Roll Call ignores Leppert in Senate race
The headline for the article is “Two Texas Republicans square off for Senate,” and neither of them is named Leppert.
According to author Abby Livingston, “The March GOP primary has boiled down to two candidates who are drawing most of the attention: Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz.”
I think the race boiled down to one candidate–Dewhurst–long ago. He has shown no weakness during the campaign. The Dew has piles of money, solid name identification, and he can piggyback on Rick Perry’s conservative record, which he helped assemble. Cruz is a favorite of the ideological set; he wows ‘em at the Heritage Foundation and is a favorite of the tea party, but he ought to be running for attorney general in 2014, not the Senate in 2012.
If there is a race, which I don’t believe, it is between Dewhurst and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, whose name first appears far down in the story, four paragraphs from the bottom, and one paragraph AFTER Elizabeth Ames Jones’. Leppert is well known in the Metroplex, a rich lode of votes with its population of some 5 million. But that still leaves 20 million Texans unaccounted for. Leppert has money too, though not as much as Dewhurst, and he has already run some TV spots. I have consistently said from the beginning of this race that Dewhurst will win, and I see no reason to change my mind.
I think Cruz’s consultant, former John Cornyn operative John Drogin, sold Roll Call a bill of goods, e.g., “John Drogin, Cruz’s campaign manager, is a former staffer to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Drogin is a known quantity in Texas circles, and his decision to sign on with Cruz gives the campaign credibility with Republicans in Washington, D.C., and Austin.”
The House is Not a Home says:
Paul, you are wrong. No one – not the grassroots, not the establishment, not the Republican groups around the state – takes Tom Leppert seriously. The Tea Party and Republican clubs will not support Leppert.
Ted Cruz will give Dewhurst everything he can handle, and Livingston was dead on in her analysis.
I know this got some of the squishes in Dallas all upset, but once they get up from their fainting couches, they need to accept reality – Leppert has about as much of a chance as EAJ.
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paulburka Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
No one should take Tom Leppert seriously. Or Ted Cruz. Or Ames-Jones. Or anyone not named Dewhurst.
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The House is Not a Home Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
No one thought Marco Rubio or Rand Paul should have been taken seriously, either.
This is like Pat Toomey (Cruz) taking on Arlen Specter (Dewhurst).
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Conservative Texan Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Marco Rubio was a known quantity in Florida. He was speaker of the state house of representatives and a longtime party leader. It is simply incorrect to say “no one thought (Rubio) should have been taken seriously.”
Cruz has never faced the voters. He calls himself “Solicitor General,” but that means he was an appointed division head in the Attorney General’s office. Cruz thinks U.S. Senator is an entry level political office.
One more difference. Rubio won by beating Charlie Christ, who was as close to being liberal as any (R) in the country. Dewhurst, by contrast, has an extremely solid conservative record.
Sean Durkin Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Someone didn’t pay enough attention in 2010. The establishment ain’t what it used to be. Of course, if this guy opened his eyes every now and then, he might know that.
http://www.burntorangereport.com/upload/Burka%20Asleep.jpg
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paulburka Reply:
October 29th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
That’s the best you can do, an old photograph from 09?
FakeFakeTedCruz says:
But the article says John Drogin have Cruz credibility. How could that possibly be wrong???
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The House is Not a Home says:
Look at the DC thinktanks and grassroots groups Cruz has spoken to: AIPAC, Heritage, CPAC, AEI, Redstate Gathering, etc. Obviously, those groups give credibility to him and his staff.
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TeapartyTime says:
I am sick and tired of reading that Cruz is a tea party favorite. He is not. He is meskin. I reckon you know we don’t like his kind around gods country.
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Dave says:
If Romney wraps up the nomination very fast, turnout for the Texas primary may be low enough that a non-Dew could rally the wingnut troops, but if the Presidential race is still sucking up all the oxygen in the room, Cruz gets Carrillo-ed.
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TeapartyTime Reply:
October 29th, 2011 at 10:18 am
Your darn right, I reckon! We don’t take to kindly to his kind in our primary.
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Sabine Dweller says:
I love to watch you ‘wingers go at it!
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Bill says:
Leppert is a big government, country club Republican. He championed Dallas’ ginormous civic center hotel complex which is being built on the city’s dime, as I recall. Republicans at SMU love that type of thing because it helps them cope with their inferiority complex with Houston. But projects like that will never fly with the Texas Republican base, especially the Partiers of Tea. Leppert is DOA.
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paulburka says:
I’m not here to defend Leppert, but a mayor is supposed to do things that will improve his city. Obviously the tea party types don’t like it, but they are of a generation that isn’t thinking much about the future of Dallas, or Texas, for that matter. Most of them won’t be around to see it.
