* Texas (Move from Lean Republican to Toss Up): Former Houston Mayor Bill White (D) has more money in the bank than Gov. Rick Perry (R) and polling shows the contest close. It's still Texas in a good Republican year, which should help Perry, but White is running an effective campaign to capitalize on discontent directed at the incumbent.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Chris Cillizza is an idiot...
Friday, July 30, 2010
Current Texas Democratic Party Chairman says Obama's fundraiser will benefit former Dem Chairman Bill White...
''This is money from Texans, raised in Texas, that will remain here to help us return responsible leadership to state government," Richie said.
MEDIA SCANDAL... "moderate Republican" Dallas businessmen for Bill White as reported by the FWST...are Democrats...
So let's go in reverse order of the people mentioned by Dave Montgomery as business leaders (and moderate Republicans) for Bill White, according to the research I spent this morning doing in databases for federal races:
Tom and Sally Dunning. Sally Dunning is a prolific donor. By the records I checked, she had given 100% to Democrats. Her husband Tom had given even more prolifically, and about 95% of his hundreds of thousands of dollars went to Democrats.[SNIP]
Despite John Adams' spin, these "moderate Republicans" are actually not moderate Republicans. If they are, they are a very strange breed of moderate Republican that likes to give lots of money to Democrats.
In short, Bill White has the support of some Democrats who are Dallas businessmen. How exactly does that help him reach into conservative business circles and cross party lines?
Go read that entire blog on this... it is amazing that anyone could look at these Democrats who often give to Democrats and create a story out of it...
Javier Joven... I had a feeling that this guy was no "Republican" as the New York Times leads you to believe. Sure thing... he is not one. On Facebook, he is the favored choice of the Odessa Talk radio program, which is a liberal group. Mr. Joven also gets on this page and expresses his support for liberal talk radio (link)...
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?
More bashing of liberal Bill White from liberals...
...what in the name of Rush Limbaugh was White thinking last week, when he reacted to Barack Obama's upcoming visit to Texas by taking a page straight out of Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin's playbook?
[SNIP]
But wait, you say: Perhaps White is wise to avoid giving the Perry campaign the gift of a photo of the candidate grinning next to the Socialist Satan of the Potomac. There might be something to that—if, that is, White's people hadn't already given them that gift by running an ad in the Houston Defender around Juneteenth 2009, photoshopping White in between images of Martin Luther King Jr. and Obama (caption: "The Dream, The Hope, The Change"). If you haven't seen it, you will—again and again and again, with messages approved by Rick Perry.
What this whole sad episode of Obamaphobia seems to have revealed about White, as much as anything else, is his wrong-headed notion of what it's going to take for a Democrat to win statewide in Texas.
"It seems to me that White is using an outdated playbook on this one," says Ari Berman, political writer for The Nation and author of the forthcoming book, Herding Donkeys, which details the rise of grassroots politics in the Democratic Party—and the struggles of old-school Democrats to squash that effort.
"Perry is going to tie him to Obama anyway, so White might as well use Obama to try to take advantage of the changing demographics of the state," Berman adds. "It's true that White can't win without getting a substantial share of the swing white vote—independents, moderate Democrats and moderate Republicans—but he also can't win without a big Hispanic and black turnout and I'm assuming the president still has some juice left with those constituencies."
He does indeed. And the way Democrats have made breakthroughs in conservative "red" states like Texas in recent election cycles is to set aside the old "Republican Lite" strategy of Bill Clinton (and the late Sen. Lloyd Bentsen)—"I'm just like a Republican, but slightly less extreme"—and work like the dickens to expand the turnout of Latino, African-American and working-class voters who've been sitting home on Election Day.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Bill White got a fourth of his money from DC...
25 percent of the donations since Feb. 20 — about $1.8 million — came from contributors in Washington, D.C.
Perry, by contrast, got about 97 percent of his contributions from people and groups who listed Texas addresses. In a political cycle defined by anti-Washington sentiment, the Perry campaign has characterized White as a 'D.C.-insider,' taking any opportunity to associate him with President Barack Obama, whose popularity has declined in recent months.[SNIP]To be fair to White's campaign, $1 million came from the D.C.-based Democratic Governor's Association. Perry is expected to receive a similar contribution from the Republican Governor’s Association in August, if past precedent holds. Another $300,000 in White's report came from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, one of the largest unions in the country. The Service Workers International Union also donated $125,000 to White. Both are D.C. based.
