Liberal Obama Supporting Former Republicans for Bill White...

Gromer Jeffers found just about every Republican in Texas who plans to vote for the pro Obamacare/pro cap and trade/pro sanctuary city/anti 2nd amendment liberal trial lawyer and former chairman of the Texas Democrat party Bill White, and he put them all into his story about how Bill White is seeking Republicans (link). Excerpt follows...

Mark Smith, the former chairman of Hutchison's youth coalition in Dallas, said he plans to vote for every Republican on the November ballot, except for Perry.

Smith says he likes White's emphasis on improving education. He has criticized the governor about the state's dropout rate and recent curriculum changes approved by the State Board of Education.

"White has Texas in his heart," Smith said. "He puts people before politics."

Ultimately, White could encounter the same problem that faced Perry's primary rivals. Many Texans believe the state's on the right path and see no need to change leadership. More than half of registered voters in a Dallas Morning News poll taken in February said the state was on the right track, a rare finding during a recession.

Mark Smith. I did a quick google search or two. On his Facebook page he praises Charlie Crist for leaving the Republican party saying he puts people before politics.... where have we heard that before?

He is a member of "Students for Barack Obama" and lists Bill White, Obama, and Kay Bailey Hutchison among his politicians he supports... his favorite books include Obama's books... he also lists himself as a supporter of Dr. Elba Garcia, a Democrat candidate for Dallas County Commissioner... plus Clay Jenkins who is a Democrat running for Dallas County Judge... and he also lists the "Progressive Center of Texas" as one of his employers...

What is the Progressive Center of Texas you ask? It is a pro Obama liberal community organizing group...

The Progressive Center of Texas is a spin-off of ObamaDallas. Our mission is to be your activist community center for North Texas.

Yeah sure Gromer this guy sounds like a real Republican... good job mentioning any of this in your story you fraud... this is scandalously bad reporting. I wonder if anyone will take him to task for this?

I wonder when he will write a story about how Democrats are jumping ship and becoming Republicans... or how even rank and file Texas Democrats agree with Rick over Bill White on the big issues of our time... nah... won't happen...

Jason Embry also devoted blog space to Charles England's endorsement of Bill White (link). Excerpt follows...

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White will announce today that he’s picked up the endorsement of Charles England, the mayor of Grand Prairie.

England is a self-described Republican. His son Kirk was elected to the Texas House in 2006 as a Republican, but he switched to the Democratic Party in 2007. When the switch was announced, Charles England supported his son and criticized the state’s GOP leadership.

In a press release issued this morning, England said, “We need Bill White as our next governor because he will run the state with taxpayers and their wallets in mind.He’s proved that he knows how to squeeze the value out of a dollar with fiscally disciplined budgets.”

Charles England has been bashing Republicans for years. His son Kirk was a turncoat who bailed on the GOP and went over to the liberals when he felt things got heated and it looked like Republicans were on the outs.

These people are rare cases which is why I guess they are even newsworthy... there just aren't that many of them. 90% or more of active Republicans will back Rick. 90% or more of active Democrats will back Bill White. That alone gives Rick a win especially considering Republicans are more charged up...

Throw in the independents who are leaning to the Republicans strongly right now and it is going to take a lot more than a few "Youth for Kay" peeps nobody has ever heard of or former Republicans turned Democrat to deliver a win for the guy who was in the Clinton administration and left Houston in a giant budget hole due to his overspending and lack of management skills.

Again... I eagerly await the story that Gromer Jeffers will write about the Obama voters who are criticizing Obama and their party and jumping over to vote for Republicans in the fall... I know they are out there. A lot of them are my colleagues... they held out for a while, but the spell that Obama had over them has been snapped, and many of them are more conservative than ever before.

What a sham journalism has become. Shame on Gromer Jeffers... agenda journalism at its worst...

Kay #3 in earmarks...

I just defended Kay from Politifarce (link). Now, I have to call her out. Does she not get it?

Kay is #3 in earmarked spending (link). Excerpt follows...

WASHINGTON — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s status as a D.C. insider proved politically toxic in her bid for governor — but those same skills reaped more than a billion dollars this year for Texas cities, universities, medical centers and military installations.

Hutchison’s prolific use of earmarks placed her third among the Senate’s 100 members, behind only California Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

Her targeted spending was more than five times the amount requested by the state’s other GOP senator, John Cornyn of San Antonio.

Will she ever learn? You can't buy the love of the people anymore. That model is broken down.

Defending Kay from Politifarce...

Politifarce is at it again... this time slamming Kay for this statement...

Says the American public “overwhelmingly opposed” Democratic-steered health care plan.

They rated Kay as half true (link). Excerpt follows...

In February, it found Mostly True a statement by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, that 75 percent of the American people “have said either don't do anything (on health care) or start over.” And in March, PolitiFact.com rated as Half True Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth's statement that polling showed almost 40 percent of Americans opposed the health-care plan because they didn’t think it went far enough.

Responding to our inquiry, Hutchison spokesman Jeff Sadosky told us that from late April 2009 to late April this year, telephone calls and letters mostly sent by Texans to the senior Texas senator ran heavily against “Obama’s health care” approach. More than 18,100 callers were opposed while 4,830 were in favor; about 75 percent of more than 350,000 letters that Hutchison received were against the reform, Sadosky said.

[SNIP]

Certainly, many Texans clamored against approval. And national polls show more Americans opposed the action than supported it.

But Hutchison overreaches by calling that opposition overwhelming.

Opposition was overwhelming to Obamacare... Politicrap spinning it some other way is liberal spin and nothing else. Kay was 110% correct in her assertion that this was passed despite overwhelming opposition.

Politifact Texas is a perfect example of why Americans do not trust the large, antiquated news institutions... they have a blatant agenda that is rejected by an overwhelming number of Americans... check that statement out, Politifarce.

Politifarce strikes again...

Chalk this up again as them using semantics and being too literal (link). Politifact gave Rick a "half true" rating for this claim...

"We've got a 1,000 National Guard troop request that's been in front of this president for over a year and no response."

