Politex

He's just gonna watch

Whether it's called "The Patterson Pox" or the "Jerry Jinx," the Texas land commissioner doesn't want it to strike again. At least not anytime soon.

Jerry Patterson, left, says he'll be watching the rest of the Republican presidential primary season from the sidelines now that that his first choice, Fred Thompson, has fizzled out. Patterson tells PoliTex that unlike Gov. Rick Perry, who embraced John McCain once Rudy Giuliani bailed, that he has no Plan B.

"I don't intend to endorse," Patterson said. "Look what it did for the last guy!"

He did hold open the prospect of rejoining the battle once the Republican nominee is selected.

-- John Moritz

Update your scorecards

Joe Paniagua, a longtime assistant city manager who narrowly missed the cut to become Fort Worth city manager, has been named a sort of first-among-equals at city hall, according to a city  news release. City Council members were openly tearful when Paniagua was passed over for the job, and both the outgoing city manager, Charles Boswell, and the the new city manager, Dale Fissler, spoke highly of him at Tuesday's council meeting.

-- Mike Lee

Sounds like great news — but is it really?

According to a press release Thursday from the Texas Public Utility Commission, electric customers in Houston ”will save more than $109 million in costs over the next 12 years” because of relatively low bond rates associated with a type of financing known as securitization.

The press release notes that the rates are the lowest since electric deregulation began in Texas.

“Securitization will reduce electricity costs by millions of dollars in the CenterPoint service area,” said PUC chairman Barry Smitherman, referring to city's transmission utility. “These savings are possible through the ... leadership of the Texas Legislature in making necessary changes in the law to help electric customers.”

But not mentioned by Smitherman or the PUC is that also thanks to the Texas Legislature, customers in Houston’s CenterPoint Energy territory are on the hook for more than $2 billion in so-called "stranded costs," which are related to big ticket utility investments.

Again, that's $2 billion. With a B.

Geoffrey Gay, a municipal attorney with expertise in utility matters, said the PUC is crowing about savings that are a “drop in the bucket” when compared to the unfair stranded costs borne by Houston residents.

“While technically correct, the news release is misleading in that consumers are disadvantaged because of the path that Texas has followed — consumers (in Houston) would be far better off had they not paid stranded costs,” said Gay, who represents various north Texas municipalities before the regulatory agency.

The stranded costs in Houston are a function of the Texas electric deregulation law, which was adopted by state lawmakers in 1999. Because of a deal between city attorneys and TXU in 2000, residents in north Texas pay no stranded costs.

"It's particularly offensive to ratepayers to suggest that securitization is a benefit, when it is a means by which stranded costs are recovered," said Gay.

The PUC release notes that the securitization savings in Houston are the result of House Bill 624, which was approved by the Texas Legislature in 2007. The new law allows the expanded use of securitization only if there is a benefit for customers, according to the PUC.

-- R.A. Dyer

Cowtown bound

The Texas Libertarian Party is coming to Fort Worth in June for its state convention, setting up shop at the Radisson Hotel Fossil Creek June 13-15.

According to a news release from party HQ in Austin, more than 200 candidates are seeking the Libertarian nomination for a variety of offices up and down the November ballot.

"Unlike the Republican and Democratic parties, which nominate their candidates with primaries, the LPT will nominate its candidates in conventions," the release says. "Chapter 181 of the Texas Election Code describes the procedure for parties that nominate with conventions, while Chapters 171-174 govern parties that nominate with primaries -- currently just the Republicans and Democrats."

-- John Moritz

Tyson Group Branching Out

A local Democratic political consulting firm is hoping an ex-blogger can compete with the political big dogs in Washington, D.C.

The Tyson Group of Fort Worth is expanding by opening an office in the nation's capital. Their new man in Washington? Byron LaMasters, founder of the Burnt Orange Report blog.

LaMasters was a student at UT in Austin when he started BOR. It's now a leading web site for Democrats in Texas.

After graduating, LaMasters left Austin and the blog for Fort Worth to work for Gerry Tyson.

The company has become known for handling phone banks for local and national Democratic campaigns including John Edwards for President 2008 (presumably now a former client).

-Aman Batheja

Austin, Round Rock and Toledo

Austin and Round Rock have been added to the Department of Homeland Security's list of cities at high risk of a terrorist attack. Also added on the list: Toledo, Ohio. We don't know why. Here's the AP report.

-- Richard Stubbe

Post-Rudy Perry signs on with John McCain

Texas Gov. Rick Perry joined the John McCain bandwagon this afternoon, following the path blazed by Rudy Giuliani, his first choice in this year's GOP presidential sweepstakes.

