Politex

A tantrum of historic proportions?

Destroyed or dismantled?
That's the tough question facing the Texas Military Forces Museum, where executive director Jeff Hunt has been accused of destroying
a Civil War battle diorama that took high school students years to construct.
Officials at the Austin-based museum insist that Hunt did not destroy the $23,000 diorama (seen at right), but rather dismantled and preserved it because of historical inaccuracies.
However an Arizona history teacher whose students constructed the diorama told an Austin Chronicle reporter that Hunt "wrecked" the diorama. He said that some of his students fell into tears upon hearing of the diorama's fate.
Some museum employees also described Hunt's reaction upon first seeing the diorama as a "tantrum" and that he ranted about how "awful" and "terrible" it was, according to the April 25th newspaper report.
Not sure what to think? You can check out the story here.

--R.A. Dyer

Immigration crackdown at workplace a growing trend

It's too early for members of the Texas Legislature to start filing bills ahead of the 2009 session of the Texas Legislature. But PoliTex is going to go out on a limb and predict that somebody will propose legislation that would require Texas employers to use the federal "E-Verify" system to ensure folks have valid work papers.

The idea is catching on across the country, and the government estimates that 1,000 employers a week are signing up for E-Verify -- prompting Homeland Security to request more funding to keep up.

It was conceived as a voluntary program, whereby personnel managers can electronically verify whether a prospective employee has a valid social security number and authorization to work in the United States. But now several legislatures have passed bills requiring companies doing business in their states to make use of it.

Critics say the system is too error-prone. But at least a dozen states have some version of the requirement, and Rhode Island is poised to jump on board, according to an AP story out today.

-- Jay Root

P.S. The photo, by Tom Pennington, shows illegal immigrants being processed at a federal detention center in Nogales, Arizona.

Bill Meadows, ex-Perry aide tapped for transportation jobs

Gov. Rick Perry tapped a former top aide and Fort Worth's own Bill Meadows to serve on the Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees Texas road funding and policy matters.

Deirdre Delisi (pictured left), Perry's former chief of staff, will replace outgoing Hope Andrade of Boerne on the powerful commission.

And former Fort Worth City Councilman Bill Meadows, chairman of Hub International Rigg and vice-chairman of the North Texas Tollway Authority, will replace the late Ric Williamson of Weatherford.

Their terms expire on Feb. 1, 2013.

"Both Deirdre and Bill have the integrity and expertise to ensure that these needs are met efficiently and responsibly,'' Perry said in a written news release. "I am confident their contribution to the commission will maintain the momentum of the late Commissioner Ric Williamson’s pioneering vision, and secure comprehensive transportation solutions that will reduce traffic congestion, improve safety and keep our state’s doors open to economic growth and success.”

-- Jay Root

University offers Jeremiah Wright a doctorate, then says "nevermind"

It may not be as outrageous as some of the other statements Jeremiah Wright has made lately, but something he said while preaching in Dallas on Sunday certainly raised some eyebrows.

Wright told the crowd at Friendship-West Baptist Church that Northwestern University was planning to give him an honorary doctorate in sacred theology before controversial clips from some of Wright’s sermons became public.

"The president of the university called and told me he was withdrawing the degree because I was not patriotic," Wright told the congregation.

Northwestern University confirmed to us Tuesday that the school had planned on giving Wright a degree at its commencement in June but changed its mind.

In an emailed statement, Alan Cubbage, Vice President for University Relations, said, "In light of the controversy around Dr. Wright and to ensure that the celebratory character of commencement not be affected, the university has withdrawn its invitation to Dr. Wright."

The university would not comment on whether its president told Wright he wasn't patriotic, or even if he called Wright directly.

-Aman Batheja

JPS blocks employees from visiting Star-Telegram web site

In case you've missed it, the Star-Telegram began running a six-part series focusing on the JPS Health Network, Tarrant County's public hospital system, on Sunday. The first three parts can be read here, here and here.

But JPS employees won't be able to read the rest of the series online - not at least while they are at work.

JPS Chief Executive David Cecero and Chief Financial Officer Gail Gale Pileggi decided to block internet access to the Star-Telegram.com site.

"It was a decision that was discussed with the administration, being Mr. Cecero and Gail Pileggi, and how to deal with news issues and how many people have the right to read and do things during the work day," said JPS spokesman Robert Earley, senior vice president of public affairs and advocacy.

Despite JPS' censorship, dozens of blog postings on the stories were made by people identifying themselves as JPS employees.

JPS Board Chair Steve Montgomery called the move "stupid."

-Anthony Spangler

Congressman threatens to move border Texas city to Mexico

If U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo ever decides to run for president again, he can probably skip stumping near the border.