Politicalpinion strikes again...

Rick obviously didn't literally mean no response. He meant no responsive response. Or barely a response. You ask your teenager how school is going, and he will mumble "okay" and avoid eye contact and walk away. That is technically a "response" but it's not a real response as I can attest.

Or imagine your teenager is applying to colleges. He gets a letter back in the mail with one or two sentences basically saying "thanks, we received your application." That is not a response. It didn't say whether he got in, whether he was rejected, or anything.

That is what is going on here... Rick asked for troops, and there was no response one way or the other... just a veritable mumbling and avoidance of eye contact from the Obama administration including Janet Napolitano.

By their own admission, that is the case in this situation. Rick asked for 1000 national guard troops over a year ago... the Obama administration has not said yes, not said no... and barely acknowledged the request by Politicrap's own reporting...

Calling something "half true" is a big deal and shapes the debate among policy makers. Rick's statement was completely true despite what this shoddy organization says.

Bottom line... does this kind of gotcha politifacting help inform the public? The actual writing might do that... maybe... but the judgment call of whether it is half true, barely true, pants on fire, false, mostly true, or true is just editorializing disguised as important journalism. Most people these days just read headlines, and Politifact's headlines are incredibly misleading and often just completely wrong.

Rick Derangement Syndrome...

The national msm is beginning to view Rick as a 2012 contender... much of that the "fault" of Rick's peeps for letting him be on the cover of Newsweek... and some of the msm peeps are beginning to elevate Rick to Sarah Palin status in terms of bashing him gratuitously...

Local Texan R.G. Ratcliffe is working hard to fan the flames and turn this into some kind of liability, but it appears to be backfiring judging by the comments on this story (link). Excerpt from the story follows...

One Austin resident who had her cocker spaniel attacked by a coyote in the central city several years ago said she had serious questions about why Perry was jogging while armed.

“This is one time I'd be on the coyote's side. I'm not a Rick Perry fan,” said Nancy Williams. “Whoever heard of someone jogging with a gun? It sounds off to me.”

That makes perfect sense... quote some anti-Rick Austin lib early on in the story to set it all up... Another excerpt...

Kay Aielli's Chihauhuas, Thor and Mr. Jingles, were carried off into Shoal Creek by coyotes one night about three years ago. But the Austinite said she would not have fired a gun to save them for fear of wounding someone.

“I'm sure the governor has more acreage than I have, but if you're in a gated community you might be endangering other people who are out in their high-dollar jogging clothes,” Aielli said.

I feel like not many people go out armed, especially not for rattlesnakes in February. I think maybe he went out to shoot a coyote,” she said.

Again... let's just interview some person with a weird chip on their shoulder and let them speculate wildly. If any explanation makes sense, it is just that the fear of snakes thing was an inside joke. I would bet money he is more concerned about some crazy human stalker... and that is what the whole story was about... scaring off potential human attackers. I don't know that, but it makes sense. Or we could use Occam's Razor and just say that Rick really was just running and really shot a coyote that came out of nowhere and then bragged about it and that is that...

Final excerpt...

WildEarth Guardians, a wildlife protection group in Denver, offered to pay for a class in assertiveness training for Perry because of his “slaying of a song dog.” The group also offered the governor an alternative to the pistol.

“With all due respect to his manhood, 90-pound women in tennis shoes effectively scare 30-pound coyotes away with a sharp shout,” said group spokeswoman Wendy Keef­over-Ring in a news release. “We're sending Governor Perry a plastic whistle so he can leave his gun at home.”

First of all, has anyone ever heard of WildEarth Guardians? They aren't even a Texas group. They aren't prominent. How did they even get into this story?

Rick Derangement Syndrome, that's how.

R.G. Ratcliffe also linked to an already debunked Come and Take it Blog (which was run by a Kay staffer, according to a source who has obviously left the campaign and moved on elsewhere) that tried but failed to claim that Rick pointed a gun at someone (link). The individual involved said plainly (link)...

First, as is obvious, the Governor did not point the gun at me. Second, I did not flinch from him moving the gun around.

Here is the video...

The "reporter" R.G. Ratcliffe who clearly has Rick Derangement Syndrome didn't bother checking with Melissa Clouthier. He just took the word of an unreputable and often proven wrong anti Rick blogger that mysteriously shut down right as the primary ended...

I already blogged on the Come and Take It blog's falsehood's (link) back when it happened, but I guess R.G. Ratcliffe again (link) doesn't read Rick vs. Kay (he really should, obviously, after two major mess ups in a short period of time). Ratcliffe has more important things to do, like not calling individuals involved in situations for their side of the story before writing error filled about them.

Sloppy, lazy journalism right there...

Back to the point... Rick is actually driving his critics crazy. This is a good example.

At the national level, MSNBC personality ripped on Rick gratuitously as well (link).

DYLAN RATIGAN: Finally, however, the coyotes of Texas beware. Texas Governor Rick Perry telling the Associated Press that he shot and killed one of the animals while jogging in February. He says the coyote threatened his daughter's puppy, so he put that sucker down. I used the word, sucker. I don't know if he called it sucker. Perry sometimes jogs, by the way, this is kind of bad ass, with a 380 laser sided Rugar loaded with hollow point bullets. Who does that? For the record, the Texas Wildlife Commission does not allow laser sited guns to be used in hunting as it is seen as cowardly, too easy, with a laser site, to shoot anything. Though, this is said to be self-defense. Perry probably gets off. Although hunting coyotes with a laser sited gun is kind of like shooting a cow on the farm or maybe a moose in Alaska.

How convenient. Bring in Sarah Palin. Guess who is in Austin today appearing at a pro life group's event with Rick? Rick's best buddy Sarah Palin.

Right now I think the msm misguidedly see Rick as a real threat to take down Obama. I am with Perryvsworld on this one (link)... all the evidence says that Rick is not running for president. Still... the press are eager to take Rick down a notch or two. They have "Rick Derangement Syndrome..." which is a lot like Bush Derangement Syndrome. The thing about Bush though was that he was sending American troops into war, which is a lot more emotional and important of a thing than shooting a coyote... so you can kind of excuse some of the negative and biased reporting against George W. Bush.

