Rick Perry vs World

18 January 2008

Ouch!

Posted by Evan @ 01/18/08 01:15 PM | Comments (0)

17 January 2008

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced plans Tuesday to push for federal legislation to make government spending information more accessible to the public, much like what Comptroller Susan Combs has done in Texas.

Cornyn is proposing an expansion of the national government spending Web site that allows people to search federal contracts and grants. A pilot program would allow searches of such expenditures as government staff salaries and travel costs.

The national Web site http://www.usaspending.gov resulted from the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which had bipartisan backing in Congress.

Combs and Laura Lee Prather, vice president of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, joined Cornyn at a University of Texas news conference, where he touted his work in sponsoring recently signed legislation toughening the federal Freedom of Information Act.

Along with establishing a hot line service and ombudsman to help information seekers, the law also places a 20-day time limit for federal agencies to respond to requests and places a presumption that agencies should release information on request unless there is a finding that disclosure could do harm.

Hot.

Posted by Evan @ 01/17/08 07:18 AM | Comments (0)

Michael Lindenberger, DMN:

A federal commission created by Congress called for big increases to the federal gas tax on Tuesday as part of a sweeping overhaul of how America builds and pays for its highways, bridges and transit systems.

The proposal for a 40-cent increase over five years touched off a stormy debate in Washington that is expected to last until at least 2009, when legislation governing scores of transportation programs expires and must be rewritten.

In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry condemned the proposals.

It'd be reasonable if taxes are cut -- preferably of the payroll variety, for anti-regressivity purposes -- to make it revenue-neutral. Of course, since the government already makes more off every gallon of gasoline than the oil companies, maybe people will stop blaming oil companies for high gas prices. [If you're going to point out facts like that, you should really be getting paid by oil companies. -- ed. I know, right?]

Posted by Evan @ 01/17/08 07:15 AM | Comments (0)

Speaking of oppo research, I see via Postcards that the Politico profiles Chris Bell consultant Jason Stanford:

Much of Democratic opposition researcher Jason Stanford's work is done in a hermetically sealed world -- locked in strange hotel rooms, legislative libraries and obscure courthouses, poring over documents and clues that can wound opponents.

"What we do is hold politicians to publicly documented facts," Stanford said. "This job is tailor-made for a high-achieving debate nerd."

Stanford’s career choice is considered a social faux pas in some circles, and even his own mother is hesitant to talk about it.

Despite the judgmental treatment he often receives, Stanford says his research is still a satisfying replacement for his original dream job: espionage.

Stanford studied Russian at Lewis & Clark College and spent time in Moscow, determined to become a Russian spy for the United States.

But his dream of becoming an international man of mystery was quickly dashed when the Cold War ended in 1991 and spy jobs dried up.

Stanford returned home and, in 1994, took a research position in Texas with Gov. Ann Richards' reelection campaign.

Although the governor was unexpectedly defeated by newcomer George W. Bush, the campaign proved a valuable training ground for research methods, as Stanford became obsessed with the private business of politicians.

Stanford opened his own firm in 1997, and it grew rapidly.

The initial startup fee for a research consultant from Stanford Research ranges from $15,000 to $20,000, with additional charges for long-term consulting work, he said.

Stanford's salary lies in the low six figures, he said.

Posted by Evan @ 01/17/08 07:04 AM | Comments (2)

Your lovin don't pay my bills

Cash on hand as of the end of 2007, via Gardner Selby:

* Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison $7.9m (as of 9/30)
* Attorney General Greg Abbott $7.3m
* Governor Rick Perry $2.7m
* Comptroller Susan Combs $2.6m
* Lt. Guv David Dewhurst $0.8m
* Land Commish Jerry Patterson $0.51m
* Ag Commish Todd Staples $0.33m
* Former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams $0.16

Abbott didn't want to talk politics. But an Abbott adviser said, on condition of anonymity, that there won't be an Abbott-Dewhurst brawl for lieutenant governor. The two get along. Also, Abbott is disinclined to challenge a sitting lieutenant governor. My take: He wouldn't want the blame for triggering a partisan bloodbath.

Selby throws around some speculation about who'll run for what, before acknowledging the elephant in the room: everything depends on what Kay Bailey Hutchison decides to do.

Of course, that's what we thought in late 2005 too, when it looked like KBH was going to challenge Rick Perry. Then she waited so long that Carole Strayhorn announced a quixotic primary challenge cum independent bid.