On Wednesday, Giuliani dropped his own bid for the White House and endorsed McCain after finishing a poor third in the Florida primary the day before. Perry stumped for the former New York mayor both in Florida and in Iowa to no avail.

But the governor and McCain are not strangers. Perry and the Arizona senator made a joint appearance in Houston in April 2006 for something of a dog-and-pony show on how Texas handled the back-to-back storms of Katrina and Rita the previous summer.

The visit prompted speculation that maybe McCain was conducting an early interview for possible running mates in 2008. He was then, and is again, the GOP frontrunner. But McCain downplayed any notion that his Texas visit was tied to any election-year jockeying.

"When we two get together, we never talk politics. Never," McCain said at the time with a broad smile.

No immediate word on when they'll meet again.

-- John Moritz and Jay Root

No problems so far

The new border security rules kicked in this morning -- you can't just tell the immigration officers that you're a citizen. Instead, those 19 and older will have to show a passport, trusted traveler card or a birth certificate and government-issued ID such as a driver's license.

No problems so far with the new rules, according to this AP report. And if you're wondering why the sign above the stop sign is in French, it's because this station is in Highgate Springs, Vermont, across the border from Quebec, where French is what they speak.

On the Mexico border, everything is going smoothly as well. With probably less French.

-- Richard Stubbe

Around the state Thursday

Who backed that horse?
Gardner Selby of the Austin American-Statesman points out that Gov. Perry is not the only one who's had his presidential candidate fall out of the race in the past few days. Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson was backing Fred Thompson, and Dallas lawyer Fred Baron was supporting John Edwards.

More on Medina's finances
Mike Tolson of the Houston Chronicle delved a little more deeply into the finances of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina, who was indicted and then unindicted on charges relating to the burning of his house. The headline: "Signs of trouble in Medina finances / Records show judge tapped all his home's equity"

More fun in Houston
And Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal is supposed to make a court appearance today to talk about those 2,500 deleted e-mails, according to the Chronicle's Brian Rogers.

-- Richard Stubbe

First fried squirrels....

Seems like the GOP presidential primary is getting a little personal these days.

Now it's down to how some candidates eat their fried chicken.

Mitt Romney's recent decision to eat his KFC chicken -- after peeling off the skin -- drew a rebute from fellow GOP candidate Mike Huckabee, the Fort Worth-trained preacher turned politician.

"Any Southerner knows if you don't eat the skin, don't bother calling it fried chicken," Huckabee said.

Read more about it here: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/28/huckabee-challenges-romney-over-fried-chicken/

But does Huckabee have room to talk? He did, after all, fry up squirrels in his dorm room.

-- Anna M. Tinsley

Rudy imploded after Perry endorsed: chart

At the suggestion of a snarky Austin political operative, I have compiled a chart showing what happened to White House hopeful Rudy Giuliani after Texas Gov. Rick Perry endorsed him in mid-October of last year. I didn't include every single poll available, so it would bounce around a lot more if I had. Check them out yourself here.

-- Jay Root

   

Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird

A former Fred Thompson campaign spokesman has started a web site called www.BoycottChuckNorris.com. Darrel Ng wants people to boycott Norris and companies that advertise on reruns of his show, Walker, Texas Ranger.

Why? Because Norris has endorsed Mike Huckabee, who Ng says has ideas "that are far out of the mainstream."

Reason a Cowtowner should care? Much of Walker was shot in Fort Worth and as Roger Burke, formerly of the Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Film Commission, told the Star-Telegram in 1993: "In the show, they use the Tarrant County Courthouse, and every time they say `Tarrant County' it's like free advertising."

 -Aman Batheja

Flashback: Perry for Gore, Confederate symbols & more

Stay in politics long enough and you're bound to forge some strange alliances. Take Gov. Rick Perry, for example. In 1988, as a Democrat, Perry was a pushcard-carrying member of Texans for Gore. That's right, Al Gore, who back then was stressing his southern roots. Check out this 1988 Gore campaign button sporting a Confederate battle flag symbol. (The button, pictured above left, was gathered years ago by fellow Politex blogger John Gravois).

Now, of course, Gore pops Republicans for allegedly cozying up to Confederate symbols. And you probably already knew Perry ain't for Gore no more. A few months ago, Perry was happily deriding the global warming guru, joking that "his mouth is the leading source of all that supposedly deadly carbon dioxide."