With Rick it is more that they incorrectly see him as an extension of Bush... and they see him as a threat to the chosen one... again, for no real reason. Same with the liberal blogs in Texas who see Rick as their nemesis... and worse than Bush in a lot of ways. Farouk Shami's former campaign guy is in a tizzy about Rick's peeps running internet ads drawing traffic to the story about the coyote shooting incident (link). Excerpt follows...

Either way, one must wonder exactly what Perry hopes to accomplish–electorally–by promoting the fact that he shot a coyote while jogging. Perhaps we’ll figure that one out after we figure out exactly how in the hell one jogs with a laser-sited pistol strapped to the body….

Rick Derangement Syndrome.

The more the liberals go crazy, the more Rick's peeps rally around him in what is shaping up to be a very very Republican year nation wide.

Press corps tries to paint Rick shooting that coyote as against the law...

Rick Derangement Syndrome rears its ugly head again in the press after word of his coyote shooting broke (link). Excerpt follows...

Perry's coyote hunt may have violated city and state laws

Gov. Rick Perry's use of a handgun to kill a coyote that he says was threatening a labrador puppy may have violated both city of Austin ordinances and state law.

As one of the commenters put it...

Candidly wrote:

You Rick Perry haters are pathetic. Get a life.

4/28/2010 11:21 AM CDT

Recommend (167)

At least they did update the blog and include all of this...

UPDATE:
Defending the governor's coyote killing, Perry spokesman Mark Miner cited a section of the Health and Safety Code that says a coyote that is about to attack domestic animals may be killed by a person witnessing the attack.

He also cited a section of the penal code on "justification excluding criminal responsibility" that says conduct is justified if "immediately necessary to avoid imminent harm."

And Miner cited the defense to prosecution noted above, that the person who discharged the firearm "had a reasonable fear of bodily injury to the person or to another by a dangerous wild animal as defined by Section 822.101, Health and Safety Code" -- even though Perry told the AP he only feared for the pup.

"If he had to do it again, he would," Miner said.

I guess I don't see the big deal... Rick was out in the middle of nowhere, and he shot a dangerous wild animal that wanted to harm his dog... big deal...

Rick praised by watch dog group for "spartan" use of state airplanes...

Watchdog.org has a nice contrast between Rick and one of his counterparts in another state (link). Excerpt follows...

The Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, uses state aircraft far less than New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson and Lt. Governor Diane Denish. An investigation by Texas Watchdog found the Texas Governor uses state aircraft “sparingly,” reserving use of the planes for emergency or state business requiring transportation of large numbers of people for long distances, thus making the use of state aircraft cost effective. Texas Watchdog, no lap dog for politicians of any affiliation in the Lone Star State, called Perry’s use of state aircraft “spartan.”

Richardson and Denish, by contrast, have been found by Thom Cole, investigative reporter for The Albuquerque Journal, and this site, to be frequent fliers in state aircraft. Taxpayers have paid more than $208,000 for Denish’s use of state planes. Records from the New Mexico General Services Department show Denish used state aircraft 143 times between April 1, 2003 and November 9, 2009. Both politicians have used state aircraft to attend parades, and brief ceremonies and meetings. They fly at times alone or with one staff person. The hourly rate on the state’s newest jet exceeds $1,200 an hour for the plane and two pilots.

We found that Denish spent more more than $50,000 in federal stimulus funds to fly herself, staff, and family around New Mexico. None of Denish’s flights were for emergencies.

If it bleeds, it leads, so don't expect much ink on this any time soon in Texas newspapers or local television...

Rick demands Bill White release his taxes before any debate negotiations begin...

Smart move by Rick's peeps. Just saying no to a debate until Bill White releases his taxes is a very valid reason (link). Excerpt follows...

Perry spokesman Mark Miner said the issue is White opening himself to scrutiny.

"If he releases his tax returns, we'll be happy to talk about debate dates," said Miner.

WFAA and The Dallas Morning News are seeking to sponsor a televised debate between the two candidates this fall.

Liberals are going nuts, but Rick has Bill White over a barrel on this one... but Bill White can release his taxes and be done with a lot of heartache...

Rick shoots a coyote on a jog to defend his daughter's puppy...

I wouldn't mess with Rick... he is packing heat, even when he jogs apparently... Rick took down a coyote that came out of the brush to mess with his puppy (link). Excerpt follows...

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a message for wily coyotes out there: Don't mess with my dog.

Perry says he needed just one shot from his laser-sighted pistol to take down a coyote that was menacing his dog during an early morning jog in an undeveloped area near Austin.

Perry told The Associated Press he sometimes carries his pistol, loaded with hollow-pointed bullets, when he jogs on trails because he's scared of snakes — and that he'd seen coyotes in that area.

When the coyote came out of the brush toward his daughter's labrador retriever puppy on a February jog, he charged it and shot it with his .380 Ruger pistol.

"Don't attack my dog or you might get shot ... if you're a coyote," Perry said.

I wonder if this is meant to scare off would be human attackers... or if this really happened... you would have to think Rick or just about any other elected official these days would be concerned about their personal safety... whether it is lone nut jobs... terrorists... or politically motivated assassins... high profile politicians face security threats, and I almost wonder if this story was planted to send a warning message to them.

Don't mess with Rick. He will take you down himself if he has to...

The 2nd Amendment people are going to love this... the PETA peeps might not like it as much...

Anti Rick columnist doesn't like pro Rick TV reporter...

A rare piece of pro Rick cheerleading from a local Tyler reporter... (link).

Go watch the video, then read Bud Kennedy's whining... although he would have more of a point if he and so many others weren't even more biased in the other direction (link)...

Worst TV news report ever? KETK reporter makes a Glenn Beck rally sound like a party at the Oil Palace www.is.gd/bGI4O 11:34 PM Apr 24th via web Retweeted by 1 person

budkennedy

Bud Kennedy

New Rasmussen numbers...

