Would Kay turn back the clock on tort reform?

The Star Telegram sez (link)...

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas: $1,000; $1.4 million. Since 2005, the top five industries that have donated to Hutchison have been lawyers, retirees, oil and gas, miscellaneous finance and real estate. Her donations include those from self-employed doctors, healthcare managers, even the president of the Baylor Health Care System. Hutchison is running for governor next year.

Kay is getting a lot of money from lawyers... her no. 1 source of money in fact... this is troubling as a Republican who is pro tort reform... especially when tort reform is under attack right now...

I openly worry that she may not be as committed to tort reform as Rick is. I think if things got tough she would bail on us on this issue to avoid conflict...

Kay's vote for Hilda Solis coming back to haunt her...

Earlier this year Kay voted in favor of confirming her dear friend socialist Labor Secretary Hilda Solis (link).

Hutchison (R-TX), Yea

Now Hilda Solis... someone with tax problems who still got confirmed because of people like Kay voting for her... is meddling in Texas, putting a whole lot of new regulation schemes on us (link). Excerpt follows...

The U.S. Department of Labor has also beefed up enforcement in Texas. After Labor Secretary Hilda Solis questioned the state's worker safety record during a speech in San Antonio in June, the Labor Department dispatched extra inspectors to Texas from other states. The special initiative yielded a 60 percent increase in construction site inspections and an 85 percent increase in citations, according to Labor Department figures.

[SNIP]

Gov. Rick Perry, a frequent critic of Washington priorities, says the added federal enforcement is an "overreach" that isn't justified by Texas' improving air quality and enviable record of job creation. "It is alarming that Washington and this administration continue to overreach, increasingly dictating how states should run their business," Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle said. "Governor Perry believes Texas is the blueprint for success, and Washington should be following our lead instead."

If Rick's peeps were smart, they would capitalize on Kay's support for the controversial Hilda Solis and tie Kay to increased federal meddling into Texas. Kay voted for the woman who is now responsible for all of these new federal inspections in our state.

Rick's video about "Texas Succeeding"

GOP12 blog has Kay's new attack video and calls it "salient" (link).

Not really...

Here is what Kay doesn't get. Here's what a lot of people outside of Texas don't get.

Rick turned down hundreds of millions in strings-attached stimulus dollars and accepted the rest. That was never a question. Rick never said he was rejecting all of it, just that part... which was controversial enough...

Kay wanted Rick to take that extra 550 million with federal strings attached. She fell in the polls as soon as she started criticizing Rick for rejecting that portion of the stimulus. She still criticizes Rick on that point all the time to her detriment. I don't get why she keeps bringing that back up. As Rick's peeps have told me and I agree with, people should also keep in mind that Texas sends a lot more dollars to DC than it gets back in return, so Texas getting some stimulus dollars is really just Texas getting back a fraction of the dollars it has put in, after it has been skimmed and filtered and redistributed by DC along the way. Kay's ad has a lot of dubious claims that weaken the stronger points in the video. Rick's "Texas Succeeding" ad is a lot better because it is uplifting and makes you just want to scream and shout from the rooftops about how much you love Texas. At least that is what it did for me... as a multi generation Texan who misses home right now in a big way...

In the end Texans don't like candidates who talk bad about Texas, Our Texas, so Kay was at least smart enough to put a message at the beginning of her video saying that Texas is the greatest state in the nation. Finally she is admitting that after so many months of crapping all over Texas.

Kay seems to be staking her entire campaign on the TTC...

Kay seems to have staked her entire campaign on the TTC... similar to what "One Tough Grandma" did in 2006.

(link). Excerpt follows...

Hutchinson has yet to present her own plan but she says she wants to reform and expand a state transportation commission. Her campaign says she opposes toll roads unless local officials and voters agree to them, and they say she worked in the Senate to halt federally funded toll roads.

"It is time to return to our tradition of free, quality highways and roads," Hutchison said in kicking off her campaign last month. She calls the Trans-Texas Corridor "the biggest land grab in the history of Texas."

An interest group that opposes toll roads, Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, is looking closely at candidates from both parties, said its founder and direct, Terri Hall.

"Most of our supporters are well aware that we're in the anybody-but-Perry mode," Hall said. The group has not endorsed anyone in the governor's race, but a Democratic candidate, Hank Gilbert, is active in the group.

In arguing against state-orchestrated toll roads and for private property rights, Hutchison plays up her close ties to the Texas Farm Bureau, which opposes the toll road corridor. She sides with its stance on eminent domain, and pointed that out following Perry's veto of a property rights bill the bureau backed in 2007.

Perry, too, is trying to show he cares deeply about property rights, and earlier this year voiced support for a state constitutional amendment banning the government from taking private property and giving it to a developer to boost the local tax base.

This isn't the first time Perry has defended himself on toll roads in an election. Independent candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn unsuccessfully ran against Perry in 2006 by attacking his toll road project.

Strayhorn's campaign privately acknowledged at the time the strategy might help win over rural voters, but not the urban voters who are key to victory. And those are voters Hutchison will need in March.