Perry's latest presidential endorsement didn't work out so well, either. Fellow Texas conservatives were aghast after he embraced Rudy Giuliani, who was basically 0 for 3 on their bedrock social issues: abortion, gays and guns.

-- Jay Root

Puente leaving early

The San Antonio politics blog reports that State Rep. Robert Puente is leaving office Friday -- he had already announced he was leaving the Legislature, so this just steps up the timing. Puente is asking Gov. Perry to call a special election to fill the seat, and there's only one candidate in the November general election anyway -- Democrat Roland Gutierrez.

-- Richard Stubbe

Watchdog group hands out report cards

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative watchdog group, has given three Texas legislators A-plus grades in a new taxpayers' legislative report card.

State Rep. Carl Isett, R-Lubbock, Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston were at the top of the class. Seventeen lawmakers, including Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, received A grades. Peggy Venable, the group's Texas director, notes that 14 legislators got F's on the report card.

The grades were tabulated based on AFP's mission to support the principles of entrepreneurship, fiscal and regulatory restraint and taxpayer protections.

Steve Campbell

Misinformed Texas Railroad Commission candidate?

If there's one major state agency that's little understood by the public, it's the Railroad Commission of Texas. Despite its name, the agency has nothing to do with railroads. Instead, it regulates the oil and gas industry, and has authority over residential gas bills. It turned over its last bit of authority over Texas railroads to the state's transportation commission in October, 2005, according to Railroad Commission spokeswoman Ramona Nye. "It is correct to say the Railroad Commission has nothing to do with railroads," she said.

But that hasn't stopped one Democratic hopeful from campaigning on the issue. On his website, Railroad Commission candidate Art Hall lists "railroad safety" as one of the "issues important to the Railroad Commission of Texas."

"Rail derailment is a major issue in Texas," the website notes. "In the San Antonio area alone, there have been several derailments in the past few years which have threatened the lives and property of Texas citizens. We must do a better job of ensuring the safety of our families and children."

Hall, 37, claims a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Texas Tech. He is a former city councilman in San Antonio. When asked Wednesday about the erroneous website reference, Hall said that he had been made aware that the commission no longer has authority over railroads, and that he plans to take the reference down off his website.

"We need to change that," he said.

Mark Thompson, another Democratic candidate for Railroad Commission, has said the Texas Legislature should change the agency's name because the public has so many misconceptions about it.  The third candidate for the Democratic nomination is Dale Henry, 76, a retired chemical engineer from Lampasas.

-- R.A. Dyer

Perry's keeping powder dry

With his man Rudy Giuliani now out of the presidential race, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is in no hurry to implement a Plan B.

"He will not be making any announcement today," said Perry spokesman Robert Black. "This is the mayor's day to say what he's got to say, and the governor does not want to do anything that will get in the way of that."

The remark comes as rumors swirled under the Texas Capitol dome that Perry, left, might be following the fomer New York mayor into the camp of Arizona Sen. John McCain.

-- John Moritz

Ron Paul comes out swinging

A day after a Houston TV station quoted Ron Paul saying he will reassess his presidential run after next week's mega "Super Tuesday" primary, the Republican congressman from the Texas Gulf Coast has come out swinging.

Here is an excerpt from his latest plea, urging folks to contribute money and volunteer time to his campaign:

"Our opponents are free to beat up on each other and wear themselves down while we gather our supporters and prepare to storm the convention with delegates . . . Ron Paul is the only candidate not to give up on any state in the Republican race, and just as we competed strongly in overlooked states like Nevada and Louisiana, so too will we compete in Maine, Minnesota, and other states that the so-called "top-tier" candidates are content to ignore."

Hey, doc, what about Texas?

-- Jay Root

Around the state Wednesday

Dewhurst's ideas
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has an agenda: property tax appraisals, a tamper-proof state ID card and Medicaid costs. The Star-Telegram's John Moritz reports.

Still in trailers
Evacuees from hurricanes Katrina and Rita are still living in trailers, and Sheila Jackson Lee wants to know why. Texas, which received $500 million for rebuilding, chose to build housing rather than distributing checks for people to buy housing. The AP's Suzanne Gamboa reports from Washington.

See you in court
The federal government is taking more South Texas landowners to court over access to their land to survey for the border fence. Laura B. Martinez and Kevin Sieff of the Brownsville Herald have the report.

Prediction watch update
Yesterday, the Professors R-Squared blog in Houston picked Mitt Romney to win the Florida primary. Score that one a miss. The professors say instead of studying tracking polls, they're now going back to their "time-tested prediction strategy of choosing a winner." Hint: It involves beer. We can only hope for invitations.

