Federal cash stimulated debate this week as much as last, particularly when it came to TxDOT’s share. But first, let's start with Monday.
Friedman puts a kink in Tom’s Schieffer
Fort Worth lawyer Tom Schieffer declared his intention Monday to become the Democratic candidate for governor. Schieffer is a former U.S. ambassador to Japan and Australia and was appointed by former President George W. Bush.
(Video: Burnt Orange Report)
Defending his Democratic credentials despite his former business partnership and continued friendship with Bush, Schieffer said, “The President asked me to serve my country…he did not ask me to serve the Republican party.”
Schieffer also told reporters he had voted for Bush when he ran for Texas governor and U.S. president. When asked what he thought of Bush’s time in office, Schieffer declined the bait: “He’s my friend. I tried to serve his presidency as best I could because I thought it was in the interests of the country.” [link]
Schieffer would be an interesting Democratic pick. He is someone who is obviously intelligent, has bi-partisan appeal, and knows how to run his own business. But he wasn’t the only one going for the Democratic nomination this week.
Kinky is back! On Thursday he told the [link]
Leaving other possible candidates aside, the choice between Schieffer and Friedman is more complicated than it might appear. Friedman came fourth in 2006 on a ticket that had two jokers in the pack. Unorthodox, funny, breath-of-fresh-air, journalist’s dream come true? Yes. Electable? Probably not.
However, the same may be said of Schieffer. While he is a moderate business-friendly Democrat, he’s hardly a household name and as the Burnt Orange Report pointed out, any fund raising ability he may have would probably be be canceled out by Democratic donors concentrating on the race to succeed Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Senate. Secondly Hutchison, his likely opponent (I’ll explain further down) is also a business-friendly moderate. Perhaps more business friendly, and certainly someone with greater name recognition and fund-raising abilities.
If the Democrats are clever, they’ll realize the election is Hutchison’s to lose, not theirs to win. If Texas Democrats concentrate on Hutchison's senate seat, they may well flip it and give Congressional Democrats a filibuster proof majority.
That’s where Friedman comes into play.
Having name recognition, indomitable energy and being a publicity magnet enables Friedman to punch above his weight when it came to campaign spending. (Ten bucks on a Kinky T-Shirt goes further than the same green on a KBH cardigan). But if he loses, so what? Schieffer would probably lose as well, perhaps spending twice as much money in the process. Friedman’s slogan in 2006 was “Kinky: why the hell not?” in 2008, he may have a point.
Perry urged to take the money and (not) run
On Tuesday, a who’s who of Democratic state senators (and state Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco) had a press conference demanding Gov. Rick Perry to take all the stimulus money available…even if it comes with strings attached.
“Not all is rosy in the lone star state,” said state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston. Ellis called for Perry to 1: “take all of the money” and 2: “spend the money wisely.” Regarding potential strings attached, the Houston senator said, “quite frankly, I don’t care.”
Perry has repeatedly said that he will not take the money if and when it means expanding government. The Democrats want Texas to make the changes necessary in order to draw down all the federal money available. For example, Texas could receive $2.52 for every dollar invested in the expansion of Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
As well as asking the him to take the money, the Democrats quite cleverly used the press conference/beauty contest to heap scorn upon the governor.
“I’m here to share this thought from the people I represent. In my community, not taking stimulus money is a profound irresponsibility on the part of the governor of the state of Texas… Saying no to stimulus money is saying no to too many Texas families,” blasted El Paso state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh. Other senators rather snidely called for Perry to put the needs of all Texans before Republican primary voters.
Perry is in a real bind when it comes to the stimulus funds. His thinking can be quite quite nuanced on the subject. [link] The problem is, the culture of political campaigns that has evolved over the last 15 years (of which he has been a beneficiary) doesn’t do nuance. Instead, you get labeled a flip-flop or a hypocrite.
The stimulus money means that if Perry does indeed run for governor again, his political destiny -- including any future presidential run -- would be completely surrendered to outside forces. He may choose not to veto legislation that pulls down more stimulus money - by either changing Texas law or appropriating extra funds to certain programs. If so,he would go down with the ship if it sinks. But even if it floats, his ostensible grumbling would lead to a cacophony of 'I told you so's.