Texas success becoming a national rallying cry for conservatives...
As we watched other large, populous states like California, Illinois, and New York fall into a heavy and stifling economic downturn, Texas managed to keep its head above water and avoid the deep recession that continues to grip most other states. The southern state has managed to maintain, all things considered, a sound economy due to one of the things Texans are so adamant about: limited government. The Weekly Standard describes the situation as follows: “a state known for size and excess has succeeded because of public policies that avoided excesses of big government overspending”.Even before the nation’s economy began to completely tank, it was predicted that Texas would stand to weather the storm better than others. Dale Craymer, chief economist of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, predicted back in 2008 that “if the nation gets the flu, [Texas is] going to get a bad cold,” ”If the nation gets a cold, [Texas will] get the sniffles.”This was exactly the case. Texas job growth, especially in the private sector, topped the nationwide average for the past decade. While most of the nation saw major net growth in government jobs, Texas continued to follow an economic policy that encouraged capital investment and job creation—helping to lessen the affects of this nasty recession without the help of a massive and essentially useless stimulus bill. Its unemployment rate has consistently remained solidly below the national rate throughout the recession.But for what other reasons has Texas fared better? In a nutshell, the explanation is in the way it views the role of government. The governor of Texas (and former President Bush’s successor) Rick Perry explained that “in Texas, we have long based our approach on individual liberty and initiative, believing that families, entrepreneurs and individual citizens deserve the opportunity to strive and succeed — with minimal government interference.”
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Very cool... Rick says your name...
Kinky weighs in...
One other little word of advice, Rick. That great line you told the tea party folks the other day, what was it? “If Nancy Pelosi gets one more face-lift she’ll be wearing a beard”? If that’s what it was, that’s a crowd-pleaser, dude! Keep it in the act. The public’s memory is short. Keep railing against Washington and they may forget you live in Austin.
And now it’s time to meet Mr. Bill, which is not like meeting most other politicians; indeed, it is almost like encountering another human being. There is no overly sincere, unctuous, talonlike handshake that always lasts a little longer than you’d like it to. Instead of a penetrating, political stare, Bill may, at times, seem to be peering furtively over your shoulder as if he were trying to establish eye contact with a unicorn. You should not be alarmed by this. Someone who isn’t a slick candidate might just emerge to be a strong leader. We live in hope.
[SNIP]
Ann Richards once told me at a long-ago Democratic fundraiser, “Bill White reminds me of a talking penis.” She was smiling when she said that. She really did like you, Bill. You see, you can make your lack of hair work for you. You can beat it to death, and the public will love you for it. Have fun with this, Bill. Trust me.
Yeah... Kinky was never elected for a reason...
What are they reading?
Gov. Rick Perry:
The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan By Eric Blehm
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa By E. B. Sledge
Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific By RV Burgin
The Bible
New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America by Burton Folsom
Former Houston Mayor Bill White:
Brian Holden Reid -- America's Civil War -- The Operational Battle Field
This is a book written by a British military historian about tactics and strategy during battles in the first three years of the civil war. Unlike some American accounts, it places a lot of emphasis on the strategic decisions by both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, each of whom had strong views about how the war should be conducted.
Larry McMurtry -- Books: A Memoir
This book is a compilation of essays by Larry McMurtry about a lifetime of collecting and selling books, his reading, and the process of writing. Quite a bit of it is about Texas.
George Lewis Crocket -- Two Centuries in East Texas
This 1932 book describes the early history of East Texas, particularly the area in around St. Augustine County. The book was given to me out a collection of Otis Carroll in Tyler.
Michael Lewis -- The Big Short
This is a story about how those who packaged and sold sub-prime loans, bringing the U.S. financial system to the brink of catastrophe. It focuses on those who recognized early what was coming, whose warnings went unheeded.
The Trail Drivers of Texas (compiled and edited by J. Marvin Hunter)
This is a collection of the oral histories of cowboys who took cattle to market during the 25 or so years before extensive fencing and the extension of rail lines into Texas. It was first printed in 1924 and reprinted in 1985 by the U.T. Press.
