Texas Politics

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2008-02-07T15:30:00.001-08:00

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Burnt Orange Report: :: 19th District of Texas--Ricketts vs. Naugahyde--Attend the Rally!!

2006-06-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Burnt Orange Report: :: 19th District of Texas--Ricketts vs. Naugahyde--Attend the Rally!!

I just posted this on BOR. Click the link to read the rest.

Robert Ricketts will be holding a rally in Abilene on Tuesday, June 20th. LubbockDem promises something great is going to happen at the rally. Everyone who is in the area needs to come out and hear Robert, our next congressman from the 19th district.

When: Tuesday, June 20th 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Where: T&P Depot 1101 North First - Abilene

Robert Ricketts, who is running for congressman in the 19th District of Texas, is the real thing. When elected he will serve as a citizen legislator, with only the interests of his district and its citizens in mind. Ricketts is on the right side of the issues--our

Van Os for Texas Attorney General :: In David's Own Words: Notice to Big Oil: I'm coming after you

2006-04-30T18:02:00.000-07:00

Politically, I think this is brilliant. In terms of policy, I've got some questions. But I'd always rather have the populists running on the D ticket than on the I ticket. If you truly think you are an Independant or Populist, please look to David Van Os first, then consider Strayhorn and Friedman. I know the races are different. The values stay the same. Vote Democratic.

Van Os for Texas Attorney General :: In David's Own Words: Notice to Big Oil: I'm coming after you: "Texas was the second political jurisdiction in the world to enact an anti-trust law. We did it in the 1880s. Our then Attorney General, James Stephen Hogg, drafted the bill and persuaded the legislature to pass it. This was at least 10 years before the U.S. Congress enacted the federal Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

We still have a strong state anti-trust law. The primary enforcer is supposed to be the attorney general. Enforcement is virtually nil under Greg Abbott.

As Texas Attorney General I may not be able to do much about what the Oil Giants do to the people of New Jersey or Iowa, but I'll have a hell of a lot to say about what they do in Texas. Further, the corporate headquarters of the biggest of the Oil Giants, Exxon Mobil, is in Irving, Texas. I'm going to use every tool at my disposal, most importantly the anti-trust law and the consumer protection law, to take on the oil tycoons over what they're doing to the people of Texas. Unlike Greg Abbott who filed a few consumer protection charges against a few small-time retail outlets, I'm going to go to the core and break up the big boys' party at the sources. "

Taylor County Democrats: GOP Legislature About to Vote Themselves a Massive Tax Break

2006-04-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

Taylor County Democrats: GOP Legislature About to Vote Themselves a Massive Tax Break: "Why does it surprise me that GOP politicians are voting themselves a tax cut, raising taxes on small business, smokers and the poor, and doing nothing for the public school children of Texas? I guess it really doesn't. The Texas GOP has no shame, no point where they won't go to enrich themselves. Vote. Register voters. Make sure they vote. It starts in your neighborhood and your precinct. We have the power. Vote.

MySA.com: Metro | State: 'The average state senator would get property tax savings nearly four times the $512 that an average San Antonio homeowner would get under a proposal working its way through the Legislature.
"

Taylor County Democrats: FortBendNow: Tom DeLay Replacement Candidates Bump Up Against The Perry Factor

2006-04-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

Taylor County Democrats: FortBendNow: Tom DeLay Replacement Candidates Bump Up Against The Perry Factor: "Fort Bend Now once again provides some brilliant original reporting. All Democrats need to be analyzing this piece, and how it relates their own precinct politics. We must have our groundtroops in order.

FortBendNow: Tom DeLay Replacement Candidates Bump Up Against The Perry Factor: 'As the clock ticks toward Tom DeLay’s expected resignation announcement, insiders and outsiders alike continue spilling ink speculating on the favorite frontrunner replacement candidate.'"

Off the Kuff: Why you should never say "How could it get any worse?"

2006-04-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

I refrained from posting about this story, since it wasn't really Texas related. But if a great liberal Texas blogger like Kuff posts it, then it is Texas related.

Off the Kuff: Why you should never say "How could it get any worse?": "With every lousy poll that comes out for the Republican Congress, you have to think that some of them have asked themselves if it were possible for things to get any worse. If so, I have bad news for them. How does a prostitution scandal grab you?"

Taylor County Democrats

2006-04-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

Taylor County Democrats

Fort Bend Now has caught one of the most important stories about grassroots politics in Texas, and I want to make sure it doesn't stay under the radar.

Why is this story important? Because both parties have become complacent about politics as usual. Lots of Republican precinct chairs are vacant in Fort Bend because everyone trusted or didn't care about the good old boys in power. The GOP ruled, and that was good enough.

Lots of Democratic precinct chairs in Taylor County (Abilene)are vacant as well. Because we acted like a bunch of whipped yellow dogs. The Republican party had taken over. No way we could beat them in Red Texas. We whined and yelped, and like dogs bit**ed, but did nothing to rebuild the party. There is no excuse, however.

We can't run a 50 state strategy. We can't run a 254 county strategy in Texas. We are the people, and we need to run a strategy based on every single precinct, in every state. If you are a county chair for the Democratic party, I challenge you. If you have a precinct that had only one Democratic voter, you need to convince that person to be county chair. We must have a precinct chair in every precinct.

There isn't a county in Red Texas that doesn't include a voting Democrat. There shouldn't be a county that doesn't have a county chair.

Click through and read this story. Grassroots politics counts. Especially when it matters.

DeLay Replacement Process Shines Light On Precinct Chair Vacancies - FortBendNow: "As Republican Party officials in four counties prepare for the impending resignation of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, increasing attention is focusing on a seemingly mundane side issue: Precinct chair vacancies.

But with precinct chairman about to play a key role in naming DeLay’s replacement in the race against Democrat Nick Lampson for Congressional District 22, vacant precincts – and how or whether they will be filled – have become an election issue.

The reason involves politics and math."

Taylor County Democrats: Capitol Annex » Leininger Must See The Writing On The Wall

2006-04-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

Taylor County Democrats: Capitol Annex » Leininger Must See The Writing On The Wall: "Capitol Annex picks up on something I wrote about for Burnt Orange Report. I believe that one of the reasons Susan King squeaked out a victory in the GOP primary is because she was the Parent PAC candidate, and Kevin Christian was the recipient of Leinginger money. Moderate Republicans are on the rise. Read the rest of this great piece.

Capitol Annex » Leininger Must See The Writing On The Wall:"

Cities learn from blackout

2006-04-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News:

The GOP keeps telling us everything changed after 9/11. I agree. The government has become totally imcomptent. We can't handle our own energy shortages, much less anything caused by terrorism. Big Energy is just looking for more welfare. We need to rid this country of welfare queens. Let's start with Exxon and Haliburton.

"Monday’s rolling 15-minute blackouts caught some cities, police departments and Dallas Area Rapid Transit off guard, leaving them with no warning of when or where neighborhoods and traffic signals would lose power.
Also Online

ERCOT: Electric supply OK today

At DART, one of the first indications of power supply problems came when staffers in the rail operations nerve center looked at their wall-sized control board and started noticing electricity disruptions up and down the lines.

'We didn’t receive any notice. We just started experiencing it,' said DART spokesman Morgan Lyons.

TXU Electric Delivery began the blackouts as soon as it received a directive from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s electric grid operator, said TXU spokeswoman Carol Peters.

'We notified the police as soon as we knew,' she said. 'It was a fast-moving, dynamic situation. We had to act quickly to avoid a blackout.'"

Texas Politics

2006-02-17T17:43:00.000-08:00

Texas Politics: "Texas Monthly Fallen Heroes--The 203 Texans who have given their lives in the Iraq war."

Media previews

Registration-free viewing for the press.

I'm a blogger, and that makes me part of the media and the free press. I did cop the link from Daily Kos, though. The upcoming issue of Texas Monthly has short profiles and pictures of the 203 Texans that have fallen in the Iraq war. We must remember them. I've never served in the military. I'm very proud of my father's 20 years of service with the USAF, including a tour of duty in Vietnam. I'm proud of my own service as a public school teacher. But supporting the troops is not synonymous with supporting the administration, as much as they would have us believe it. Read below the fold for the link.

So click this link to Texas Monthly, and pray, or meditate, or curse the gods. Whatever you want to do. Just remember the troops. They paid the ultimate price for each and everyone of us.

I just edited this post so it pointed to the first page of the Texas Monthly article.

DeLay, fighting an indictment in Texas on charges of illegal fundraising while facing scrutiny by federal prosecutors in Washington for his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, raised $181,851 between Oct. 1 and the end of the year. That amount brought the total raised for his legal defense fund in 2005 to $590,520 — significantly more than the $439,550 recorded in 2004.

But during 2005, DeLay's legal expenses topped $1 million, said Brent Perry, a Houston attorney who administers the fund.

"We paid out well over $500,000 in legal fees (in 2005)," he said. The payments would leave DeLay owing lawyers at least $500,000, a figure Perry said was probably low.

Dick DeGuerin has to just love Tommy boy.

Texas Grand Ole Docket

2006-01-31T15:15:00.000-08:00

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, has started a great new feature, TPM Grand Ole Docket. Here I've highlighted those in the docket with a Texas Connection. Click throught to Josh's site to see how the GOP in Ohio and California are in it deep, and unfortunately a couple of Dems in Louisiana. Josh writes:

The Grand Ole Docket tracks trial dates, court appearances and sentencing hearings for players in the current array of national political scandals. But not just any crook can make it on the Docket - it only tracks perps who've been named by prosecutors in indictments or plea agreements.

Be sure to check back periodically as the investigations continue.

And here is the Texas Hall of Shame, and what a lovely bunch they are.

Click here to go to Blue Texas to see the Texas Hall of Shame. The code wouldn't play well with blogger.

Off the Kuff: Raising taxes on college students

2006-01-31T10:22:00.000-08:00

Off the Kuff: Raising taxes on college students: "Rep. Chet Edwards has some bad news for college students and their parents: A massive cut in student financial aid is buried in a reconciliation bill that could be voted on in the House as soon as Wednesday. Take a look at what's coming, and call your Congress member if you think this is as bad an idea as it sounds."

I think the GOP has forgotten that the middle class does vote.

