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August 2009
More KVUE Blogs
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September 2008 ArchivesTonight is the 3rd quarter fundraising deadline, but Democrat Larry Joe Doherty's campaign announced in advance that it raised more than $1 million so far in its bid to unseat U.S. Rep Michael McCaul, R-Texas. Doherty is continuing to push for a debate against his opponent. McCaul turned down a debate invitation from the Austin American-Statesman. McCaul has been in Washington as the wrangling over the financial bailout continues. He voted against yesterday's version of the bailout plan, along with other Austin-area U.S. Reps John Carter, R-Texas and Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas. Of the Austin c... Only nine of 34 Texas U.S. Rep's backed the financial bailout deal today. The full breakdown: Republicans -- Barton, N; Brady, Y; Burgess, N; Carter, N; Conaway, N; Culberson, N; Gohmert, N; Granger, Y; Hall, N; Hensarling, N; Johnson, Sam, N; Marchant, N; McCaul, N; Neugebauer, N; Paul, N; Poe, N; Sessions, Y; Smith, Y; Thornberry, N. ...Reporters at our sister station up in Dallas-Fort Worth (WFAA-TV) can't seem to get State Senator Kim Brimer to talk to them. The senator is up for re-election against former Fort Worth City Councilwoman Wendy Davis, and yet he refused to debate her and has turned down WFAA-TV's interview requests again and again. The result? People in that viewing area have heard very little from their state senator. Here's WFAA's latest piece regarding the ethics investigations into both Brimer and Davis.... A project to bring something like "The Politico" to every state has quietly launched in Texas. It's called PolitickerTX, and you will start seeing reporter Jason Thurkill (most recently from a polling firm in Washington DC) buzzing around Austin. Politicker is running political watercooler-type sites in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and both seem to be pretty successful so far. In this era of shrinking newsrooms and shuttering bureaus, it's interesting to see a media company try to expand, instead. Welcome Jason to the scene! >> Continue reading: In Case You Need Another Political Site to Follow... Did Governor Rick Perry cancel an El Paso fundraiser but not tell donors until it was too late? The El Paso Times reported the fundraiser cancellation by 10am last Thursday, the day it was to be held: Spokesman Mark Miner said today Perry canceled the events because he is busy with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, is back in campaign mode. His campaign is re-releasing the ad called "Palo Duro" (where the senator's standing in a canyon) and the second, "Help", addresses recent storms and how to give to the Red Cross (I don't think he's standing in a canyon for that one.) The campaign will be on the air in a total of 18 Texas media markets, but "Palo Duro" won't go up in Houston/Galveston for another week. "While the campaign will not publicly discuss the scope of the buy, it is safe to assume the campaign will be engaged with broadcast, cable and online advertising for the d... Larry Joe Doherty's about to get some help from his Democratic friends around the country. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or DCCC, added his race against incumbent U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, to its "Emerging Races" list. The new classification earns him more financial help from national Dems, and possibly more strategic and staff assistance as well. Candidates on the list tend to be in traditionally non-competitive districts but are viewed to have a chance of winning in November. "It will be no surprise to my supporters that our campaign is now generating interest and supp... If you're in Downtown Austin today, you may see one of two trucks featuring blown-up pictures of ten-week-old fetuses. It's definitely drawing attention, and among some, ire. The moving billboards are part of a campaign by anti-abortion group, The Center for Bioethical Reform. One of the truck drivers, Bill Calvin of Kansas City, Missouri, says the whole point is to use these shocking images to move people to their side. He aligns his movement with the civil rights and womens rights movements, saying painful stories and images must be used to promote social change.<... If you were watching KVUE-TV this morning between 6am and 8am, you probably caught a commercial from Cornyn for Senate. It's part of a statewide buy that the campaign was supposed to have pulled in the wake of Hurricane Ike. The Noriega campaign called reporters this morning once they caught wind of this, seeking to understand why the Cornyn campaign went back on its word to "suspend campaign activity". I checked with Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLaughlin, and the KVUE Traffic Department, which is in charge of booking the commercial spots in our programming and newscasts. The Cornyn campaign ... The Fort Worth Star-Telegram bureau in Austin won't disappear, after all. Sources at the Star-Telegram say that Dave Montgomery, who covered the state capitol before Moritz, will return from the paper's Washington bureau in late October to take over his old post. After time in D.C. and Russia, he's come full circle. Welcome back, Dave. ...When I thought I wouldn't be blogging this week, I was wrong. Here's why. I was in DFW, going from Terminal D to Terminal C. I'm coming down the escalator and look in front of me and think,"Gosh, that looks a lot like the back of Karl Rove's head." So I rush off the escalator, get in front of him and lo and behold, it WAS Karl Rove, chatting on his cell phone. I interrupt him to ask if we can get a photo together. It is clear I'd awoken early for a morning flight.
