PPP: Cruz +10
The race has been moving in this direction for months now. Nothing Dewhurst has tried has changed the dynamics of the race at all. If anything, the millions Dewhurst has spent on TV have hurt his own campaign. The China ad and the Kids for Cash scandal ad have not achieved anything. Dewhurst’s array of consultants has never been able to lay a glove on Cruz. The most the campaign has been able to achieve is to establish the idea that Cruz is a lawyer who will take on any client who walks in the door, and that is just not enough to undermine Cruz’s positives.
The conventional wisdom concerning the numbers in this race is that the bigger the turnout, the better Dewhurst would do–the idea being that a large turnout would indicate that there is more to the GOP electorate than the tea party. But the fact is that the Dewhurst campaign never identified a constituency. The campaign was a mess from the start: Dewhurst, despite ten years in office, never really established an identity separate from Rick Perry.
And speaking of Perry, he’s the big loser in this race. He went all-in for Dewhurst, even lending him his own campaign organization. In effect, the Perry team portrayed Dewhurst as Perry’s alter ego. That was doomed to fail. In promoting Perry, the Dewhurst campaign diminished their own candidate.
What happens to Perry now? I think his political career may be over. The party he led is split, and the faction whose candidate he opposed appears to be winning the race. Perry’s ego is so huge that he thought he could get Dewhurst elected simply by endorsing him. How can he run for another term as governor (which he clearly wants to do) when he supported an establishment candidate against the tea party’s darling? Dan Patrick is in the same position. Both have lost credibility with their base. Everything is wide open now.
The big winner in this election (other than Cruz himself) is George P. Bush, Jeb’s son, who endorsed Cruz. That tells me two things: (1) he has inherited good political antennae; (2) his statewide political ambitions are on the fast track.
More from PPP:
Cruz’s [anticipated] victory is driven by 4 things: the Tea Party, the enthusiasm of his supporters, a generational divide within the Texas Republican ranks, and the lack of regard the party base currently holds for Rick Perry.
PPP is a Democratic polling firm and has every incentive to denigrate Rick Perry. Nevertheless, I believe PPP is right. There is a general lack of regard for Rick Perry among Republicans, Democrats, the tea party, and independents.
And Politico weighs in:
Runoffs, of course, are notoriously unpredictable and hard to poll. One example: Dewhurst adviser Dave Carney tells [Dave] Catanese, “I know we’re winning the early vote.” But PPP reports Cruz has a wide 55-40 lead among those who say they’ve already voted.
That fits. I don’t think anything I have heard from the Dewhurst campaign has proven to be accurate.
Tagged: david dewhurst, george p. bush, Ted Cruz
Larry Phillip's Pet Moose says:
The turning point in this campaign was when Carney and co dragged the political news media up to Dallas for the Craig James endorsement … Leading them along that it was something “big.” That ruined news coverage for them for weeks.
As we look back on the campaign, I find it very hard to think of three things the Dewhurst campaign did that was effective. Bad candidate. Bad campaign.
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paulburka Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 7:39 am
It’s easier to think of three things that were ineffective:
1. The Perry endorsement
2. The “China” and “Kids for Cash” TV ads
3. The organization of phone banks and get out the vote efforts.
Carney believes in one thing: media attack ads, period. The trouble is, they can backfire, and that is what happened in this race. I don’t think there was a single Dewhurst ad that was effective.
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Anonymous Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 10:06 am
Interesting new post – something to think about while we wait on returns.
http://texasconservativepolitics.blogspot.com/
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NE Texan Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 12:24 pm
It’s not interesting unless you consider beating a dead horse to be interesting. Hughes is probably running for Speaker because he’s tired of lying to the locals about whether or not he’ll support Straus.
Anonymous says:
You were right about Hutchison’s race all along, and I think you will be proven right about Gov. Dewhurst’s. I hope you are wrong, though, because I think Gov. Dewhurst would make a far better Senator for Texas than the idealogue with little experience, Ted Cruz.
