Bump !!
Posted on 06/15/2004 9:13:57 AM PDT by Redbob
AUSTIN — Democrats blame Gov. Rick Perry and the GOP-led Legislature for slashing children's health insurance and failing to fix public school funding.
But, so far, not one Democrat is willing to use those tempting political targets and run in 2006 against the Republican governor, who has two possible challengers inside his own party.
What gives?
Prospective candidates, mindful that Democratic nominees have lost three straight gubernatorial elections, appear to be wary of moving too soon.
"The state is not in transition now — it's completely in the hands of Republicans," said Democratic consultant Kelly Fero, adding that a "defeatist attitude" pervades the party that ruled Texas for most of the past century.
Fero insisted Democrats, who open their state convention Thursday in Houston, will carve into GOP dominance soon, perhaps recapturing seats in the Texas House in November, but conceded: "Democrats are dealing with that psychological barrier to running."
Republicans, who hold all 29 statewide elective offices, are jockeying for advancement.
Perry intends to seek a second term, and both Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison might take him on, although neither has declared yes or no.
All three spoke during the Republican Party of Texas convention this month in San Antonio.
Democrats might be quiet on running for governor, but activists list several possible candidates.
The list includes former Comptroller John Sharp, U.S. Rep. Jim Turner of Crockett, U.S. Rep. Chris Bell of Houston, former Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, Houston lawyer John O'Quinn and Roy Spence Jr., president of an Austin-based advertising agency.
Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez might even attempt to avenge his 800,000-vote loss to Perry two years ago.
"Absolutely" a possibility, said Charles Soechting, the party chairman. "You can't help but want to (run) when you see the mess we're in today."
O'Quinn is to speak on fund raising at the Texas Democratic Party's convention.
Sharp is among those hosting an opening reception.
Henry Cisneros, the former San Antonio mayor and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has urged Sharp to run.
Sharp, who lost races for lieutenant governor in 1998 and 2002, said he'd be happy to do so if someone showed him where to get $10 million for a campaign, Cisneros said.
Sharp is not politically "suicidal," Cisneros said. "He's too experienced for that. John is also a person who has not gotten the dream of serving Texas as governor out of his system.
"That's still part of John's genetic makeup," he added. "And I think we could get there."
Garry Mauro ran for the position in 1998 and lost to then-Gov. George W. Bush.
He said he has focused lately on helping the expected Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, and congressional and Texas House candidates.
Chatter about who might challenge Perry, Mauro said, comes from consultants "who make a living around Texas politics."
"They always talk about the next election but they never elect anybody," he said.
Cisneros, who said he will not run, said he hopes the chosen one has "experience in public policy with years invested in meeting people, knowing people, or a capacity to engender respect."
"It's hard to do that from the outside," he said.
"The party's looking for some leadership," said Houston lawyer Mark White, the Democratic governor from 1983 through 1986.
But "it falls back to pretty much the same thing. It doesn't matter who you have running if you don't have any money," he said.
Sanchez, who spent millions of his own money in 2002, considered sponsoring an event at this week's convention, but his schedule will have him out of the country.
Sanchez "looked strong enough" to win two years ago, Cisneros said. "We're just in a difficult time in Texas for Democrats."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- gselby@express-news.net
Might pronounce that "Gooberdims"!
----------------
And Gary Mauro pretty well sums it up:
"Chatter about who might challenge Perry, Mauro said, comes from consultants "who make a living around Texas politics."
"They always talk about the next election but they never elect anybody," he said.
Poor Molly Ivins needs to go hang herself. Her whining about governor good-hair, as she calls Rick Perry and how one good democrat governor would fix everything makes me sick. I don't think she even lives in Texas anymore.
Hey, isn't Molly a socialist, too?
Don't know that she ever did, really; I sorta picture her wandering around Austin, pushing a grocery cart with a bunch of plastic bags in it...
Pretty much sums up why it is good to be a Republican in Texas. :)
Bump !!
Nice picture.
Saw/heard the Governor speak in San Antonio recently, and he IS an effective, persuasive speaker.
There's no reason to replace him, LEAST of all with someone like Kay Bailey or Carole Keeton McLellan Rylander Strayhorn.
Hey dems, Kinky's already running! Save some money and put him on the ballot.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1152956/posts
But in contrast to the likes of Sanchez and Mauro, somebody might actually VOTE for the Kinkster!
Michael Williams
Rick Perry did an impressive job on that speech at the SA convention!
I disagree. Though I am no big fan of either of those women, I can name quite a few reasons why Perry needs to go:
1. He signed the so-called hate crimes law
2. He appointed a liberal democrat and soon to be democrat congressman Henry Cuellar as his first secretary of state. The move gave Cuellar statewide name ID and almost cost Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla his seat in 2002 when Cuellar challenged him as a 'rat.
3. He appointed a liberal Democrat turned RINO Xavier Rodriguez to the Texas Supreme Court. Rodriguez was then beat in the primary by Steven Smith after publicly pledging to pursue a judicial philosophy modelled on David Souter.
4. Following Rodriguez' defeat, he formed a petty personal vendetta against Justice Smith, the court's most conservative member. Perry personally recruited a hand picked challenger to Smith and devoted the full weight of the governor's office to defeating Smith in the 2004 GOP primary. Perry's advocacy for Paul Green in that race also inadvertantly caused the defeat of a conservative incumbent on the 3rd court of appeals by a liberal democrat running in the GOP primary with a similar name.
5. He attended a bizarre and cultish slavery apology ceremony for Juneteenth in 2004 put on by a fringe evangelical group called "Justice At The Gate" - a conservative equivalent of the left's slavery reparations movement. The ceremony publicly singled out all anglo people of the audience and asked them to come to the front of the church and kneel in repentence for slavery for simply being white.
6. He has employed the power of the governor's office to circumvent the electoral system of the Texas judiciary by using mid-term resignations and subsequent appointments, as cycled between a select few politically connected mega law firms, to ensure his chosen incumbent occupies what would otherwise be an open bench in the GOP primary.
7. He has continually mismanaged and bungled virtually every legislative session under his watch by failing to provide clear and salient leadership on key conservative issues like property tax reform.
The day that Rick Perry departs the governor's office will be a happy day for conservatives in Texas. At this point and given this record I would even take Hutchison over him as an improvement upon the status quo. She may not be the most conservative senator, but at least she doesn't stack her office full of Democrats and pander to the race baiters and slavery reparations crowds!
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