Gordon S. Wood -- Empire of Liberty
History of the United States, 1789-1815, by one of America's greatest living historians.
Bill White must be a fast reader, because he didn't list the liberal book he bragged about reading... authored by Akhil Amar (link). Excerpt follows...
I am going to bed reading Akhil Amar's excellent book The Bill of Rights.
Akhil Amar is a liberal legal scholar with some controversial ideas... I wonder what part of the book Bill White found to be "excellent" anyway? The part about how people like Rick are crazy racists for clinging to the Tenth Amendment? Maybe R.G. Ratcliffe or some other intrepid journalist will ask him about it. Nah... because that would not be beneficial to Bill White... so don't expect anyone in the news media to challenge him on it...
Bill White is not a work horse or a show horse...
"I'm a workhorse not a showhorse. We need that in Texas right now" - @billwhitefortx in Trinity
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Bill White turns down a shot gun gift...
Afterward, White said he doesn't keep gifts of significant value that are given to him during his political campaigns and "will have to find something appropriate to do with it."Boothe said he understands if White doesn't keep the gift. "It's OK," he said. "It makes me respect him if that's what he has to do."
A liberal finally explains the ranking situation properly...
How can Texas rank last in the nation — 51st — in the percentage of adults with high school diplomas, and simultaneously rank 22nd in the percentage attending at least some college?[SNIP]The leading factor driving down the state’s rankings has little to do with the quality of public schools and everything to do with the rapid rate of immigration, said Alan Berube, senior fellow and research director at Brookings, a left-leaning policy think-tank.
Many Mexican and Latin American immigrants “came to Texas as adults. They didn’t come there to finish high school. They came there to work. So that depresses the indicator,” Berube says. Further, the wide gap between high school and college attainment indicates a relatively large percentage of Texans who do complete high school go on to college, with many graduating, he says.
The same trends can be seen in California — the other huge state with rapid growth in immigration — with an even more severe spread between high school and college attainment. The sunshine state ranked 49th in high school attainment, yet 15th and 16th, respectively, in the percentage of adults with bachelor’s and graduate degrees.
In the Pink mocks AP's credibility... I think...
Why is Rick Perry helping to arm rebels in Africa by selling off property in Horseshoe Bay?
Not that Doug Jaffe isn’t interesting in his own right. The Morning News says he did business with the government of Nicolae Ceausescu, communist dictator of Romania, and Samuel Doe, president of Liberia. Why does Rick Perry want to turn Texas into a communist dictatorship by selling off property in Horseshoe Bay?
Forget about the land deal. That’s just a red herring. Horseshoe Bay is about to become the resort of choice for heavily armed violent dictators, who may or may not pee in the pool.
Texas Republicans greeting Obama "warmly"...
Plans still were being firmed up, but one fund-raiser is to benefit the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Its location has been a moving target. An event to raise money for the Democratic National Committee has been penciled in for Austin, with entry ranging from $5,000 for an individual ticket to $30,400 per couple for VIP seating and a photo with Obama, according to an e-mail from a public affairs consultant. The DNC could share part of its take with the state party.
The consultant's e-mail said, "We must stand with President Obama and ensure that he has the support in Congress necessary to lead the county. And some of the proceeds will remain in Texas to help elect Democrats in Texas, including Bill White as our next governor."
The idea that the Democratic fund-raiser might help the Democrat running for Texas governor was fresh meat for Perry's camp, which went into press-release overdrive at first mention of Obama's visit.
Perry's camp called White and Obama "joined at the hip"; scoffed at White's dismissal of celebrity endorsements by noting that he got former President Clinton's support; and dredged up a 2009 ad in which White's picture appeared with those of Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. under the words The Dream (King), The Change (Obama) and The Hope (White). White, then Houston mayor, said at the time that he hadn't seen the ad.
Democrats said what's important are issues like education and insurance rates.
"This race is about Rick Perry's record ... not about whether or not Bill White goes to a fund-raiser," said Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston.
Texas Republicans are planning a special "welcome" when President Barack Obama comes to the Lone Star State on Aug. 9 to raise money for Democratic candidates. But don't look for red carpets and rousing fanfare.
Details are still being worked on, but Texas Republican Party spokesman Bryan Preston said the "welcome" will likely be a rally designed "to send him a message once again -- since he hasn't gotten it yet -- to keep his hands off our state."