-- Richard Stubbe

Drag On The Ticket

The presidential field is getting a lot smaller this morning with both Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards  dropping out. Now, you can just about squeeze all of the candidates in a phone booth.

No doubt pundits will debate what doomed each of their campaigns, but we couldn't help but think about the image problems they were facing early on.

On YouTube, these two videos remain among the most viewed related to each candidate. At the very least, these clips fed into concerns about their respective electability.

-Aman Batheja

Further into the FutureGen

A couple of months ago, Texas "lost" and Illinois "won" the FutureGen project, a coal-fired low-emission power plant. Well, Illinois just found out what was behind Door Number We Won -- nothing. The federal Energy Department wants to pull out of the project because of rising costs. So, no power plant, no high-paying research jobs, no $1.8 billion of federal money. Probably not even a T-shirt.

Which reminds us of a movie quote uttered by Rosie Perez, left: "Sometimes when you win, you really lose, and sometimes when you lose, you really win, and sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie, and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose."

-- Richard Stubbe

Arlington woman gets Perry appointment

Doris Davis Washington, an Arlington Realtor, has secured a Rick Perry appointment to the Texas Private Security Board. That's a seven-member outfit that licenses private investigators security guard firms, armored car businesses, etc. Davis Washington is a past chairman of the Arlington Board of Realtors and a past president of the Fort Worth Association of Real Estate Brokers, a news release said. She also is a member of the Tarrant County College Advisory Committee and a board member of the Mount Olive Baptist Church Federal Credit Union. Her term will expire Jan. 31, 2013.

- Kristin Sullivan

Early Voting Will Stay Electronic

Early voters in Tarrant County next month will keep casting their ballots exclusively on electronic voting machines.
Three out of four Tarrant County Commissioners rejected a plan to offer a paper ballot option at some early voting sites, just like the county does already on Election Day.
The discussion occasionally veered into a debate of the overall integrity of electronic voting machines and whether Texas should follow states like Florida and go back to paper ballots.
To watch video of what everyone said at today's meeting, click here and skip to the 11-minute mark.
-Aman Batheja

Gov. Perry puts fire fighting choppers at the ready

Two giant CH-47 Chinook helicopters are standing by in Grand Prairie to help suppress raging wildfires in the Tarrant County region, Gov. Rick Perry's office just announced. Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle said the fire-fighting choppers will take off as soon as the high winds die down, possibly around 4 p.m.

"The crews are ready to roll,'' Castle told Politex. "They're waiting for a break in the weather.'' Also on hand are six UH-60 transport choppers.

Castle also said papers were being drawn up to declare Tarrant County a state disaster, which helps pre-position fire-fighting equipment and would make the county eligible to apply for assistance from Uncle Sam.

-- Jay Root

Will Ron Paul exit after Feb. 5? Will Texas matter?

I hope I'm not deluding myself. But I'm beginning or perhaps wanting very badly to believe that Texas will actually matter in the 2008 White House sweepstakes. OK, my phone isn't exactly ringing off the hook from campaign operatives (Hint: the number is 512-476-4294), but I sort of feel like a kid waiting for the parade to come around the corner.

The Mike Huckabee campaign, for one, is counting on a Texas boost after the multi-state Feb. 5 contest. He's holding a fundraiser and, believe it or not, a "Texas Campaign Rally" in Austin on Feb. 9. And my colleague John Moritz reports that Texas operatives are preparing for real campaign action, not just a money primary, ahead of the March 4 contest in Texas.

Just who's left by then isn't clear. If Rudy Giuliani tanks bad tonight in Florida -- notwithstanding help from Gov. Rick Perry -- it's probably lights out for him. And is Republican Ron Paul, the Texas congressman, contemplating a withdrawal? Here's what KPRC-TV reports Paul said: "I know there's going to be a lot of people disappointed if I don't make it to the Texas primary," Paul said. "Super Tuesday is just around the bend and I think things have to be reassessed after that."

-- Jay Root

Around the state Tuesday

Bob Perry's money
W. Gardner Selby of the Austin American-Statesman reports that U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega is open to taking more money from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, who paid for the "Swift Boat" ads that did so much to take down John Kerry's White House bid in 2004. A spokesman for Perry says that money will be going to incumbent John Cornyn. Noriega recently gave $8,000 in campaign funds to charity to offset $9,500 in earlier Perry donations.

Water, water
Chances are you'll be hearing about cities trying to secure water supplies for the rest of your life -- three cities in Williamson County got approval to borrow $309 million to pump water out of Lake Travis. Melissa Mixon of the Austin American-Statesman has the report.

