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April 2009
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Political Blogroll
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December 2007 ArchivesTexas Department of Transportation Commissioner and former state lawmaker Ric Williamson died suddenly of a heart attack last night. He was 55. Here's what the big three had to say: Perry: Readers of the Washington Post politics blog, The Fix, helped blogger Chris Cilizza come up with a list of the best political reporters in each state. Here's their list for Texas: Texas: Texas Monthly senior executive editor Paul Burka, Dallas Morning News senior political writer Wayne Slater, Houston Chronicle reporter Clay Robison, Houston Chronicle reporter R. G. Ratcliffe, Austin American Statesman reporter and columnist W. Gardner Selby.Um, where's the venera... "File" photo. Get it?!?! I kill myself. Anyway, more than one candidate filed paperwork to get on the Texas ballot today, and the candidates kindly invited the cameras along for some free press. Or you could call this a photo essay of how I spent my day:
Let's get caught up on where we are in this open-records journey. (If you are new to the blog, click on the Open Government category to your right to read previous Purge entries). Open-records requester John Washburn hasn't been able to get copies of the Governor Rick Perry's office emails because of the cost charged by the office. The governor's office said it would fill his request, but only if he paid a few thousand dollars for about a month's worth of emails. This triggered a complaint to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office. Washburn received a response yesterday. In part, it reads: Thursday morning, Congresswoman Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, will file papers on behalf of Mitt Romney to get him on the Texas primary ballot. Which is a good-enough hook for me to bring up how the Concord Monitor decided to turn things around and give Romney a scathing non-endorsement this week: If you were building a Republican presidential candidate from a kit, imagine what pieces you might use: an athletic build, ramrod posture, Reaganesque hair, a charismatic speaking style and a crisp dark suit.... Merry Christmas! My Christmas is pretty much over, the surefire sign being that Dad is now vacuuming the living room obsessively as he does every year. Instead of holiday cheer, I bring you some fascinating news, packaged in a nice news lead, or "lede", as the print-folk like to misspell it. This year’s death-penalty bombshells — a federal moratorium, a state abolition and the smallest number of executions in more than a decade — have masked what may be the most significant and lasting development. For... Prolific Houston-based blogger Charles Kuffner has asked all kinds of people he considers interesting to guest-post for a series called "Looking Forward to 2008". While most of the posts discuss city and state government and the politics of it all, others hit things like a plan to cancel some memberships on all those social networking sites, which is a brilliant idea. (Sayonara, Myspace! And I lost Friendster a long time ago.) >> Continue reading: Forward Looking As I just wrote, the Texas GOP is calling for Texas Monthly's executive editor, Evan Smith, to resign. The call came after a report in the Midland Reporter-Telegram, in which Smith is said to have "encouraged" Craddick challenger Bill Dingus to run. That would be bad. But the paper's editor said they got it all wrong. "We interviewed Bill [Dingus] yesterday. Evan Smith had talked to Bill, but never encouraged him or said "you oughta run" or anything like that," said Gary Ott, the MRT's editor. So here I was, trying to tune out on this Friday-before-Christmas, when I learn of a minor eruption in the world of Texas politics. Earlier this week, Texas Monthly executive editor Evan Smith reported on his blog that a Midland City Councilman, Bill Dingus, would file to run in House District 82 against incumbent/House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland. Yikes. This made big news, as it would mean Craddick would have to run two races at once -- the race to keep his house seat, and the race to stay... Count State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, among the folks who have embraced the interactive features on news websites. It appears Dukes - or someone who says she's Dukes - posted a response to an Austin American-Statesman editorial which mentioned she was a supporter of House Speaker Tom Craddick. A number of Republicans want Craddick out, including some committee leaders he appointed. And some Democrats have put their bets on Craddick, such as Austin’s Daw... In one of my favorite scenes from Austinite Mike Judge's cult hit, Office Space, the two consultants named Bob come in and try and identify the "fat" to cut out of the office. In one confrontation with the Bob's, a middleman type guy freaks out: Bob Slydell: What would you say ya do here? Everyone, but everyone, has been offering their opinions on what happened in HD 97 last night, in which Democrat Dan Barrett pulled out a win in a district drawn to be a Republican stronghold. Some say it's a referendum on Craddick, which seems to be the narrative that will drive most Texas House races in the March primary, and perhaps, beyond. Here's a super short clip of State Representative Mark Strama, D-Austin, weighing in on the win this morning. <...
All right, the Texas Dems got their chance to gloat, after Dan Barrett pulled out a stunning victory over Republican Mark Shelton in HD 97. Now the Texas GOP takes their turn to rhetorically burst the bubble of celebrating Democrats. Here's Texas GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser: This is a temporary victory for the most liberal wing of the Texas Democratic Party as the victor will never get to cast a single vote. It will also serve as a rallying cry for the entire Texas Republican community to work together in November to fight these liberal incursions with one positive, conservative voice and vision. >> Continue reading: District Ninety-Sizzle: Republican Rallying Cry? I didn't believe Democrat Dan Barrett's early lead over Republican Mark Shelton in House District 97 would hold. I mean, that Southwest Fort Worth district is still considered Republican, and with the field narrowed down to two, I thought (perhaps naively) that "Craddick vs anti-Craddick" was no longer a factor in the race. Now, 100% of precincts are back, and the anti-Craddick Democrat ACTUALLY WON. Barrett is likely helped by good turnout for a city council runoff, which was also on the ballot. You can bet the Texas Democratic Party is gloating. I already recieved this from State Party Chair Boy...
Late posting this Tuesday because we've been busy taking some of the questions about Austin State Rep. Dawnna Dukes's improper campaign finance reporting directly to >> Continue reading: Tuesdays with Dawnna More voices are chiming in after Attorney General Greg Abbott released his official opinion on House Speaker Tom Craddick's powers. The following statement was issued by Rep. Geanie Morrison (current chair), Rep. Dan Flynn, Rep. Phil King (current chair), Rep. Jim Murphy (loyal freshman), Rep. Diane Patrick (loyal freshman), Rep. David Swinford (current chair) and Rep. John Zerwas (loyal freshman): “The attorney general’s opinion is a strong confirmation that the speaker respected the constitution and the rules, and that a speaker’s contest should end, not begin, on the first day of session. Dur... Rolling Stone calls him "the most honest man in news", National Review calls him "shameless", viewers, they seem to like him. MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann is among the fastest growing news programs on cable television. Olbermann's show has been around for years, but started gaining ground as Americans became disaffected with the Bush administration and Olbermann gave that disaffection a voice via his "special comments", in which he pulls no punches in taking on the President, Vice President, and occassionally, his nemesis Bill O'Reilly. T... If you've been too busy making the holiday party/holiday shopping rounds to get your normal dose of politics this weekend, here's a quick review... some "one-stop-shopping", if you will: Abbott Sides with Craddick You may recall I've had a recent problem with being mistaken for Austin City Councilmember Jennifer Kim. It's happened three times this fall, and tonight, it happened again.
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