Speaking of George P. Bush, what Republican Party will he inherit after endorsing Cruz & presumably running for office himself in 2014? You’ve addressed this in other posts, but it’s worth thinking long and hard about what this party will look like in the next few years. I wonder if George P. could make it a more open party, allowing for different points of view. Cruz’s Republican Party won’t.
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Anonymous says:
A party led by anyone who will say what the mob wants to hear. . . including the formeer chairwoman who left the party in debt and lied about it (how very TEA PARTY) of her
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Robert Morrow Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Sour grapes one day in advance. I am still GOTVing for Cruz.
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orale! says:
Dewhurst is just too old for the senate. Heck, KBH is about his age and she is retiring. Ted is 40 and has his whole political life in front of him. I’m an old fart myself and its time for change. The rigors of congress wears on anyone and especially those over 65. We need Dewhurst in AUS where life is good and slow, and he is effective here. The sharks is DC always eat the slowest target.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Orale, I tend to believe that deep down Dewhurst is regretting running for the Senate this year and he really wanted the Governor’s Mansion in 2014 and now that is gone too.
Burka, some Dems (the Clinton Dems) are sick of Obama and want him to go away because he’s a cancer and liability.
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linda says:
I’m embarrassed that either Dewhurst or Cruz will be a senator from Texas, but I’m afraid that’s what we’ll have. So, if Cruz wins, the move-up-the-next-rung merry-go-round of Repugs has to regroup. That’s the only positive thing I see, and it’s positive to me because it will frustrate Combs, Patrick, Patterson, etc.
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Neither Hatfield nor McCoy says:
The writing was on the wall pretty early. If Dewhurst had really locked this up – if his money and perceived popularity in the party were worth what people liked to say they were worth – he wouldn’t have had a challenger to speak of. Cruz has been running statewide for the last few years, and he never let up. He’s personable, has a compelling personal story that everyone who has heard him speak knows by now, he opted for a young campaign team with a lot of drive and enthusiasm and no cynicism in any of them.
Those singing dirges about the death of the Republican Party haven’t paid very close attention. There was more excitement and dedication at this last convention than there has been in a decade or better, and almost all of it is due to Cruz.
George P.’s group is endorsing every Hispanic Republican that comes along – and many of them are winning. Cruz would be a crowning achievement, that’s certain. But I doubt George P. will be able to trade on the Bush name so easily – he’s got a lot of groundwork to lay yet, since he’s not precisely well-known and leaves a lot to be desired as a public speaker.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Tom Leppert took establishment votes from Dewhurst, which HURT him big time and had Leppert not been in the race, Dewhurst should have locked this up months ago.
He got LAZY-just like LSU did last year when they were undefeated in the BCS title game against Bama and got lazy-ending getting choke-slammed by the Crimson Tide.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
Two things 1. “PPP is a Democratic polling firm and has every incentive to denigrate Rick Perry” you are correct PPP is an arm of the dem party their polls reflect this.
2. If Cruz does win it will be the dems who helped by dragging out this election season and Cruz will be the dems worst nightmare.
you can’t make this stuff up, dems would shoot themselves in the foot than win an election.
Simply amazing.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Since when was the PPP in the pocket of Ted Cruz, the Tea Party and the far right of the GOP?
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Cow Droppings Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
they consistently look for opportunities to stick it to Perry.
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Anonymous Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
What is their number? I’m a Republican and I’d love to help them.
John Johnson Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 5:22 pm
I could stomach Dewhurst over Cruz, becuase Cruz is such a phoney. He will become the worst type of politician. He’s has all the characteristics.
Perry, on the other hand, I cannot support in any shape, form or fashion. He has been self serving, a bully, a facilitator for special interests, and a sorry leader. As I stated in an earlier post, a chimpanzee in a suit could have done just as good a job as governor. Perry has had nothing to do with how the Texas economy has weathered the storm…oil and gas has been our savior. He has ended up making Texans look like fools. In a sense, I guess we are.