A new blip on the Texas scene (link). Excerpt follows...

Sixty-six percent (66%) of likely Texas voters believe that America is overtaxed, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state. Twenty percent (20%) disagree, and 13% more aren't sure.

The Texas press will probably misinterpret these numbers soon, so here is the deal. Texans think that America's federal taxes are too high...

Rick appears with Glenn Beck... Liberals literally going nuts...

If Think Progress had a head, it would be about to explode... they are going nuts over there about this Rick and Glenn Beck appearance (link). Excerpt follows...

Last week, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich upset some Tea Party supporters when used the word “militant” to describe the conservative protest group’s potential place in the Republican Party. Now, another conservative leader has described the Tea Party movement with language that invokes the military. Before declaring that “if you care about America, if you care about taking this country back, you find you a tea party” at a Glenn Beck rally, Perry said that he would be “proud” to join with an “army” of anti-Obama Americans:

Before taking the stage Saturday night, Perry praised Beck as a national leader with a powerful message about Washington and “out of control spending.”

“Americans can take their country back and send a message to this administration, to this Congress and I consider myself proud to be in that army,” Perry said.

Apparently that is some kind of incitement of violence... but look at the comments section... these people are insane...

Bozo The Neoclown says:

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When, oh when will we see rick perry being shackled and frog-walked for sedition? if this were a democrat in the era of 43 the cancervatards would be screaming holy hell and it would have happened months ago

April 25th, 2010 at 10:13 am

Bozo The Neoclown says:

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i think rick perry is a domestic terrorist. i also think he should be declared an enemy combatant, water boarded….errr i mean “enhanced interrogated” on national television as an example.

April 25th, 2010 at 10:36 am

Fred ♪♫♪ says:

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Davey says:
Perry is a nutter. Since it’s well-known that everything that comes out of his stupid mouth is divisive crap, why does it make headlines on TP?

This isn’t Germany in the 1920’s. We keep an eye on dangerous fascists.

April 25th, 2010 at 11:18 am

Levi the Oracle says:

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Further evidence that the rule of law no longer exists in the United States.

Until the laws against sedition are enforced against Perry, the law cannot legitimately be enforced against anyone.

America has become a lawless nation.

April 25th, 2010 at 1:14 pm

1. tarazan says:

   ---

   Perry means here to win back the presidency by a ‘white president’,preferably ‘white southerner’,
   with reference to anti-Obama protesters ‘taking their country back’.

   April 25th, 2010 at 5:07 pm

   ---

2. cd da PHD says:

   ---

   If this is Rick Perry he needs to rectract his words before the FBI throws him in GITMO for trying to incite a revlution.

   April 25th, 2010 at 5:35 pm

Bush derangement syndrome may have a new target of... affection...

Rick and Bill press word clouds...

Rick's...

Bill White's...

Rick's team is focusing on the liberal trial lawyer angle... Bill White's team is focusing on detailed policies (link).

Which is better?

Neither.

Rick's press release word cloud should have more "Obamacare" and "cap and tax" and things like that in it... but still keep the issues that are there...

Bill White's press release word cloud should probably have way less detailed policies... TECQ and Asarco are not going to move the dial...

Kay gives the weekly GOP address... on... get this... bailouts...

Is Kay really the best spokesperson for this? Talking against bailouts...

Snore...

It seems like if we're going to be the anti bailout party, I may have considered another person to deliver this message. Someone other than... dare I bring this up again... "Kay Bailout."

Burnt Orange conspiracy theories...

Burnt Orange report gets a lot of play... too much play... in the media given their actual traffic and relevance (link). Sometimes they are insightful, interesting, and informative for a wide audience, but other times they descend into rank hackery (link), wishful thinking (link), and even bizarre conspiracy theory mongering (link). Sometimes I think they may write things just to get eyeballs.

The latest is a pretty weird blog by Matt Glazer about a couple of staffers on Rick's campaign who seem to have left for whatever reason (link). Glazer of course is trying to argue that there must be some kind of rats jumping ship type of thing happening... which doesn't really make sense. Here is the Jason Embry blog that set it off (link). Excerpt follows...

Leslie Sullivan and Krystle Alvarado, two top fundraisers for Gov. Rick Perry, left the Perry campaign after the March primary, the campaign has confirmed.

Asked about the change, a campaign spokeswoman did not have a reason for their departure.

Katie Wilson, previously the deputy finance director, is now the campaign’s top fundraiser.

Sullivan and Alvarado appear to have been quite successful for Perry, whose campaigns are always well-funded.

Sullivan is the wife of Ray Sullivan, Perry’s chief of staff.

First off, I have no particular special knowledge about why they departed the campaign, but Rick's chief of staff's wife is one of them... and he is still the chief of staff. I doubt there was some falling out based on seeing the writing on the wall and bailing on a sinking ship.

More likely, as is the case with many women in their careers, they are taking some time off to start families or spend more time with their existing families... I am pretty sure the Sullivans have young kids... and I don't really know Krystle Alvarado's situation...

It could also be the case that they parted ways for some other reason. Money, hectic work schedule, and other things are often reasons for people quitting campaigns...

It could be that they went to go make more money lobbying... or that they went to DC because a big national organization came calling (more on this later)....

The timing makes it seem like they possibly planned all along to leave the campaign after the primary...

At any rate, the blog by Matt Glazer is short sighted and politically foolish... he is trying to downplay expectations for Rick's next fundraising report. If he was worth a damn as a paid political operative... and from what I am told he is paid to write blogs (UPDATE... although he rejects that characterization)... he would not be trying so hard to set the expectations for Rick's fundraising haul so low... instead he would be trying to set the bar so high that Rick could not possibly reach it. That is just basic politics.

More than that... Rick has been out spent in almost every election he has ever run... as I understand it Rick was out spent by Jim Hightower... he was out spent by John Sharp... he was out spent by Tony Sanchez many times over... he had 4 opponents in 2006 that mostly used their money to attack him and outspent him collectively by a big margin... and he was out spent by millions by Kay in 2010's primary...