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Bill Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
But Paul, this wasn’t your typical convention center expansion or modern art center: it is a half-billion-dollar hotel funded and operated by the city. It was highly controversial because it goes to the heart of the conservative idea that there are only certain things that government ought to be doing: running hotels is not on the list.
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Bill Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
By the way, Leppert and the City of Dallas’ approach is much different than the way Rick Perry would have handled the situation. He would have created a single convention center hotel license, which would have been farmed out to one of his campaign contributors, and built by a construction company from Spain or the UME.
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Pat Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Bill, I would argue that big urban cities like Dallas are fundamentally different from say, the Frisco’s and Plano’s of the world. In urban centers you have to get the government on board to do big projects. The supply of developable land is more limited in the core of Dallas than any other urban center in Texas. Lacking a strong degree of coordination to build synergistic communities, a lot of real estate value can be left on the table. That hurts developers, local businesses, and taxpayers. If you want efficient outcomes in urban real estate, there are few options than a relatively strong-handed local government working with relatively large developers.
Anonymous Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
When was the last time Dallas mattered in Texas politics?
paulburka Reply:
October 30th, 2011 at 12:09 am
Regarding Bill, above. Dallas is a city that needs development. Development increases the value of property. It adds to the tax base. The optional gas tax increase in 2009 for transportation was about development. It wasn’t about moving people; it was about moving dirt. There was a huge civic and economic benefit to the raising the gasoline tax, but conservatives in the Legislature killed it. TPPF was particularly insistent that even an optional tax increase was not acceptable to conservatives.
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I. P. Shiner says:
Does anyone in Cruz’s immediate family work for Goldman Sachs? I heard his wife did, but M’m not sure.
If so, that would be ironic that he is trying to grab the anti-bailout tea party voters.
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Marlene says:
But i don’t get it, Ted Cruz father came from Cuba with 100 dollars sewn into his underwear, how can he not win?
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Bill Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
He might get elected Governor of Florida, but Senator from Texas? Not so much.
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Drazen Petrovic says:
Ted Cruz had been on a very good streak recently, but this week exposed his campaign’s inability to counter bad news. I don’t know James Bernsen but his defense on the CFR story was utterly pathetic.
As I mentioned in another post, this has not been the best week for Ted Cruz or his credibility.
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Anonymous says:
I like that Paul says no one should take Cruz or Leppert seriously, yet his last two blog posts are about them.
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TRUE NUMBERS says:
I have seen a poll that was paid for by a couple of associations.
Numbers:
Dewhurst was something like 54% with 80% name Leppert was 17%
McCaul was 15%
and don’t remember the rest but I do remember Ted Cruz was at 4% which was the margin of error.
That guy has no chance of becoming the junior Senator from Texas. Republican Primary voters have no idea who he is.
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Anonymous says:
Do you even follow Texas politics, talk to grassroots and party people, follow events? I’d say Dewhurst will win, but he doesn’t inspire anyone and if someone does upset Dewhurst, the smart money is on Cruz. Leppert is a neophyte.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
That is right on the money. Dewhurst the favorite; Cruz the dark horse to upset him because of his grassroots/activist firepower.
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TRUE NUMBERS says:
How is Cruz going to get his name ID up in a Statewide race? He is going to need a lot more than 2 million.
Cruz does not have a chance.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
Dewhurst is the “Romney” in the Senate race. Thanks but no thanks we’ve had enough of KBH and lawyer Hubby shilly for public tax$s.
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Conservative Texan Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
This is rich. JBB is a mindless defender of Perry. 30-40 posts a day. Dewhurst and Perry have worked together nicely for eight years, and it’s difficult to insert a piece of tissue paper between their state records.
Yet JBB is now denigrating Dewhurst? Another example of why BurnedAllHisBooks is the big joke of the Burkablog.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
awww did I step Mr dewhurst’s toes?
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paulburka Reply:
October 30th, 2011 at 12:15 am
No more 30-40 posts a day. I have started sending JBB’s posts to trash if he is going to insist on dominating the comments column. I sent three posts to trash earlier today.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
October 30th, 2011 at 6:00 am
“paulburka says:
Dewhirst has never been a particularly inspiring pol. He flip-flops, he goes back on his promises, he doesn’t know how to lead.”
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Tom says:
If we want the rest of the nation to look like Texas, that is low-paying jobs, poor schools, the highest drop out rate in the nation and the highest rate of teen pregnancies, then vote for the Dew.
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Anonymous Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
When did Texas become like the liberal bastions of LA, Detroit, Baltimore, NYC, and Chicago?
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Jerry Only Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
huh?
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Mr. Smith says:
Leppert seemed bored in council meetings just before rumors came out that he was going to quit to run for the Senate. And his campaign material has been uninspiring at best. He’s a good guy, and its a shame that he was sold a bill of goods to run for the Senate at a vulnerable moment when he wanted out of being Mayor. He couldn’t even finish one term as Mayor.