DeLay focuses on re-election, swipes at critics - Politics - MSNBC.com

2006-01-30T16:07:00.000-08:00

DeLay focuses on re-election, swipes at critics - Politics - MSNBC.com: "Confident of his chances in a tough November re-election race, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay blasted the “runaway prosecutor,” dismissed fallout from a disgraced lobbyist and said he remains focused on pushing a conservative agenda in Congress.

“We've had an 11-year run of a Republican majority doing things that I’m incredibly proud of — cutting taxes, strong national defense, welfare reform, balancing the budget, paying down on the debt. I mean, one thing after another, we've been effective on it and the Democrats don't like it,” DeLay said in an interview on “Hardball with Chris Matthews.”"

I'm sure Tweety Bird Mathews threw Delay a softball set of interview question. And Matthews has his own ties to Abramoff. But how does any reporter keep his job when he just ignores flat out lies like the bit high-lighted in red above. This needs to be pointed out to Lampson. I see a campaign commercial here. I'm glad I live in the reality-based community, where I can spot the GOP's up is downism for what it is.

News 8 Austin | 24 Hour Local News | HEADLINES | District 48's unexpected election results

2006-01-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

District 48's unexpected election results: "

Donna Howard's near victory in the special election earlier this month was stunning.

It's a district designed to elect a Republican. Todd Baxter's resignation and the immediate special election were designed to help a Republican. Other Republicans were discouraged from getting in the race to avoid confusing the voters.

Yet when the smoke cleared, Ben Bentzin scored a lower percentage than when running against Senator Gonzalo Barrientos in a decidedly more Democratic Senate district three years ago.

The Bentzin campaign explains that Howard dropped five mail pieces linking their candidate to Tom DeLay. Other Republicans in the district complain that the mechanics of getting out the Republican vote were poorly executed.

That is all no doubt true, but it misses a bigger point."

Read the rest for the details, but here's the bigger point.

:...the story of the first election wasn't exclusively about Donna Howard and the Democrats. It was also about Republicans crossing over because they wanted someone to represent them, not Craddick."

Burnt Orange Report - Texas Dem Congressional Delegation Calls for Cancellation of State Lobbying Contract

2006-01-29T17:52:00.000-08:00

Burnt Orange Report - Texas Dem Congressional Delegation Calls for Cancellation of State Lobbying Contract: "Surprise, surprise, there seems to be a connection between the K Street Project and the Governor's mansion. The K Street Project is/was a DeLay/Abramoff scheme to get the lobbying companies that populates Washington's K street to only do business with Congressional Republicans.

In today's Statesman, the Texas Democratic Congressional delegation called on Gov. Perry to cancel a contract with Todd Boulanger and his firm. It has come to light that the state has awarded a $330,000 contract to represent the states interest on legislation. Todd Boulanger is a close contact of Jack Abramoff, who has plead guilty to charges that he defrauded clients."

The roots of this scandal run really deep, and the Dems need to keep shoveling until the GOP tree of corruption withers and dies.

THE WAR WITHIN

2006-01-29T16:39:00.000-08:00

THE WAR WITHIN:

"BATTLE SCARS: The photo of the ‘Marlboro Man’ in Fallujah became a symbol of the Iraq conflict when it ran in newspapers across America in 2004. Now the soldier has returned home to Kentucky,where he battles the demons of post-traumatic stress
The photograph hit the world on Nov. 10, 2004: a close-cropped shot of a U.S. Marine in Iraq, his face smeared with blood and dirt, a cigarette dangling from his lips, smoke curling across weary eyes.

It was an instant icon, with Dan Rather calling it 'the best war photograph in recent years.' About 100 newspapers ran the photo, dubbing the anonymous warrior the 'Marlboro Man.'

The man in the photograph is James Blake Miller, now 21, and he is an icon, although in ways Rather probably never imagined.

He's quieter now -- easier to anger. He turns to fight at the sound of a backfire, can't look at fireworks without thinking of fire raining down on a city. He has trouble sleeping, and when he does, his fingers twitch on invisible triggers.

The diagnosis: post-traumatic stress disorder."

Pair fight to show Dems can win Texas

2006-01-29T13:55:00.000-08:00

Denton Record-Chronicle | News for Denton, Texas | Texas/Southwest

They might be fighting for the right to come in third – or even fourth – in the race for Texas governor, but that doesn't mean Chris Bell and Bob Gammage are going through the motions.

Rather, they're scrambling to convince voters that the race can be won by a Democrat – if not by the other guy.

They take similar positions on school finance, taxes and social issues. But that's where the similarities end.

Mr. Bell, a former congressman, pitches himself as the "candidate of the future" who has plans to lower school dropout rates and make college more affordable.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bob Gammage (left) answers questions during the first stop of his campaign tour in Sugar Land.

Mr. Gammage says he's "a messenger" about a state government that's in bed again with big political donors.

Mr. Bell is almost professorial in his approach, reading from handwritten notes on school-binder paper at the Alamo last week. (He has two sons in grade school.) In five minutes, he was through.

He believes he'll win because Democrats appreciate his courage for jumping into the race last February.

"I was the only one out there carrying the message about the need to continue the fight, not to give up just because 2004 wasn't a banner year for Democrats," he said.

Mr. Gammage is a dynamic speaker who says he felt compelled to run after recognizing there was no Democrat in the race with a "fire in the belly and energy in their blood."

That fervor won over at least one voter last week in Corpus Christi for the former state Supreme Court justice.

Anybody have a horse in this race yet. I haven't decided.

Burnt Orange Report - Weekend Governor's Race Round Up

2006-01-29T13:39:00.000-08:00

Burnt Orange Report - Weekend Governor's Race Round Up: "Mexican-American Democrats of Texas Endorse Bell
The El Paso Times reports today that Chris Bell has picked up his first endorsement going into the Democratic Primary. The Mexican-American Democrats of Texas endorsed Bell for governor of Texas. The endorsements are starting to pile up in the Chris Bell camp. After looking at the Gammage website, the only endorsement I could find was from Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco."

The interesting part of this post is the comments. The liberal blogosphere that reads Burnt Orange seems to be strongly behind Gammage.

U.S. Ally Georgia Turns to Iran for Gas

2006-01-28T17:54:00.000-08:00

International News Source for USA, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa and Egypt - U.S. Ally Georgia Turns to Iran for Gas: "Georgia struck a deal with Iran for emergency natural gas supplies Friday, as the tiny U.S.-ally suffered through its worst energy crisis in years and government officials accused Russia of waging an energy blockade.
Dawn-to-dusk lines persisted in the capital Tbilisi for a second day, as desperate Georgians queued up for kerosene and firewood to heat their homes amid the largest snowfall in years. Many from the former Soviet republic, from President Mikhail Saakashvili down to those shivering in below-freezing temperatures in the capital, struck a note of defiance.

'It's an energy blockade. That's what it is,' said 58-year-old Bichiko Gveseladze, who waited six hours along at least 500 other people for government-subsidized kerosene. 'Russia is doing it because they don't want Georgia to be fully independent.'

Why is this a Texas Politics story? Because Texas is about to see a boom in energy production jobs. The headlines have been full of stories about the new wind turbine farms coming to Texas. And while our oil and gas fields are in decline, there's still lot's of opportunity when the price of a barrel of oil tops $100. Of course, we may have to build some pipelines to bring in drinking water.

Nearly a week after explosions shut down a gas pipeline in a Russian border region and nearly two days after winter weather downed a major electric transmission line, Georgian officials announced a deal that sees Tehran supplying 71 million cubic feet of gas a day via Azerbaijan pipelines."

Google "peak oil" and find out just exactly how safe our Prez has made us in this new millenium.

Most Americans want Bush to reveal lobbyist ties: poll - Yahoo! News

2006-01-28T17:24:00.000-08:00

Most Americans want Bush to reveal lobbyist ties: poll - Yahoo! News: "Three in four Americans want
President George W. Bush to disclose his aides' links with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a demand the White House has rejected so far, according to a poll published on Saturday.

The Washington Post said the demand was supported by clear majorities of both Republicans and Democrats in the Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted between January 23 and January 26.

Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud charges this month and agreed to help U.S. prosecutors in a corruption probe that has sparked calls for reform of the Washington practice of lobbying lawmakers with donations and favors to influence legislation.

If he won't reveal the records, the only reason I can think of is he's hiding something. Something big. Something impeachable. That's why he's running scared. The way all cowards and bullies run scared. Liars and thieves. Traitors. Two-bit despots. Texas deserves better. America deserves better. If we can't convict them, at least we can vote the runts out.

At a White House news conference on Thursday, Bush said he did not know Abramoff and would not release photographs in which the two appeared together.

He said the release of the photographs would be used for 'pure political purposes' by Democrats.

The Washington Post said 76 percent of those surveyed said Bush should release lists of all meetings between his aides and Abramoff. Eighteen percent disagreed.

'Two in three Republicans joined with eight in 10 Democrats and political independents in favoring disclosure,' the paper said."

DriveDemocracy.Org - Democalypse Blog » Education, Health and living wages are the problem

2006-01-28T16:22:00.000-08:00

DriveDemocracy.Org - Democalypse Blog » Education, Health and living wages are the problem: "t turns out that education, health and enough money to live on are the problem, not the solution. A sound body, a good mind, and hard work are, according to the extreme right, enemies of the magical free market. That’s according to Michael Quinn Sullivan as quoted in the Austin American Statesman.
The story is about the widening income gap in the U.S. It’s not often the knuckleheads just come out and honestly admit their agenda. This guy Sullivan is an alum of Cybercast and the Conservative News Service. He’s now communications director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The TPPF is the creation of right wing money bag Jim Leininger, who along with Houston builder Bob Perry has purchased the Texas Legislature, the governor’s mansion, and much of Congress.

Just look at the quote. Education, health care and a minimum wage “exacerbate the problem.”"

So I guess the Rethug solution is to eliminate public education, publically financed health care, and the minimum wage. Why are they afraid to run on their beliefs. Cowards and bullies, liars and thieves. Texas deserves better.

Is Norquist still the man? | Blue Texas

2006-01-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

Is Norquist still the man? | Blue Texas

From the Houston Chronicle

THE Texas Supreme Court has ordered Gov. Rick Perry and the Legislature to come up with a new school funding plan before June 1.

When Perry calls a special session to do that after the March primary, we will learn something important about Texas:

Whether Grover Norquist is still in charge. Norquist's name has come up recently in connection with the Abramoff/Reed/DeLay Gang and their dealings with Indian casinos, but the Washington-based tax fighter became notable in Austin before that.