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new voice Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Win what election? The Ds can’t manage their own primary much less the ones the Rs are having. Neither Cruz nor the Dew would make the Ds happy. If the Dew is marginally more palatable, they’d rather have him presiding over the Senate in Austin than serving at the bottom of the Republican seniority list in DC.
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The 30" Line Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 11:42 pm
Well, JBB, looks like we are going to have to listen to your snark for another 12 years.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/30/1114634/-Projecting-Texas-The-Coming-Democratic-Plurality?detail=hide
This writer really gets in the demographic weeds and predicts Texas will shift to Democratic in 2024.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
The Dew by 6-8 pts.
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Spiro Eagleton Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 1:43 pm
You keep saying that and again and again you offer no proof, nor even any anecdotal evidence.
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anon Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
Both candidates are so abhorrent they could only be elcted here, Arizona or South Carolina.
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Spiro Eagleton Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
You are out to lunch anon. How is Cruz any different from Rubio in FL or Toomey in PA?
anon Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Dewhursts ties to Perry wil sink him. And give our state a Rand Paul lunatic.
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anon Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Crux is like Rubio or Toomey. Repellant to free thinking people that value freedom and liberty.
Anonymous says:
Hear that? It is the sound of conventional wisdom crashing down around us and it is glorious.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 1:59 pm
Love it. The GOP establishment needs to be bitch slapped back into reality.
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Anonymous Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
There is gonna be a lot of butthurt at the Texas Capitol tomorrow.
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Distinguished Gentleman Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Spiro Eagleton at 3:37 p.m., I sure hope that you are correct about Donna Campbell defeating Jeff Wentworth tomorrow. He is the worst RINO I have ever seen and he is a classic example of why we need term limits.
Just Another Joe Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Robert, what is your predicition in the Wentworth runoff?
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Spiro Eagleton Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 3:37 pm
I’m not Robert, but I think Campbell wins. In fact, its shaping up to be a very big day for the Tea Party wing of the party. I think Cruz and Campbell easily win. Stockman has a good shot in east Texas. Riddle is running against a lot of money in his CD race against Roger Williams, but even he may pull it out. Very few voters will be splitting their tickets between Tea Party vs establishment candidates. To me the big unknown is the Medina vs Devine Supreme Court race. The two RRC races are hard to peg as well, though I think Smitherman and Chisum are the favorites. I’ve seen nothing from the Craddick campaign. Perhaps they are just missing me somehow. I did get another Chisum mailer on Friday.
Robert Morrow Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 5:47 pm
60% chance of Donna Campbell winning – a guess.
Spiro Eagleton says:
Carney is a hack and Perry and his crew have embarrassed themselves once again. Those early voting numbers are Cruz votes. What happened was early voting was condensed into 5 days instead of 12 and with no weekend early voting. Also, the voters this go around certainly knew who they were for, so there was little reason to wait until election day. I’ve been saying 55-45 for Cruz for a while now, but with the way things are trending I wouldn’t be surprised to see an even bigger blowout along the lines of what happened in Indiana. Dewhurst in his cheesy, tough-talkin’ cowboy ad tells the viewer, “Let’s shut it down.” Perhaps he’s speaking of his moribund campaign?
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Willie James Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
Can anyone really imagine Roger Williams in elected office?
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paulburka Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 5:49 pm
I can imagine Roger a lot easier than I can imagine Wes Riddle, who thinks the U.S. has given away Alaskan islands belonging to the U.S. to Russia.
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The Ghost of Sam Houston says:
The Texans for Rick Perry Steering Committee has to be rethinking their support for a failed, tired candidate who doesn’t even have coat tails in his own state. What a profound embarrassment for Perry and his political team.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 12:35 pm
When Perry dropped out of the presidential race, he should have kept QUIET and stayed away from the public.