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Bill says:
I wonder if Leppert is using this run at the senate as a warm up for a campaign for governor in 2014?
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Alan Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Waste of time. Being a city mayor is a dead-end job in this state. Just ask Ron Kirk, Jim Granberry, Bill White, etc.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
October 31st, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Leppert knows running for statewide office will KILL your chances: see Ron Kirk, Bill White, Kirk Watson.
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Pit of Vipers says:
I’m inclined to agree with Burka on this one. Cruz has no money, no name id and his campaign suffers from a severe case of unwarranted arrogance. Let’s see how the Cruz camp spins the numbers of the next LEGITIMATE poll that comes out that shows them 30 points behind Dewhurst.
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Why, Burka, Why? says:
Ok, Paul. There you go again. The more you say Dewhurst is a sure bet to win, the more likely he is to win. Whatever.
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WUSRPH says:
The Birds in 7!
The Cardinals Win the World Series
And they did it the way it should be done—-with PITCHING
That shut the Rangers down and kept them down.
That’s Baseball the Way it is Supposed to Be!
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Walt Gipson says:
The real winner will be the proven conservative woman who takes no prisoners Elizabeth Ames Jones, just wait and see
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paulburka Reply:
October 29th, 2011 at 9:15 am
I’ll wait, but I doubt that I will see.
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Robert Morrow says:
At http://www.Intrade.com Rick Perry’s chance of being GOP nominee is at 10%
Romney 69%
Cain 8%
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Robert Morrow says:
GOP Insiders Near-Unanimous in Predicting Romney Nomination
http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2011/10/gop-insiders-ne.php
Mitt Romney 98
Rick Perry 72
Herman Cain 47
Newt Gingrich 31
Rick Santorum 13
Jon Huntsman 11
Michele Bachmann 7
Ron Paul 5
*Methodology: In tallying the rankings, a first-place vote was worth 5 points, a second-place vote was worth 4 points, and so on. The Insiders Index reflects the percentage of points that each contender received out of the maximum possible.
For example, Mitt Romney scored an Index rating of 98, meaning he received 98 percent of the possible 525 points, the number he would have if all 105 participants in the poll this week had ranked him first.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
October 29th, 2011 at 9:12 am
Basically, 98 out of 105 GOP insiders surveyed by the national journal thought that Mitt Romney would be the GOP nominee. An overwhelming amount of them.
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Dallasite says:
I agree Dallasites know Leppert, but not so much the entire Metroplex. For instance, I can’t name Fort Worth’s new mayor.
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Robert Morrow says:
Ever tried to inflate a balloon that has a whole in it? No matter how much air you blow in it, it just wheezes.
“Can Rick Perry rebound? His history – and money – suggest yes”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/10/28/128627/can-rick-perry-rebound-his-history.html
More Texas homer journalism talking about a revived Perry campaign …
I think I might declare for the presidency as a last minute write in candidate.
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WUSRPH says:
Some Texas reporters just can not let the idea of another president from Texas die…because they want to follow Ken Herman’s example and get to spend 8 years in Washington, DC, covering the “hometown boy”. Some of their editors/publishers also love the idea of getting an invitation to a White House dinner…Of course; they forget that, while the two Bushes might have at least gone thru the motions of caring about home-state media, Rick has always openly HATED THEM. There will be No invitations from him. P.S. By the way, who won the World Series?
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Robert Morrow Reply:
October 29th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Cardinals!
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jpt51 says:
The, “Dew” hurt himself badly, waffling during the legislative session. The flip-floppin gaff is reminiscent of Dewhurst’s early career public chewing out a staffer who lost a page in a speech.
With combined Hispanic and military votes, Sanchez will glide into office. His win will set a model and be the 1st of many Dems gaining back statewide office before this decade is over. Even with the Tea Party, uncontested Republican rule in Texas has peaked.
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paulburka says:
Dewhirst has never been a particularly inspiring pol. He flip-flops, he goes back on his promises, he doesn’t know how to lead. All that being said, he will win the Senate primary with ease.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
October 30th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Burka you said the exact same thing about Perry and Combs.
if you’re not careful the Burka/Morrow blog will get a kook reputation.
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Blue Dogs says:
Dewhurst is gonna be the next United States Senator from Texas in 2012, BOOK IT.
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Reality Check says:
The analogies of being the equivalent of Rubio are flat wrong. Anyone who has attended debates where Cruz was present cannot help but take away that he is: 1) a politician, 2) an academic, and 3) pompous. Which is exactly opposite of what you want to be as a statewide Republican in Texas.
And Drogin is a joke. Going from Press Secretary to a statewide campaign manager is a huge step. Drogin knows enough to be dangerous, but not enough to be effective and actually run a complete campaign. Combined with the GC’s current M.O., the Cruz campaign is amateur hour at its finest.
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