You may recall that in 2004, before the last regular legislative session, Gov. Perry flew to the Bahamas for three days of serious discussion of school finance and reform.

Voucher advocate and San Antonio hospital bed magnate Dr. James Leininger and Houston businessman Bobby Nau sponsored the trip, which also included Perry's wife and several of his aides.

But the other key guest was Norquist.

Abramoff is toast. Delay's goose is in the oven. But if we truly want to destroy the cesspool of corruption that has overtaken the GOP, then we need to bring down Norquist and Ralph Reed.

And for those of you in the know, I'd also like to know how much this trip had to do with school finance, and how much it had to do with Perry's wife and her plans.

Texas House Races | Blue Texas

2006-01-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

Texas House Races | Blue Texas

1st Congressional District--The incumbent, Gohmert, is a 1st term Republican who won with 61.5%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have contractor Roger L. Owen

2nd Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Poe, is a 1st term Republican who won with 55.5%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have environmental services consultant Gary E. Binderim (D)

3rd Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Johnson, is an 8tht term Republican who won with 85.6%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have retired USAF officer / sales director Dan Dodd (D)

4th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Hall, is a 13th term Republican who won with 68.4%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have professor Glenn Melancon (D), and restaurant manager '04 Libertarian nominee Kevin D. Anderson (D)

5th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Hensarling, is a 2nd term Republican who won with 64.5%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have businessman Charlie Thompson (D)

6th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Barton, is a 11th term Republican who won with 66.0%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have veteran David T. Harris (D)

7th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Culberson, is a 3rd term Republican who won with 64.1%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have school teacher James "Jim" Henley (D), and attorney David Murff (D)?

8th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Brady, is a 5th term Republican who won with 68.9%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have '04 nominee James "Jim" Wright (D)

9th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Green, is a 1st term Democrat who won with 72.2%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Democrat. On the Red side no one had the guts to run.

10th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, McCaul, is a 1st term Republican who won with 78,6%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have ex-EPA official Ted Ankrum (D), Paul Foreman (D), attorney / ex-police officer Kyle Kincaid (D), Elsie "Pat" Mynatt, R.N. (D), and Sid Smith (D)

11th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Conaway, is a 1st term Republican who won with 76.8%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we didn't field a Blue candidate.

12th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Granger, is a 5th term Republican who won with 72.3%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have John R. Morris (D)

13th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Thornberry, is a 6th term Republican who won with 92.3%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have lay preacher Roger J. Waun (D)

14th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Paul, is an 8th term Republican who was unopposed in '04. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have ex-Texas Cattleman Assoc. Exec. Dir. Shane R. Sklar (D)

15th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Rubén Hinojosa (D), is a 5th term Democrat who won with 57.8%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Democrat. On the Red side ex-St. Rep. Paul B. Haring (R), salesperson Eddie Zamora (R),

16th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Silvestre Reyes (D), is a 5th term Republican who won with 55.5%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Democrat. On the Blue side no Republican had the guts to run.

17th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Chet Edwards (D), is an 8th term Democrat who won with 51.2%. Rothenberg Political Report: Competitive Race, Cook Political Report: Toss Up Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball: Leans Democratic. On the Red side we have Attorney & Ex-Congressional Aide C. Tucker Anderson (R), and Iraqi veteran Van Taylor (R),

18th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Sheila Jackson Lee, is a 6th term Democrat who won with 88.9%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Democrat. On the Red side we have Ahmad Hassan (R)

19th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Neugebauer, is a 2nd term Republican who won with 58.4%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have Robert Ricketts (D). This is my district, stolen from Charlie Stenholm due to Delay's criminal redistricting. If we can bury them here, we can bury them everywhere.

20th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Charlie A. Gonzalez (D), is a 4th term Democrat who won with 65.5%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Democrat. On the Blue side we have no Republican with the guts to run.

22nd Congressional Distict--The incumbent, The "Bug Man" Delay, is an 11th term Republican who won with 55.2%. Rothenberg Political Report: Competitive Race, Cook Political Report: Likely Republican, Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball: Leans Republican. On the Blue side we have Rothenberg Political Report: Competitive Race, Cook Political Report: Likely Republican, Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball: Leans Republican. This is the must win race. If we win this, not only will we make gains, but we might just take back the house. It's time to exterminate the Bug Man Delay.

23rd Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Bonilla, is a 7th term Republican who won with 69.3%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have Vietnam Vet Rick Bolaños (D)

24th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Marcahnt, is a 1st term Republican who won with 64.0%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have programmer / '04 nominee Gary R. Page (D)

25th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Lloyd Doggett (D), is a 6th term Democrat who won with 67.6%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Democrat. On the Red side we have no Republican with the guts to run.

26th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Burgess, is a 2nd term Republican who won with 65.8%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have Tim Barnwell (D)

27th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Solomon P. Ortiz (D), is a 12th term Democrat who won with 55.5%, but who might retire, according to DC Political Report. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Democrat. On the Red side we have marine surveyor / businessman / ex-Ingleside Mayor '04 nominee William "Willie" Vaden (R),

28th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Henry Cuellar (D) is a 1st term Democrat who won with 59.0%. Faces primary challenges from ex-U.S. Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez (D), teacher / 1996 Senate nominee / 1998 Congressional nominee / '02 Senate candidate Victor M. Morales (D). Cook Political Report considers this district solid Democrat. On the Red side no Republican had the guts to run.

29th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Gene Green (D) is a 7th term Democrat who won with 93.0%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Democrat. On the Red side we have minister Eric Story (R)

30th Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Eddie Bernice Johnson (D), is a 7th term Democrat who won with 93.0%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Democrat. On the Red side we have attorney Wilson Aurbach (R), entrepreneur Amir Omar (R), IT Manager Fred A. Wood (R),

31st Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Carter, is a 2nd term Republican who won with 64.8%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have attorney Mary Beth Harrell (D)

32nd Congressional Distict--The incumbent, Sessions, is a 5th term Republican who won with 54.3%. Cook Political Report considers this district solid Republican. On the Blue side we have arbitrator Will Pryor (D)

mikecable's blog | Blue Texas

2006-01-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

mikecable's blog | Blue Texas

I cross-posted this over at Blue Texas.

DeLay Isn't A "Regular Guy"

Submitted by mikecable on Fri, 2006-01-27 13:07.

Nice catch from Eye on Williamson County.

Doesn't this, DeLay appearance cost Fox $14,000, run contrary to media attempts to make Tom DeLay out to be a "regular guy":

Four days after U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's stunning indictment last September in Travis County, the political talk show "Fox News Sunday" trumpeted an exclusive interview with the combative Texas Republican.

Unsaid, but revealed in documents DeLay later filed in the U.S. House, was that DeLay's Oct. 2 appearance cost Fox News $14,000.

The money rented a private jet to ferry DeLay from a small airport near his Sugar Land home to Fox studios in Washington. The next day, after engaging in a give and take with host Chris Wallace, DeLay and his Capitol Police security detail were flown back to suburban Houston.

Education system is broken - Opinion

2006-01-27T08:05:00.000-08:00

Education system is broken - Opinion

The debate over school finance that has gripped the Legislature's neverending special sessions is a mere sideshow to the grim reality of Texas education. In truth, the system is broken and no matter how much money our government dumps into the abyss, things will remain awry without substantive reform.

Consider the state of affairs in two of the largest school districts in Texas: Dallas ISD and Houston ISD.

In the 2000-01 school year, there were 14,566 freshman attending Dallas public high schools. Four years later at the graduation ceremonies for the class of 2004, there were only 6,696 graduates. This means that in Dallas ISD only 45.97 percent of the students even graduate from high school, let alone go on to something better.

Head south to Houston and things actually get worse. In the 2000-01 school year, there were 20,187 students in the high school freshman class in Houston ISD. Four years later when these students were scheduled to don the cap and gown, only 8,354 of them were eligible. Statistically speaking, if your child attends a Houston high school, he or she has only a 41.38 percent chance of actually graduating.

From the Daily Texan. Read the rest--the numbers are frightening.

Slashdot | Politicians Catch on to Blogging

2006-01-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

Slashdot | Politicians Catch on to Blogging

Jason Jardine wrote to mention a C|Net report on an increase in the use of blogs by politicians in the U.S. capitol. From the article: "Just a year ago, a DailyKos posting from someone like John Kerry would have been all but unheard of, and blogging of any kind by members of Congress was almost nonexistent. But now that dynamic is starting to change, and slowly, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are beginning to appreciate the value of blogs. 'When I reach out to the blog community, it gives me an opportunity to begin a dialogue with an extremely politically sophisticated and active community that I otherwise might not be able to reach,' Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., wrote in an e-mail to CNET News.com."

They're finally catching on.

Sheriff demands probe of Mexican military incursions

2006-01-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

World Peace Herald

A Texas border sheriff yesterday demanded that the U.S. and Mexican governments investigate incursions into the United States by heavily armed drug escorts dressed in Mexican military uniforms "before someone gets killed."

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr., who heads the Texas Sheriff's Border Coalition, said a growing number of suspected incursions and violence aimed at the area's law-enforcement officers is making the border "a pretty dangerous place."

"We have tried everything we know to make the federal government aware of the problems at the border and how they have affected us," said Sheriff Gonzalez, who has fewer than two dozen deputies to patrol 1,000 square miles, including 60 miles of Texas-Mexico border.

"It appears our government is covering this thing up because it just doesn't want to admit there is a problem," he said. "Trade between the United States and Mexico may be more important to Washington than human lives."

We need to hammer Perry with this.

Border incident sparks outrage

2006-01-25T07:12:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News: "Border incident sparks outrage"

A West Texas standoff along the Rio Grande between U.S. law enforcement officers and heavily armed Mexican drug smugglers in military-style clothing prompted congressional demands Tuesday for an international investigation and a call for deployment of U.S. troops to the border.

The incident, which occurred Monday on U.S. soil at an isolated river crossing about 50 miles east of El Paso, is the latest involving armed incursions along the U.S. border with Mexico.

And it comes less than a week after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called a California newspaper's account of such border incursions "overblown."

Shouldn't Perry be concentrating on our own border, instead of jetting off to Iraq.

Ralph Reed, Abramoff, and the Texas Christian Coalition--All Mobbed Up

2006-01-24T12:23:00.000-08:00

Mathaba.Net News Links

Evidence is mounting that former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed Jr., along with a former leader of the Texas Christian Coalition, may have illegally lobbied Texas state officials on behalf of crooked federal lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients.