You know Dewhurst wanted to be governor in 2014, but his wife pushed him into the Senate race (his body language showed me that he didn’t want it).
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City Slicker says:
Agree that Danny Goeb (Patrick’s real name) is second biggest loser here. The biggest winner is Cruz’s mentor and future gubernatorial candidate AG Greg Abbott. With millions in the campaign account and Ted winning, he is a lock.
Watch Abbott attack how the Legislature “balances” the budget with fund balances and the like. Problem is Goeb, who was once the ultimate outsider is now Mr. Insider and has to defend all of his actions and votes.
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Vernon says:
I’d wait to see how the next session goes before I make the call about Perry’s political future. That’s where the rubber will meet the road. Then we’ll see how much support he has amongst his party.
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Distinguished Gentleman says:
Like I said in the comments section of a previous article, I think what turned off many voters (including myself) was the over-the-top negativity of Dewhurst’s approach to this whole campaign.
A Cruz victory should serve as a lesson to future candidates that if you are going to sling mud at your opponent, do so in lighter doses. Going too heavy, as Dewhurst has done, will only back-fire on you and furnish victory to your opponent.
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anon Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
Red meat conservatives love negative campaigning. They invented it, live for it, get excited by it.
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Just Another Joe Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Robert Caro’s take on the 1941 and 1948 Democrat US Senate primaries would take issue with your suggestion that red meat conservatives invented negative campaigning.
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Just Another Joe Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Slight correction….1941 was a free for all special election for US Senator, but Ds put up the only noteworthy candidates.
Anonymous Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Amen, LBJ demonized the most honest man in Texas.
Blue Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
I voted for the Dew but I was torn on the decision, mainly due to his horrid and baseless attacks on Cruz.
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Distinguished Gentleman says:
anon at 1:54 p.m., I see Dewhurst as “establishment” not as “red meat conservative”.
Dewhurst went way over the top on negativity toward Cruz and it back-fired on Dewhurst.
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Robert Morrow says:
I am sure those Perry people were egging on Dewhurst to go negative on Cruz. All the “Cow Droppings” and “Turd Blossom” in the world is not gonna push Dewhurst over the finish line.
Negative campaigning works.
Until it backfires on you and all those conservative opinion makers had Ted Cruz’s back on this.
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Anonymous says:
Paul,
If Dew loses and loses big, does Straus hold the cards? He doesn’t have to bow to pressure from the senate and Gov.
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paulburka Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 3:57 pm
No, I think the extreme conservative proclivities of the House make it impossible for Straus to lead. He can remain as speaker, but I can’t envision a scenario in which he is a coequal in the leadership.
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Republican Insider says:
The culprit for a Dewhurst loss will be Attorney General Greg Abbott. Had he sought preclearance from the DOJ, the new Texas Senate map would have been precleared, a federal court would have redrawn five alleged illegal House districts, and the Texas Primary would have been held in March, giving Dewhurst a huge advantage.
Abbott, his political hacks, and legal strategists miscalculated the effects of a delayed primary.
George P. Bush does not support the Tea Party. He endorsed Ted Cruz because he is Hispanic, not because of Cruz’ views to get Tea Party votes.
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Crikey the Teabagger Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 4:56 pm
George P. Bush does not know what he supports.
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Robert says:
There are not nearly enough TEA Party activists in the state to account for Cruz’ lead. I know dozens of Republican Women activists who are not involved in local TEA Party action who are working hard for Cruz.
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Patriotone says:
This is what happens when party primaries are controlled by small numbers of very committed, very ideological (see Democratic Party) voters. It about killed the Democratic Party and it will not bode well for the GOP. This is Paul Sadler’s only chance and whether it happens this cycle or in two cycles, this will hasten Texas’ return to purple, if not blue status.
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Just Another Joe Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Patriotone -
You could be on to something. The last telling sign in the process of destroying itself could be in ’14 or ’18 if statewide incumbent Rs start challenging each other out of spite and/or a lack of patience.