Tancredo, a Republican from Colorado, attended a congressional hearing on the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Brownsville, the southern most city in Texas, yesterday.

Tancredo had little patience for those who opposed the fence, according to the Brownsville Herald.

"If you don't like the idea (of a fence), maybe you should consider building the fence around the northern part of your city," Tancredo said amid jeers from the audience.

-Aman Batheja

Voter ID foe says he'll fight on

State Sen. Mario Gallegos, a Houston Democrat who last year violated doctor's orders when he returned to Austin soon after undergoing liver-transplant surgery to block legislation that would have required Texas voters to show photo ID before casting their ballots, has little use for today's Supreme Court ruling upholding voter ID laws from other states.

“I’m saddened that the Supreme Court has chosen to legalize discrimination," Gallegos said in a news release. "But just because the court’s decision indicates that it’s legal, doesn’t mean it’s right."

Gallegos missed much of the 2007 legislative session because of his illness that caused the need for the transplant. When he did return to the Capitol, colleagues provided him a hospital bed in a room adjacent to the Senate chamber.

And two Republican senators who are physicians and supported the legislation that Gallegos returned to stifle, regularly monitored his health while he rested while the Senate conducted his business. The whole scene made national news.

Now that the Supreme Court has basically given state's like Texas the green light to pass voter ID, Gallegos says he's still planning to fight the effort.

“I have opposed voter ID legislation before, and I’ll oppose it again," he said. "As long as my constituents are in danger of suffering the indignity of being disenfranchised by an unjust law, I will oppose that and all similar legislation.”

That could set up another confrontation between Senate Democrats and GOP Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the chamber's president and a supporter of voter ID.

"With this legal challenge behind us, I look forward to passing a fair voter ID law in Texas next year that fully protects the voting rights of all U.S. citizens registered to vote in Texas," Dewhurst said in a statement of his own.

-- John Moritz

Investigation into controversial flier hits deadend

Remember last November's bogus flier brouhaha?

Five months later, local officials still don't know who was behind it or who even was the target.

A local political firestorm erupted on November 5 when a flier with the wrong Election date was found in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods of Rosemont and Worth Heights in south Fort Worth.

Assistant District Attorney Anne Diamond said Friday that county investigators found no suspects and have only identified one or two people who can say they received the flier.

The bogus flier urged voters in English and Spanish to vote Nov. 10. Election Day was Nov. 6. It specifically mentioned the state’s constitutional amendments and the Fort Worth City Council race.

Many assumed the flier was an attempt to lower Hispanic turnout. Others went further and guessed it was distributed specifically to hurt Fort Worth school trustee Juan Rangel's chances of winning the City Council race, as he was expected to do well among Hispanics.

Rangel came in second to Joel Burns. The two competed in a runoff in December which Burns won.

Click here to see the flier.

-Aman Batheja

Obama mystery solved...maybe

S-T columnist Bud Kennedy may have solved a real whodunit, or in this case, a who wrote it.

It's the case of the missing Life article, the one Barack Obama cited in his book Dreams from My Father.

Obama referenced a 30-year-old Life magazine photo layout about an African-American man who underwent chemical treatments to make himself white.

Media investigations couldn't unearth the story and Karl Rove recently criticized Obama for citing the article without providing the details to back it up.

Kennedy thinks Obama may have seen a piece in Fort Worth-based Sepia magazine, the Life-sized competitor to Ebony.

The article matches up well with Obama's description of the photos.

One problem: Obama recalled the story as a black man turning himself white. This story is the reverse: a white Mansfield author chemically darkened his skin to see life as a black American in the segregated South. He later wrote a book about the experience called Black Like Me.

Read Kennedy's full column here.

A month late, Wright gets Brite Divinity award

Rev. Jeremiah Wright finally received that award from Brite Divinity School that sparked so much debate last month.

Wright was in South Dallas delivering sermons at Friendship-West Baptist Church this morning as a guest pastor.

Stacey Floyd-Thomas, director of black church studies at Fort Worth’s Brite Divinity School, presented Wright with the award he had been scheduled to receive at a black church summit in March.

Wright had canceled his appearance because of concerns over the safety of his family, those at the summit and himself.

“We as black Texans...saw this as a time we would not refuse and we would not deny our modern-day prohet,” Floyd-Thomas said.

Brite Divinity is on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Wright noted his displeasure with how TCU officials disassociated themselves from the decision to give him an award. He thanked Brite Divinity for “going against the president of Texas Christian, Texas Christian, Texas Christian University,” emphasizing the word "Christian" all three times.

UPDATE: Here's our full report on Wright's appearance.