However, if he sticks to his ideological guns (and as Kinky would say, “why the hell not?”) he risks handing his political enemies both stick and pinata come election time. The best-case scenario would be for Perry to not accept the money and for the Obama project to tank horribly (which wouldn’t work out for very well for everyone else would it?)
As such, if Perry indeed does have ambitions for higher office (cue Kinky advice...) stepping down might be prudent. Perry is in what game theorists call a prisoner’s
dilemma regarding 2012. If he beats KBH in the primary and then Schieffer or Friedman or Van de Putte in the general, he would be in prime position for a presidential run: the longest serving Texan governor who had shown that moderate Republicans are not the way to beat Democrats.
But if he lost either the primary or the general, he would be seen as representing the decline of a brand of Republicanism that could no longer hold water nationally. By backing down now and accepting lame-duck status, he could re-emerge in two years as a sort of fondly remembered elder statesman and yet also a Washington outsider. (All the folksy charm of Sarah Palin except without the naïve schoolgirlishness.)
Connecting the (Tx)DoT’s
Stimulus money isn’t just causing the governor a headache. Both Democrats and Republicans pounded TxDoT on Wednesday ahead of its plans to obligate all of its stimulus money the following day, only two weeks after it was approved. (They have up to four months.) TxDoT has also been criticized for proposing toll road projects.
On Wednesday, debate ensued in the Texas House, over a resolution that chastised TxDoT for, “making a rush to judgment in obligating Recovery Act money” and not being able to, “to clearly articulate how each project will spur a growth in jobs.”
Though no one formally objected to the resolution, several members rose to say they thought the wording too strong in places. Coleman and Dunnam, satisfied they had made their point, pulled down the resolution. [link]
Also Wednesday, U.S. Rep and chairman of the congressional Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure James Oberstar, D-Minnesota, suggested TxDot’s choice of projects may be turned down by the feds. This was on the grounds (argued by Oberstar, partially refuted by TxDoT) that eligible projects had to be in places where per capita income was 80 percent of less of the national average OR where unemployment is at least a percentage point above the national average.
Oberstar included a list of Texas counties that fit those requirements: El Paso is the only urban county on the list.
Nevertheless, TxDoT approved a list of projects on Thursday that was only slightly different to the proposals it had made from the beginning. For El Paso that means the lion’s share of funding toward the $146m I-10/Loop 375 interchange in east El Paso and over $6m for four other maintenance projects. [link]
Busy week for: State Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, who is carrying HB 6, a supplementary appropriations bill that would put $939m of rainy day funds toward repairing the damage done by hurricanes over the last year to the Gulf Coast. That’s a mini budget unto itself. [link]
Weird moment of the week: State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, digging her own grave in two parts at a hearing of the House Criminal Jurisprudence committee, Thursday. Riddle was reacting to the testimony of Jesus Garcia (from the Dallas Chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens) who was describing the (possibly) racially motivated beating and sodomizing of a Hispanic youth who eventually took his own life.
First, Riddle, who represents the district where the crime happened, tried to console the witness saying, “I don’t know that I talked to anyone in my district that didn’t say, given the options, as to what they would do with the perpetrators of the crime, they’d shoot ‘em. I’d do the same thing.”
Digging further, Riddle tried to dispute the witness' assertion that the crime was a hate-crime:
“I have a son who has red hair. If a crime is committed like that against someone else because, they, you know, have blond hair, but if the [attack on the] red haired kid is enhanced, that doesn’t mean that that crime is less horrific for the blond-headed kid. I don’t know if I am making any sense…” said Riddle. [Capitol Annex]
Scene of the week: State Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, almost in tears, essentially apologizing for Riddle's comments to Mr. Garcia:
“I am so sorry that you were misunderstood. I don’t think that you meant anything derogatory or personal to Rep. Riddle’s constituents in her district. I think what you were trying to say was, if that community had recognized the hate crimes act and its worth -– whether the guy was Hispanic, gay, straight, black, or had red hair –- that community should have demanded more from its police department to ensure that this kind of crime does not occur. I understood what you meant and I am sorry that it was taken a little bit to mean those people didn’t understand it.” [link]
Question of the week: Will Kinky run?
[Editor’s note: last week’s “question of the week” was answered Wednesday! Dunnam’s select committee will indeed hit El Paso on tour! See document below.
Related Documents:
