Tag Archives: Rick Perry

White gets down to the business of being a candidate

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Bill White spent his first full day as a former Mayor in the Rio Grande Valley. It was a productive trip for him. Power brokers in one of the state’s most Democratic regions Tuesday pledged to throw their weight behind … Continue reading →

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KBH’s transportation plan

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day seems like an odd time to be rolling out policy initiatives, especially in a campaign that’s been going on for months, so I’ll be brief with this. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison … Continue reading →

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The debate over Burka

Posted on December 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I generally find debates between candidates who are already well known to be tedious, often mechanical affairs. So I’m glad for an event that provides a little interest outside of the usual aspects, which is apparently the case for an … Continue reading →

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From the “Will they never learn?” files

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Back when I was having my Trib-based conversation with David Benzion, he mentioned a web ad that was released by the Texas GOP to attack Bill White in anticipation of his jump to the Governor’s race. That ad featured a … Continue reading →

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The Willingham jury

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You know, I don’t blame any of the jurors in the Cameron Todd Willingham trial for the verdict they rendered. Based on the evidence that was presented to them, a guilty verdict was to be expected. They had no way … Continue reading →

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Unemployment taxes triple

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here comes the Rick Perry unemployment tax increase that we’ve been waiting for. Nearly two-thirds of Texas businesses will see the unemployment taxes they pay per employee per year nearly triple – from $23.40 to $64.80 – under rates announced … Continue reading →

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Statesman profiles White

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’re probably going to see a lot of stories like this in the coming weeks, as the papers outside of Houston inform their readers about the new Democratic candidate for Governor. That one is a nice, thorough effort, which among … Continue reading →

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A gubernatorial threefer

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Debra Medina made her filing for Governor today as well, and she hopes to be allowed in the clubhouse when the big kids get together to play. “Texans deserve a Governor who is more interested in the needs of Texans,” … Continue reading →

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KBH officially enters the Governor’s race

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

While I never believed that Kay Bailey Hutchison would actually resign her Senate seat in order to run for Governor, I also never believed that she would drop her primary challenge to Rick Perry, even as he played his mind … Continue reading →

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Carole the chameleon and Kinky the commissioner

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This would be a little too weird. [Bill] White, expected to say Friday that he’s shifting his political sights from the U.S. Senate to the Democratic nod for governor, confirmed Thursday that [former Comptroller Carole Keeton] Strayhorn has tried to … Continue reading →

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The Rick ‘n’ Kay letters

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s always sad to see a relationship go down the tubes, isn’t it? Long before the campaigns of Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Perry started calling each other “Kay Bailout” and “Tricky Ricky,” the senator and governor exchanged handwritten birthday … Continue reading →

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The real reason Governor Perry keeps his travels secret

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I think this sums it all up right here. The governor’s Oct. 24 political trip to Las Vegas to meet with Brian Sandoval, a Republican candidate for Nevada governor, included a bachelor party for Perry’s son, Griffin, spokesman Mark Miner … Continue reading →

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In case you needed another reason to vote against Rick Perry

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Just in case the fact that he’s Rick Perry isn’t enough, how about the fact that he’s objectively anti-microbrewery? Texas Gov. Rick Perry, running for re-election in 2010, just got the endorsement of the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas. Therefore, … Continue reading →

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The Bill White factor

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The thought that struck me as I read this story about Bill White’s expected switch to the Governor’s race is that maybe he was right to have taken this particular route to where he is now. I mean, he’s generated … Continue reading →

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BAE Systems

Posted on November 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this story, concerning Sealy-based SAE Systems and the $2.6 billion contract with the Defense Department to build Army trucks that it’s on the verge of losing after 17 years. We first heard about … Continue reading →

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Bradley’s penchant for secrecy

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know what John Bradley’s goals are as the Chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. But if one of them is to dispel the notion that he’s Rick Perry’s stooge, who was installed for the purpose of covering … Continue reading →

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Schieffer drops out, White (may be but probably is) in for Governor

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the news that Tom Schieffer has dropped out of the Governor’s race, and that Bill White is considering switching over to it. I’ll add in a bunch of links later, but for now let … Continue reading →