Republicans, led by Gov. Rick Perry, have pilloried Obama's administration on a litany of issues, from healthcare to environmental policy. Obama failed to carry Texas in his 2008 race against Republican John McCain and fares poorly in Texas public opinion surveys.
A Rasmussen Reports poll in mid-July showed that 37 percent of Texas voters approve of how Obama is doing his job, compared with 63 percent who disapprove. That's below his national approval ratings.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White has no plans to join Obama during his brief fundraising mission and will concentrate on his efforts to unseat Perry, White spokeswoman Katy Bacon says. "Bill's focus in August is meeting Texas voters and raising money for the governor's race," Bacon said.
Details about Obama's Texas trip -- his third as president -- are still sketchy, but plans include an Austin fundraiser sponsored by the Democratic National Committee.
HUGE... Bill White lied about having sheriff endorsements... they really endorsed Rick's campaign...
In an attempt to one-up Perry, White claimed endorsements from "10 of the 15 sheriffs whose county lines touch the border" with Mexico.
The problem was, two of the sheriffs White said are backing him signed statements of support for the Republican incumbent: Zavala County Sheriff Eusebio Salinas and Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr.
"I'd like to know who put me on that Bill White list. It isn't right," Salinas said. "I'm only on Rick Perry's."
Significant departure
White spokeswoman Katy Bacon insisted Gonzalez was a White supporter, but Perry's campaign provided a signed statement of support from Gonzalez.
The campaign's news release also included a quote from Gonzalez: "Texas could have no better person at the helm of its government than Governor Perry."
Gonzalez was at the Texas Sheriff's Association convention in Fort Worth and could not be reached for comment Monday.
White edges Perry in support from border sheriffs
Democrat picks up backing from at least 8 sheriffs; incumbent says 10 on his team
Bill White risking losing his base?
Just last year, White bought a newspaper ad picturing him and Obama under the headline, “The Dream. The Hope. The Change.” This year, he’s expected to buy a newspaper ad picturing him and Ronald Reagan under the headline, “Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.” OK, fine. So White’s running in a red state where the president isn’t exactly popular. But isn’t this going just a bit too far?
“There are some people, including me, who believe that the president is spending a lot more money than we’re taking in, is spending too much money in Washington,” White said. “I don’t believe in borrowing so much money. When I served as the chief operating officer of a federal department, I cut the budget. And now you see the budgets of other Cabinet departments go up.” I don’t get it. Does he think he’s going to gain Republican votes by spewing this kind of rhetoric? Isn’t he instead alienating the Democrats supporting him who overwhelmingly voted for that silly “community organizer”?
However, it’s important to note that White does have a scheduling conflict. When Obama’s raising money for him, White will be at the Johnson County Fair.
OH MY GOD. Dude. He’s the leader of your party, not to mention your commander-in-chief. Show some respect.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Looks like Bill White may have egg on his face... claiming endorsement he did not have...
UPDATE (4:10 p.m.): The Perry campaign sent us signed endorsement cards from the Zapata and Zavala sheriffs. We haven't heard back from the White campaign.
Rick and Bill White both claiming endorsements from same peeps...
* Both Perry and White claim endorsements in Zapata and Zavala. We're trying to sort it out.
Bill White needs moderate women... so why is he attacking Rick on anti cancer vaccines?
Jeff Hewitt, a Democratic consultant, says White would have to take advantage of those feelings, focus attention on the suburbs outside of Dallas and Houston and try to appeal to moderate Republican women in East Texas.
Democrats are hoping to attract Republicans who did not vote for Perry in past elections. They will try to target voters who preferred independent candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn in 2006 or U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison this year during the Republican primary.
Hewitt says moderate Republican women are important because they are more willing to switch parties than men if they are not satisfied.
“He has to flip some moderate Republican women to win. End of story,” he says. “If he just gets the typical Democrat vote and they get the typical Republican vote, he loses, no doubt about it.”
Hewitt says the strategy to oust Perry is not far-fetched after drops in housing values, increases in unemployment, a projected budget shortfall and a rise in college tuition costs.
“Moderate Republicans are going to say 'why not? Could it get any worse? Why not give him a shot?” Hewitt says.
Voter ID... Bill White opposes requiring identification to vote...