-Aman Batheja

Rev. Jeremiah Wright's publicity blitz lands in Dallas

“We're going to hear the whole sermon. Not just the clips in order to feed a right-wing agenda," Rev. Freddie Haynes promised his congregation earlier this month.

Haynes was referring to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's former pastor, who will speak this morning at Friendship-West Baptist Church in South Dallas.

It will be one of Wright's first sermons following the controversy that erupted earlier this year over some of his less-PC statements from the past.

Wright's appearing at Friendship-West to honor Haynes who is celebrating his 25th anniversary as senior pastor of the mega-church. Haynes, who's on the shortlist to take over the NAACP, got the profile treatment from us earlier this month. Read it and find out why Haynes calls Wright his spiritual leader and mentor.

Today's Dallas appearance is one of four public appearances Wright is making as part of a media blitz that started Friday on Bill Moyers' show on PBS. You can watch clips from that interview here.

Of course, Wright and Obama are hoping to move past the controversy over those old sermons. With ads like this one coming out from the North Carolina Republican Party, that might be an uphill climb.

Check back later today for the recap on what Wright says today.

-Aman Batheja

Republicans adopt odd YouTube strategy to attack Obama in Texas

The Republican National Committee is hammering on Barack Obama over gas prices.

What caught our eye is their methodology.

RNC spokesman Paul Lindsay sent us this YouTube video below combining Texas news clips on gas prices with statements from Obama and John McCain.

The video was posted by someone with the YouTube handle skfhsdfsd. So far, it's the only video posted on the site associated with this account.

Here's the weird part.

There are two other videos on YouTube that are almost identical. The difference is one uses news clips from Indiana and the other from Oregon. Both of those clips were also filed by people with weird nonsensical online IDs (asdlkfjasdlk and skdfjhfjhse) and both accounts also have just those videos online so far.

None of these clips have any info explaining who is behind them.

We're waiting to hear from Lindsay about if he knows who is behind these online ads. If the RNC produced them, and that would make sense since they're the ones promoting them to reporters, why aren't they taking credit?

UPDATE: Lindsay confirmed the RNC made all of the state-specific ads. Still waiting to hear why they weren't posted on the RNC's official YouTube channel.

UPDATE: An RNC official said these videos are solely for public viewing on the web, hence no "RNC is responsible for this ad" disclaimer necessary. I got no response to my questions about their choice of weird YouTube usernames.

-Aman Batheja

Methodists tout an underground railroad for illegal immigrants

  Immigrant rights were once again the focus of passionate discussion among participants that the United Methodist General Conference. The conference is being held in Fort Worth. On Thursday, participants attended a rally and asked lawmakers for comprehensive immigration reform.

During a press conference Friday, leaders of the church discussed the role of churches as sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants. Some likened the movement to the Underground Railroad. The United Methodist Church Policy gives congregations the option to offer sanctuary to migrants facing deportation. Immigrants live in churches where they are fed and clothed. In some cases, the sanctuary effort has also involved other religions.

"It's something that local congregations have to want for themselves," said Elliot Wright, information officer for the General Board of Global Ministries. Wright said there are not any United Methodist churches in Texas offering sanctuary to undocumented people.

There have been high profile cases in Chicago and California.

None so far in Texas.

-Diane Smith

This shaggy dog tale appears to be over

We know you haven't forgotten about Puddles/Panchito, the little dog that made the front page of the New York Times by winding up at the center of a custody dispute involving the mayor -- now the former mayor -- of Alice, in South Texas.

The mayor, Grace Saenz-Lopez, had agreed to dog-sit for her neighbors. But then she reported to Puddles' owners that Puddles had died and been buried. So everyone was surprised a couple of months later when Puddles was spotted at a dog-grooming establishment with a new name, Panchito.

To make a long story short, the case then went to court. (This is America, after all.)

And today the judge ruled that Puddles belongs with his original owners. Jaime Powell of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times has the report.

-- Richard Stubbe

Former Railroad Commissioner Lena Guerrero dies

Former Texas Railroad Commissioner Lena Guerrero — a woman once seen as a rising star among Texas Democrats, but who resigned under a political cloud — has died.

Guerrero, 50, had been diagnosed with cancer eight years earlier, and previously received treatment in California for malignant brain tumors.

A family member reported Thursday that Guerrero died in here sleep overnight.

Guerrero served 20 months on the Texas Railroad Commission after having been appointed to the post by the Gov. Ann Richards in 1991. Guerrero was the first woman and first Mexican-American to serve on the panel.

Guerrero was also known for her hard-ball political style and her quick intellect, but her political career unraveled after revelations that she lacked a University of Texas diploma that she had been claiming for a dozen years.

