the tindog coffeehouse

I’ll be honest, I debated for months over whom I’d vote for in the Texas gubernatorial race and even whether I’d vote at all. I knew I wouldn’t be voting for any of the Democratic candidates, so the choice came down to 10-year-incumbent Rick Perry, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, or ultra-right-wing newcomer Debra Medina.

In the end, I voted for Hutchison.

Now, if you’ve read my previous posts about Hutchison, you know I haven’t exactly gushed over her. Frankly, her campaign has been a mess, and I’m not exactly confident that could do any better job than Perry. Furthermore, for someone who has served in the Senate since 1993 (after pledging to serve only two terms), she has little to show for it other than a bunch of pork barrel spending she’s accumulated for her home state.

So why vote for her? I suppose it was a process of elimination.

Continue reading…

According to Texas governor Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison’s decision to not resign from the Senate was his idea:

“If there was ever a time to have full-time representation in the United States Senate, it would be right now,” Perry said during a visit to Emmett J. Conrad High School in Dallas. “So I really appreciate her taking my advice and staying on the job full time.”

Never mind that Hutchison has been decisively indecisive throughout the campaign and has seemed determined to hedge her bets as long as possible. I guess she just needed some helpful guidance from Governor Rick.

Also Perry’s idea?

• The Interstate Highway system (followed later by the invention of toll roads)
• Sliced bread
• Penicillin
• The Roman aqueducts
• Rocky IV
• Cherry Garcia ice cream
• Mega-strength hairspray

I’m pretty sure he also single-handedly planted thousands of acres of apples throughout the upper Midwest in the early 1800s and once had a giant blue ox named Babe.

Previously:
When will Kay Bailey Hutchison resign?
Race for Texas governor on …sorta
Why are the Internets turning on Kay Bailey Hutchison?

I haven’t exactly hidden my feelings for Senator and gubernatorial candidate Kay Bailey Hutchison. I don’t really have anything against her, but I’m not a big fan either. Still, you’d expect that someone whose political experience dates back to 1972 and whose campaign includes Karl Rove and Karen Hughes would be a very strong challenger to incumbent to Rick Perry. So far, though, that hasn’t been the case, and the Internet hasn’t made it any easier.

The first mistake Hutchison (or “Kay” as her campaign prefers to call her) made was not being decisive about running. Four years ago, there were rumors she was considering a run for governor but backed off when it was obvious she couldn’t beat Perry. This time around, she finally pulled the trigger, but not very convincingly. In mid-July she announced that she would be announcing her candidacy at a later time. Combined with her fence-sitting about if or when she will be retiring from the Senate, this non-announcement created the impression that she wasn’t really committed to the task. And in the political world, that’s like blood in the water; sooner or later, the sharks are bound to appear.

Continue reading…

On Monday, Senator Kay Baily Hutchison officially announced that she will be officially announcing her intent to someday run for governor of Texas. Or something like that.

I was surprised as anyone. I thought she had been already been running for governor for months. I’m so used to her not doing anything substantive as a senator, I just figured she was taking the same approach to her gubernatorial campaign.

But running she is, and she’s already raised $6.7 million. Combined with the $6 million she had leftover from her Senate run, that puts her ahead of incumbent Rick Perry, at least financially.

And so far campaign finances are the only thing the two candidates seem to care about. Hutchison accused Perry of raising funds while the state legislature was still in session (a no-no), and Perry’s staff replied that she is a “liar, liar, pants on fire” (to paraphrase).

If this is any indication of how the rest of the primary season is going to play out, then I’m not interested. At least Carole Keeton “One Tough Grandma” Strayhorn was good for a few chuckles now and then.

Previously:
When will Kay Bailey Hutchison resign?

Texas Governor Rick Perry campaigned vigorously against the massive $787,000,000,000 “stimulus bill” signed into law Tuesday, but now that the funds have been approved, he’s more than willing to accept the state’s share of the money.

“As I have said during the debate on (the stimulus package), should Congress pass stimulus legislation using Texas tax dollars, I would work to ensure that our citizens receive their fair share,” Perry wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama.

Legislative leaders estimate that the stimulus bill could deliver almost $17 billion to the state budget, including billions for Medicaid, education and transportation. Lawmakers are just starting to see how the money might fit into the state budget. …

“We have begun the process today of accepting the funds,” Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle said. “However, the governor only wants those funds that can be used for one-time expenditures that don’t obligate the state to ongoing costs long after the federal funding has dried up.”

Continue reading…