Somehow I doubt Rick will have trouble raising money. He did have that Money Cannon right before the primary that raised nearly 1.4 million dollars... and that Money Car that raised at least $71 thousand in one day just last week...

As someone who is well plugged in to rumors in Austin, I don't think there are any rumors swirling about Rick's campaign being in turmoil, except for within the headquarters of the Burnt Orange report brain trust (their happy hours). I do hear reporter friends and lobby friends and other people in Austin talk about what a "piss poor" "overly sensitive" "thin skinned" "amateurish" operation Bill White's campaign is running. A lot... there is also still a lot of chatter about just how Rick and his peeps won by so much... there is a definite "what did they know that we didn't" mentality in the Austin political world.

As far as Rick's two staffers go... I am sure they were great and everything, but let's be honest. Campaign fundraisers are mostly interchangeable once they have been doing it for a couple of years and get to know the players. That is the most overrated, overpaid position on most campaigns... basically anyone with a modicum of experience can do it and do it as well as anyone else. I have always felt that campaigns who pay their fundraisers an arm and a leg "because nobody else has those contacts and institutional knowledge of the key players" are getting gouged... only a candidate himself or herself can truly impact fundraising in a major way.

I have also seen some strong evidence that following the high profile victory, national campaigns and organizations are coming calling down to Texas to try to get some of Rick's team... including his new media peeps and field operations type of people... to bolt for "the big stage" as some in Washington call it... offering more money, a chance to work on a national campaign (in beautiful Iowa!?), and more exposure and opportunity for career advancement...

I guess we'll keep an eye on those positions too... and whether they stick with Rick or bolt... something tells me that it is actually pretty status quo at Rick's campaign... otherwise I think Jason Embry would have written about several peeps leaving...

UPDATED...

I guess Embry called someone who said they basically wanted more money and Rick's "campaign leadership" didn't want to pay them more money.

UPDATE: Several sources familiar with the situation have said Sullivan and Alvarado could not reach an agreement with campaign leadership over how much they should be paid.

Several sources sounds pretty strong... so I will take it at face value that this is the case...

Since that was likely the reason, it reminds me of that Texas Watchdog piece from summer of 2009 that pointed out how ridiculously well Rick's fundraisers were paid (link). Excerpt follows...

Records show that his finance director, Krystle Kirchmeyer Alvarado, who was formally named to her position in July, received a payment of $88,698.95 in January, not long after she and her husband, Christian, bought a place in San Antonio for $334,860.

Alvarado, a 28-year-old University of Texas grad, made a tidy $114,856 through June 30. Her peer at the Kay Bailey Hutchison gubernatorial campaign, Caroline Snell, made $29,197 in the same period.

Through June, Hutchison reported raising around $12 million to Perry's $9 million.

Read of her news on a MySpace post, where Alvarado reported:

Christian and I are enjoying life and having fun together! Christian is in his 3rd (and final!) year at UT Law and I'm still working in politics and loving every minute of it! Christian accepted an offer with a law firm in San Antonio...so come this summer we are making a move! After 8 years in Austin I am sad to go but I'll still be working here 3 days a week. I'm looking forward to living in a new city and decorating our new house! If anyone has any advice about being a homeowner - I'd love to hear it!

Since the start of last year, Alvarado has banked $259,598.

That is a lot of money for a 28 year old to make... especially in a position that as I argued before is completely overrated and could be accomplished by anyone with a rudimentary level of experience...

Based on that rate it is not out of the realm of possibility that she cleared 350 or 400 or more thousand dollars... maybe closer to half a million... over a span of roughly two years. Wow... like I said... gouging...

Maybe not living in Austin had something to do with the departure as well... San Antonio? That would irk me if I had an employee who only came in 3 days a week. If anything, you get detached from the action and the necessary relationships if you don't work at the actual office where everyone else is. If I had been offered a chance to work from home when I was 28, I would have jumped on it... but it would have been a bad move unless the entire culture of the organization is a work from home culture.

Wow, so R.G. Ratcliffe obviously doesn't read Rick vs. Kay...

Yesterday I called R.G. Ratcliffe out for some really sloppy blogging about Texans' views of the economy. I showed with actual numbers (link) that Texans view the Texas economy very differently than they view the national economy. Excerpt follows...

A new opinion poll found Texas business leaders believe the state's economy is moving in the right direction, the national economy is on the wrong track and government regulations and rising health care costs are the top two issues facing the business community.

R.G. Ratcliffe blogged about it and got completely confused by the difference between believing the national economy and the state economy are in trouble. If Texans view the national economy very dimly, but view the Texas economy less dimly or even somewhat positively (as they do), then that helps not hurts Rick, and hurts not helps Bill White.

I think what is happening here is that Rasmussen showed the race within 4 points, so the press are hoping for an interesting race after the promised clash of the titans in the Republican primary turned out to be an epic slaughter. This may explain why so many news outlets picked up the extremely liberal George Soros-backed "watch dog" group's list of the worst governors showing Rick on the list despite some seriously flawed reasoning (including rejecting UI stimulus, a decision supported by large majorities of Texans). Most failed to mention it was a group with a clear liberal agenda or that 80% of the honorees were Republicans, and the only two Democrats are "on the outs" with the Soros-based Democratic establishment.

But I digress.

Here is my blog yesterday about R.G. Ratcliffe's poorly informed blog (link). Okay, this was blogged early enough in the afternoon that R.G. should have had a google alert set up with his name warning him that his story was based on a false premise. Yet somehow the story with the false premise still ended up in the actual newspaper in San Antonio (link) and Houston (link)...

The respective headlines...

San Antonio

Poll: Texans' view of economy souring

Houston

Ailing economy worries Texans, could hurt Perry

The story is basically the same in each city, and it is just a bunch of pinheads bloviating, to use a Fox News turn of phrase... only at the end does it mention the fact that the poll is on the overall economy, not the Texas economy. Even then, it seems like just an interpretation from Rick's spokesman as opposed to just a solid fact.

