Martin Frost handicaps Rick vs. Kay...

Former Representative Martin Frost writes about the Texas gubernatorial race as being a big poker hand (link)...

In the gubernatorial race, incumbent Rick Perry will square off against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the 2010 Republican primary. Perry, who won with less than 40 percent in a four-way general election field in 2006, is not popular with the general voting public in Texas. He is, however, the darling of the far-right wing that dominates the Republican primary electorate. Chances are that he may defeat Hutchison in a mean, ugly, down-and-dirty primary next March. If he does, his victory could rip apart the Republican Party and open the door for a moderate Democratic to achieve a clean win in November.

Perry enhanced his appeal with the far-right base last week with his bizarre comments that he could understand why some people in Texas might want to secede from the union. These comments also made the candidacy of a credible Democrat even more appealing.

[SNIP]

What’s happening politically in Texas has been largely ignored by the national media. Some things never change. I remember reading a national magazine piece in the 1960s that observed that the national press covers Texas as if it were a foreign country. A case in point is last week’s coverage of Perry’s comments about seceding from the union.

This time, however, there is a hell of political poker game going on along the Rio Grande, and sooner or later, people will start writing about it.

Uh, hello? Some of us have been writing about it. I see his point though. The national media has no clue.