The same thing happened to the D’s in the late 70s and early 80s, and though we still had formidable names like Bullock and Richards still to come, as a party they never fully recovered.
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Willie james Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 3:16 pm
This makes some sense. If you couple the politics of destruction within the Texas GOP with the demographic shifts we are seeing this state could skip purple and go blue in ’18. If Obama loses it could accelerate this.
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Just Another Joe Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 3:25 pm
An Obama loss now is the only thing that Ds have to hope for in order to be competitive statewide in ’14, as they could sneak up and take advantage of a Romney backlash.
But if Obama is still in office in ’14 then the backlash his party will experience at the polls will be similar to that of what Republicans suffered in ’08 (Bush’s last midterm election). Obama still president in ’14 = guarentee D’s are shut out statewide for their 20th consecutive year.
Blue Dogs Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 3:45 pm
I’m expecting Obama to LOSE to Romney this fall and Dems losing the US Senate. Romney will win re-election against Hillary or Cuomo in 2016, and Dems will have to clean house and get new blood in their party as well.
Russell says:
I think anyone who believes that Ds could take statewides in 2014 underestimates the dysfunction of the TDP.
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Jerry Only Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 9:35 pm
bingo.
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Distinguished Gentleman says:
Agreed, Russell. And the word “dysfunction” is perfect as a description for the Texas Democratic Party. I do, however, see them once again as a force to be reckoned with by 2020–and that would be due to the rapidly changing demographics of Texas.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 4:42 pm
where do you think the dysfunctional should congregrate but in the Dysfunctional Party AKA the dem partry?
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Crikey the Teabagger Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Well, there went that conversation.
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Bodhisattva says:
What happens to Perry now? I think his political career may be over. The party he led is split, and the faction whose candidate he opposed appears to be winning the race… How can he run for another term as governor (which he clearly wants to do) when he supported an establishment candidate against the tea party’s darling?
Paul, I have heard you read Rick Perry’s Last Rites a few times now (even said “Amen” a couple times at the appropriate places). But I don’t think he’s as wounded as you say. In fact, I think the only thing that can keep him from a re-election cakewalk in 2014 is if Abbott gets impatient. I doubt the Dems will have a serious foe for Perry, although he’s probably the most vulnerable of the statewides.
A thought experiment: what would Perry have to do to be beaten by a Democrat in 2014? Invade Louisiana? Marry a coyote? Come out in favor of an income tax?
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
having a deep bench and not enough spots so everyone can play is a good problem Vs the dems problem of no lineup and no bench.
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paulburka Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
I have never been one to sell Rick Perry short. But his support of Dewhurst is going to cost him dearly with the most conservative voters. He had a disastrous presidential race followed by disastrous attempt to elect a candidate his base did not like instead of a candidate his base liked.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Burka, I have given Perry the Last Rites on his political career and have done so since last year.
I’m so looking forward to Greg Abbott moving into the Governor’s Mansion on January 20, 2015 once Perry rides off the sunset quietly.
On Perry’s long governorship, it was FUN while it lasted (see David Robinson’s run with the SA Spurs).
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Brown Bess says:
Continue to be Rick Perry?
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The Most Interesting Man in the World says:
I don’t always vote in the R Primary, but when I do, I prefer George P Bush over Rick Perry. And by a wide margin.
The Bush payback to Perry will be a bitch, my friends. Stay thirsty!
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The Mustache That Dare Not Speak Its Name Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 6:43 pm
I’d vote in the GOP primary for Bush if that opportunity presented itself.
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Anon Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 10:22 pm
George P wants Ag Commissioner or Lite Gov
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Robert Morrow Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 12:29 am
I would vote for Rick Perry over any Bush … sorry George P!
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Blue Dogs Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 12:39 pm
If I had to choose between Jordyn Weiber vs. Rick Perry in the governor’s race, I would pick Jordyn Weiber in a heartbeat.