Fellow political junkies... I'm off for my first vacation of the year. (Yikes! Is it September?) Stiles and I are headed to Mizzou for the Missouri Journalism School Centennial (Yikes! The J school is 100 years old!) There should be some good sessions including political forums for the AG and gubernatorial candidates in Missouri. As I did when we were in China, I'll check in on this blog if anything applies to Texas. Have a g... This one is tough to write. My first friend in the "tribe" (aka Capitol Press Corps), John Moritz, decided to take a buyout from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He worked here in the paper's Austin bureau for the last decade. He's worked for the paper much longer.
KVUE's teaming up with the Texas Secretary of State's office tonight to try and register more voters. We'll be live at five, six and ten from the Renaissance Hotel, where Secretary of State employees will man a phone bank, where you can call and make a pledge... to vote this fall. (I don't think you'll get any PBS giveaways, sorry.) Phone number is available tonight at 5pm on kvue.com, and on your KVUE screen. See you tonight! ...It's no secret Lt. Governor David Dewhurst is worth millions, after his company sold three power plants for about $226 million. But how many millions he's worth today is unclear. Texans for Public Justice, the campaign finance watchdog group led by Craig McDonald, wants to know what is in Lt. Governor David Dewhurst's trust fund. This comes after the AP wrote a story two weeks ago, focusing on Dewhurst's lack of detail on his personal financial disclosure forms (required of Texas public officials by state law). T... I loved this photo of the Texas delegation at the GOP convention, from NYT photographer Damon Winter (formerly of The Dallas Morning News). I thought some readers might recognize a Texas buddy or to in this photo. Enjoy:
Regarding the news swirling around Sarah Palin, I've been staying on the sidelines because I try to keep the items on this blog related to Texas, and the Palin news has largely been covered by the national outlets. You could argue it's been covered too much, even after McCain, Obama and Biden have called for the press to back off. But Austin-based Democratic opposition researcher Jason Stanford is weighing in on today's debate about what McCain's campaign knew -- and what it didn't know -- about Palin before she was picked as the senator's running mate. Was she properly vetted? He wrote for >> Continue reading: Texas Oppo Researcher "Appalled" by Palin Vetting I'm enjoying the tweets from Slate Magazine's John Dickerson. He seems to be near the Texas delegation at the Republican convention. Here's his latest tweet: "The perfume from the TX delegation in this hotel is so thick that if someone strikes a match in here we're all going to the moon." ...An anonymous Republican donor gave $500,000 to the Texas OneStar Foundation, which helps coordinate state disaster response efforts. John Mccain supporters will match the gift to bring the donation to one million dollars, according to the Texas governor's political office. "We will continue to do whatever is necessary to assist our neighbors in Louisiana and our own residents. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected," said Governor Rick Perry. "We are also thankful for Senator McCain and his strong and experienced leadership in times of crisis." Want to help those affected by Hurricane ... Lots of our Lone Star state officials will be in Texas Monday, instead of Minneapolis-St.Paul for the abbreviated Republican National Convention. Expect President Bush to tour the state emergency operations center (aka "The Bunker) in Austin late Monday morning. He will be joined by U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. Thanks to the twittering of the Houston Chronicle's Rick Dunham, I've learned that U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, will speak to the Texas delegation in St. Paul at 8 a.m. and then possibly return to Texas, too. Meanwhile, the political writers who have the time a... |
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There's too much politics in Texas to fit into a newscast, so the fun continues here.
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