Kay attacks Rick in fundraising letter...

Kay has been very careful to barely mention Rick in public, but in her recent fundraising letter she is using stronger language to attack Rick (link). Excerpts follow...

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is developing a reputation for tepid speeches at the start of her quest to take the Republican gubernatorial nomination away from incumbent Rick Perry in next year's primary.

She seems to avoid much direct mention of Perry and hits on him seem somewhat oblique -- such as when she told the Texas Daily Newspaper Association to not let the governor claim undo credit for the economy.

But a new fund-raising letter from Hutchison is far more blunt.

"The current governor has talked of openness and renewal, but he's delivering mismanagement and waste as far as the eye can see," Hutchison's letter says.

The letter talks about rising property taxes, homeowners insurance, lack of health insurance, high school dropout rates and "trampled" property rights.

"There's ... a sense our leadership in Austin is failing to honor promises. And support for Republican government is eroding as a result."

Later in the letter, Hutchison says: "I am a Texas conservative. I am a leader who honors a promise."

I won't bring up that self-imposed term limit promise in 1993 that would have had her leaving office in 2006 if she'd kept it.

Sharp words from Kay, but it is filtered through the media, so it may not have seemed as harsh in the context of the entire letter. I wish R.G. would have just posted the entire letter so we can judge for ourselves.