This can only "hurt" Rick... as the headline editorializes... if daft journalists decide to make it a self fulfilling prophesy and make it their mission to confuse the state of the economy in Texas versus the economy nationally.

In reality, if more Texans view the national economy as a crisis but believe that the Texas economy is relatively resilient, it will create more of a rally around our guy effect... it will make Bill White's Obamaesque policies even more unattractive than they already are. It will play right into Rick's crusade against Washington.

Why wasn't that the headline?

I think we all know why.

Swing and a big whiff analysis from R.G. Ratcliffe of the Houston Chronicle...

R.G. Ratcliffe wrote an entire lengthy blog post 0n the Houston Chronicle website based on some numbers from Rasmussen showing that Texans believe the economy is not doing so hot. He misread the numbers. People were not responding to how they felt the Texas economy was doing. They were responding to how the national economy is doing. Huge difference.

If you were to ask me a general question like that I would too say that the economy sucks... but if you asked me about the Texas economy I would rate it as pretty good and growing but not excellent and certainly better than the national economy.

Here is this atrocious piece of blog writing (link). Excerpt follows...

Gov. Rick Perry keeps telling us the Texas economy is in better shape than the rest of the nation, and that's probably true. But Rasmussen's surveys hint that voter confidence on the issue may be in decline, a point that could help Democrat Bill White in the fall.

Here's how it flows:

The January survey by the firm found 9 percent of Texans think the state economy is in good or excellent shape. That number is up to 10 percent in the most recent poll, which means it statistically is unchanged.

In January, 42 percent said the state economy is in poor shape. Today, 40 percent. Again, unchanged.

Thirty-four percent in January thought the economy was getting better while that number today is 32 percent. Again, essentially unchanged.

But here's the number that bit me on the nose: In January, 35 percent said the state's economy is getting worse. That number today is 46 percent. That's a leap.

Yes, that is a leap. It is a leap though about the national economy. Rick and his peeps aren't saying Texas is all rainbows and buttercups... they are saying that Rick and his policies have protected Texas from the disaster in the national economy.... that Texas is faring relatively well in comparison.

Ask Texans about the national economy, and they will say it is a disaster. Ask them about the local economy, or the state economy, and they will say it could be better but few will declare it to be terrible. I am not just making this up. There are polls out there that talk about this, including a recent one of exclusively $100K+ a year Texans (link). Excerpt follows...

Texans believe the local economy is on the right track and the national economy is not, the report said. Conversely, the national elite believe by a slightly smaller margin that the national economy is on the right track.

[SNIP]

On Jobs and the Economy:

-Texans believe that Texas is creating jobs faster than other states, with 86 percent agreeing somewhat or strongly that this is the case.

[SNIP]

How Texas Opinions stack up with National Opinions:

- Texas elites are more likely than U.S. elites to say that the U.S. economy is on the wrong track. Conversely, Texas elites are much more likely than U.S. elites to say that the state’s economy is on the right track.

Texans think the national economy is awful. They don't want that to spill over into Texas. I have seen other polls showing this same thing among non $100K+ a year Texans as well.

If anything, this growing angst about the national economy helps Rick even further, and hurts Bill White. It helps Rick differentiate himself from Washington, from Obama, and from the Democrats who are in charge of our country. Bill White is harmed by an association with Obama and the Democrats who have ruined our country economically...

The turnout issue is another one. If more Texans feel anxious about Obama's national economy, they will rally around the Texas choice Rick who has helped lead the Texas economy to an unemployment rate 2 points below the national average and 4 points below the California rate... Republicans were complacent in 2006 and 2008, but they will come out to vote against Democrats.

Rick will be able to play all kinds of populist cards about needing to protect the Texas economy from ObamaCare, cap and trade, and other issues that Bill White supports.

More Rasmussen... Texans aligned with Rick, not Bill White, on the big issues...

More numbers from Rasmussen (link). Excerpt follows...

Texas is now one of a number of states suing the federal government to stop the recently-passed national health care plan, arguing that at least one portion of it is unconstitutional. Fifty-six percent (56%) of likely Texas voters favor the state government suing to stop the health plan from becoming law, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters in the state oppose the lawsuit.

At issue is the requirement in the plan that every American must buy or obtain health insurance. Forty-two percent (42%) of Texas voters favor that requirement, with 23% who strongly favor it. Fifty-five percent (55%) oppose the requirement, including 46% who are strongly opposed.

Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Republicans and 56% of voters not affiliated with either major party oppose the requirement. Eighty-two percent (82%) of Democrats are in favor of it.

Accordingly, 87% of GOP voters and 57% of unaffiliateds favor the state's lawsuit to stop the health care plan. Seventy-one percent (71%) of Democrats oppose the suit.

Rick's peeps need to hammer home these things... Rick is against the ObamaCare bill... Bill White is for it... Rick is for the lawsuit against it... Bill White... ironically the trial lawyer he is... is against the lawsuit...

There are a lot of issues that favor Rick over Bill White, and the tax thing may be a nice reliable go to hit each day, but until the press start writing about it and talking about it more on television it is kind of in a vacuum. Even Rick's vaunted social media efforts are not particularly focused on Bill White's ethics or issues or much of anything anti Bill White... it is mostly positive from what I have seen.

What's up with Politifact? Why are they so awful?

I am going to defend both Rick and Bill White against stupid Politifact Texas factchecking... mostly just bash Politifact though... because it is terrible.

The latest is a "false" given to Rick for saying that nobody in the press covered his 10th Amendment press conference (link). Strangely though you have to read all the way to the end to discover what Rick was getting at. Excerpt follows...

We found one Statesman news article that could explain why Perry says no one from the mainstream media covered the press conference. The article by Jason Embry of the Statesman’s Capitol staff -- published a week after the event -- states that Perry's remarks gave him a bounce in national attention even though the resolution itself “barely drew a mention in the print editions of the state’s daily newspapers” the day after the press conference.