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Anonymous says:
What about our dear friend MQS, Paul? Will his silence on this race and his lickspittle relationship with the now tarnished Rick Perry finally cause people to take his true corporatism (AKA not conservativism) at face value?
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Anonymous says:
Terrific picture here of Perry and Dewhurst looking as un-natural as you’d imagine pretending to work the phones. Hard to roll up those sleeves on a 103 degree day with the French cuffs and shiny cuff links… WINCE.
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2012/07/rick-perry-and-david-dewhurst-are-working-for-votes-as-texas-senate-race-winds-down.html/
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anita says:
There was a story in one of the major dailies over the weekend listing what the candidates were doing — Cruz hitting the major media markets with rallies, and Dew heading to Lubbock and West Texas.
Any statewide candidate who is in Lubbock on the weekend before election day is a loser — that tells you all you need to know. Poor Dew, he just doesn’t get it.
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Anonymous Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 9:27 am
Anita,
The Dew’s strength should be west texas, south texas and the urban counties. Cruz will smoke him in big suburban counties. Lubbock is probably where he needs to be. Having said that Cruz wins because of the turnout he’s getting in Collin, Denton, Williamson, Montgomery, and Fort Bend. The runoff races in Dallas County HD114 & HD115 will help Cruz in a county that should still go for Dewhurst but not as much as he needs.
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Tarry House says:
George P may be waiting a longtime to run now, since Dew may lose and there will be no openings for GP. With his ridiculous Cubano (and T part) pandering for Cruz, maybe GP waits til 2020 and runs as a D. What about that TMF?
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paulburka Reply:
July 30th, 2012 at 11:24 pm
Others say he wants to run for land commissioner. No chance George P. runs as a D.
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orale! Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 12:38 am
True dat! I can see GLO commish.
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Distinguished Gentleman says:
The Dew, Tarry House, is another poster child for term limits. After his defeat tomorrow for the position of U.S. Senator, if the Dew has any grace at all, he will simply retire from elective office entirely by January 2015–running for nothing at all in 2014. Again, that is if he has any grace at all.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
August 1st, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Distinguished, 12 years is generous on term limits with a 4-year sitting out period.
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Garner's Bucket says:
Please do not forget that if Cruz happens to win tomorrow due to an influx of unprecedented amounts of soft money and truly bizarre timing of the runoff it does nothing to change the general shellacking the TP suffered in the primary and will continue to endure when the electorate is large enough to swamp their relatively minute numbers. The sky is not falling. Relax.
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Charlie Adaway says:
Sure is a lot of talk on here about a guy with a familiar name that has distinguished himself only as an associate at a big-time small-ball law firm. If George P had any chops Baker Botts would have hired him.
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The Mustache That Dare Not Speak Its Name Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 9:11 am
Akin Gump is small-ball? Give me a break. Also, sticking around to make partner at a big law firm is like winning a pie-eating contest where the prize is a lifetime supply of pie. Moving on to go into business isn’t a bad move for George P. or anyone else.
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anon says:
That’s very true, and the Bush name is a bit tarnished these days.
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paulburka Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 7:34 am
Don’t ascribe the sins of the uncle to the nephew.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 8:09 am
George P. Bush trades off his name and when he does that it carries the baggage of GHW Bush, his dad Jeb and George W. Bush.
George P. talks about the “Bush way” of politics and I am sick of the “Bush way” of politics.
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donuthin says:
Looks like the Republicans are being very gracious. They are doing everything they can to help the democrats re-establish themselves. Now if only the democrats would help.
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SuzyQBankston says:
Don’t forget republicans vote today and democrats vote…well never mind democrats get what we deserve, because we’re just that stupid. Me and hubby are in charge of strategy for the democrats statewide and if you think democrats are doing badly now wait till we finish!
