Tag Archives: Rick Perry

I shot a coyote in Austin just to watch it die

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I believe that very little happens in politics by accident, so I feel certain there’s a reason that Rick Perry picked this week to tell us all about that coyote he killed in February. Something like this: WildEarth Guardians, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Will Texas make like Arizona?

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

If there’s been one small positive thing about the ridiculous Arizona anti-immigrant law, it’s been to remind the rest of the country that states besides Texas do crazy, inexplicable things as well. And I do believe that there’s a reason … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Debating about having a debate

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We will eventually have televised debates between Rick Perry and Bill White. But first we have to sit through the kabuki dance. Belo Corp., the company that owns WFAA and TV stations in Austin, Houston and San Antonio, sponsored a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Debating about having a debate

The big picture for health care reform in Texas

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The number you need to know is four point two million. Texas’ uninsured population will drop from 6.5 million this year to 2.3 million once the federal health care overhaul is fully implemented, and about a third of the remaining … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

White in West Texas

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

West Texas has not been friendly territory for Democrats lately, and won’t be any more so this year, but that doesn’t stop Bill White from seeking out support there. The Texas Panhandle town of Canadian, where morning weather reports include … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

From the “Tell us something we didn’t know” department

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t actually need the CREW crew to tell us that we have one of the worst Governors in the country. We’ve known that for a long time. But it never gets old saying it, and I must admit their … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on From the “Tell us something we didn’t know” department

How much would you pay for those border cameras?

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Remember all those border cameras Rick Perry wanted to install so ordinary citizens in the comfort of their living rooms could help catch people entering the country illegally? How have they worked out? Perry has invested a total of $4 … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rasmussen: Perry 48, White 44

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just in time for his closeup, Rasmussen has a poll result that shows Governor Perry with a four point lead over Bill White. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely Texas voters finds Perry with 48% support. His Democratic … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Trib interviews Rick Perry

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s here, and there are links to audio snippets, if you just have to hear his voice. The interview was part of a Texas Tribune collaboration with Newsweek, and kudos to them for that. For those of you who have … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

No anti-health care special session

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Thank God for small favors. Gov. Rick Perry tamped out rumors today that he would call a special legislative session to consider whether Texas should seek to exempt itself from federal health care law. Harris County Republican Chairman Jared Woodfill … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Meet The Statewides and The Other 49%

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The TDP is running a ten-week campaign between now and June 14 to promote the statewide slate. It includes a bio with 60-second video for each candidate, a discussion of the candidate’s race and the issues in it, and an … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Meet The Statewides and The Other 49%

White and Perry argue about the dropout rate; White wins

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

See for yourself. The major-party candidates for governor on Tuesday waded into one of the oldest and hottest debates in public education — what’s the real high school drop-out rate? — producing the kind of fireworks that suggest the state … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The enduring question of Latino voting

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You can count on there being some number of articles about Latino voting every year. The Chron took its turn on Sunday. The numbers are formidable. Hispanics made up 31 percent of the Texas population in the 2000 census and … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The question to ask

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From State Rep. Mike Villarreal’s blog, explaining the benefit of the Affordable Care Act for Texans: Beyond this next year, many of the six million uninsured Texans will have health insurance, improving their health and financial stability, and saving all … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Where the votes are going

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Matt Stiles looks at Census data and notes a political point. Seven Texas counties — Rockwall, Williamson, Collin, Hays, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Denton — are listed among the nation’s 30 fastest-growing areas, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

A fine whine from the SBOE

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, some of the wingnut members of our State Board of Education got their widdle feelings hurt by some of the coverage of their most recent hijinks, in particular about their amendment to remove Thomas Jefferson from the world history … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s the “I am rubber, you are glue” election

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron notes that some of the charges that the two gubernatorial campaigns will lob at each other could easily be lobbed right back at themselves. Perry slammed White for not ruling out new taxes, pointing to 2003, when state … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on It’s the “I am rubber, you are glue” election

Time for KBH to kick the can down the road again

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate is on the verge of passing the fixes to the health care reform bill that the House ratified on Sunday, but that’s not important right now. What really matters is that this means Senator Hutchison has a deadline … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hank Skinner