Prediction watch
Professors R Squared, a blog by Republican political science professors in Houston, goes out on a limb and predicts that Mitt Romney will win the Florida primary today. Why? Three words. We'll check in tomorrow and see whether they were right. And we notice that Intrade has McCain at 65 percent to win the Florida primary, so someone's going to be wrong.

-- Richard Stubbe

Missing in action - with some money?

Arlington political activist Bill Eastland is not afraid to show his face anywhere - not even if he knows his opinions may not be welcome.

So that makes Eastland's recent disappearance even more unusual, especially since the former leader of Citizens for Lower Taxes anti-tax group also has left that group with only $88 bucks in the bank. Making his disappearing act even more questionable is that he wrote himself $10,459.72 in checks.

For all the details, read the story by John Austin and Susan Schrock.

A new phase for Moon

After two years serving as the spokeswoman for the Texas Democratic Party in Austin, Amber Moon is moving back to her old stompin grounds in Houston to head up the party's strategic communications effort Harris County.

Democratic leaders say that the fast-growing Houston area is ripe territory for some gains on their side, not unlike the inroads the party made in Dallas County during the 2006 cycle.

Before Moon decided to make her move, she toyed briefly with the idea of running for the Texas House seat being vacated by Pasadena Republican Robert Talton, who's running for Congress.

Hector Nieto, Moon's deputy, will take over as the state party's new spokesman.

-- John Moritz

Can't Touch This

Florida primary voters will vote today on touchscreen electronic voting machines for the last time. After that, the state will switch back to marking paper ballots that will be read by optical scanners (no chads this time around).
There's been plenty of unease about e-voting machines for years. Tarrant County Commissioners will address that concern at today's weekly meeting. Local party chairs Art Brender and Stephanie Klick have asked the county to offer paper ballots along with the electronic voting option during early voting, which starts Feb. 19.
Check back later today to see how commissioners voted.

-Aman Batheja

Foster kids stuck with state workers: Perry email

Those internal emails from Gov. Rick Perry's office, saved from the shredder by a pesky citizen activist, continue to make news. The AP, after combing through some of the messages, has just broken a story about a "disturbing" trend at Texas Child Protective Services.

Agency honchos said in a legislative hearing last week that CPS had made "great progress" in curtailing the practice of foster kids sleeping in government offices. But internal emails cited by the AP give another side to the story: the number of children being supervised overnight at shelters by CPS workers has gone up.

The internal e-mails from Perry's office were obtained by open records activist John Washburn. The Milwaukee man has been fighting since November against the governor's policy of destroying electronic messages every seven days. Washburn got the first batch of records last week. 

-- Jay Root

Ron Paul sees convention battle brewing

GOP White House hopeful Ron Paul, a Texas congressman, is predicting in a new alert to supporters that the battle for the Republican nomination won't be settled until the party's convention in September.

"For the first time since 1952, we are headed towards a brokered convention. Instead of a coronation of one of the establishment candidates, the delegates, influenced by the people, will decide,'' Paul said.

Political junkies for years have been fantasizing about a brokered convention, where no candidate has enough delegates to get the nomination heading into the party gathering. And this is not the first modern presidential contest in which the possibility has been discussed. But with the massive see-saw going on in both parties right now, who knows? 

The Republican National Convention will be held in Minneapolis-Saint Paul from September 1-4. The Democrats hold their convention in Denver Aug. 25-28.

-- Jay Root

Guv picks Andrade as interm TxDOT chair

Gov. Rick Perry just announced he's naming Esperanza “Hope” Andrade as interim chair of the Texas Transportation Commission. Andrade, who's from San Antonio, has been on the commission since 2003. She is filling the vacancy left after the sudden and untimely death of Ric Williamson, who used to represent Weatherford in the Texas Legislature.

-- Jay Root

Resignation rumors

State Sen. Kyle Janek, a Houston Republican who's one of two physicians in the Legislature's 31-member upper chamber, is reportedly planning to resign with more than two years left on his term.

The Houston Chronicle is citing anonymous sources saying the 50-year-old Janek, left, who has served in the Senate since 2003 and in the House for eight years before that, will make his plans known during a news conference Tuesday.

Rumors of his early departure have swirled around the Capitol for months, fueled in part by Janek's decision to enroll his kids in Austin public schools, rather than at a campus back in his district. If Janek does resign, Gov. Rick Perry would have to call a special election for someone to fill out the remainder of the term.

