Free Republic

..... In 58 days GOP voters will select either Kay Bailey Hutchison or Rick Perry, two political veterans, popular with their party, undefeated in decades of elections. In all probability, the price of admission is too steep for political newcomer Debra Medina as the two leaders stage an air-war of political ads likely to tally a combined $30 million over two months. "It is politics at full-throttle," said Bill Miller, who advises corporate and political clients. "This will be a race where there will be a lot of gut shots, low blows. They'll be punches thrown meant to incapacitate...

As the health care debate consumed Congress this month, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison emerged as a visible critic – impassioned but powerless. One day last week, for instance, she took to the Senate floor to rail against a provision allowing for immediate tax hikes to pay for programs that won't roll out for three or four years. That's an outrage, she declared, arguing to send the bill back to committee. Democrats quickly swatted down the stalling tactic, tabling her motion before Republicans could react. Visibly angry, Hutchison denounced the maneuver moments later. "We're talking about $100 billion in taxes that...

The contentious race for governor of Texas has come down to accusations over who does and who doesn’t care about troops. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry have been trading shots about one of her votes on the defense-spending bill. The newly minted law could pump an estimated $8.2 million more into the San Angelo economy, thanks to a pay raise for military personnel. Hutchison appeared to have acquired an unlikely ally Monday in the brouhaha. “Rick Perry owes American military men and women an apology for treating them as collateral to his gutless political campaign,” Texas Democratic...

Opponents say senator betrayed Republicans by voting to end defense bill filibuster. A hodgepodge group of about a dozen people gathered outside Kay Bailey Hutchison's Austin office Monday to protest a procedural vote by the U.S. senator that they say helped expedite the disputed health care bill. Hutchison, who is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in March, has come under fire from Gov. Rick Perry's campaign since the Friday vote, related to a defense spending bill. Senate Republican leaders had organized a filibuster on an item that included nearly $130 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They...

2010 is going to be an amazing year for political junkies, but I think one thing everyone agrees on is that the March 2 Republican gubernatorial primary in Texas is going to be one for the ages. That's the one where Gov. Rick Perry is being challenged by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. So much ink has been spilled on this race, none better I thought than the Dec. 6 article in the New York Times Magazine by Robert Draper, who calls the matchup a great example of the GOP's "internal discontents": The issues and cultural references in the race are...

This is so potentially great, even greater than we thought it could be. For a while, ex-Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle talked about running for governor. That could have led to a November battle between Democrat Earle and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, now running against Gov. Rick Perry in the GOP gubernatorial primary. Earle v. Hutchison would have been a rematch of the battle previously known as The State of Texas v. Hutchison, a long-ago criminal case in which Earle was The State of Texas and he wanted to send Hutchison to prison for up to 51 years. The...

Rick Perry doesn't like to talk about his days as a Democrat, particularly his role in 1988 as the head of Al Gore's presidential campaign in Texas. But on Wednesday, after he accepted and endorsement from a group of builders in Dallas, I managed to get out a question about his relationship with Gore and where each stands on Gore's pet issue of climate change. "I certainly got religion," Perry said. "I think he's gone to hell." That drew big laughs from the construction types gathered for Perry's appearance. Perry sounds like a store-front preacher discussing the issue. Hear it...

California: While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger worries about rising seas, his state sinks below the waves. Don't mess with Texas, they say. But California and the nation could follow its lead. Last Wednesday, Gov. Schwarzenegger released a new report based on research compiled by the California Energy Commission claiming that by 2100 San Francisco Bay would be more bay than San Francisco, with Fisherman's Wharf and Treasure Island under the rising waters of climate change. His show-and-tell, which included a new Google Earth application the commission spent $150,000 to help develop, goes a long way toward explaining the once-Golden State's slide...

The Montana Firearm Freedom Act was signed into law in October of this year. Here is a recent update: http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=11610180. So how does this apply to Texas right now and in the near future?One of the strategic goals of the 10th amendment movement is the passage of a firearms bill in as many states as possible. The “Firearm Freedom Act” bills state that firearms manufactured in a state that are not sold or transferred across state lines are not subject to federal gun laws. In general, federal guns laws are based on the “commerce” clause in the Constitution. This means...

Farouk Shami of Houston, who made a fortune in the hair care business, is the first Democrat running for governor to start airing TV ads. And he plans to air a lot of them so voters can get to know the relatively unknown candidate. It's not surprising, then, that his first ad is long on image and short on details. The ad describes Shami's early business career this way: "Arriving with $71 in his pocket, a man came to Texas and turned a dream into a reality." Shami made millions by founding Farouk Systems in Houston that makes hair care...