Voter identification
The discussion over voter identification is one in which Democrats and Republicans in Texas rarely agree. Republicans say it will help prevent voter fraud. Democrats believe it is a way to dissuade minorities, seniors and low-income voters from casting ballots. On whether to support voter-identification legislation:
Gov. Rick Perry: Has supported bills that would require voters to show identification at election sites. He has said he will push for voter-identification legislation to pass next session. Argues that Texans already need a valid identification to drive and get on a plane, so they should also need one to vote.
Democrat Bill White: Believes there is not enough evidence to support claims that voter fraud is caused by a lack of identification at the polls. He does not support a voter law that would infringe on the rights of citizens without identification to vote.
Bill White tries to cover up his anti gun views... tries to have it both ways...
when the former Houston mayor was part of a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the group publicly listed him among opponents of the amendment.
Now federal law, the Tiahrt Amendment said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives cannot release information from its firearms trace database to anyone other than a law enforcement agency or prosecutor in connection with a criminal investigation, and that information cannot be used in a civil lawsuit.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which White was a part of until last year, opposed the measure. In fact, White’s name appeared on a couple of public declarations of opposition.
The first was this March 2007 open letter to Congress.
The second was this June 2007 ad in USA Today opposing the amendment.
There is also some dispute about when White quit the group. His campaign has said previously that he quit on July 21, 2009, the day that Mayors Against Illegal Guns ran an ad in USA Today opposing the Thune Amendment. But earlier this year, a spokesman for the group told the American-Statesman that he resigned July 28, which was the day after John Sharp, then running against White for the U.S. Senate, criticized White for being part of the mayors’ group.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wait... so Rick bought some property in 2000 and sold it for a profit in 2007?
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Black Texans not happy with Bill White...
Does it make you long for those days during MLK day when Mayor White wanted to be right there smack dab in the middle of Dr. Martin Luther King and President Obama. That picture appeared in the African American weekly newspaper The Houston Defender. I guess those days are long gone!
Rick unplugged at the RGA...
When five Republican governors took the stage in the Aspen Institute’s Doerr-Hosier building Thursday, it was easy to see that Texas Gov. Rick Perry was sporting the biggest attitude.Fun stuff... does Rick talk this way in front of Texas reporters? Do they just not report it?
Perry, who was lieutenant governor in 2000 when George W. Bush left for the White House and is now seeking a third term, was wearing jeans, a black sports jacket and a black T-shirt reading “Marshall Law has been declared.”
Perry explained that “Marshall Law” is the name of a Texas country-music band and he was giving the band a little national exposure at the Aspen Institute.
“They told me I couldn’t wear the one that said ‘Secede,’” Perry quipped before serving up a big plate of Texas-style Republican red meat for the audience, many of whom were in Aspen to attend a Republican Governors’ Association fundraising event.
Perry, 60, is the financial chairman of the governors’ association and if he wins re-election in November against Houston Mayor Bill White, he’s likely to find his name on many short lists of potential Republican nominees for president in 2012.
During Thursday’s event Perry was asked what he thought about Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Bobby Jindall signing into a law a bill that allows people to carry concealed weapons into churches.
Perry seemed to relish the question about guns, saying “It’s one of my favorite subjects.”
“I’m a big believer that most of us out there are sheep,” Perry told the audience. “And we go about our business and we want to be left alone and we’re pretty comfortable. And there are some people out there that are wolves, that take advantage of the sheep.
“And I’m a big believer, in all across this country, that we need a few sheepdogs. And one of the ways that you’re a sheepdog is to have a concealed weapon — be trained appropriately, have the correct type of background — and if you’ve done those things, you should be able to carry your concealed weapon anywhere.”
Perry, a former Air Force pilot, is also clear on where he stands on securing the 1,200-mile long border that Texas shares with Mexico. He wants 3,000 more border patrol agents and over 1,000 National Guard troops along the Texas border between Brownsville and El Paso.
“The way that you secure the border with Mexico is with boots on the ground,” Perry said.
The Obama administration announced Thursday that Texas agencies would get $17 million more in federal funding this year for border enforcement as it relates to smuggling and terrorism.
But Perry said the immigration issue won’t be solved until there is a Republican president and a Republican Congress.