The 17th Senatorial District has been safely in the GOP column since 1981, but Democrats think that it may be trending a bit more working class, which they say might give them a shot at narrowing the present 20-11 Republican advantage.

--John Moritz

Look who's Gramm-standing now.

Well, we remember former Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, but does anyone else?  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sure does. In the Jan. 24 GOP debate in Boca Raton, Florida, McCain repeatedly invoked Gramm as the great economic guru, which is kind of the way Gramm would like people to remember him. Gramm, who is the general chairman of the McCain campaign, largely gave up politics five years ago when he joined UBS, the Swiss financial services giant.
Gramm, a Ph.D. in economics, had hoped to be named treasury secretary in President George Bush’s administration. From the way McCain is talking, maybe he’ll get another chance:
“You remember back in 1982 when Phil Gramm -- Phil Gramm and Warren Rudman and Gramm-Latta and all of those people got the first real tax cuts done, the real -- first real restraints in taxes,” McCain said last week. “I was there. You were there. And I rely on those people to a much larger degree than any, quote, ‘formal’ organization, although the secretary of treasury is obviously one of the key and important posts that I would have.”
-- Maria Recio

It's no mocking matter - Hillary wins.

It’s Hillary, say students at Washington and Lee University’s 2008 Mock Convention, held Jan. 25-26. In the 100th anniversary of the southwest Virginia university’s quadrennial nominating convention of the party not holding the presidency, students chose Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.  Clinton won overwhelmingly 2,117 to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s 1,642 votes and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards’ 288. There were two votes for someone identified as Gavel, who is presumably former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska.
Spelling accuracy notwithstanding, the Washington and Lee website says students have picked the correct presidential nominee for the party out of power all but one time since 1948, and have a perfect record since 1972.
Among the luminaries speaking to the students: former Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-Lufkin, now on screens near you in Charlie Wilson’s War and Texas State Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs.
http://mockcoun.wl.edu/home.htm
-- Maria Recio

Medical pot user smokes on camera, says "arrest me now"

For most people, the issue of medical marijuana is about somebody else. But for Tim Timmons, a multiple sclerosis patient in Garland, it's personal. He says he needs it to ease the debilitating spasms in his legs and to cope better with all the prescription medication he takes.

You can watch Timmons smoke it and talk about it here in this new Star-Telegram video, or read today's story about how all the major Democratic presidential candidates and Republican Ron Paul of Texas are taking a different approach this year on the pot issue.

-- Jay Root

 

Around the state Monday

Welcome to District 10
Two Democrats are in the primary to represent U.S. House District 10, the compact district that connects Austin and Katy, They are Dan Grant, "a somewhat cerebral 33-year-old who attended the London School of Economics," and Larry Joe Doherty, 61, who starred in the TV courtroom series Texas Justice. Jason Embry of the Austin American-Statesman has the report.

State of the Union
President Bush gives the State of the Union address tonight, although it's not clear how many people will be paying attention. Here's the AP report, although there are many others. Did you know there is no requirement for a  State of the Union address?

Giuliani's Texas man
Bennett Roth of the Houston Chronicle profiles Pat Oxford, the Houston lawyer who is Rudy Giuliani's Texas campaign chairman.

Bob Perry and Fred Baron
They're the top two political givers in Texas state politics, according to this report from the Chronicle's R.G. Radcliffe.

Trans Texas Corridor update
People are showing up in droves for the meetings organized by the DOT, the Houston Chronicle's Rad Sallee and Eric Hanson report. And they're not there to express their support.

The Supreme Court travelers
Janet Elliott of the Express-News reports that the state Supreme Court has a record number of cases pending at the end of 2007, even though the court is making more rulings. The backdrop is that three of the justices have been questioned about their travel expenses.

-- Richard Stubbe

Around the state Sunday

What are they up to?
Roger Williams, Rick Perry and Gordon Johndroe all make appearances in this week's Star-Telegram Insider column.

Hoping for relevance
Will Texas matter? We'll know more by Feb. 5, but Texas political operatives are excited about the mere possibility that the nomination battles in both major political parties will still be alive by March 4, when Texas has its primaries. John Moritz of the Star-Telegram reports.

Who is Ray McMurrey?
The AP's Kelley Shannon profiles Ray McMurrey, the Corpus Christi teacher who's running for the U.S. Senate. McMurrey has no money and no experience but says: "I feel like my message is authentic."

-- Richard Stubbe

How important was South Carolina?