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Mayor Bill White is about to switch his future plans from not being elected to the U.S. Senate to not being elected Texas governor. White's move comes as Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's laughably inept run for the governorship continues to implode. Sooner or later KBH will realize she's been out-teabagged by Gov. Rick Perry, she'll regretfully analyze that Texas needs her in the Senate to fight communism, and she'll withdraw from the gubernatorial race. That means no Senate opening until 2012 at least. Luckily White -- even as he has been relentlessly insisting he...

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Maybe it won’t turn out to be the turning point of the 2010 gubernatorial race, but it probably was the defining one when Rick Perry hinted that Texas should secede from the United States. Perry, addressing the Tea Party-inspired fury aimed at the federal government earlier this year, coyly said several times, in various ways, that Texans love their country, but if Washington refused to heed the Constitution, well ... Most Americans either laughed or gasped, but most of the people who will vote in next year’s Texas Republican primary either applauded or nodded approvingly. It...

Nov. 23--AUSTIN A Fort Worth attorney Tom Schieffer dropped out the Texas governor's race today and urged the remaining Democratic candidates to unit behind Houston Mayor Bill White as the party's best chance to beat Republicans next fall. Schieffer's withdrawal came amid strong reports that White, who is now running for the U.S. Senate, will switch races to run for governor as the Democratic consensus. White said he will make a decision by Dec. 4. There was no immediate indication that other Democratic candidates planned to accept Schieffer's request. A spokeswoman for Austin entertainer Kinky Friedman said Friedman plans to...

WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry has been campaigning against Washington, and Washington is returning the favor — no endorsements here. In the back and forth between Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Perry over gubernatorial endorsements, it’s no contest when it comes to the Texas congressional delegation: It’s Hutchison 10 and Perry 0.Ten of the 20 U.S. House Republicans have publicly endorsed Hutchison, and insiders say it is unlikely that any of the remaining 10 will endorse Perry, preferring to remain neutral.Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, who until now has not said what he would do, told the Star-Telegram that...

Debra Medina (R), candidate for Texas Governor, addresses illegal immigration and the fact that D.C. has announced the deportation of 37,000 illegals from other states through Presidio, TX. Current Gov. Perry sends handwringing letter to Janet Napolitano while border sheriffs are left trying to devise ways to block the 37,000 from swarming back over the border into TX, further destroying the economy.

By Jason Embry | Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 04:14 PM The high command of Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election campaign is encouraging supporters to participate in something called Operation Intervention, which is an effort to convert supporters of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison before the filing period begins Dec. 3. The goal of this operation seems to be convincing Hutchison not to run. In a Saturday memo to “interested parties,” Perry consultant Dave Carney wrote, “Between now and the filing period December 3rd, I would like to ask you to engage in Operation Intervention by reaching out to Hutchison supporters...

Cedar Creek, Texas (CNN)– Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Thursday that he hopes Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison remains in the Senate and acknowledged that he has spoken with her about challenging Gov. Rick Perry in the GOP primary. Barbour, head of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), would not elaborate on his conversation with Hutchison, but did say he personally hopes Perry wins another term. "I would just hate to lose Kay Bailey in the Senate," Barbour said at a news conference during the RGA's annual meeting. "She has been a great senator. I would just hate to lose a great...

Gov. Rick Perry on Monday defended efforts he once made to have girls vaccinated against the HPV virus that can lead to cervical cancer. "I've always though HPV was an issue of life," Perry said in Dallas. The governor was responding to a reporter's question about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's decision to stop requiring that immigrant girls and women seeking green cards get the HPV, or human papillomavirus vaccine. Two years ago Perry, in the face of extreme opposition, ordered a HPV vaccination program in Texas. He said it would have had an opt out provision....

Gov. Rick Perry's campaign, not too surprisingly, pounced on Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's comment on Meet the Press that if Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner deserves to be fired, members of Congress do, too. "Senator Hutchison finally admitted that she is part of the problem with the out-of-control spending in Washington," said Perry spokesman Mark Miner. "After supporting record deficits, bailouts and earmarks during her more than 16 years in Washington, most Texans would agree with the Senator's statement, 'We shouldn't keep our jobs either.'" Hmmm. Doesn't that contradict Perry's old standby that Texas is better off if Hutchison stays in...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison have agreed to a debate before their hotly contested Republican gubernatorial primary next spring. Officials at KERA-TV (Channel 13) said Friday that both candidates accepted a Jan. 14 debate in North Texas. The primary is March 2. KERA says Hutchison might ask for the debate to be reset if it conflicts with a Senate vote on health care reform. The hourlong debate will include an audience and questions from journalists. It will be distributed to all TV and radio stations in the state.