I have to say... when someone says "it was embarrassing for our team... nobody was at that basketball game last night," they don't literally mean that zero people were at the basketball game. They mean that several thousand were there when 15 thousand should have been there. When someone says that "everyone and their dog was at that party last week," they don't literally mean that all 6 billion humans and their billions of canine friends were at the party. They just mean that a lot of people were there.

When Rick said that "We had a press conference here that interestingly no one in the mainstream media covered," he didn't mean that literally zero press showed up... he meant that very few showed up... until it hit the bigtime on blogs and on Drudge and suddenly everyone was talking about it. At the time I blogged about how it went viral without the msm really talking about it (link). I also blogged about how other blogs were suddenly paying attention to Rick despite almost no mainstream media articles about it (link).

I also blogged about the interchange between Rick and Kay's former spokesman Hans Klingler in which Klingler bizarrely claimed that Rick was taking the low road (link). Nobody was talking about the press conference at that time...

So when Politifact tries to claim that Rick's claim is false, they need to read their own facts. By Politifact's own admission, there were only two articles written about it, and 5 pictures taken, and there may have been two reporters there... incredibly small coverage and practically "no one" for what turned into a huge deal after blogs and social media got a hold of a video shot by Rick's own peeps and posted online...

I rate Politifact's fact check as misleading and thin-skinned. They seem to mostly choose things they know they can spin into "false" or "pants on fire" when it comes to Rick. In this case, they didn't like Rick bashing the msm, even though Rick was completely correct. If you listen to the entire interview on the Texas Tribune website, you can hear Rick explain what he meant by "no one" and how it took YouTube to make it spread (link).

Now... to defend Bill White from this stupid "Politipinion." Perryvsworld.com already did a pretty good job defending him on the "Soviet style budgeting" claim, but I wanted to add a few things on a different one (link). The one I want to defend Bill White on was his claim that Houston was a national leader in job growth, which is true despite what Politifarce claims (link). Excerpt follows...

"As Houston's mayor, I helped our area lead the nation in job growth," White wrote responding to a questionnaire from the League of Women Voters of Texas, a nonpartisan group that encourages active participation in government.

[SNIP]

Some 244,100 jobs were added in the Houston area during the period, compared to 156,800 in Washington, the state with the second-highest increase in jobs. Texas was first with 943,000 new jobs.

We confirmed those numbers — and found a wrinkle the White campaign overlooked. It turns out that Dallas, which gained 265,800 nonfarm jobs from 2003 through 2009, led the country in job growth.

This is just stupid. Houston and Dallas both gained a lot of jobs from 2003 to 2009. Houston in the past several years can claim without any stretching that it led the nation in job growth. So could Dallas. Houston and Dallas are incredibly close in that race, off by a negligible number in the big scheme of things. Lots of other Texas cities for that matter could claim greater job growth in percentage terms despite being small towns.

Politicrap, which has given White 57% true and 71% at least half true (and compared to 15% true and 55% at least half true for Rick... is just being nitpicky in this case.

Bill White gets away with a lot of whoppers that are not being Politifacted... I wonder if that means Gardner Selby and his team are being fed more anti-Rick stuff, or if Rick's peeps are not feeding enough anti-White issues... or maybe Politifact is not posting claims about Rick they determine to be true in the end.

I think a more transparent way to do this could be for Politifact to announce publicly they are fact checking a claim, then announce their results several days later. If they are unable to verify one way or another, they would create a new category for that. Instead of "half true" or "barely true" editorial statements... which will probably be used in debates and political ads down the road... they should give their rankings less connotative meanings.

Politifact should also stop fact checking rhetoric or opinions, and stick with facts. And they should stop determining that their facts are the only relevant facts. For example when Rick claimed that Texas accounted for 70% of all new jobs in America from 2007 to 2008, he was 100% correct. I have looked at the numbers myself. It's a true statement. If anything Rick was understating the case... considering that job losses took place nationally.

But Politifact rated it false despite no facts backing their claim up. They interviewed two people who were not fans of Rick... one a professor and one a left leaning think tank guy... and they both just said it wasn't true. So therefore... it wasn't true, despite the numbers saying that the claim was true.

My question for the audience... what's up with Politifact? Who is overseeing that? It seems like they put out a really poor product that does not enlighten or inform the public but instead seeks to nitpick...

Burka on the general election polls...

Burka has a pretty solid take on this (link). Excerpt follows...

This is not a good situation for a challenger. You don’t want to be in a race where most voters have already made up their minds. I was also struck by the figure that Perry has a modest lead (5%) among independent voters. As I have pointed out before, based on the findings of the UT/Texas Tribune poll, independent voters tend to be disgruntled Republicans who, when they get in the voting booth, break 4 to 3 in favor of Republicans.

These polls are worth little more than entertainment value at this stage of the race. The good news for White is that there really isn’t any bad news. Two-thirds of Texans want to see the health care bill repealed, according to Rasmussen, but it hasn’t affected his numbers.

It hasn't affected his numbers, because nobody knows yet where Bill White stands on ObamaCare... or just about anything else. All Rick and his peeps have to do is run one ad for a week talking about Bill White's support of ObamaCare and cap and trade, and his numbers will fall into the 30s...

And just like that... an issue distinction on guns...

Second Amendment rights are near and dear to most Texans... independents and Republicans and even many Democrats are... if not gun owners... gun rights supporters.

This puts Bill White on the opposite side of most Texas voters...

As I mentioned in my blog earlier today (link) about Rick and Bill White poll numbers allegedly tightening, Rick and his peeps would do better contrasting issues than trying to spend all of their time painting Bill White as unethical and shady, however unethical and shady he may be. Polls can be dubious this far out though... Rick was down by 2 to Kay with 5 or 6 months remaining in the campaign according to Rasmussen.... with 7 months to go Rick is up by 4? I don't buy that this will be that close in the end. Part of the problem with early polls is that it is hard to tell who will get out and vote. This is a Republican year. Bill White is a liberal Democrat (link). Excerpt follows...