Posted by Evan @ 01/17/08 06:44 AM | Comments (2)

Good oppo wins elections:

Stephen Marks, an opposition research specialist for more than 12 years, worked on some of the most competitive bare-knuckles elections in recent years, including the 1996, 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the second North Carolina Senate race between Jesse Helms and Harvey Gantt in 1996, and the Georgia Senate race between Max Cleland and Guy Millner.

He also dug up dirt for scandal-plagued lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his partner Mike Scanlon, oil company Koch Industries, and he helped former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay look up negative info on his nemesis, Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle, who was targeting DeLay for campaign finance violations.

Marks, who recently retired from his career in opposition research, tells all in his new book, "Confessions of a Political Hitman: My Secret Life of Scandal, Corruption, Hypocrisy and Dirty Attacks That Decide Who Gets Elected (And Who Doesn't)."

Posted by Evan @ 01/17/08 06:42 AM | Comments (0)

14 January 2008

Ouch

This guy is the savior of the Texas Democratic Party?

On the hustings lately, Noriega sounded like he was still coming to terms with his front-runner status, swinging from a cockiness that critics might label arrogance to sometimes appearing adrift or tentative. At his stops, party activists have applauded him, but some seemed open to the message of neophyte candidate Ray McMurrey, a Corpus Christi government teacher who says Noriega does not have clear-cut positions on issues ranging from health care to public financing of campaigns.

...

Afterward, talking to reporters, he seemed to take a swipe at Sun City residents in response to questions about debating his challengers.

"We've got guys killed; I wish people would wake up. I mean, we're sitting in here, look at this, people out here fishing, there's a lake over here; they're riding around here in golf carts. Come on, guys, get with the game." Noriega later said he didn't intend to insult anyone.

On Wednesday, Noriega's camp reprimanded a campaign aide who posed as a blogger and gave a false name to Cornyn staffers while seeking a copy of the senator's public schedule.

Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University, said Noriega seems to be the front-runner among the Democrats. But, Jillson said, he could bushwhack his chances by focusing on the Iraq war over domestic issues and refusing to debate.

"The idea that you wouldn't debate is an affront to the process," Jillson said. "There are things about Rick Noriega that strike me as amateurish."

Cornyn smartly said that he might be willing to debate primary opponent Larry Kilgore, who epitomizes the phrase "fringe candidate."

But the netroots won't be dissuaded!

Posted by Evan @ 01/14/08 03:35 PM | Comments (0)

11 January 2008

Moreso than even most senators, Mike Bloomberg is a guy that looks in the mirror and sees a president.

Right now, it looks like he and his handlers have done a masterful job of keeping the guy in the spotlight without any of the accompanying negative press that comes from being a candidate. In a way, it kinda reminds me of W's pre-2000 campaign. Theoretically W hadn't decided to run for president either.

It will be interesting how the press decides to report Bloomberg's partisanship. He's a lifelong Democrat who was nominally a Republican for 6 years, and is now being persuaded to run for president by iconoclastic Democrats. Hrm.

Posted by Evan @ 01/11/08 06:17 PM | Comments (0)

Noriega: not ready for primetime?

DMN's Robert T. Garrett didn't seem particularly impressed:

At recent forums, Mr. Noriega has consumed most of the time he was given for opening remarks by recounting at length his service as a Texas Army National Guard officer in Afghanistan and on the Texas-Mexico border, and as a civilian coordinator of relief for Hurricane Katrina victims in Houston.

While the five-term state lawmaker clearly believes his résumé sets him apart, he tends to leave himself little time to spell out why Mr. Cornyn should be unseated. He also leaves arguments unfinished. At the Central Texas Democratic Forum in Austin on Thursday, Mr. Noriega compared the election to an employee's annual job performance review.

"We have the opportunity now to say, 'Mr. Cornyn, you know what? You did a great job. We want five more years of that,' " Mr. Noriega said.

However, instead of urging voters not to give the incumbent a second six-year term, Mr. Noriega began to reminisce about growing up in the 1960s, during the U.S.-Soviet race to put a man on the moon.

Cornyn isn't the sort of guy who makes a lot of mistakes on the stump. And reviews like this aren't going to entice the Democrats DC money machine to turn on the spigots for Noriega.

Posted by Evan @ 01/11/08 09:46 AM | Comments (0)

Paul Burka rounds up all the Texas House races here.

Democrats are confident that they're going to dethrone the Speaker. That result seems less than 50% to me.

Posted by Evan @ 01/11/08 07:28 AM | Comments (0)

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