Barack Obama's convincing victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary didn't do much to sway hearts, minds or wallets on the Intrade prediction market Web site. Hillary Clinton opened the day at 67.3, meaning the collective wisdom of the money was that she had a 67.3 percent chance of winning the Democratic nomination. Obama was at 30.3. As of this posting (11:05 p.m.), Clinton was down to 63.1 and Obama was up to 36.4. John Edwards has slipped to 0.6 percent, in fourth place, behind Al Gore, who's not running.

Only 37 days from Sunday morning to the Texas primary.

-- Richard Stubbe

Who will Texans embrace if Rudy joins Fred as an ex-candidate

Yes, Gov. Rick Perry is rushing out to Florida on a Rescue Rudy mission. And no, it would not be wise to count any active candidate in or out at this point, given the weird and unpredictable stuff that's happened in this presidential race. But what if Perry's guy falters in Florida? What if Giuliani pulls out?

Would the guv endorse John McCain? Mitt Romney? Huck? And what about Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson? They hitched their wagons to former Sen. Fred Thompson, but the actor/politician has already ended his campaign. In case you hadn't noticed, the top Lone Star Republicans shunned fellow Texan Ron Paul, the GOP congressman from the Gulf Coast, who has kept an energetic following despite his failures at the ballot box this year.

Of course, there's still time for Texas GOP elected officials to jump on a moving bandwagon, particularly now that the Lone Star State could (much to my surprise) become a crucial player in the presidential selection process. While the influence of political endorsements is often overstated, the candidates who remain viable after the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries might appreciate a little love from some Texas elected officials -- especially if they're available and uncommitted.

-- Jay Root

Change of plans: Perry going to Florida for Rudy

In a sudden change of plans, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is rushing off to Florida to campaign for Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, who once led in the polls but is now struggling to survive past Tuesday.

A few days ago, Perry's office said the governor had nixed a planned Florida swing with Rudy due to scheduling conflicts. But on Saturday, Perry spokesman Robert Black announced the governor had "decided to go to Florida and travel with" Giuliani after all. In a day-long tour, Perry will make five stops in Florida with Rudy on Monday, a day before the crucial primary, Black said.

Perry surprised many conservative voters when he endorsed the former mayor, viewed as liberal on several key social issues, last year.

-- Jay Root

Around the state Saturday

If W lives in Dallas and has a ranch in Crawford, will the state speed up traffic on I-35?
President George Bush dropped a little hint about his future whereabouts to Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, according to the AP's Jeff Carlton.

How large is this problem?
The House Elections Committee heard from both sides in the voter ID debate. No new ground was broken, at least not in this report from Laylan Copelin of the Austin American-Statesman. But everyone seems to be agreed that illegal immigrants are not lining up in droves to ruin elections. Rep. Dwayne Bohac, a Republican from Houston, said requiring voter ID is "not just about solving a problem."

Texas primary just a few weeks away
Black Texas voters are excited about their choices, and about having a choice, in the Democratic primary, reports Anna Tinsley of the Star-Telegram.

On and off topic
Cat helps police make child-porn arrest (Austin American-Statesman)

Immigration agents to set up at Travis County Jail (Tony Plohetski, American-Statesman)

Earle says former state Rep. Maxey asked for leniency for a friend (Marty Toohey, American-Statesman)

Georgetown may change law on protests (Andrea Lorenz, American-Statesman)

Former state Rep. Toby Goodman may run for mayor of Mansfield (Robert Cadwallader, Star-Telegram)

-- Richard Stubbe

Spiral Diner Gets Presidential

A potential third party candidate for president is making a visit to Fort Worth's Spiral Diner next month. Sorry, not Mike Bloomberg. No, not Ralph Nader. Nope, not even Ross Perot (far as we know, he's not planning another run and, more importantly, doesn't strike us as the vegan type).

Cynthia McKinney will chow down on some Spiral Burgers on Feb. 10 from 7 to 10 pm, according to a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County Green Party. McKinney, a former Democratic congresswoman from Georgia, is running to be the Green Party candidate.

McKinney made news back in 2006 when she allegedly attacked a capitol security guard. The Daily Show, to the surprise of no one, had some fun with that. Check it out below.

Under that is McKinney's YouTube clip announcing her run for president.

-Aman Batheja

Obama or Hillary?

That's the question many black voters may ask themselves this primary season.

Do they support Barack Obama, who could be the nation's first black president? Or former First Lady and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, whose husband was known by many as the nation's "first black president"?

Check out a video -- and a story -- on the issue at www.startelegram.com

-- Anna M. Tinsley

Cornyn's got cash

It appears that Republican U.S. Sen John Cornyn won't be starting out his campaign for a second term in  dire straits, at the least from the all-important financial point of view.