Perry's spokesman equates Hutchison's toll roads complaints with Strayhorn's.

"It's almost identical," Miner said, "and it shows that criticism is not a solution."

Kay really needs to come out and explain her plans because otherwise she looks like an obstructionist without any ideas of her own. Republicans risk being backed into a corner as a bunch of "party of NO" regressives... and her opposition to private roads does smack of pandering and "Perry bad, me good" instead of an honest critique.

A few problems Kay has with this anti TTC theme is that first of all it did not work for Strayhorn in 2006. It helps maybe in rural areas but not in the suburbs and bigger cities where people want private roads and like private roads... Kay also has expressed support for similar projects with hi-speed trains which would also take land with eminent domain and require foreign companies to participate in the process.

The biggest thing with Kay is that she doesn't seem genuine in her attacks... it seems like an ad hoc line rather than something she really cares about. The second biggest thing is that Kay is basically saying she wants to pay for these necessary new roads some other way... if not private roads, then taxes are going up right? The third biggest thing is that this exposes the "Washington bad Texas good" argument as Texas only gets back a fraction of the money it sends to Washington for highways. It makes it easy for Rick to turn the tables on her if he chooses. "Why didn't she do a better job as a senator and get us enough money to build roads?"

For me... I live in a urban or really more suburban area and I would love to have a well developed network of big safe lanes free of tractor trailers to be able to zip from big city to big city... I also know a lot of critics of toll roads in the political arena secretly love to drive on them.

I bet Kay did a poll and saw this was one of Rick's vulnerabilities, but I also bet that most people just want to have some transportation options and don't want to sit around in traffic. If toll roads are the answer, I wish we could have a real discussion about them, instead of this ad hoc pandering and unserious demagoguery from a once serious senator.

Rick's endorsements... burying the hatchet...

Rick has grabbed some unlikely endorsements from some serious critics of his in the past... namely ultra conservative activists Cathie Adams of the Eagle Forum of Texas and Dr. Hotze of the Conservative Republicans of Texas.

Both have had outspoken criticisms of Rick in the past. Very outspoken. Both have endorsed Rick... early... showing just what an up hill climb Kay truly has if she can't even get these peeps on her side.

Here is what I am thinking. Rick has always been conservative, but when the entire state seems conservative without end, it enables conservatives to criticize our own guys for being less than pure on a few things. I do it all the time.

In 2010, we have to face up to the facts that we have redistricting coming up, so we need a strong personality with a proven track record of bucking the Democrats and doing the right thing for our party. We also have to look at our opportunities and our realities in front of us today... Rick is simply a proven conservative at the state level. Have I agreed with him 100% of the time? No. Have I agreed with him on 95% of things, and all of the big things? Yes.

As for Kay, I have disagreed with her a lot more, and she is just one of 100. If she becomes the chief executive officer of Texas I don't think we can trust her to really get in the dirt and fight when necessary. Her personality demands that she "work with the other side to find common ground" which is why she has been in favor of Democrat bills so much.

I think critics of Rick are seeing that there are two viable candidates, Rick and Kay... the others are unelectable. They see that he is by far the more conservative choice... he is a known commodity in a time when Texas is doing pretty well comparatively speaking... and he is someone who has "buried the hatchet" with conservatives in recent months and years.

I think this sort of shows how Kay just can't win this race, if she can't even get the "Anybody But Perry" types. Here is Dr. Hotze's burying the hatchet letter to his members earlier this year... and Rick's peeps announced his endorsement last week...

"Burying The Hatchet" To Advance Conservative Legislation Steven F. Hotze, M.D. January 23, 2009 Dear Fellow Conservatives : Harmonious relationships are essential to accomplishing goals. On Wednesday morning, January 14th, I met with Governor Rick Perry in his private office at the State Capitol in order to restore our relationship. Although Governor Perry and I havediffered on some issues in the past, it seemed essential for us to"bury the hatchet" and work together to advance conservative legislation in the 2009 Texas Legislature. Our meeting was very productive. We discussed the keylegislative goals that Conservative Republicans of Texas and other conservative leaders across Texas are committed to advancing during this legislative session . They are as follows: A bill requiring an ultrasound for women prior to abortion Reduction of property tax by instituting property appraisal caps which would limit property appraisals increases to 5% per annum Elimination of the business tax Legislation addressing voter identification and fraud These important conservative policies will produce a strong, positive impact upon the daily lives of Texas families . They will strengthen our economy and create jobs in the currenteconomic downturn. The Legislative Session runs through May 30, 2009, so time is short. Restoring broken relationships and working together for our shared goals is critical to success in this session. I praise God for His goodness in helping to restore this relationship, and I trust that He will bless our efforts in these next weeks and months. Stay tuned for important updates on these four key legislative issues. Conservative Republicans of Texas needs yourcontinued involvement in order to achieve the goal of passing these legislative initiatives. You have already had a tremendous impact through your contacting of the Texas State Senators, causing them to change the Blocker Rule. We mustcontinue to press ahead on all fronts. With much appreciation for your commitment to liberty, I remain, Sincerely yours, Steven F. Hotze, M.D. President, Conservative Republicans of Texas

Kay's peeps are seizing on his old statements to use them against Rick, but really all that shows is that if he felt so strongly about those issues yet still has chosen Rick over Kay, I think she is really in a lot more trouble than people realized earlier this year.

