Ouch... even liberals having a feeding frenzy...

There is almost nobody Texas liberals hate more than Rick, so seeing him lose would be a real treat for them. Kay is doing so poorly though that even they are calling her out for running an uninspired campaign (link). Excerpt follows...

Kay Bailey Hutchison’s campaign is falling apart. Her heart is clearly not in it. Yesterday’s Houston ”event“ with Dick Cheney was only the latest in a desultory series. Two-hour delay? Five-minute speech? A crowd of 150?

A FrontBurnerian emails:

Ugh. She shaved her legs for that? Call me old fashioned, but I’d envisioned a ballroom fundraiser with hundreds of fat cat contributors, anxious to hobnob with the former veep and delivering bundles of checks, regardless of whether she attended or not.

Say what you will about Rick Perry (and I tend to say a lot, most of it unflattering), the man is in tune with the temper of the times. Tea parties, secession, Obama is a socialist — it all fits with the mood of his party, especially with the energized base of his party. Hutchison’s only choice was to appeal to the broader public and bring them back into the GOP primary. Instead, she’s tried to endrun Perry on the right (see Monday’s attack on the gas tax). She brings no credibility to that effort — and no passion either. It’s purely a ploy. And against the master of ploys himself, not a very good one.

Ouch... then there was the Burnt Orange peeps (link). Excerpt follows...

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has played her Charlie Brown’s Lucy-and-the-football trick one more time. Nope, she’s not resigning from the Senate. “AAARGH!” shout Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott, and various other would-be GOP placekickers who are now forced to cool their heels.

Even the Houston Press, which takes shots at both Rick and Kay in its latest article... which is typical since they are trying to help whichever Democrat might be the nominee eventually, seems to take more shots at Kay for her poor campaign performance than Rick for his own problems (link). Excerpt follows...

Never much of a spellbinder, Hutchison fails to stir the audience or, for that matter, articulate a compelling message as to why, by waging a primary battle against a sitting governor, she is forcing Republicans to choose sides and risking the implosion of the party.

I think Kay still has a chance to turn things around, but she is rapidly running out of time, and her weak showings in her own biggest events has become a source of puzzlement for everyone following this campaign. Her announcement tour was plagued by small crowds. Her Cheney event was the same way... all the while Rick's campaign is running like a well oiled machine... not just a candidacy but a political movement.