Kay pretends not to know that Republicans are concerned about her leaving the Senate...

Kay, you're not having a great end to this week.

POLITICO has an article about Kay and her "Hamlet Act" (link). Excerpt follows...

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has made it clear that she wants to become the next governor of Texas.

But the 65-year-old, four-term Republican senator has been cagey about whether — and when — she will resign her Senate seat to launch a full-time bid ahead of the GOP gubernatorial primary in March 2010.

The timing is crucial, and Senate Republicans have become increasingly concerned as expectations have grown that she will resign her seat this fall, which would set up a contested May 2010 special election, something the GOP is eager to avoid.

Back in Texas, Republicans who want her Senate seat generally favor the early resignation and a special election. But there is anxiety in Washington among her Senate Republican colleagues, who worry that a May 2010 special election could be competitive and force the National Republican Senatorial Committee to spend precious time and resources to keep the seat in the GOP column — in what already could be a brutal election environment for the GOP.

“I know that she’s got from a timing standpoint her own considerations with regard to that race back in Texas, but it’s obviously a concern for the committee to have to defend another seat,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of GOP leadership.

“Obviously, from my point of view, she’s a valuable member of the Senate, she brings a lot to the table. This is a personal decision for her to make,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said. “But from a political point of view, it’s just one more race todealwith at a time when you’ve got enough to deal with already.”

Democrats and Republicans each have 18 Senate seats to defend this cycle, but Republicans, damaged from their 2008 election defeat, also have todealwith five open GOP seats because of retirements.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), No. 2 at the NRSC, said: “Naturally, we would not want her to leave. ... We can face whatever we have to face, but I’d prefer her to stay if she can.”

Asked to respond to concerns from her colleagues, Hutchison said: “Actually, I haven’t heard that concern. I think that when I make the decision, it’s going to be in the best interest of Texas.”

Asked if resigning in the fall could put the GOP in a bind by forcing her party to fight in the May 2010 special election, Hutchison said: “If I decide to resign at that time, it’s really the best time.”

Read more:http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23376.html#ixzz0Hai6JkMi&C

Let me see if I am reading that correctly...

"If I decide to resign at that time, it's really the best time... when I make that decision, it's going to be in the best interest of Texas."

Who else is reminded of French Sun King Louis XIV who said "l'etat, c'est moi." The state, it is I.

There is a little bit of Nixon in there as well. If the President does it, it is not illegal. If Kay does it, it is the right decision. She is the state, the state is she.

Trailblazers blog picks up this Kay disconnect with reality (link). Excerpt follows...

Really, senator? Hadn't heard until today that fellow Republicans have been expressing anxiety about the impact of your ambitions on their dwindling Senate minority? Doesn't your staff show you coverage from The Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman, The Hill, Roll Call, CQ, Politico etc.?

Or was that just a bit of posturing, to blunt the pressure they're putting on you to stick it out in the Senate...

Kay, this is a huge deal. You are going to make vulnerable a Senate seat in a year where there are two viable Democrats with deepening war chests. You are going to make vulnerable the Governor's mansion by forcing a brutal primary battle between yourself and Rick. You are taking on an incumbent conservative with an impressive record of job growth and economic development, not some Arlen Specter RINO want-to-be. 

Your decision should not be a flippant one, and just because you make it doesn't mean it is in the best interest of the state, the party, or your constituents who elected you to a 6 year Senate term. You still have to explain your reasons for running. It's not enough to want to be governor. You have to make a very specific case to me and several hundred other thousand voters.

Over the past few months, Rick has simply made the case far better than you have.