His political operation reports that Cornyn has $7.5 million in the kitty after raising $1.7 million during the last three months of 2007.

The reports from all the Senate candidates in both parties are due at month's end and we'll post 'em as we get 'em.

-- John Moritz

Local Democrats To Rally

Two local Democratic groups are hosting a candidate rally at TCU on Saturday. This guy won't be there.

But a slew of local candidates are slated to appear. Speakers will include State Rep. Dan Barrett, State Senate candidate Wendy Davis, Texas House candidate Chris Turner, US House candidate Tracey Smith and US Senate candidate Rick Noriega. Also expected are local lawyers Steve Maxwell and Rod Tanner - both are vying to replace Art Brender as Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair.

The event is intentionally being held in District 97, where Barrett won a special election last month in a race many had considered to be an easy Republican win.

For those interested, the rally starts at 3 p.m at Smith Entrepreneurial Hall, 2900 Lubbock Avenue.

Suggested donation for entrance and a meal is $15 per person, $5 per student.

-Aman Batheja

Messing with Chuck Norris

Seriously, who wants to mess with Walker Texas Ranger?

Well, the former chief executive of Chuck Norris' martial-arts program for inner-city kids has pleaded guilty to stealing from the charity.

There's been no sentencing yet, but undoubtedly the judge will come up with some creative ideas.

-- Richard Stubbe

Turmoil in Gov. Perry's press office?

Those formerly secret e-mails from Gov. Rick Perry's office continue to offer glimpses into the inner-workings of state government. Case in point: a November e-mail from  spokesman Robert Black to Deputy Chief of Staff Kathy Walt.

From the sound of it, Perry was going to be featured in Mature Texan, a magazine about 50-somethings. For undisclosed reasons, it got deep-sixed. But Black expresses frustration that Walt, who had his job before getting promoted, was undermining his authority by giving jobs to his employees without telling him.

Here is an excert from the Nov. 2 email, from Black to Walt (pictured above):

In the future, can the three of you please work through me instead of assigning my guys to do things, please? This has happened twice now and it confuses them and undercuts me a little. I would really like to at least keep the appearance that I run my own office . . . Thanks, see you at the movies. RB

More on the e-mail flap later, right here at Politex ...

-- Jay Root

Around the state Friday

What are the factors of x^2 + 8x + 12 = 0?
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
Where does the thermo- in thermodynamics come from?
The state Higher Education Coordinating Board has OK'd some new college-readiness standards -- here's the AP report. The hope is that more students will show up for college willing to learn. The standards call for students to understand subjects such as quadratic equations, the laws of thermodynamics and the identification of words based on their Greek or Latin roots.

Concerned about the GOP
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett is worried that his Republican Party has lost its advantage in local elections, reports Alan Bernstein in the Houston Chronicle. But the party's county chairman, lawyer Jared Woodfill, says he expects to win countywide races by close margins in November.

A new name for Brackenridge
Brackenridge Hospital in Austin is now the University Medical Center at Brackenridge. Hospital officials say the new name will make it easier to attract privately insured patients. The name Brackenridge was given in 1929 to honor a local doctor, Robert John Brackenridge. Naming a public facility after a person who gave honorable public service -- seems almost quaint, doesn't it? Mary Ann Roser of the Austin American-Statesman reports.

Mansfield mayor resigns
Barton Scott resigned as the mayor of Mansfield, a Fort Worth suburb, after less than a year on the job. He had many clashes with the council after his election in May and had already inspired a recall petition. He gave a 45-minute speech to announce his departure. Mansfield voters will get to elect a new mayor in May. Sally Claunch of the Star-Telegram reports.

"Candid" emails from Guv Perry's office now online

I wouldn't try this without a very large bowl of popcorn, but perusing hundreds of internal e-mails from Gov. Rick Perry's office is now but a mouse click away. For a direct link to the documents and much more background than all but hardened political junkies could ever want, check out Elise Hu's blog (it's appropriately called "Political Junkie") on the subject.

A lot of it is boring and mundane, but there are some real gems, too. Rudy Giuliani's name is dropped, and His Highness Sheikh Ahmed ("HH" for short) of the United Arab Emirates makes a cameo, too. There are discussions about border security, government contracts, foreign travel, you name it. Even the splendor of Texas sweet potatoes gets a mention.

If you do find something you think is newsworthy-yet-unreported in there, click on my name below and send me an email about it.

-- Jay Root