Three Austin-based reform groups—Common Cause Texas, Public Citizen Texas, and Texans For Public Justice, the latter of which employs the author of this article—urged Travis County prosecutors last December to investigate whether Reed violated Texas’ lobby-registration laws four years ago. Correspondence between Abramoff and Reed—the ex-Christian Coalition leader now running for lieutenant governor of Georgia—suggests that Reed lobbied Texas officials on behalf of Abramoff’s Indian gambling clients without registering as a Texas lobbyist. The $5 million in gambling money that Abramoff reportedly paid Reed for his services would make it one of the largest lobby contracts ever made public in Texas.

The Reed campaign, which did not respond to three requests for comment for this story, previously issued a statement saying that Texas’ lobby registration law does not cover the kind of “grassroots” organizing that Reed’s firm conducted in Texas. Travis County Attorney David Escamilla told the Observer at press time that his office was still investigating the complaint.

Perry makes surprise visit to Iraq

2006-01-24T10:39:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News: "Gov. Rick Perry has traveled to Iraq with three other governors in a surprise visit to troops from their states.

Perry joined Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, Huckabee spokeswoman Alice Stewart said Tuesday morning. They left for Iraq on Sunday after receiving classified briefings at the Pentagon, she said.

'The Department of Defense set this trip up for the purpose of making these governors aware of the global war on terror,' Stewart said. 'It's important for the governors to be on the ground and visit with the troops.'"

Earle Subpoenas Former DeLay Campaign Aide

2006-01-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

Earle Subpoenas Former DeLay Campaign Aide: "A former campaign manager of Rep. Tom DeLay who also ran an organization linked to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was subpoenaed by a Texas prosecutor Monday.

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle filed documents in Austin seeking records from Robert G. Mills in connection with a probe of DeLay, who is awaiting trial in Texas on money laundering charges.

Earle wants information about a $500,000 political contribution made in 1999 by the National Republican Congressional Committee to the U.S. Family Network, a now-disbanded nonprofit advocacy group for conservative ideas. Mills, DeLay's 1996 campaign manager, was president of the U.S. Family Network.

The Washington Post reported that donations to U.S. Family Network came from clients of Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to federal charges in a congressional corruption investigation."

Right now we're seeing drips and drops of information. But as the pieces start to come together we're going to witness a tidal wave.

A CAPITOL BLOG: Politiqueras Gone Wild!

2006-01-22T17:11:00.000-08:00

A CAPITOL BLOG: Politiqueras Gone Wild!: "Former Rep. Steve Wolens liked to call them vote-harvesters. Down in deep, deep South Texas however they are called 'politiqueras.' Not always, but generarally, ladies involved in get out the vote efforts, who it is alleged, sometimes cross the line with aggressive, at times improper, tactics in doing their job."

This is fascintating part of South Texas politics I wasn't aware of. Thanks to Rep. Pena for pointing out this story.

Burnt Orange Report - Emails Show Workings Of Gov's Office During Katrina

2006-01-22T17:07:00.000-08:00

Burnt Orange Report - Emails Show Workings Of Gov's Office During Katrina: "If you haven't read the Houston Chronicle story on how e-mails from Rick Perry's staff show what was 'really' going on during the Katrina disaster, I urge you to do so. It's a real eye-opener."

Burnt Orange Report has a real find here. Read on.

Grits for Breakfast-- Blog activism: How it's supposed to work

2006-01-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

Grits for Breakfast

This Grits post about how Texas state mental hospitals are full in part because of "criminal commitments" (meaning defendants sent there by a judge until they're declared competent to stand trial) provides a fun example of useful blog activism, I think. Consider:

On Wednesday, an anonymous attorney left a story about a client in the comments to an unrelated Grits post.
I forwarded the comment to another Texas blogger who specializes in health issues to ask her opinion.
She sent the comment to someone she knew in the Department of State Health Services, who said she'd look into it.
I received an email from the head of the state hospital system inviting me to call him for an explanation, which I did.
I wrote a blog post on the topic relaying what I'd learned.
A reader forwarded the post to an attorney from Advocacy Inc., a nonprofit legal group that works on these types of cases, who wrote in Grits' comments asking the first attorney to contact her.
I learned last night they hooked up by phone on Friday, less than 24 hours after I'd posted on the topic.

That's pretty darn cool - an anonymous blog comment results in advocates taking an issue on they didn't know about before. That's how it's supposed to work. Maybe something positive can come out of the telling of this grim tale.

I'm posting this one in full, because it is how it's supposed to work. Kudos to Grits for Breakfast.

TIME.com: When George Met Jack -- Jan. 30, 2006 -- Page 1

2006-01-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

TIME.com: When George Met Jack -- Jan. 30, 2006 -- Page 1: "As details poured out about the illegal and unseemly activities of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, White House officials sought to portray the scandal as a Capitol Hill affair with little relevance to them. Peppered for days with questions about Abramoff's visits to the White House, press secretary Scott McClellan said the now disgraced lobbyist had attended two huge holiday receptions and a few 'staff-level meetings' that were not worth describing further. 'The President does not know him, nor does the President recall ever meeting him,' McClellan said.

The President's memory may soon be unhappily refreshed. TIME has seen five photographs of Abramoff and the President that suggest a level of contact between them that Bush's aides have downplayed. While TIME's source refused to provide the pictures for publication, they are likely to see the light of day eventually because celebrity tabloids are on the prowl for them. And that has been a fear of the Bush team's for the past several months: that a picture of the President with the admitted felon could become the iconic image of direct presidential involvement in a burgeoning corruption scandal like the shots of President Bill Clinton at White House coffees for campaign contributors in the mid-1990s."

In the words of Law and Order, it look like Bush is mobbed up.

Revised anti-DeLay ad to air today (with video)

2006-01-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

Chron.com | Revised anti-DeLay ad to air today (with video): "A controversial ad linking Rep. Tom DeLay to former lobbyist Jack Abramoff will hit the airwaves in Houston today after local television stations had declined to show an earlier ad.

The revised ad calling for DeLay to resign his congressional post is set to air on KPRC-NBC (Channel 2) and KRIV-FOX (Channel 26), according to Campaign for America's Future, one of two liberal public interest groups that joined forces last week to run the ad."

Delay's legal gambit failed miserably.

Libby's Lawyers Want to Subpoena Reporters - Yahoo! News

2006-01-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

Libby's Lawyers Want to Subpoena Reporters - Yahoo! News: "Lawyers for a former top aide to Vice President
Dick Cheney told a federal judge Friday they want to subpoena journalists and news organizations for documents they may have related to the leak of a
CIA operative's name.

In a joint filing with prosecutors, lawyers for I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, 55, warned U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton that a trial likely will be delayed because of their strategy to seek more subpoenas of reporters' notes and other records.

Libby was indicted last year on charges that he lied to
FBI agents and a federal grand jury about how he learned CIA operative
Valerie Plame's identity and when he subsequently told reporters.

Plame's identity was revealed in July 2003 by columnist Robert Novak after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of twisting intelligence about
Iraq's efforts to buy uranium 'yellowcake' in Niger. The year before, the CIA had sent Wilson to Africa to determine the accuracy of the uranium reports; he concluded they were untrue."

Libby's lawyers are a bunch of whores who will twist the 1st amendment anyway that might benefit their clients clause. Sort of like the entire administration. Clinton got his for free. I can't support a government of pimps. The Dems need to stand up and call them on this.

Gubernatorial candidate ejected from race over bad check

2006-01-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

Gubernatorial candidate ejected from race over bad check: "A Fort Worth Democrat who hoped to run for governor will not be on the primary ballot because the check for his filing fee bounced, a Democratic party leader said.

Felix Alvarado wrote a check to the Texas Democratic Party for the $3,750 filing fee without sufficient funds to cover it, said Charles Soechting, the party's state chairman.

``The position I would have to take is, the filing fee wasn't paid,'' Soechting said. ``It's sad. I hate to see that happen to anybody.''

Alvarado, a middle school administrator and the only Hispanic to seek the governor's seat, confirmed that he submitted the check without having enough money.

``I take full responsibility for that. That's my mea culpa. I overplayed my hand,'' he said. ``I'm disappointed.''"

It won't make a difference in this race, but I do feel sorry for the guy.

Free drug plans end; headaches begin

2006-01-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News: "Ed and Patricia Weymouth get 10 medications free from pharmaceutical companies, but that help will end in May.

The Dallas couple blames Medicare's new drug coverage.

'A Medicare benefit that's supposed to help seniors will penalize us,' Mr. Weymouth said.

He's shopped for Medicare drug plans for him and his wife but has found the cheapest ones will add $216 a month to their drug costs.

This can't be making the GOP happy.

'It was drugs or food for us before we heard of these pharmaceutical company assistance programs,' he said. 'Will we have to make that choice again?'

Hundreds of thousands of seniors may be asking the same question.

As Medicare's drug coverage takes effect, the pharmaceutical industry has started scaling down its patient assistance programs. Two companies will no longer take applications from people over 65; others will help only seniors who don't enroll in the drug program."

KRIV to air ad targeting DeLay

2006-01-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

Chron.com | KRIV to air ad targeting DeLay: "At least one Houston television station has agreed to air a reworked television ad linking Rep. Tom DeLay to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff after refusing to air the first version of the commercial made by two liberal groups last week.

Fox station KRIV (Channel 26) has agreed to air the spot, though Vice President and General Manager D'Artagnan Bebel declined to explain the decision."

A FOX station stands up--who'd a thunk it.

Signs of De-alignment - January 20, 2006 - The New York Sun - NY Newspaper

2006-01-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

Signs of De-alignment - January 20, 2006 - The New York Sun - NY Newspaper: "By the 2004 election, the Internet was a decade old, but there were only a handful of centrist sites. Today, the political blog aggregator punditdrome.com lists 35 centrist blogs as opposed to 40 conservatives and 42 liberals. That's just one measure; others list far more centrist sites.

'Centrist and independent blogs have grown enormously over the past two years,' says Joe Gandelman, author of themoderatevoice.com. 'What's most notable is that an increasing number of people want to be identified as centrists, independents or moderates. That's the big shift. A lot of people don't want to be identified as partisans anymore.'"

I'm not sure I agree, but the piece brings up some point that haven't been addressed much.