“Because I don’t see this administration as going to do anything other than to leverage it as a political issue, and try to make this about being racism when the fact of the matter is it has nothing to do with racism and has everything to do with about securing the border and the safety of the citizens on both side of that border,” Perry said.
And Perry also wants to see more high-tech solutions used, including predator drones flying above the border to give real-time information to law enforcement.
Once the border is secure, Perry said he would give illegal residents a year to register with the government, give their biometric identification information, and then check in once a year for a new work permit until they’ve become citizens.
“The ones that have a record, the ones that are bad actors, the ones that are not over here just looking for work and to help their family, they’re not going to go register,” Perry said. “And we will find them. We will find them.”
He also said, “I totally respect and understand what they are doing in Arizona.”
Gov. Perry said border violence is increasing in Texas to the point where bullets from Mexico hit the city hall dome in El Paso recently.
“It is going to spill over into the United States,” Perry said of the border violence. “I’m going to be a very pissed-off governor when the American people get killed by terrorists because our federal government continues to fail to do their job.”
When asked about Iraq and Afghanistan, Perry said, “I think Iraq is a great example of how you can go in and develop a democracy in a part of the world where democracy is very much needed,” and that, “Afghanistan is going to be a very, very long, tedious, expensive and bloody process.”
And sounding like a candidate for national office, Perry also said he wanted to “to make a very important statement” to the Aspen Institute crowd.
“This administration and the way they have treated the great democracy in the Middle East — Israel — is an absolute affront to democracies all across the world,” Perry said.
Perry ended his remarks in Aspen with ominous warning.
“I think we’re fixin’ to go through a very, very difficult time as a country,” Perry said. “There’s no use sugar-coatin’ it. We’re fixing to have some of the hardest decisions and difficult decisions to be made all across this country. There are going to be things happening over the next five years that you’re gonna sit back and say ‘Dang, I didn’t think that could ever happen before.’ But to save this country, it’s gonna have to.”
Friday, July 23, 2010
This promise to live in a double wide trailer...
“In my Texas, my wife and I are going to live in a double-wide trailer,” White said.
Rick's peeps call Bill White a liar....
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Bill White is a re run of Kay's strategy is all he's got...
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Should Perry have spurned stimulus money?
posted by paulburka at 11:49 AM
I don’t get it. White has been criticizing Perry for taking more stimulus funding than any state except California and New York. Is this a bad thing? White is a Democrat. Democrats want to use government to help people. Money helps people. Had White been governor, would he have told mothers receiving child support that he wasn’t accepting $27.3 million in federal funds for child support enforcement? Would he have rejected $2.1 million to compensate victims of serious crimes? Would he have snubbed $9 million for women who are victims of violence? Would he have struck $2 million for a nutritional program that provides home-delivered meals to seniors? Or $27.6 million in supplemental nutrition assistance for food stamp recipients? Or $1.58 billion for road and bridge construction? One and a half billion dollars is a lot of jobs.
It looks to me that White is falling into the same error that Perry’s opponents always make: They hate Perry so much that they want to make him out to be a bad person, not just a bad governor. White is apparently trying to make some obscure point that Perry is not really a fiscal conservative, or that he is really a creature of Washington. Give it up. It’s not going to work. In the meantime, White ends up looking silly, because everybody knows that if White had been governor, he would have jumped at the money. What’s more, we would be in a much worse budget situation today if Perry hadn’t done so.
I realize that there is a separate issue over whether state budget writers used the stimulus funds wisely, or whether they used money that was intended for one purpose to achieve another purpose. That’s an argument for another day. There should be no dispute over whether Texas is better off because Perry took $12 billion or so in stimulus dollars. It is. So why is White trying to make an issue of something that serves beneficiaries of government programs–his own constituency?
Obama's fundraisers benefit Bill White... it sez so right on the invite....
An invitation to a fundraiser that President Barack Obama has tentatively scheduled in Austin next month says that the event will benefit the Texas Democratic Party and gubernatorial nominee Bill White as well as the Democratic National Committee.
But White, who's challenging Republican Governor Rick Perry in the November general election, isn't planning to attend the Obama fundraiser in Austin or another one in Houston the same day because his own calendar is already booked.
