the vote for presiding officer isn't a party line vote. Presumably, the reason Texas has evolved this way is because there was no Republican party. So there was no need for a partisan vote, because there was only Democrats. The cultural norm was established that speaker candidates could ask any member for their vote, regardless of party. However, as Texas has evolved into a two party state, perhaps it was inevitable that partisanship would slowly change the cultural norms to the point where we'd get a partisan vote.

Posted by Evan @ 01/03/09 04:33 PM | Comments (0)

29 December 2008

That time of year

It's that time of the biennial year calendar: the Texas House Speaker's race. This blog doesn't frequently have too much to say on the subject even though it's the only thing happening, because I prefer to write about things on which I actually know something about.

The place to go is to Burka's blog. I'm reminded that Cory lists Paul Burka's blog in his sidebar and then adds "always read the comments here. Pure Gold." Well put. This is true all year, but especially right now. As soon as Burka posts, the comments fill up. If you're bored, you can play the parlor game I like to call "Member, Lobbyist, Staffer, or Idiot" where you guess which category the anonymous commenter falls under.

Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive.

Posted by Evan @ 12/29/08 11:22 AM | Comments (0)

27 December 2008

Going corporate

I just ran across this week-old post at BOR by Katherine Haenschen that says:

This week I officially begin my new position as campaign manager for the Chris Riley Campaign for Austin City Council. Therefore, to avoid any conflict of interest, I will not be blogging about any municipal races in Austin this spring--including the mayoral contest and any other council elections.

It's certainly fine by me if Miss Haenschen wants to forgo writing about races which she is involved in. Yet, in my mind, the whole idea of blogging is to express your viewpoint...just because you're working for a campaign, why would you not express your viewpoint for that campaign? To me personally, it would make no difference whether I was doing so for money or not, as I don't do either unless I have a strong view for that candidate.

I think I've posted my own disclosure policy before here: I feel no duty to disclose. I've never accepted a dime for work in politics (yes, it's been offered), but if I did, it's unlikely that I'd feel the need to tell you about it.

Posted by Evan @ 12/27/08 10:28 PM | Comments (0)

24 December 2008

Too clever by half?

Is it fair to say that the Dallas news media is not a fan of Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert?

Posted by Evan @ 12/24/08 01:40 AM | Comments (0)

23 December 2008

"Yeah....about that"

Evan Smith, Eileen Smith, and Paul Burka -- the Texas Monthly blogging triumvirate -- all offered opinions this week about how the Democrats should be running a full slate of candidates in 2010, starting with the slot for governor.

This led Phil Martin to rejoin thus, in a post entitled Everyone Needs to Calm the Hell Down About 2010:

There will be a Democrat running for Governor in 2010 -- we've got a great roster of potential candidates. I mean, has anyone asked Senator Kirk Watson what he's planning on doing? He's young, got money, got great name ID, has the experience of running a statewide campaign, and is terrific on both policy and connecting with voters. Have we ruled him out? Is Congressman Chet Edwards definitely not going to run statewide? If Senator Van de Putte is willing to consider the U.S. Senate, why couldn't she just as easily wreck shop and run for Governor?

That's some hard spinning. Not to nitpick, but presumably Martin mentioned the three names that popped into his head first. Well...

When people think of Kirk Watson, they think about this: Maybe it's not fair -- I felt quite sympathetic to him. Maybe Chris Matthews is a blithering blowhard, but somehow the name Kirk Watson does not send fear down my spine.

As for Chet Edwards, I'd be quite surprised if he ran statewide. If he does, he hands a seat in Congress to Republicans in order to bid for office in a Republican state where his name ID is less than 5%. Does that sound smart to you? Especially when he's close to Speaker Pelosi and finally in the majority?

And then there's Van de Putte, and I'm surprised that Martin even mentioned her as a potential top-tier candidate.

Posted by Evan @ 12/23/08 05:10 AM | Comments (0)

22 December 2008

Ship it

The Census press release:

Texas gained more people than any other state between July 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008 (484,000), followed by California (379,000), North Carolina (181,000), Georgia (162,000) and Arizona (147,000).

Texas now has 24.3 million, and grew at the first fastest rate.