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’re all familiar with the Todd Willingham case and the possibility that he was an innocent man, but there’s another inmate scheduled for execution this week in which similar questions about innocence have been raised. The seven-member Texas Board of … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Hank Skinner

Perry’s border shenanigans

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an election year, and that means it’s time once again for Rick Perry to pay attention to Texas’ border communities, by which I mean “grandstand about drug violence”. I recommend you read these BOR posts for a sense of … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Perry’s border shenanigans

The tax question

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So Bill White gave a straightforward answer to a question about taxes, and everybody goes nuts. Well, Rick Perry and his minions went nuts, and everybody else followed. The former Houston mayor, asked by the Tribune’s Evan Smith whether he … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The tax question

Census forms start arriving next week

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Fill out those forms and send them back, because redistricting and all that it entails will follow close behind. Experts’ early looks at Census estimates point to a potential new congressional district in northwest Harris County. That could be alluring … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Census forms start arriving next week

Where KBH and Medina did best, where White did worst

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been poking around the county by county results in the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries to see what might be of interest. Here’s what I’ve found. – Debra Medina carried three counties: Zavala, Crane, and Carson. There only 16 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Saturday video break: Will KBH stay or will she go?

Posted on March 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Surely we all know the answer to that question by now. Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is getting some GOP pressure to change her mind about resigning her seat, but a close friend predicted Wednesday that her decision will … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Saturday video break: Will KBH stay or will she go?

First post-primary poll of TX-GOV

Posted on March 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Give Rasmussen credit, they don’t waste any time. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Texas finds Perry leading White, the popular former mayor of Houston, by just six points, 49% to 43%. Three percent (3%) opt … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on First post-primary poll of TX-GOV

Texas State Climatologist on the EPA and greenhouse gases

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Did you know that Texas had a State Climatologist? I didn’t. His name is John Nielsen-Gammon, he’s a professor at Texas A&M, and you should read this brief interview in Think Progress about his opinions on carbon dioxide, the Environmental … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Texas State Climatologist on the EPA and greenhouse gases

“Don’t ask, don’t smell”

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron takes the TCEQ to task for it’s screw-the-public decision regarding the Lyondell permit. “They’re proposing to put thousands of tons of a cancer-causing chemical into our air,” says former Mayor Bill White. “They say they’ll reduce the amount … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on “Don’t ask, don’t smell”

What Ron Kirk says

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Ron Kirk, the former Mayor of Dallas who is now the US Trade Representative, was asked a joking question about Rick Perry and his earlier statements about secession after Perry’s win on Tuesday. His response is well worth reading. “I … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Election results: Perry avoids a runoff

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So it’s official, the so-called “Battle of the Titans” was a titanic dud, with Rick Perry scraping past the 50% mark to win the GOP nomination for Governor again. Kay Bailey Hutchison, whose campaign will someday be used in political … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The post-primary reconciliation

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Republican primary for Governor has been long and nasty. It will likely go to a runoff, where we’ll get five more weeks of concentrated nastiness and attack ads. Any time this kind of high-level primary occurs, people wonder if … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tim Cole officially pardoned

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a small bit of good to come out of a great injustice. The [Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles] sent a letter to Tim Cole’s attorney at the Innocence Project of Texas on Friday saying that it had … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Tim Cole officially pardoned

How do incumbents do in runoffs?

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So with all of the polls showing Rick Perry ahead in the GOP primary but below 50%, the odds appear good that he’s headed for a runoff. What are his odds of winning that runoff? The Come and Take It … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Kelley claims Metro is holding out

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So now the Metro document shredding case gets more interesting. Documents supplied by the Metropolitan Transit Authority in response to Houston attorney and former City Controller Lloyd Kelley’s open records request were incomplete and “sanitized,” Kelley said Friday. “I know … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Kelley claims Metro is holding out

Those evil, dirty, federal dollars

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Perry loves ’em. Which of the following revenue sources has grown the most since Rick Perry became governor? A. Sales tax, driven by a strong economy. B. Natural gas production tax revenue, driven by a strong economy and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Those evil, dirty, federal dollars