Call me crazy, but White is going to have a hard time convincing Texans that his opposition to Thune’s reciprocity legislation and his stand against the Tiahrt amendment were aimed at stopping the flow of illegal guns. He’d have better luck arguing that denying me butter will somehow make Rosie O’Donnell thin.

And it’s demonstrable that other Democrats in Texas have distanced themselves from White in the past for fear that his anti-gun reputation would render them unelectable. Last July, former Texas Comptroller John Sharp (D) commented on White’s intention to run for Senate: "Mr. White's war on guns is already making it impossible for him to be elected statewide in Texas.… He should immediately disassociate himself from [‘Mayors Against Illegal Guns’] so he doesn't also hurt the chances of other Democrats running for public office."

[SNIP]

While White is running from his anti-gun past, Perry strongly supports the individual right to gun ownership and the subsequent right to use guns in self-defense. White has no pro-gun endorsements whatsoever but Perry has the endorsements of the National Rifle Association and the Texas State Rifle Association,

The bottom line is this: Perry is a pro-gun governor and White is an anti-gun Democrat.

Texas will have to secede from itself before White has a chance of winning.

Rick and his peeps are going to need to start making more of these policy distinctions, because Bill White's buddies in the press aren't going to do it for them.

Rasmussen has Rick up by 4 on Bill White...

Rasmussen's latest poll has to be a bit of a craw in the side of Rick's peeps, but there are also some signs of life (link). Excerpt follows...

In the seven weeks since incumbent Rick Perry won the Republican Primary, there has been little change in the race for Governor of Texas.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely Texas voters finds Perry with 48% support. His Democratic opponent, former Houston Mayor Bill White, picks up 44% of the vote, his best showing to date. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and six percent (6%) remain undecided.

A month ago, just after beating back Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s GOP Primary challenge, Perry led White 49% to 43%.

Any incumbent who earns less than 50% support at this stage of a campaign is considered potentially vulnerable.

Perry has hit 50% only once so far this year, in January just after White announced his candidacy.

Rick almost never broke 50 or even close during the primary and his biggest leads in the polls were usually in the low teens, but he ended up winning by 21 points and avoiding a primary...

Not to overanalyze here or put too much stock in this race actually tightening up... but the tax thing is the kind of attack that Kay made against Rick without success... while Rick bashed Kay on the issues all during the primary...

Tax returns and whether Bill White has released them is a critical issue... and I think it could be very damaging to Bill White if anyone ever wrote a media article about it... but what is going to sink Bill White is his liberal ideology and his Democratic activism, time spent in Washington, and closeness to Obama and Clinton...

Issues are what win elections, and people don't quite view "he has not released his tax returns" as a true issue... they view that as more of a personal matter in the same way voters rejected the "cronyism" tag Kay tried to put on Rick.

If Rick wants to surge into a lead, he should focus more on the issues and less on the weedy ethical cloud type of stuff. Let the party attack White on the ethics, and instead focus on drawing that distinction on the big issues of our time. Cap and trade, which Bill White said doesn't go far enough. Obamacare, an issue on which Bill White finds himself outside the 2/3 of voters who oppose it and want it repealed. Bill White said on camera that he wouldn't rule out raising taxes, and we have heard almost nothing from Rick's peeps about that. That is a missed opportunity if ever there was one. There are all kinds of issues that Rick's peeps should be hammering Bill White on, but they are focusing almost exclusively on the tax release thing.

Don't get me wrong... releasing his taxes is a nice hit... it may weave better into an overall leitmotif of scandal and corruption and shadiness that ties more to issues later on... but so far Rick's peeps have not been able to convince any of the press to write about this issue despite dozens of press releases about it and even a video or two...

Frankly I think that issue is sort of 2006... it isn't going to play as much this year. There is a general assumption that all politicians are a little crooked, a little shady, a little scandalous... I think the way to draw a distinction is to talk about the issues in ways that people understand...

The Rasmussen poll has all kinds of numbers that should give hope to Rick's peeps that they can crush Bill White...

These numbers for example...

Opposition to the just-passed national health care plan is even higher in Texas than it is nationally.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Texas voters favor repeal of the health care plan while just 28% are opposed.

These figures include 58% who strongly favor repeal and 23% who strongly oppose it.

Perry picks up 75% of the votes of those who strongly favor repeal. White gets 89% of the votes of the smaller group who are strongly opposed.

The incumbent who is seeking an unprecedented third term as governor holds a slight lead among male voters and breaks roughly even among women. Voters not affiliated with either party give Perry a modest five-point edge over White.

Rick is with 2/3 of Texas voters who want to repeal Obamacare... Bill White is for Obamacare... and Rick has a 5 point lead among independents... there are lots of issues out there on which Bill White is with the small minority of liberal Democrats and Rick is with the 2/3 or more of Texans. Rick and his peeps need to highlight those issues, and they will run away with this race and never look back.

Texas is a state made up of fired up Republicans, independents who are angry at Obama, and a small number of Democrats who have to be a little shell shocked after big victories in 2006 and 2008 and the subsequent dive bomb their Hope and Change has gotten them. I am predicting a low double digit win for Rick regardless of what any polls say between now and then... it's just shaping up to be that kind of year.

UPDATED at 10:27 (link)...

Rick's approval ratings are up near 60%...

Rick quietly making national endorsements...

I'll admit it. I follow all of Rick's various twitter accounts... well... some of them at least... and these endorsements he is making are going in under the radar screen (link). Excerpt follows...

The two-term governor on Friday endorsed state Sen. Tim Huelskamp in the Republican primary for Rep. Jerry Moran's (R-Kan.) seat, Huelskamp's camp announced.

Perry has also lent support to candidates in several high-profile races, including: former Rep. Scott McInnis (R), who's running for governor in Colorado, Sen. Scott Brown (R) during the Massachusetts special election and Conservative nominee Doug Hoffman during New York's 23rd House district special election last year.

I have not seen many of these endorsements... I think Rick made another endorsement of Ken Buck for senate in Colorado if I am told the correct information...

This primary thing really catapulted Rick into a much more prominent national role...

I wonder what other endorsements are on the way.