[SNIP]
"It is crucial that the DNC has adequate funding to withstand the withering negativity and distortions about this record," Hildreth said. "We must stand with President Obama and ensure that he has the support in Congress necessary to lead the country. And some of the proceeds will remain in Texas to help elect Democrats in Texas, including Bill White as our next governor."
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Political jiujitsu... Rick wants to meet Obama to talk border security...
Perry says he wants to meet with Obama on border security
Gov. Rick Perry said today that he would like to meet with President Obama when he is in Texas on Aug 9 and talk about border security issues. Obama is set to be in the state for Democratic fund raisers in Austin and Houston.
Interesting... this whole Obama coming to Texas to raise money for Bill White situation is a win win for Rick...
Guess who is funding the anti-Rick ads?
HOUSTON — Texas conservatives will forever hold a special place in their hearts for 2003. Republicans took control of the Legislature that year, cut state spending and restricted jury awards in lawsuits.
But 2003 made Steve Mostyn angry. The Houston trial lawyer looked at how the new regime approached state government and saw children losing state-funded health insurance, college tuition increasing and, yes, barriers at the courthouse.
"It burned a hole in me pretty deep," Mostyn said.
Mostyn has responded in the years since by giving money to Democratic candidates. And giving and giving. In the past couple of election cycles, Mostyn (pronounced MOSS-tin) and his wife, Amber Anderson Mostyn, have become perhaps the most important donors in the Texas Democratic Party.
Already this year, the couple and their law firm have contributed more than $2 million to candidates and political groups, mostly to Democrats. The Mostyns, both 39, have quickly joined a handful of Democratic donors, usually trial lawyers, who can step into a legislative race and match business interests on the Republican side dollar-for-dollar.
This year, for the first time, they are heavily engaged in the governor's race as well. Mostyn said he has put more than
$1 million into a new political action committee named Back to Basics , which has pestered Gov. Rick Perry with two television ads in the past month. The Mostyns gave more than $500,000 to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White or the Democratic Governors Association, a national group helping White, and Anderson Mostyn will soon launch a group that she says will back candidates based on their support for public education.
Ambulance chaser...
What a waste of money...
What is the primary function of government?
Katy Bacon, White’s spokeswoman, said the hiring of foreign nurses shows the state has failed to educate enough Texans for the jobs. That's a Perry issue “since he's the leader of state government, and the primary function of state government is education," Bacon said. "The buck stops at his desk.”
“I wouldn’t do across-the-board cuts — education needs to be the top priority,” he said.
Strange video... Bill White and a 16 year old girl...
Monday, July 19, 2010
Them's fightin' words... Rick gets feisty on Bill White's ethics scandals...
Regarding White, Perry said he believes the former Houston mayor is hiding shady dealings from his past.
"Just this last weekend, we find out he's lying about making money off of Frontera," Perry said, referring to Sunday's Dallas Morning News story on the connection. "He needs to be honest with the people of this state. There's something in his records he doesn't want people to know and until he releases them, I refuse to be on stage with him during a debate. It's that simple."
Bill White tells Lubbock he is against tougher immigration policies...
As indicated by their questions, several people viewed immigration reform — especially Arizona’s controversial illegal immigrant ID law — as a top priority.
White, who opposes Arizona’s law and similar proposals for Texas, called for “more boots on the ground” on the Texas-Mexico border. But, he said, immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.
“The federal government has dropped the ball for a long time on immigration,” he said. “Rick Perry has been ineffective with the federal government at getting the resources that we need to protect the border.”
Lubbock resident Jon Bruegel was looking for a more specific answer from White.
“Are you willing to crack down on businesses that hire illegal aliens?” he asked.
White again explained he believes immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, with such decisions being made by the state’s U.S. congressmen and senators. As an example, White said he wouldn’t ask local law enforcement officers in Lubbock to protect the border.
“And if you told me we need to have more state people respond to 911 calls, I would say ‘call your mayor,’ ” he said.
Bruegel questioned White about what the state’s responsibility and limitations are in prosecuting illegal immigrants and their employers.
White stressed a need for the federal government to continue what he described as its traditional role of protecting the border and enforcing immigration laws, but admitted a lawyer with expertise in constitutional law would be better able to provide a more clear answer about state versus federal responsibility.
After about five more minutes of discussion with the audience, White left the room. One White supporter wasn’t satisfied with the nature of Bruegel’s questions.