DeLay's prosecutors dig deeper into California

2006-01-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

DeLay's prosecutors dig deeper into California: "It was the fall of 2002, and Texans for a Republican Majority was scouring for corporate money when it found an unlikely donor — a California defense technology firm willing to send part of its $40,000 startup money to help U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's political committee.

PerfectWave Technologies, a San Diego-area firm, gave DeLay's committee $15,000 to help elect Republicans to the Texas Legislature. It sent the rest of the $40,000 to a gala tribute to Randy 'Duke' Cunningham, the San Diego-area congressman who resigned after pleading guilty last year to taking bribes from military contractors."

On Thursday, Travis County prosecutors dug deeper into the Southern California connections to DeLay and Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee, subpoenaing a second round of records of any "negotiations or agreements" that prompted the donation. They also asked for any communications about pending federal legislation that would have affected the firm.

Deeper and deeper. Read the rest.

U.S. Holds Going-Out-Of-Business Sale | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

2006-01-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

U.S. Holds Going-Out-Of-Business Sale | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

WASHINGTON, DC—In an address broadcast on late-night television Tuesday, President Bush announced that the federal government will liquidate its holdings in a going-out-of-business sale scheduled to begin Friday.

Enlarge Image

After 200-plus years of service, the U.S. government is closing its doors.

"The U.S. government, America's place for law and order since 1776, has lost its lease, and everything must go, go, go," Bush said. "But our loss is your gain, and make no mistake: You, the people, would be crazy to miss out on these amazing closeout bargains."

The Washington-based government, which hasn't shown a profit in five years and carries the highest debt in its history, was ultimately driven out of business by costly overhead and cheap foreign competitors. As a result, Bush said, everything—from flag stands and Capitol cafeteria flatware to legislation dating from the early days of the republic—will be marked down 30 to 90 percent.

The sad fact is it doesn't sound like satire.

Texas independent runs strong - Nation/Politics - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

2006-01-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

Texas independent runs strong - Nation/Politics - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper: "Kinky Friedman, the mystery novelist and singer/songwriter running for Texas governor as an independent, has raised three times as much campaign money as the top two Democratic candidates combined.
According to finance records filed yesterday in Austin, former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell and former state Supreme Court Justice Bob Gammage -- the main Democratic contenders -- have collected $355,000 and $67,000, respectively, in the past six months.
Mr. Friedman is running his first statewide campaign. He reported receiving more than $1.5 million during the July-to-December period.
'I think it speaks volumes how lost the Democratic Party has become in Texas and how dispirited Democrats have become,' said Dean Barkley, Mr. Friedman's campaign manager. The biggest single cash donation went to Mr. Friedman, who received $250,000 from shampoo manufacturer John McCall of Spicewood, his campaign treasurer. "

I have to respectfully disagree with Barkley. I doubt much of the Kinkster's fund-raising came from Democratic donors. Instead, I bet it came from true independents and disaffected Republicans.

"You May Not Believe It, But Campaign Finance Reform Targets the Blogosphere" by Brian C. Anderson

2006-01-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

"You May Not Believe It, But Campaign Finance Reform Targets the Blogosphere" by Brian C. Anderson: "This is an excerpt from an article in City Journal covering all of the aspects of campaign finance reform. This except covers the blogosphere portion.

The rise of alternative media—political talk radio in the eighties, cable news in the nineties, and the blogosphere in the new millennium—has broken the liberal monopoly over news and opinion outlets. The Left understands acutely the implications of this revolution, blaming much of the Democratic Party’s current electoral trouble on the influence of the new media’s vigorous conservative voices. Instead of fighting back with ideas, however, today’s liberals quietly, relentlessly, and illiberally are working to smother this flourishing universe of political discourse under a tangle of campaign-finance and media regulations. Their campaign represents the most sustained attack on free political speech in the United States since the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts. Though Republicans have the most to lose in the short run, all Americans who care about our most fundamental rights and the civic health of our democracy need to understand what’s going on—and resist it."

Scary implications for bloggers and blog readers.

The Austin Chronicle: News: 2006 State Races

2006-01-19T15:20:00.000-08:00

The Austin Chronicle: News: 2006 State Races: "Here's a sampling of some of the livelier contests taking shape for the March 7 party primaries and the general election in November."

Worth checking out.

Chron.com | Critics question lobbyist's donations to GOP

2006-01-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

Chron.com | Critics question lobbyist's donations to GOP: "A legislative Democratic leader Wednesday accused a state lobbyist of serving as a conduit to convert taxpayer dollars into Republican campaign contributions.

House Democratic Chairman Jim Dunnam said lobbyist Drew Maloney had made $250 in political donations before Gov. Rick Perry hired Maloney's Federalist Group for $180,000 a year to lobby Congress for the state.

Dunnam said that since that time, Maloney has given $75,000 to Republican congressional committees — including $750 meant to help defeat an incumbent Texas congressman."

How corrupt can they get? Surely this has to be against the law.

Unconfirmedsources.com

2006-01-19T11:02:00.000-08:00

Unconfirmedsources.com: "Police arrested and later released disgraced Texas representative Tom Delay yesterday, accusing him of trying to fake his own death to avoid prosecution."

Read the rest.

DeLay Rankings main page

2006-01-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

DeLay Rankings main page: "Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has been indicted for money laundering and conspiracy. He's the face of big money corruption. But to his colleagues in Congress, he's a true sugar daddy. Everybody 'owes Mr. DeLay for something—a job, a piece of legislation, or a large campaign contribution,' says The New York Times. We've created a ranking based on how often they vote the way DeLay does, how much DeLay's PAC contributed to them, how much they've contributed to DeLay's legal defense fund, and so on."

Great site. Here are the Texas stats.

Texas

took $196,167 from ARMPAC
took $5,000 from DeLay Campaign Fund
gave $66,000 to DeLay Defense Fund
9 votes for the DeLay Rule

Rank	Full Name	Dist	Party	$ from DeLay		$ to DeLay (legal fund)	Vote %	DeLay Rankings
Rank	Full Name	Dist	Party	(ARMPAC)	Campaign	$ to DeLay (legal fund)	Vote %	DeLay Rankings
145	Louis B Gohmert Jr	1	R	$10,000	$0	$0	93.63%	4.87
196	Ted Poe	2	R	$5,000	$0	$0	93.14%	3.36
103	Sam Johnson	3	R	$545	$0	$6,000	95.43%	5.41
110	Ralph M Hall	4	R	$10,000	$0	$0	94.12%	5.38
30	Jeb Hensarling	5	R	$20,000	$0	$5,000	96.46%	7.43
111	Joe Barton	6	R	$20	$4,000	$0	93.46%	5.37
54	John Culberson	7	R	$5,000	$0	$5,000	98.04%	6.46
73	Kevin Brady	8	R	$10,000	$0	$0	95.93%	5.92
328	Al Green	9	D	$0	$0	$0	14.84%	0.30
144	Michael McCaul	10	R	$10,000	$0	$0	93.82%	4.88
128	Mike Conaway	11	R	$10,000	$0	$0	97.05%	4.94
59	Kay Granger	12	R	$4,982	$0	$5,000	94.99%	6.40
181	Mac Thornberry	13	R	$14	$0	$0	95.80%	3.42
178	Ron Paul	14	R	$6,000	$0	$0	73.56%	3.97
283	Ruben Hinojosa	15	D	$0	$0	$0	22.11%	0.44
267	Silvestre Reyes	16	D	$0	$0	$0	25.01%	0.50
248	Chet Edwards	17	D	$0	$0	$0	31.91%	0.64
348	Sheila Jackson Lee	18	D	$0	$0	$0	13.01%	0.26
102	Randy Neugebauer	19	R	$15,000	$0	$0	97.13%	5.44
300	Charlie A Gonzalez	20	D	$0	$0	$0	18.59%	0.37
59	Lamar Smith	21	R	$20	$0	$10,000	94.85%	6.40
5	Henry Bonilla	23	R	$22,942	$1,000	$15,000	94.01%	8.88
34	Kenny Ewell Marchant	24	R	$10,000	$0	$5,000	97.49%	6.95
348	Lloyd Doggett	25	D	$0	$0	$0	12.91%	0.26
36	Michael Burgess	26	R	$15,000	$0	$5,000	97.03%	6.94
245	Solomon P Ortiz	27	D	$0	$0	$0	33.63%	0.67
238	Henry Cuellar	28	D	$0	$0	$0	37.74%	0.75
277	Gene Green	29	D	$0	$0	$0	23.55%	0.47
341	Eddie Bernice Johnson	30	D	$0	$0	$0	13.56%	0.27
12	John Carter	31	R	$20,000	$0	$5,000	98.64%	7.97
14	Pete Sessions	32	R	$21,644	$0	$5,000	96.84%	7.94

Lone Star Times » Chron/Murray poll story has legs

2006-01-18T15:47:00.000-08:00

Lone Star Times » Chron/Murray poll story has legs: "Serious methodological doubts have already been raised on other right-leaning local blogs regarding Professor Richard Murray’s recent 'Tom DeLay poll' on behalf of the Houston Chronicle."

Rethug bloggers, who supposedly don't even believe in polls, since the Shrub doesn't believe in them, desperately try to debunk the Houston Chronicle poll that shows Delay is in trouble. But my previous post shows that even Faux News is taking the numbers seriously. Stick a fork in the Bugman--he's done.

FOXNews.com - Politics - DeLay's Future in Limbo From Scandals, Court Case

2006-01-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

FOXNews.com - Politics - DeLay's Future in Limbo From Scandals, Court Case: "Rep. Tom DeLay's House seat is no longer safe as Washington scandals and a lawsuit back home gnaw at his support, say election watchers keeping a close eye on the Texas Republican's fading popularity."

When the folks at Faux News join the bandwagon you know the Bugman is in deep doo-doo.

Grits for Breakfast: More info on how to file open records requests

2006-01-17T15:44:00.000-08:00

Grits for Breakfast: More info on how to file open records requests: "For more information about requesting information under Texas' open records laws (or how to respond to open records requests, for that matter, as a representative of a government agency in Texas), consult the comprehensive manual from the Texas Attorney General, which has recently been updated to include changes from the 79th (2005) Legislature. It'll tell you what's public, what's not, how to ask for information and when agencies have to respond - a great resource, as is the rest of their website."

This is information important to all activists. Click thru so you can check out the links.