Texas War of the Roses

The War of the Roses (link). Excerpt follows...

This is a strange, uphill landscape for Hutchison, whom many Texans over the last decade had assumed could waltz into Austin about anytime she liked and claim the governorship. Think "coronation"; Hutchison was. Now it seems it will take a miracle. Think "parting the Red Sea."

Republican angst aside, it will be a great show, if only because you have a former University of Texas cheerleader, Hutchison, challenging a former Texas A&M yell leader, Perry. So, for some Texans, this is serious stuff, verging on blood sport. (The historically minded will recall that the last president from Texas, George W. Bush, who came to the White House from the Governor's Mansion, had been a cheerleader at both Andover and Yale.)

That leaves, observed Burnt Orange Report, a center-left Texas political blog, two cheerleaders "running against each other to see who can get the right-wing of the Republican Party to shout the loudest."

That's not a good spot for Hutchison, who despite her generally conservative votes and substantive legislative record in the Senate has always been somewhat suspect to the hard Right that now rules the Texas GOP.

The focus for many Republicans is Hutchison's refusal to call for overturning Roe v. Wade. That position favoring fundamental abortion rights cost Hutchison, back in 1982, a Republican primary runoff in a U.S. House race in Dallas. And it has haunted her periodically with the party's base.

That Hutchison has voted for all manner of abortion restrictions cuts little ice with the staunchest opponents of abortion. Her record "will never be pure enough to satisfy the hard-core conservatives on this issue," Houston Chronicle political blogger R.G. Ratcliffe wrote last week, as Perry won the endorsement of Texas Right to Life.

Hutchison also has supported legislation to expand research to additional lines of embryonic stem cells.

"Not only does Governor Perry defend the unborn, he has worked to stop destructive research on human embryos and other biotech assaults on human life," the anti-abortion group's president, Joseph Graham, said in its endorsement.

That blast was just part of Hutchison's long, hot summer. In the wake of a state legislative session, which kept the governor in the news and Hutchison on the sidelines, the senator has let Perry run up a lead. She trailed him by 4 percentage points in May, according to a Rasmussen poll. By last month, in the same survey, Perry had jumped in front by 10 points.

"Events are trending strongly in Perry's favor," blogged Texas Monthly's Paul Burka when the poll came out. "It's hard to beat an incumbent with 76% favorability and 74% job approval."

Kay is having a tougher time than anyone anticipated. I think this goes back to what a lot of us were saying... she has not been through tough battles. Rick has been through tough battles time and time again, while Kay has skated to easy victories over hapless no name Democrats...

Will a nasty primary tear the GOP apart, or will it bring energy to the party?

Harvey with another gem of a commentary, filled with liberal wishful thinking (link). Excerpts follow...

It doesn't matter whether Perry or Hutchison wins the primary. The loser and their supporters can expect punishment and political exile for years to come. The loser's supporters may well be so angry at the negative campaign run by the victor, they simply skip the November general election.

Democrats can already smell the Republican blood-letting which is why even low name ID folks are signing up hoping to capitalize on a Republican train wreck.

[SNIP]

But the Perry campaign demonstrated that it will use every nasty trick in its arsenal to beat Hutchison. Her team fully understands the terms of engagement and will no doubt soon play at the same level.

Given an unpleasant primary, a damaged Republican nominee and a divided party, a marquee Democratic name could find a target of opportunity.

Harvey Kronberg makes it sound as if Rick's pranks are the first attack in this race. The fact of the matter is that Kay is the aggressor in terms of going negative first. Kay has been attacking Rick for several months without enough response in my opinion from Rick's peeps, and I have documented her attacks here, so I am not just opining, I am stating fact... I and many others were getting annoyed with Rick's peeps for their lack of response to her continuous attacks, almost like he wasn't really running or something... so a few YCT collegiate pranks egged on by Rick's peeps during her announcement tour should not be considered some sort of unprecedented vicious thing...

One part of Harvey's wishful thinking that may be true is that this race will not be especially great for the eventual winner, who I believe will be Rick. He will have his name dragged through the mud, and people reminded about the same stupid attacks Carole made in 2006... in the end, it will be a big waste of time and money, except if Kay actually resigns and we can get a real conservative in there who actually does his or her job. If Kay does ever resign, she will probably lose to Rick and have to ride off into the sunset of retirement. If she doesn't resign and loses, then she is weakened, he is weakened, and the whole thing was a big waste.

One positive thing about contested primaries though as demonstrated by Obama and Hillary is that it does engage a lot of people and does bring a lot of people into the game who might have otherwise been on the sideline... competition, as they say, makes people better, and competition could end up helping Rick and Kay both define themselves in ways they may have avoided if a back room coronation had taken place instead.

So far... Rick is excelling at competition. Kay is overwhelmed by it.