She asked for the public’s forgiveness and resigned, and then campaigned to re-take her seat. She lost the statewide election in November, 1992.

The Gov. Rick Perry ordered flags at half-staff at all state facilities.

President's daughter's vote up for grabs

Here's an example of how the lives of presidents' kids are different from everyone else. When you're everyone else, saying something as seemingly innocuous as "I don't know" doesn't lead bloggers into a tizzy.

Mayor Bobblehead

Folks at Fort Worth City Hall are already lining up to go to the Fort Worth Cats game on May 30th. Why, you ask - because it's not only City of Fort Worth night but the team is also honoring Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief by passing out a bobblehead made to look like him to the fans.

The mayor and his wife, Rosie, are season ticketholders at LaGrave Field, which is located on the city's near northside. There also will be fireworks after the game.

One city staffer joked that maybe Moncrief will attach the bobblehead to the dashboard of his Cadillac Escalade. Someone else joked that there were will probably be some headless bobbleheads later around City Hall.

But when former Fort Worth City Councilman Jim Lane, an avid supporter of the team, was asked why they haven't had a Jim Lane Bobblehead Night, he didn't appear to be to awfully jealous.

"I'm silly enough looking. They don't need to make me into a bobblehead," Lane said.

Max B. Baker

Ron Paul supporters jumping ship

. He nabbed 16 percent against Arizona Sen. John McCain, an impressive showing considering that most of the Republican Party and the media have already decided that McCain's won the nomination.

And yet, some Paul supporters appear to be jumping ship. Consider the Sugarland-based web site, Join or Die '08, which is made up of "Ron Paul admirers who will vote for John McCain in November."

And then there's this woman from Kansas who called into C-Span this morning. She was a Paul supporter until seeing the results last night. Given that she was previously backing a Libertarian-leaning candidate, her new choice for president is more than a little surprising:

 

UPDATE: It wasn't just a good night for Paul. It was the best showing of his campaign in a closed primary.

And here's another take on Paul's campaign courtesy of our "Pack Your Trunk" blog.

-Aman Batheja

Bush's popularity sinks to all-time low

What a difference a decade makes.

Ten years ago, George W. Bush was riding about as high as a political figure could ride. He was cruising toward a second term as Texas governor and emerging as the Republican front-runner in the upcoming 2000 presidential race. Even the highest ranking Democratic in the state at the time, Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, said anyone in his party who'd like to challenge Bush that year would be on a "kamikaze mission."

Bullock was right, and Bush won re-election with a smashing 69 percent of the vote.

Now, after almost eight years in the White House, that 69 percent figure is back. Only this time it's represents the president's disapproval rating in the latest USA Today/Gallup poll.

That's the worst rating for a president in the 70-year history of the Gallup Poll. Worse than Truman's rating in 1952 when Americans were weary of the Korean War. Worse than Nixon's in '74, just before being washed out of office by the Watergate scandal.

-- John Moritz

More on that Alaskan Governor's baby

The question on everyone's minds (non-Pennsylvania primary related, that is): Why did a pregnant governor board a flight to Alaska after her water had broken?

From the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:

Gov. Sarah Palin’s decision to make the eight-hour flight from Dallas to Anchorage has some people wondering about the possible safety hazards of flying while in the late stages of pregnancy.

The governor, eight months into her pregnancy, noticed amniotic fluid Thursday morning prior to giving a keynote luncheon address at the Republican Governor’s Energy Conference in Texas. After wrapping up the speech, Palin and her husband consulted with her physician about possibly flying home on an earlier flight. After being granted permission from her doctor, she and her husband proceeded with the trek home.

At that point, Palin was only having minor contractions and was not showing signs of active labor, Sharon Leighow, the governor’s spokeswoman, said on Monday.

The governor did not feel the need to inform the airline of her condition, Leighow said.

Alaska Airlines is one of the few airlines that does not have a policy regarding flight during pregnancy.

-Aman Batheja

Governor's water breaks in Texas, gives birth in Alaska

Despite being very, very pregnant, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was in Grapevine Thursday for a forum held by the Republican Governor's Association.

We were kind of preoccupied by our own governor's announcement that he plans to run for re-election, so we missed the other big news of the conference.

From Alaskan NBC affiliate KTUU:

Just yesterday, Palin was in Texas at a forum on energy with Texas Gov. Rick Perry and executives from four other states.

The governor's water broke during the energy conference but she stayed and gave a 30-minute speech before boarding an Alaska Airlines plane home to deliver the baby.

Palin gave birth to Trig Paxson Van Palin Friday at 6:30 a.m.

No word on why Palin was so determined to make sure young Trig wasn't born a Texan.

(Photo coutesy of www.ktuu.com)

-Aman Batheja

Perry riles talk show host with re-election chatter

Conservative talk show host Adam McManus, who has strongly criticized Gov. Rick Perry for taking positions that have rattled many rank-and-file Republicans, is weighing in on the guv's intention to stay in office for a total of 14 years. In comments sent to the Star-Telegram, McManus said he was "pretty shocked" to hear the governor plans to run for re-election.

"In my view, he’s been acting like a lame duck liberal recently in light of his foolish endorsement of pro-abort (Rudy) Giuliani for President and mandating Gardasil (HPV vaccine) for young girls over the objection of Texas parents.  Those aren’t the actions of a man who really wants to get re-elected,'' he wrote. "Lt. Governor (David) Dewhurst ... is a solid pro-lifer who has not poked his finger in the eye of the very constituency he needs most.  I’d vote for Dewhurst." But if it's Perry vs. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, McManus says his money is on Perry.

Despite angering conservatives on some issues, Perry "has, to his credit, endorsed and signed into law parental consent for abortion and the Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage between one man and one woman,'' he said, noting that Hutchison has "prided herself" on supporting abortion rights.

"Frankly, the only reason I can imagine why Perry is seeking re-election, is to maintain his political visibility as he looks toward a presidential run in 2012 –- no doubt after assuring the Texas voters that he will serve a full term if re-elected,'' McManus said.

-- Jay Root

Rick Perry, Uncut

OK, it's cut a little.

But below is the audio of most of the conversation Gov. Rick Perry had with myself and S-T columnist Bud Kennedy at the TCU Barnes & Noble last night while waiting for a hailstorm to pass.

Paul Burka says some Perry staffers are now suggesting their boss's comment yesterday was a goof and that he may decide not to run. If that's true, his chat with us last night is even more intriguing because he offered no hint that he might back off.

-Aman Batheja

 

Perry suggests only death would keep him from running again

With a hailstorm raging outside the TCU Barnes & Noble in southwest Fort Worth, Gov. Rick Perry and his staff sat tight inside.

Since the last of the admirers asking for him to sign a copy of his book had left, Perry whiled the 20 minutes away chatting about the political hailstorm he had sparked earlier that day with his comments. He didn't seem to see the big deal.

"I just got asked," Perry said. "After a while, as people keep asking, I just answered their question."

Governor gives the best reason ever not to be McCain's running mate

Perry's surprise announcement at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine will likely drown out the press conference he held minutes earlier.

The presser was with five other Republican governors: Sarah Palin of Alaska, Sonny Perdue of Georgia, Linda Lingle of Hawaii, Matt Blunt of Missouri and Jim Gibbons of Nevada.

When asked if any of them would flat out refuse if asked by Sen. John McCain to be his running mate, three raised their hands: Perry, Lingle and Gibbons.

“I don’t want to go to Washington, D.C.. I’ve got a great job,” Perry said. “Being the governor of Texas is a great job.”

When asked why she wouldn’t consider the position, Lingle said simply, “I live in Hawaii.”

Any questions? Didn't think so.

-Aman Batheja

Hutchison responds to Perry re-elect announcement

Gov. Rick Perry has set Austin on fire with the sudden announcement that he's running again in 2010.

And now his potential Republican primary rival, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, has released a written statement in response. Here's what she said:

“I am encouraged by the growing number of Texans asking me to return home to run for Governor to provide leadership for our state.  It is too early to make an announcement about the 2010 race.  Right now I remain committed to serving the people of Texas in the United States Senate and helping our Republican candidates win crucial elections this fall.”

-- Jay Root

Perry backs Craddick, says he's stronger than ever

Other musings from Gov. Rick Perry today at the Gaylord Texan:

"I think Speaker Craddick is probably stronger than he's been since he's taken office. You look at the elections and the results of those elections and Tom Craddick will be the speaker, and he will probably have as strong a hold of the speakership as he ever has," Perry said.

"I'm a great supporter of the speaker," Perry added. "He is a wonderful conservative, both fiscal conservative and otherwise and a great partner."

-Aman Batheja

Perry announces he's not giving up governor's mansion

Speaking after a press conference today at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Gov. Rick Perry told reporters he was going to run for re-election in 2010.

When Perry was asked if he could foresee himself, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Huchison all on the ballot in 2010, Perry said he knew that he would be on the ballot.

"I don't know about the other two. You need to ask them."

When asked specifically if he was going to run for re-election, Perry said, "Yes."

Read the full story here and check back for updates.

-Aman Batheja

A gubernatorial visit, sort of

Gov. Rick Perry will spend Thursday in Tarrant County.

He'll be in Grapevine most of the day hosting a forum of the Republican Governors Association at the Gaylord Texan Resort, followed by a news conference with seven other governors to discuss the presidential race.

At 6:30 p.m., Perry will sign copies of his book On My Honor: Why The American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For, at the TCU Bookstore, 2950 W. Berry St., Fort Worth.

— Aman Batheja

Running a restrained campaign

From the AP:

A federal prison inmate got himself listed on the ballot for Idaho's May 27 primary as a Democratic presidential candidate, the state's top election official said.

Keith Russell Judd is serving time at the Beaumont Federal Correctional Institution in Texas. He's scheduled for release in 2013.

Judd, 49, qualified for the ballot by submitting a notarized form and paying the required $1,000 fee, state Secretary of State Ben Ysursa said. As a result, Democratic voters will be able to choose between Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Judd.

Judd paid his fee with a U.S. Treasury check drawn on his prison account, listing as a campaign office telephone number the city desk news tip line at the Beaumont Enterprise newspaper in Texas, and giving an Internal Revenue Service line in Ohio for the number of his campaign coordinator telephone, Ysursa said.
(Photo courtesy of Project Vote Smart)

Texas Republicans may take on Scientology

Yeah, yeah, all the talk about this year's state political conventions has been about delegates.

But keep an eye out for the resolutions too. Some will attract debate and outrage AND they'll determine each party's platform going into the November election.

Case in point: a Republican senate district convention in Galveston apparently approved a resolution to get the Church of Scientology’s status as a religion revoked.

No word on whether any Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise or Jason "My Name Is Earl" Lee plan on making a visit to Houston in June to defend their faith.

-Aman Batheja

Cornyn boasts $8.7 million in the kitty

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is riding into in the general election campaign on a cushion of cash.

The first-term Republican just announced that he's raised $1.6 million since winning the March 4 primary in a walk. And that give's him $8.7 million in the bank in his upcoming race against state Rep. Rick Noriega, the Democratic nominee.

“Such fundraising shows Texans strongly appreciate Sen. Cornyn's leadership and are responding to his hopeful, optimistic vision for the future of Texas and America," said campaign manager Rob Jesmer.

Cornyn received 7,121 individual contributions in the first quarter of 2008, 87 percent of which came from Texans, Jesmer said.

Noriega's camp said the Houston Democrat raised $478,547.90 for tbe first quarter of 2008, and has $329,293.59. The candidate offered an upbeat assessment of his underdog status.

"In the primary we were running an insurgent grassroots- and netroots-focused campaign and we accomplished our goal of securing the nomination," said Noriega. "Since our primary victory, we have seen increasing support for our general election bid and have put in to place the fundraising team needed win in November."

-- John Moritz

For real this time: Obama's former pastor coming to North Texas

We featured a profile today of Rev. Frederick Haynes, a South Dallas pastor on the shortlist to be the next head of the NAACP.

Haynes is celebrating his 25th anniversary as senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, which has grown to more than 10,000 members. To close out the celebration, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Haynes' mentor, will be the guest pastor on April 27th.

At a service earlier this month, Haynes confirmed that Wright is still planning on attending.

"We're going to hear the whole sermon," Haynes said. "Not just the clips in order to feed a right-wing agenda."

-Aman Batheja

Classic Texas political novel could find a whole new audience

Fodder for this blog can come up where you least expect it.

I was in a Fort Worth Borders over the weekend looking for a book by a local author. My guess was the book would be in the gay/lesbian fiction section.

Imagine my surprise when I reached that section and saw Billy Lee Brammer's The Gay Place prominently displayed near other titles which, if I were to publish on this blog, I would soon be out of work.

Brammer's 1961 book set in Austin is often hailed as the classic Texas politics novel. Some would say it is the best novel about politics, period. And unless some underlying subtext flew clear past my head, homosexuality is not a major theme in the book.

I alerted a Borders employee who, for a moment, couldn't seem to get past the fact that a novel titled "The Gay Place" was not at home in the gay and lesbian fiction section of the store. He promised he would move the book to the general fiction section, where the store's database indicated it should be.

For more on Brammer's tome, check out this 2001 feature from Texas Monthly.

(In case you were wondering, the title is a reference to an F. Scott Fitzgerald poem "I know a gay place / Nobody knows.")

-Aman Batheja

Country legend says he was dissed by Clinton camp

Country legend Merle Haggard is the kind of guy who thinks Ronald Reagan should be added to Mt. Rushmore. Yet this election cycle, he decided to back Hillary Clinton. He even wrote her a song called Hillary and later retitled Let's Put a Woman in Charge.

Our very own Heather Svokos interviewed Haggard about the song. He now regrets having written it.

The Clinton campaign "went down to Nashville and asked a bunch of songwriters to write another song called Hillary, and see how many of them could come up with a better song. And it hurt my feelings. ... I thought they might use it, or respect it, but they didn't do either," Haggard said.

You can read the whole story and hear clips from the interview here.

And here's some Hillary fan's visual interpretation of the song:

-Aman Batheja

Christmas Mountains: No Country for Old Men

Thanks to a decision this month by Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, the 9,269-acre Christmas Mountains will be open to the public for the first time in at least 17 years.

But as novelist Cormac McCarthy might say, it's no country for old men.

To get there, the curious hiker will have to come in through Big Bend National Park and then cross over miles of tough back country. That part alone might take four hours. And then once a hiker arrives at the boundary of the mountain range, it gets even tougher.

"You'll come to a steep, rugged mountain side," Big Bend superintendent William Wellman said Friday. "To legally access the mountains, you have to go hand-over-hand and scramble up the mountainside."

Wellman encourages anyone making it to check with park officials first -- "in case something goes wrong."

Unlike the situation at Big Bend, the National Park Service has no authority over the Christmas Mountains. However, the National Park Service has a mutual-aid agreement with Brewster County -- which does have jurisdiction -- and so the park service would send out search and rescue teams if called upon, said Wellman.

-- R.A. Dyer

Who's the top Texas Democrat, Part II

It used to be that the Travis County district attorney, in charge of investigating official wrongdoing and corruption in the state capital, struck fear in the hearts of Texas lawmakers.

Former House Speaker Gib Lewis, D-Fort Worth, once warned incoming legislators that the DA “was the most powerful official they’d deal with because he could end their careers’’ the Austin American Statesman reported. 

But now that HE is about to become a SHE -- i.e., now that current DA Ronnie Earle will soon be replaced by his longtime First Assistant DA Rosemary Lehmberg -- the power is apparently going to seep out of that office like air from a blown-out tire.

Or at least that's the way Texas Monthly Editor Evan Smith seems to view it.

In 2005, Texas Monthly named Earle (that's him in the picture!) the second-most powerful Texan, behind Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick. Since Earle is a Democrat, that made him the most powerful member of a party that, let’s face it, has seen better days in Texas. Now, three years later, Smith writes that Earle’s successor-elect would be lucky to call herself the most powerful Democrat in Travis County, much less the state of Texas.

My phone isn’t exactly ringing off the hook with powerful Texas Democrats wondering why I didn’t mention them, but did I overlook someone? If it ain’t Ronnie Earle-and-soon-to-be-Rosemary-Lehmberg, who could it be?

Please send your nominations for “Most Powerful Democrat in Texas” to my email address (click below), and tell me why your pick has some serious stroke. 

-- Jay Root

Emergency funds needed in Eldorado case: leaders

Top state leaders are asking for emergency spending measures in order to help local authorities cope with the logistics and the legal aftermath of the raid on the polygamist compound in Eldorado.

In a letter to state Comptroller Susan Combs, Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick say they want her to allow the Health and Human Services Commission to use money in its current budget to pay for the unanticipated costs.

"We have recently been faced with an extraordinary emergency situation which required a large scale relocation of citizens in Tom Green and Schleicher Counties. We understand that these extraordinary activities come with substantial financial and personnel costs both to state agencies and local goverments,'' the leaders wrote in a letter dated April 10.

They also talked about the possibility of an emergency spending measures, in part to help counties cope with legal costs, when the Legislature meets in session in January.

-- Jay Root 

Cheney's reflections

Fly fishing just got more interesting.

Ever since a photo of Vice President Dick Cheney was posted on the White House web site -- saying he was fly-fishing in Idaho --people have been eying the reflection in his dark sunglasses.

Some people say it's a far cry from fishing because they believe the reflection resembles a naked woman.

What do you think?

-- Anna M. Tinsley

Putting the breaks on greenhouse gas reductions

Although scientists from around the world have predicted dire consequences from global warming, the state could be making a big mistake if it mandates policies to reduce green house gases, a policy director at a conservative think tank told lawmakers this week.

"The global dynamics of climate change make it pointless, at best, and counterproductive, at worst, for the Texas Legislature to enact any mandatory (carbon dioxide) schemes," said Kathleen Hartnett White, director of the  Center for Natural Resources at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Her reasoning: United Nations scientists conclude that the problem is so massive that any response short of a comprehensive federal program would be ineffective.

Comments by Hartnett White, a former chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, did not sit well with conservationists.

Ken Kramer, director of the Lone Star chapter of the Sierra Club, said that while its probably not possible to forestall some effects of global warming, doing nothing is also a mistake.

"Most people these days are definitely of the realization about what is happening and that we we need to do something about it," he said.

Hartnett White was speaking before the Select Committee on Electric Generation Capacity and Environmental Effects, which was created last year by House Speaker Tom Craddick.

-- R.A. Dyer

Local Republican tapped by McCain campaign

Fort Worth Republican Craig Goldman has been tapped to manage the Texas region for John McCain's presidential campaign, according to a campaign representative.

Goldman was one of seven candidates who ran last year in a November special election to replace State Rep. Anna Mowery of Fort Worth. Goldman came in fourth.

Goldman's resume already includes a stint as head of John McCain's Straight Talk America political action committee. Back during the special election, McCain's campaign was floundering and Goldman rarely mentioned his work with the Arizona Senator at campaign events.

Pediatrician Mark Shelton even noted Goldman's McCain connection in a negative campaign mailer, alleging that McCain was a "supporter of Amnesty for Illegal Aliens." (Shelton came in second but lost a runoff to Democrat Dan Barrett. Shelton is now the GOP nominee to win back Mowery's seat.)

Now McCain's the only Republican standing and Goldman is a high-level staffer on a presidential campaign. Just goes to show how a few months can be a lifetime in politics.

-Aman Batheja

Christmas Mountains now open to public

Want to go see those Christmas Mountains that have been the subject of such intense controversy?

Well, load up the wagon. Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson announced today that visitors to Big Bend National Park -- assuming they can hike across some pretty rugged terrain -- are now free to head right on over to the 9,300 acre tract. That's pretty much the only way for average folks who don't own adjacent property, or know someone who does, to get into the state-owned tract.

Patterson says you can even carry guns out there if you'd like, though getting them past the federal park rangers might be tricky -- and illegal.

-- Jay Root

Kinky Friedman needs to double-check his math

Our friends at Reader's Digest (we've now exchanged two whole emails with them) have sent us an advance copy of their profile on Kinky Friedman running in their May issue.

If you knew nothing about the Kinkster, his irreverant one-liners laced throughout the piece would be a hoot. If you heard them all repeated over and over again during the 2006 campaign, then only the end of the piece will interest you. From the story:

A friend to both John McCain and the Clintons, he says of the potential nominees, “As much as I rail against the bipolar two-party system, I have no problem if it produces a John versus Hillary/Obama option.”

And he can’t take his eyes off the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election. “I’ll pick up a million votes if I run as a Democrat next time,” he says.

Just to be clear, if Friedman gained 1 million extra votes in 2006, he still would have lost to Rick Perry by 169,118 votes.

Someone get that Jewish cowboy a calculator!

-Aman Batheja

Hillary Clinton appears in unearthed Wal-Mart videos

There's been a fair amount of chatter about what role Hillary Clinton might or might not have played as a member of Wal-Mart's board of directors between 1986 and 1992. 

Now some old footage of the former first lady has surfaced, thanks to a trove of old internal company videos produced by a Kansas company that is no longer a Wal-Mart associate. The Wall Street Journal today recounts the saga of the former contractor, which is now apparently selling the videos to Wal-Mart detractors.

Critics of both Wal-Mart and Clinton will no doubt find some ammunition in the videos, but what caught the attention of PoliTex is the New York senator's folksy Arkansas accent. Take a look and a listen here. (Her appearance comes about three-quarters of the way into the short video, which starts with an introduction by Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton).

-- Jay Root

Who's the most powerful Democrat in Texas?

Democrats don't hold a single statewide office in Texas, and both houses of the state Legislature are in Republican hands. But there is one newly elected Democrat who is about to inherit some real power, and her name is Rosemary Lehmberg.

Never heard of her?

You're not alone, but chances are you will be hearing her name before long. She just won a runoff to become the next district attorney of Travis County, a post held since 1977 by Birdville native Ronnie Earle. He's perhaps best known as the guy who's been prosecuting Republican ex-Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a.k.a, "The Hammer,'' who is still tangling with Earle in court. It's probably the most powerful, fear-producing job held by a Texas Democrat, because the Travis DA is tasked with prosecuting official corruption in the state capital.

Lehmberg defeated fellow Democrat Mindy Montford in Tuesday's runoff. There's no Republican on the ballot, so she's all but elected. Contributing to Montford's defeat were numerous reports about contributions she got from lobbyists and Republicans. Just goes to show you that any hint of Republican ties in Travis County, a liberal enclave in an otherwise red state, is not helpful.

-- Jay Root

 

Wilkinson wins by 20 votes