The Red State: Wesley Clark kicks off Juan Garcia's campaign

2006-01-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

The Red State: Wesley Clark kicks off Juan Garcia's campaign

Gen. Wesley Clark, former presidential candidate and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, will be in Corpus Christi, TX on January 26, 2006 to announce his support for Juan Garcia's race (campaign website) for Texas House District 32.

A nice coup for Garcia. Can anyone tell me if this race is competitive? I bet it's a little more so now.

The WitList

2006-01-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

The WitList: "That Abramoff!
That Abramoff!
I do not like that Abramoff!

'Would you like to play some golf?'

I do not want to play some golf.
I do not want to, Abramoff.

'We could fly you there for free.
Off to Scotland, by the sea.'

I do not want to fly for free.
I don't like Scotland by the sea.
I do not want to play some golf.
I do not want to, Abramoff.

'Would you, could you, take this bribe?
Could you, would you, for the tribe?'

I would not, could not, take this bribe.
I could not, would not, for the tribe.

'If we strong armed corporations
Into giving you donations?
They'd be funnelled to your PAC.
Would you then cut us some slack?'"

Follow the link and read the rest. Good stuff.

Lobbyist for state tied to Abramoff

2006-01-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

Chron.com | Lobbyist for state tied to Abramoff: "Todd Boulanger, who once worked closely with confessed influence peddler Jack Abramoff, now heads a group lobbying Congress for Texas under a $330,000 state contract.

Boulanger and his firm, Cassidy & Associates, were hired by the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations under a contract approved by Gov. Rick Perry, House Speaker Tom Craddick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

This is the second time the state has hired as a congressional lobbyist someone with connections to the lobbying controversies surrounding former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.

The state's Washington office previously had hired former DeLay chief of staff Drew Maloney, the Houston Chronicle first reported last year. Maloney has not been connected to Abramoff's activities, but he was a key figure in 2002 fundraising that brought DeLay a reprimand from the House Ethics Committee."

They just don't get it.

Union Leader - Robert D. Novak: Delaying DeLay’s successor - Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006

2006-01-16T16:04:00.000-08:00

Union Leader - Robert D. Novak: Delaying DeLay’s successor - Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006: "HOUSE SPEAKER Dennis Hastert turned down a White House request to elect a permanent successor to Tom DeLay as majority leader in advance of President Bush’s State of the Union address on Jan. 31. Republican House members simply did not want to return early to Washington after their winter vacation.

Bush’s aides wanted an early vote, perhaps on Monday Jan. 30, so that speculation over DeLay’s successor and a possibly bitter internal campaign would not distract from the President’s speech. But Hastert set the voting for Feb. 2 after GOP members objected to changing plans for getting back to work.

A footnote: Both of the principal contenders to succeed DeLay, Acting Majority Leader Roy Blunt and Rep. John Boehner, appeared to have peaked short of a majority last week. Each side started to leak negative opposition research."

The poor GOP just can't play well with others.

Chron.com | Foe sees DeLay as being beatable

2006-01-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

Chron.com | Foe sees DeLay as being beatable: "'The numbers I saw were encouraging,' Lampson said. 'They show that the people of this district want a representative who will make headlines for the right reasons, like improving homeland security, fiscal discipline and education.

'There is a long time between now and Election Day, and we're going to continue working hard for every vote.'"

Run, Nick, Run.

Chron.com | Is TV afraid of gavel, or the Hammer?

2006-01-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

Chron.com | Is TV afraid of gavel, or the Hammer?: "Rep. Tom DeLay took a chance when he unleashed his lawyers on local television stations, hinting at lawsuits if they ran a 30-second anti-DeLay spot.

Preventing exposure of something is a sure way to draw attention to it.

A politician should do such a thing only when he has his back to the wall. But as today's Chronicle poll shows, DeLay does."

Delay brought more attention to the ad by fighting it. I can't wait for the next round of poll numbers.

USATODAY.com - Will McGraw toss his hat into the ring?

2006-01-15T16:22:00.000-08:00

USATODAY.com - Will McGraw toss his hat into the ring?

Tim McGraw says he and his wife, Faith Hill, might be another celebrity couple hitting the political campaign trail.

"I think it's something I'd do well," McGraw, who is a Democrat, tells the February issue of Esquire magazine (on stands Monday). He announced his plans to run for governor of Tennessee someday. "I just think as governor of the state, there would be a lot more opportunities to make some decisions and change some things."

Not really Texas news, as McGraw is from Louisiana, and now lives in Tennessee. But I think he'd stand a far better chance than the Kinkster, and this will drive Sean Hannity nuts.

Tom DeLay Quotes - Stupid Quotes by Tom DeLay

2006-01-15T15:44:00.000-08:00

Tom DeLay Quotes - Stupid Quotes by Tom DeLay: "1) 'I AM the federal government.' –Tom DeLay, to the owner of Ruth's Chris Steak House, after being told to put out his cigar because of federal government regulations banning smoking in the building, May 14, 2003 (Source)

2) 'So many minority youths had volunteered…that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like myself.' --Tom DeLay, explaining at the 1988 GOP convention why he and vice presidential nominee Dan Quayle did not fight in the Vietnam War"

Click the link for 8 more examples of Delay's mind-numbing stupidity. How did he ever get to Congress in the first place. He's obviously inhaled to much bug killing fumes.

Houston Chronicle Survey of Registered Voters in the Texas 22nd Congressional District

2006-01-15T10:13:00.000-08:00

Chron.com |: "Complete text of questions asked in the survey of registered voters in the 22nd Congressional District, in the order in which they were asked, along with the breakdown of responses."

There has been a lot of great analysis of this poll and how Delay stands, including Kuff here, and DelayvsWorld here. I'll let you make up your own minds based on the complete polling data in this story. I will say that thing don't look good for the Bugman.

Blue Texas - Factcheck.org: Nothing Strictly False About Rejected Delay Ad

2006-01-14T16:32:00.000-08:00

My latest post on Blue Texas

Blue Texas - New Posts: "Rep. Aaron Pena points out this important story on his Capitol Blog. And by the way, Rep. Pena has one of the best blogs out there.

Remember how Tom Delay and his lawyer threatened three television stations into not allowing a group to run anti-Delay commercials. Remember how the three stations cowered in fear and refused to be a part of the public debate. Their excuse was blown out of the water today by FactCheck.org who says their is nothing false in the ads."

True Blue Liberal » Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove

2006-01-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

True Blue Liberal » Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove

Did you know that Jack Abramoff and Karl Rove shared an executive assistant?

In 2001, Karl Rove needed a Gal Friday, someone to help oversee the “strategic planning, political affairs, public liaison, and intergovernmental affairs efforts of the White House.”

He chose Susan Ralston, who came highly recommended from a friend: Jack Abramoff. Ralston performed similar duties for the Don of K Street—that is until Abramoff realized she’d be far more useful embedded in the West Wing. (Ralston had also previous worked for Abramoff and Rove’s fellow College Republican crony Ralph Reed.)

True Blue Liberal » Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove

2006-01-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

True Blue Liberal » Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove

Did you know that Jack Abramoff and Karl Rove shared an executive assistant?

In 2001, Karl Rove needed a Gal Friday, someone to help oversee the “strategic planning, political affairs, public liaison, and intergovernmental affairs efforts of the White House.”

True Blue Liberal » Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove

2006-01-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

True Blue Liberal » Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove: "Did you know that Jack Abramoff and Karl Rove shared an executive assistant?

In 2001, Karl Rove needed a Gal Friday, someone to help oversee the “strategic planning, political affairs, public liaison, and intergovernmental affairs efforts of the White House.”

He chose Susan Ralston, who came highly recommended from a friend: Jack Abramoff. Ralston performed similar duties for the Don of K Street—that is until Abramoff realized she’d be far more useful embedded in the West Wing. (Ralston had also previous worked for Abramoff and Rove’s fellow College Republican crony Ralph Reed.)"

I have no doubt that the "GOP culture of corruption" extends all the way to the White House. Impeach now.

Perry's Poll Numbers not so Good

2006-01-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

The Austin Chronicle: News: Naked City: "Even with the odds in his favor to win the governor's race in November, GOP Gov. Rick Perry pulled just 40% of the statewide vote in the latest pulse taken by Rasmussen Reports, a public opinion research firm. The poll showed independent challenger Carole Keeton Strayhorn earning 21%, followed by Democrat Chris Bell with 14%, and independent Kinky Friedman with 12%. Rasmussen Reports concluded that Perry is in no better shape today than he was when state Comptroller Strayhorn was running as a Republican. Strayhorn declared her independence Jan. 2. The polling firm will include Democratic candidate and former Supreme Court Justice Bob Gammage in its next poll. A separate survey of voters showed U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, with a comfortable 65% lead over Democratic challenger Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who netted 25%. "

I think Bell or Gammage could sneak a win with about 40% of the vote.

Blue Texas--If we can beat mob, we can fight DeLay-style politics

2006-01-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

Blue Texas: "Atrios pointed out this excellent editorial written by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate minority leader. It appeared in Delay's hometown paper, The Houston Chronicle.

In 1977, I was appointed chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. It was a difficult time for the gaming industry and Las Vegas, which were being overrun by organized crime. To that point in my life, I had served in the Nevada Assembly and even as lieutenant governor, but nothing prepared me for my fight with the mob.

Over the next few years, there would be threats on my life, bribes, FBI stings and even a car bomb placed in my family's station wagon. It was a terrifying experience, but at the end of the day, we cleaned up Las Vegas and ushered in a new era of responsibility.

My term on the gaming commission came to an end in 1981, and when it did, I thought I had seen such corruption for the last time. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. It is not quite the mafia of Las Vegas in the 1970s, but what is happening today in Washington is every bit as corrupt and the consequences for our country have been severe.

Our nation's capital has been overrun by organized crime — Tom DeLay-style."

Off the Kuff: The ad has already served its purpose

2006-01-12T16:45:00.000-08:00

Off the Kuff: The ad has already served its purpose: "The next best thing to having an advertisement run on TV is having its cancellation by scaredy-cat station managers turn into a news story, especially one that may last multiple days. Heck, if the stations refund your money for not running the ad, you may come out ahead this way."

Delay, like Rove, used to be good at corrupt politics. Now he's running scared and making mistakes.

Texas - LeftyBlogs.com

2006-01-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

Texas - LeftyBlogs.com

Texas Politics is also now featured on Lefty Blogs. You may have noticed the sidebar I've added that includes the top 10 posts from other Texas Lefty Blogs. Check them out to get even more information about the state of liberal politics in Texas.

Blue Texas

2006-01-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

Blue Texas: "01/12/06: Texas Redistricting One More Hurdle For Delay

I'm now a guest blogger on Blue Texas. This is my most recent post. Check them out.

Texas State Representative Aaron Pena's A Capitol Blog steered me to this story.

Representative Tom DeLay is in the toughest re-election campaign of his 11-term House career, a battle that might be decided not only by his legal problems, but also by the Congressional redistricting plan he spearheaded in 2003.

The redistricting led to the loss of six Democratic seats in Texas in 2004, but it also shifted thousands of Democratic voters to strong Republican districts. Among those, Mr. DeLay's 22nd District added several Democratic-leaning parts of Galveston County; several political analysts estimate they may have raised the district's Democratic vote around 5 percent.

'There is huge irony here,' said Richard Murray, a University of Houston political scientist. 'Six Democrats in Congress were eliminated, but the seventh victim may turnout to be the author of the plan.'

Read the rest of the story. If Delay were to lose because of his own redistricting, it truly would be poetic justice."

Election 2006 Poll

2006-01-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

Election 2006 Poll: "A couple of weeks ago, it seemed like Texas Governor Rick Perry might have weathered the intra-party storm. Perry led State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn by large margins in Republican Primary polling and there were no Democrats likely to beat him one-on-one in the red state of Texas.

Earlier, Perry had escaped another challenge when Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison decided to stay in Washington and run for re-election as a Senator.

Perry's good fortune ended on January 2 when Strayhorn pulled out of the Republican Primary competition and announced she would run as an Independent."

This race is going to be a wild ride.

Burnt Orange Report - DeLay Denied

2006-01-09T18:15:00.000-08:00

Burnt Orange Report - DeLay Denied: "And, just because it's been bugging me while reading the blogs this afternoon...NOTE to all out-of-state bloggers: The Texas Supreme Court did NOT hear Tom DeLay's case. It was the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In Texas, we have two top courts—one for civil and one for criminal appeals."

I'm an in-state blogger, and I wasn't aware of this particular difference in our state law. Thanks to Burnt Orange for the insight.

American Leftist

2006-01-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

American Leftist

Via DemLeft, I learned that Comandante Ramona died of cancer on Friday. Besides Marcos she is perhaps the most well-known Zapatista: (from Reuters)

A Maya Indian rebel leader and women's rights champion who became a Mexican heroine to anti-globalization activists died Friday after a battle against cancer, Zapatista chief Subcomandante Marcos said.

Comandante Ramona, a diminutive Tzotzil Maya woman and the first Zapatista rebel to appear publicly in Mexico City after a brief but bloody 1994 uprising, died on the way to hospital in the southern state of Chiapas, said the masked rebel leader.

"Mexico has lost one of those fighters that matter, and a piece of our hearts has been ripped out," Marcos told supporters during a speech in Chiapas. [...]

Always seen in the black ski mask worn by Zapatista leaders to protect their identity, Ramona was one of the main promoters of women's rights in the rebel group, which has ditched armed struggle in favor of political activism. [...]

Ramona won the hearts of many Mexicans after media showed fellow Zapatista commanders towering above her during a first round of peace talks with the government in February 1994.

Here is Ramona's statement at the Permanent National Indigenous Congress in Mexico City in 1996.

It's not really Texas politics, but one could argue that anything that happens in Mexico is Texas politics. And I wasn't really aware of this woman prior to today, although I was aware of Marcos. But her speech, linked just above, moved me somehow. Posted for consideration, not necessarily as an endorsement. But there does seem to be a huge shift to the left south of the Texas border. I'm not sure this is bad, as the MSM would lead us to believe. I tend to think it might be good.

Franklin For Texas--Rick Perry ignores School Funding

2006-01-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

I found this in my inbox this week--

"I wanted to make you aware of my blog:

http://FranklinForTexas.blogspot.com

I am a candidate for the Texas State Legislature from East Texas. I am the first Democrat ever to challenge our incumbent Republican in District 7, and the first openly gay candidate for any office in East Texas. It is hard for me to walk out my front door these days without making history."

Mr. Franklin has been averaging a post a day, many of them being longer, well-reasoned original pieces. Readers who vote in Texas House District 7 need to take a look. I can't agree more with the following piece, but as a teacher I'm biased.

Franklin For Texas: "For those of you who are keeping track, it has been exactly 48 days since the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state’s school finance system is unconstitutional.

In 48 days not a single committee hearing has been convened, not a word of legislation has been authored, and not a single vote has been cast. The clock is ticking on a court-imposed June 1 deadline. Parents, teachers, and school boards across Texas wait and wonder whether the legislature will ever go to work at all.

There is only one man standing in the way of the Legislature going to work, and that man is Governor Rick Perry."

Abramoff Probe Turns Focus on DeLay Aide

2006-01-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

Abramoff Probe Turns Focus on DeLay Aide: "With disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's cooperation secured, federal prosecutors are turning up the pressure on a former senior aide to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) in the clearest signal yet that the sprawling public corruption investigation is now focusing on House Republican leadership offices, according to legal experts familiar with the case.

The turn of events in the Abramoff case has all but ended DeLay's hope of returning to the House majority leader's post, which he was forced to relinquish in September after his indictment on unrelated campaign finance charges in Texas. His temporary successor, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), is planning to ask House GOP members to elect him permanently to the majority leader's position in the coming weeks. And a small group of Republicans began the formal process of replacing DeLay on Friday, unveiling a petition for a leadership election."

Talking Points Memo pointed me to this article. It lays out the case against Delay's former staffer Tony Rudy, and how the signs are pointing toward the Bugman.

Former high court justice begins gubernatorial campaign

2006-01-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

Denton Record-Chronicle | News for Denton, Texas | AP: Texas

Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Bob Gammage launched his campaign for governor Monday, ignoring his opponents in the March Democratic primary election and instead targeting Republican Gov. Rick Perry.

Gammage, who was a member of the "Dirty 30" state legislators known for battling corruption in the early 1970s, called Perry a weak leader who can't fight corruption or solve the state's problems. He said his campaign would focus on "the corrupt out-of-control political machine that stretches all the way from Washington, D.C., to Austin, Texas."

Gammage, 67, linked Perry to U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, whose legal problems prompted him Saturday to permanently relinquish his majority leader's post.

"Tom DeLay is at one end and Rick Perry is at the other," Gammage said during a news conference in DeLay's congressional district that Gammage once represented.

I still haven't made my mind up between Gammage and Bell. Any thoughts.

The Texas Whip: Rip's Gubernatorial Update: Gammage's Campaign Release Explains Why Strayhorn Can't Win, But He Can

2006-01-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

The Texas Whip: Rip's Gubernatorial Update: Gammage's Campaign Release Explains Why Strayhorn Can't Win, But He Can: "I got this analysis letter in an e-mail from the Gammage campaign, so take it for what it is:

Overnight Carole Keeton Strayhorn has created an exciting investment opportunity for Democratic contributors---the best opportunity in a decade.

Suddenly the Governor’s race is winnable— but not for Strayhorn."

This email from the Gammage campaign, posted by Rip of the Texas Whip, is very interesting.

Texas Court Won't Dismiss DeLay Charges - Yahoo! News

2006-01-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

Texas Court Won't Dismiss DeLay Charges - Yahoo! News: "The state's highest criminal court on Monday denied Rep.
Tom DeLay's request that the money laundering charges against him be dismissed or sent back to a lower court for an immediate trial.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied the requests with no written order two days after he announced he was stepping down as House majority leader. DeLay had been forced to temporarily relinquish the Republican leadership post after he was indicted on money laundering and conspiracy charges in September."

Poor Tommy Boy just can't catch a break.

Governor's race turning into a broad slate

2006-01-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

Governor's race turning into a broad slate

THE Texas governor's race has turned into a potentially wild, winner-take-all battle from which the victor is likely to emerge with less than half the vote.

Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn dramatically changed the dynamics of the contest last week when she dropped her Republican primary challenge to Gov. Rick Perry to run as an independent.

She joined satirist Kinky Friedman in the quest for the independents, the disgusted and the disinterested voters of Texas. To get on the ballot, both will have to gather valid signatures from 45,450 registered voters during a 60-day window this spring, a feat most political experts expect them to achieve.

If they make it, the November general election will consist of Perry, Strayhorn, Friedman, the Democratic nominee and a Libertarian nominee.

Teacher Shortages Plague Public Schools

2006-01-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Business

JOB OUTLOOK 2006Despite alternative certification efforts to fill shortages, districts still need educators in the same familiar areas.

FILE 2002/Staff photo

Frank Gault of the University of Texas at Arlington said a qualified teacher who speaks Spanish could easily find a job in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Math, science, special education and bilingual educators top the list again in 2006.

But instead of solutions to the shortages, discussions in Texas this year are likely to focus on school finance and the dearth of pay raises for teachers, said Curt Schafer, director of career services at Texas State University.

So is it a good time to enter the field? That depends on whom you ask, he said.

"There are always at least two, if not more, ways of looking at the half-empty side. People squabble with school finance, and some say there have not been significant raises," said Mr. Schafer, who is also a senator for the American Association for Employment in Education.

"If you are thinking about going into the field of education, you could look at the half-empty scenario, and that might be a deterrent for some folks."

There's job security

However, Mr. Schafer says, many teachers are happy with job security and conditions as opposed to testing the waters of corporate America.

He said that with Texas' collective student numbers growing, it could be a good time to find work in schools, providing you're qualified and in the right area.

According to the State Board of Education, Texas will need more than 82,000 new teachers by 2008.

TIME.com: Never a Texas Two-Step -- Jan. 16, 2006 -- Page 1

2006-01-08T18:47:00.000-08:00

TIME.com: Never a Texas Two-Step

WILLIAM PHILPOTT / REUTERS

DeLay and Bush golfed in 2002

From the Magazine | Nation

Never a Texas Two-Step

By MATTHEW COOPER, MIKE ALLEN

SUBSCRIBE TO TIME PRINT E-MAIL MORE BY AUTHOR

Posted Sunday, Jan. 08, 2006
When legal and ethical questions began spinning around House majority leader Tom DeLay last year, President George W. Bush was publicly supportive. Privately, though, he questioned his fellow Texan's mojo. Bush had scored 10 points higher than DeLay in the Representative's district in 2004, and that was only after Bush had recorded a telephone message to help rally local Republicans. "I can't believe I had to do robocalls for him," the President said bitingly to an Oval Office visitor.