“You’re a plant,” she told Bruegel in a face-to-face confrontation.
Carrie Taylor, a self-described lifelong Democrat, said she recognized Bruegel as being a Lubbock-area Republican Party activist.
“Just don’t try to act like you’re a member of the Democratic Party,” she said. “You don’t even intend to vote for him.”
Bruegel, admitting his involvement with the Republican Party, said it was his right to attend the rally.
“He could potentially be my governor and you don’t want me to ask him a question?” he asked her.
Election
By revmred | 07/18/10 - 03:39 pmNot sure who to vote for, but now a little concerned about White. Seems like from this article, that in the mind of Mr. White and his staff, that if you are not a democrat that you are worthless, not worth the time or effort and have no voice or right to ask questions. The gentleman (Bruegel) was not singled out for asking unnecessary questions, for being rude, or disrespectful, only for being a Republican. WOW in the Gov.White Texas if you are not a democrat you will have no right to ask questions is that really what we want in a leader for our state??
Gov. Rick Perry absolutely demolished Democratic challenger Bill White in campaign funds raised from donors identifying as coming from Lubbock. Perry posted $81,459 raised since February to White's $2,027.
Rick playing the immigration issue well...
A famous Texas political aphorism declares that "there is nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos." But now, in Texas, who should be striding down the middle of the wide highway of state politics but the most successful Lone Star pol today: Gov. Rick Perry. The Republican, who not too long ago conjured up visions of a militarized border, appeared before a crowd of 1,800 members of the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights organization, and declared that the Arizona immigration law — the darling of voluble members of the right — was not a good "fit" for Texas. He drew thunderous applause.
Bill White caught lying about his shady foreign business deals...
DALLAS — Democratic candidate for governor Bill White, in his first public acknowledgment, has confirmed that he has made a profit from his investment in an oil exploration company he founded that ran into financial trouble after a central Asian republic demanded more of the revenue from its field.
In a story in Sunday's edition of The Dallas Morning News, the former Houston mayor confirmed that he has made $1.7 million in capital gains and $1.1 million in net profit from the sale of more than 1.4 million shares of Houston-based Frontera Resources over a four-year period beginning in 2006. He still owns almost 96,000 shares, but resigned his chairmanship in 2001.
During his 2003 mayoral run, he told the Houston Chronicle that he hadn't "made a penny" on his investment in the oil and gas exploration company he founded in 1996. "I have some stock, but it is so subordinated to the other interests that I am told that it has little or no economic value."
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Texas unemployment rate drops...
Texas Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.2 Percent in June
Texas employers add 166,100 jobs since January
AUSTIN —Texas seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 8.2 percent in June, down from
8.3 percent in May, and continued to trend well below the U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of
9.5 percent for the same month. Texas total nonagricultural employment grew by 14,000 jobs in June for a total of 166,100 jobs gained since the beginning of 2010.
“Texas employment has grown every month in 2010,” said Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Chairman Tom Pauken. “Notably, Texas employers in goods producing industries added jobs in the month of June, which included gains in Manufacturing, Construction, and Mining and Logging.”
The Education and Health Services industry recorded the highest increase in June, with 8,900 jobs added, followed by Professional and Business Services, which increased by 8,600 jobs.
“While I am encouraged by the decrease in the Texas unemployment rate, times are tough for Texas workers and their families,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Ronny Congleton. “Job seekers should turn to WorkInTexas.com and our workforce centers across Texas for reemployment and support services.”
In June, Manufacturing added 5,700 jobs, Construction grew by 4,800 jobs, and Mining and Logging increased by 2,900 jobs. Employment in the Trade, Transportation and Utilities industry was up by 3,000 jobs, and Information added 800 jobs.
“Seven industries added jobs in June including Professional and Business Services, Manufacturing, and Construction – that’s positive news for Texans seeking new opportunities,” said TWC Commissioner Representing the Public Andres Alcantar. “TWC and the 28 local workforce boards are committed to helping job seekers find these opportunities, and to helping employers with an array of services they need to run their businesses.”
The Midland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 5.9 percent. The Amarillo MSA had the second lowest unemployment rate in June at 6.0 percent, followed by the Lubbock MSA at 6.7 percent (not seasonally adjusted).