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State sales tax revenues way down

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The 2011 legislative session is going to be so much fun. Sales tax revenues have taken double-digit dives for five months running; in each of those months, the state’s income from those taxes has been more than 10 percent lower … Continue reading →

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Kronberg on KBH

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Harvey Kronberg’s column this week looks at the long history of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison running, or not running, for Governor, and how she came to be in this particular will she or won’t she resign pickle. Nothing much new … Continue reading →

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Our healthcare system is great, if you ignore all those people who can’t afford it

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. John Zerwas demonstrates that being a physician doesn’t make you qualified to talk about health care reform. His article is as embarrassingly idea-free as his national colleagues’ plan was. After the usual paean to tort “reform” and invective … Continue reading →

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KBH: Not resigning till after the primary

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is me saying I told you so. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is planning to hold onto her Senate seat until after Texas’ March gubernatorial primaries are over. […] Campaign officials provided The Associated Press a … Continue reading →

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Raising the gas tax

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is long overdue. Members of the Texas Senate’s Transportation Committee said Tuesday that an increase in the 20-cents-per-gallon state fuel tax may be necessary to overcome a drastic shortage of money for new roads. “We are in the critical … Continue reading →

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Here comes the unemployment tax increase

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here comes that unemployment insurance tax hike we’ve all been waiting for. Under state law, the state’s unemployment trust fund is supposed to stand at 1 percent of taxable wages, or about $860 million. The fund has been depleted in … Continue reading →

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Bill White: Still running for Senate

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Tribune stirs up a persistent rumor that likely won’t go away till after the filing deadline. Or, you know, proves to be true. The rumor is that Bill White is contemplating a jump into the Governor’s race. The … Continue reading →

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Bradley speaks

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

John Bradley, the hang-em-high Williamson County District Attorney who was appointed to chair the Texas Forensic Science Commission by Governor Perry in August, tries to reassure us that there will be no Perry-saving monkey business on the Commission. He has … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over dog scent evidence

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Three men have filed a federal lawsuit against Fort Bend Deputy Keith Pikett and his use of “evidence” gathered by scent dogs, which they say led to them being falsely accused of and imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. The … Continue reading →

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A slow solution is bad but no solution is worse

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Same song, yet another verse: The food stamp situation in Texas is truly terrible. As Texas begins hiring hundreds of food stamp workers to help erase an application backlog that has left families waiting months for aid, no one expects … Continue reading →

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Two views of Willingham and Perry

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Couple of good op-eds in the papers in the past few days concerning the Cameron Todd Willingham case. First, here’s State Sen. Rodney Ellis and Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project focusing on the forensics: In 2006, the Innocence Project … Continue reading →

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Please know a little something about Texas before you write about Texas

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

David Broder packs an awful lot of ignorance into these two sentences of his bizarrely hostile column about the Senate’s health care reform bill and the opt-out compromise. If a health care reform with an opt-out provision were to become … Continue reading →

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Chron sues Perry over clemency files

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The Houston Chronicle and Hearst Newspapers LLC are suing Gov. Rick Perry in an effort to force the release of a clemency report Perry received before denying a stay of execution to Cameron Todd Willingham. The report … Continue reading →

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The case against Willingham

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Most of the pushback against the criticism of the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation and conviction has so far been of the form of “He was a bad guy!” and “We did too use science to prove arson!”, neither of which … Continue reading →

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Perry’s got a secret

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Quite a few secrets, actually. He really, really doesn’t want you to know what he’s up to over there. When a national news organization in 2003 asked the state archives for the execution memoranda written for former Gov. George W. … Continue reading →

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Mercy is a rare quality

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve never doubted that Rick Perry isn’t particularly interested in looking for opportunities to grant clemency to death row inmates. But there’s a big question that needs to be answered by this story and isn’t. Texas has executed 200 convicts … Continue reading →

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Willingham’s supposed confession

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot about this in the coming weeks. A newly released affidavit has a relative of the then-wife of Cameron Todd Willingham saying the condemned inmate confessed to her that he set the fire that … Continue reading →

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