To people who know Bush well, the remark said it all about the longtime chill between the two pols—a distance that is only sure to grow with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff's guilty plea. Both camps describe the two conservative Texan's relationship as professional—an alliance, not a friendship. "DeLay admires Bush's leadership but still thinks of himself as the strongest conservative on the block," a DeLay friend says. "They perceive DeLay as a bull in a china shop. They appreciate him as their protector and retriever." Like many of his colleagues on Capitol Hill, DeLay suffers under what officials call this Administration's general lack of respect for Congress. But he is also in the unique position of being the most prominent modern Republican politician in Texas to rise without the help of White House senior adviser Karl Rove, and the two have never been close. "Karl thinks of him as someone a little bit too opinionated for his own good," says an official close to both men. "And DeLay thinks of Karl as a former mail vendor, not some great guru."

DeLay's Texas Challenger Lampson Calls Him Scandalous and Corrupt

2006-01-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

DeLay's Texas Challenger Lampson Calls Him Scandalous and Corrupt

In the wake of Rep. Tom DeLay's resignation as House Majority Leader, the winds of change are blowing ever stronger down in his 22nd Congressional district in Southeast Texas. DeLay's challenger, Nick Lampson, who was edged out of his House seat in The Hammer's 2004 redistricting scheme, said the embattled legislator has finally begun to get what he deserves.

"Tom DeLay can no longer blame his troubles on a partisan witch hunt," Lampson stated. "He his not running for Majority Leader because members of his own Party were openly saying they would no longer tolerate his scandal and corruption. This proves once and for all that Tom DeLay is not the victim of a partisan witch hunt, but someone who has betrayed the trust of the American people. He had already lost Republicans here at home, and now he is losing the support of Republicans in Washington, DC. DeLay Inc. is no longer open for business, and that's a good thing for the people of Southeast Texas who have suffered enough embarrassment."

What seemed like a steep uphill climb for the Democrat Lampson just a few months ago now seems like a more than viable political opportunity. DeLay's lost his power seat, has largely been abandoned by the GOP, and has lost the support of the voters in his home district. He's still under criminal indictment, and will be going to trial shortly. His congressional seat is in serious jeopardy, and now Lampson's been given a better shot than ever to get back into the House.

Additionally, DeLay faces aggressive challenges from three Republican primary opponents, as well as a former Republican member of Congress who's planning to challenge him as an independent. So, who's got the steep climb now?

Truth Serum: It's easier than torture

2006-01-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

Truth Serum: It's easier than torture: "So what was it that finally got Republicans to revolt, and to ask for new Leadership? Was it the revelation of some action or behavior that took his corruption to new levels? Was it a spontaneous, collective crisis of the conscience?

No. It was a plea bargain by Jack Abramoff. No new information came out about DeLay himself.

DeLay was not kicked out for what he had done. He was kicked out for getting caught."

Truth Serum has this one dead on. Now it will be interesting to see if the GOP can mantain order and unity without the Hammer and his K Street Machine.

Possible successors to Tom Delay

2006-01-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

AP Wire | 01/07/2006 | Possible successors to Tom Delay: "A look at two Republicans who may seek the House majority leader post vacated by Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas:"

John Boehner might well be the best choice from a bad lot.

Delay permanently steps down as Majority Leader

2006-01-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide: "U.S. Congressman Tom DeLay said he will permanently step down as House Majority leader today in a letter to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert that was e-mailed to reporters."

I think Delay delayed this decision for too long to truly help the House GOP.

Chron.com | Friedman says he welcomes Strayhorn's candidacy

2006-01-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

Chron.com | Friedman says he welcomes Strayhorn's candidacy: "Republican Carole Keeton Strayhorn's decision to run for Texas governor as an independent candidate doesn't seem to be worrying the original independent in the race, humorist Kinky Friedman.

'There's plenty of room in the hot tub, and she's welcome,' Friedman said Wednesday of the woman who calls herself 'one tough grandma.'"

You've got to appreciate Kinky's humor.

Democrats vying to take back Texas

2005-12-18T08:52:00.000-08:00

MySA.com: Metro | State: "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."

CNN.com - DeLay's request for speedy trial on hold - Dec 17, 2005

2005-12-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

CNN.com - DeLay's request for speedy trial on hold - Dec 17, 2005: "Rep. Tom DeLay's request for a speedy trial on money-laundering charges will have to wait until an appeals court decides whether there is any merit to dismissed charges that the congressman conspired to violate election law.

So said Senior Judge Pat Priest in an e-mail ruling Saturday that was sent to attorneys in the case.

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle initially brought both charges against the Texas Republican in September, but Priest tossed out the conspiracy charge earlier this month and Earle has appealed the ruling. (Read about Priest dismissing the conspiracy charge)"

DeLay and his legacy are both on trial

2005-12-18T08:49:00.000-08:00

DeLay and his legacy are both on trial: "It's been a bleak December for U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay.

A judge ordered the Sugar Land Republican to stand trial on money-laundering and conspiracy charges. The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will review the Texas congressional map that DeLay worked so hard for. And DeLay's desire for a speedy trial and quick rebound as U.S. majority leader seems less likely every day."

Update 1: Prosecutor Issues Subpoenas in DeLay Case - Forbes.com

2005-12-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

Update 1: Prosecutor Issues Subpoenas in DeLay Case - Forbes.com: "A Texas prosecutor has issued subpoenas for bank records and other information of a defense contractor involved in the bribery case of a California congressman as part of the investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

District Attorney Ronnie Earle issued subpoenas late Monday afternoon for California businessmen Brent Wilkes and Max Gelwix, records of Perfect Wave Technologies LLC, Wilkes Corp. and ADCS Inc. in connection with a contribution to a fundraising committee at the center of the investigation that led to DeLay's indictment on money laundering charges.
"

Judge Upholds Most Serious Charges Against DeLay - New York Times

2005-12-05T18:12:00.001-08:00

Judge Upholds Most Serious Charges Against DeLay - New York Times: "A judge in Texas today dismissed part of a state indictment against Representative Tom DeLay, who was forced out of his post as leader of the Republican majority in the House two months ago after he was charged with conspiracy and political fund-raising abuses."

Judges upholds some of the charges against Rep. Tom Delay - Boston.com

2005-12-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Judges upholds some of the charges against Rep. Tom Delay - Boston.com: "A judge dismissed the conspiracy charges Monday against Rep. Tom DeLay but refused to throw out the money-laundering counts, dashing the Texas congressman's hopes for now of reclaiming his post as House majority leader.
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Judge Pat Priest, who is presiding over the case against the Republican, issued the ruling after a hearing late last month in which DeLay's attorney argued that the indictment was fatally flawed."


		Tim McGraw, who has spoken openly of his political ambitions, poses with wife Faith Hill in at November's American Music Awards.
		AP photo

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DeLay focuses on re-election, swipes at critics - Politics - MSNBC.com

News 8 Austin | 24 Hour Local News | HEADLINES | District 48's unexpected election results

Burnt Orange Report - Texas Dem Congressional Delegation Calls for Cancellation of State Lobbying Contract

THE WAR WITHIN

Pair fight to show Dems can win Texas

Burnt Orange Report - Weekend Governor's Race Round Up

U.S. Ally Georgia Turns to Iran for Gas

Most Americans want Bush to reveal lobbyist ties: poll - Yahoo! News

DriveDemocracy.Org - Democalypse Blog » Education, Health and living wages are the problem

Is Norquist still the man? | Blue Texas

Texas House Races | Blue Texas

mikecable's blog | Blue Texas

DeLay Isn't A "Regular Guy"

Education system is broken - Opinion

Slashdot | Politicians Catch on to Blogging

Sheriff demands probe of Mexican military incursions

More questions surround Texas' D.C. lobbyist

Border incident sparks outrage

Ralph Reed, Abramoff, and the Texas Christian Coalition--All Mobbed Up

Perry makes surprise visit to Iraq

Earle Subpoenas Former DeLay Campaign Aide

A CAPITOL BLOG: Politiqueras Gone Wild!

Burnt Orange Report - Emails Show Workings Of Gov's Office During Katrina

Grits for Breakfast-- Blog activism: How it's supposed to work

TIME.com: When George Met Jack -- Jan. 30, 2006 -- Page 1

Revised anti-DeLay ad to air today (with video)

Libby's Lawyers Want to Subpoena Reporters - Yahoo! News

Gubernatorial candidate ejected from race over bad check

Free drug plans end; headaches begin

KRIV to air ad targeting DeLay

Signs of De-alignment - January 20, 2006 - The New York Sun - NY Newspaper

DeLay's prosecutors dig deeper into California

U.S. Holds Going-Out-Of-Business Sale | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Texas independent runs strong - Nation/Politics - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

"You May Not Believe It, But Campaign Finance Reform Targets the Blogosphere" by Brian C. Anderson

The Austin Chronicle: News: 2006 State Races

Chron.com | Critics question lobbyist's donations to GOP

Unconfirmedsources.com

DeLay Rankings main page

Texas

Lone Star Times » Chron/Murray poll story has legs

FOXNews.com - Politics - DeLay's Future in Limbo From Scandals, Court Case

Grits for Breakfast: More info on how to file open records requests

The Red State: Wesley Clark kicks off Juan Garcia's campaign

The WitList

Lobbyist for state tied to Abramoff

Union Leader - Robert D. Novak: Delaying DeLay’s successor - Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006

Chron.com | Foe sees DeLay as being beatable

Chron.com | Is TV afraid of gavel, or the Hammer?

USATODAY.com - Will McGraw toss his hat into the ring?

Tom DeLay Quotes - Stupid Quotes by Tom DeLay

Houston Chronicle Survey of Registered Voters in the Texas 22nd Congressional District

Blue Texas - Factcheck.org: Nothing Strictly False About Rejected Delay Ad

True Blue Liberal » Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove

True Blue Liberal » Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove

True Blue Liberal » Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove

Perry's Poll Numbers not so Good

Blue Texas--If we can beat mob, we can fight DeLay-style politics

Off the Kuff: The ad has already served its purpose

Texas - LeftyBlogs.com

Blue Texas

Election 2006 Poll

Burnt Orange Report - DeLay Denied

American Leftist

Franklin For Texas--Rick Perry ignores School Funding

Abramoff Probe Turns Focus on DeLay Aide

Former high court justice begins gubernatorial campaign