Posted by Evan @ 12/22/08 06:31 PM | Comments (0)

Chris Bell to run for two offices at the same time?

Well this is surprising! Apparently Chris Bell has announced that he is going to run for two offices at the same time:

Fresh off his defeat in the state senate runoff against Republican Joan Huffman, Democrat Chris Bell is trying a new tactic: running for two offices at the same time. In a unique plan announced today, Bell says that he plans to run for the Houston City Council in 2009 and Harris County Treasurer in 2010.

Bell, a lawyer and lobbyist, plans to challenge Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck in District C, as well as Orlando Sanchez in the Harris County Treasurer race. While he originally promised not to run for office again if he lost to Huffman, Bell has since changed his mind. Lawyers consulted by the Chronicle say that it is legal for Bell to campaign for both offices at the same time, as the elections are in different years.

"I believe that my long career running for office qualifies me to be a Houston City Councilman, and if the voters again choose my opponent in 2009, then I will just keep on running for Harris County Treasurer," said Bell at a press conference.

Experts say that while the move is highly unusual, it just might work. "It's not something that a candidate would do in normal times, but District C is a district that reflects the changing demographics of the county at-large," Rice University Professor Bob Stein commented.

"As the county becomes more Democratic, Bell has a real chance to actually get elected to something," Stein continued. "Plus, Bell has always been upset that [Harris County Treasurer] Orlando Sanchez entered the 2001 mayoral race. At the time, then-City Councilman Bell thought he could run as a de facto Republican against Democrat Lee Brown and win. When a Republican like Sanchez came along and screwed Bell's plans up, Bell lost."

Critics point out that by Chris Bell's own admission, a dead corpse would have done better against Rick Perry in 2006 than he did. Still, Bell says he will not be deterred. "My occasional successful election is proof that if you run for office enough, sometimes the voters will make a mistake," Bell joked.

It's kinda crazy, but who knows...it just might work. It remains to be seen whether 2010 will complete the Democratic wave of 2008 or whether Republicans will take back the judiciary. You'd think that the voters wouldn't reward a guy who can't figure out what office he really wants, but...who knows? It may not matter if the Democrats sweep countywide in 2010.

Posted by Evan @ 12/22/08 06:34 AM | Comments (0)

19 December 2008

On the road again

FWST's Bud Kennedy gets the only Democrat currently running for governor on the phone:

So far, only one Democrat stands between Texas Gov. Rick Perry and another four years as the holdover Last Governor of the 20th Century.

That's even a shock to the Democrat himself: Hill Country humorist Kinky Friedman.

"All the other Democrats are afraid of me, I guess," Friedman said jokingly Thursday by phone from his pet rescue ranch near Utopia, a day after Houston Mayor Bill White announced that he has decided to run for U.S. Senate instead of governor.

....

Actually, they're afraid they might wind up running for governor against Kay Bailey," Friedman said, sounding as if he might be chewing on one of his namesake brand cigars.

"They're all afraid but me. Anyway, I think it's entirely possible that Perry wins that primary. I don't trust people who come from Washington. If somebody comes from Washington telling you they're going to help you, run the other way."

Kinky's run for office -- and lost -- as a Republican and an Independent. Why not complete the trilogy and run for the Democrats? Maybe the Libertarians didn't want him...heyo.

I know that just about all the Texas media sneers at the Governor, but you might think that they'd refer to the longest-serving governor in Texas history by something other than "the holdover Last Governor of the 20th Century."

Posted by Evan @ 12/19/08 06:03 PM | Comments (0)

Maine Congressman criticizes Ron Kirk to be US Trade Rep

Some anti-trade Congressmen are criticizing Ron Kirk to be USTR, calling him too pro-free trade.

Full Mike Michaud press release below the jump. Meanwhile, Ben Smith reports that Rep. Phil Hare is also criticizing the pick.

[Read More]

Posted by Evan @ 12/19/08 05:38 PM | Comments (0)

18 December 2008

Prediction markets

Right now I really wish there was a prediction market for the speaker of the Texas House. It it was legal, I'd put serious thought into making a trade if the market appeared inefficient.

I guess the closest thing is late train lobbyist fundraisers?

Posted by Evan @ 12/18/08 01:55 AM | Comments (0)

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