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Robert Morrow says:
Well, today is Trifecta Tuesday – let’s see if we can get a triple win of Cruz, Campbell and Steve Stockman! Now that would be fun …
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Distinguished Gentleman Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Robert, aren’t you forgetting about Wes Riddle?
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Robert Morrow Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 7:50 pm
I am for Wes. But that is a race where Big Money makes the difference over a political newcomer.
Wes Riddle REP 8,827 39.51%
Roger Williams REP 13,511 69.50%
As for Steve Stockman, this is not his first rodeo. And Stockman’s opponent not as strong as Roger Williams who has a lot of high level friends from Rick Perry to GHW Bush.
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Anonymous says:
Dewhurst posed before cameras Monday eating Chick-Fil-A. Didn’t the Chick-Fil-A guy brag about how Chick-Fil-A people are married to their first wives?
Just askin’
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John Johnson Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 10:27 am
Your question would lead one to believe that there is something wrong with bragging about being with your first wife. There is a difference in being happy about being with first spouse and condemning others who are not. Did he condemn anyone?
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Anonymous Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 12:29 pm
F Bigot-Fil-A. What a great way to ruin a franchise! STAY OUT OF SOCIAL POLITICS.
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John Johnson Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 1:21 pm
They won’t miss your business, Annie. They are, in fact, gaining business from this brouhaha.
Jerry Only Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 1:59 pm
you should have had a clue beforehand anon. staying closed on sundays and forgoing a large portion of their revenue? too bad they didnt realize jesus likes chicken too.
Tom says:
If any politician spends ten years in the same job, he ought to be able to grow a pair and have something to show for it. Dewhurst became Do Nothing, and he’s paying for it.
Had he grown a backbone and noted education spending ought to go up in light of the state’s population adding four congressional seats, he would have been rewarded for showing some leadership.
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Anonymous Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 3:50 pm
I love church, Sundays and gays.
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Anonymous Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 4:19 pm
It will cost the company millions. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0727/Chick-fil-A-dilemma-Uphold-principles-or-just-sell-chicken-video
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John Johnson says:
Yeah, right. If Dewhurst had bowed his neck and fought with Perry on any issue, there would have been hell to pay. It wasn’t until Perry showed his true colors in front of an astonished nation, that his political power went south, and along with it others’ fear of him. In the last decade who has crossed Perry. Where are they now? Don’t just pound on Dew for being a Perry lapdog. How about Ogden? He’s the one I lost respect for. Knowing he was not going to run again, he could have stood up and educated Texans to the stinky manipulation of designated accounts and voodoo accounting principles being used to come up with a phoney balanced budget. He didn’t. Shame on him.
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Anonymous Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Ogden did what he could, and Dewhurst sold him out on the rainy day fund.
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John Johnson Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Please don’t tell me that Ogden did all he could. He sat there knowing what the situation was and he could see what was coming. He rolled over and played dead. He didn’t use the bully pulpit he had available to him to let Texans know that they were being hoodwinked. He kept his mouth shut. He started off the session saying all the right things; he ended up being just another huge disappointment.
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Anonymous Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Not as much of a disappointment as Dewhurst, who will sell out his principles for the Governor.
Ben Quick says:
one think – Dew has always been to reliant on his staff for political dicissions – Bruce, Rob or Blaine – whether you agree with him or not Laney always told staff to “give me your information” I will decide on the politics – I don’t know about Bullock’s position – I think he was a little closer to the staff/political approach because back then it was more intramural
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Anonymous Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 12:27 pm
Bullock made his own political decisions.
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Anonymous says:
Unlike today’s spineless Republicans, Bullock not only enjoyed a good fight, he went looking for a fight and took on John Hill, Bill Clements, Ann Richards and everyone else.
And they named a museum after him. I wonder what Dewhurst and Perry will have named after them.
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Scoop Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Dewhurst – a chicken coop.
Perry – a prison wing.
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Distinguished Gentleman Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Anonymous at 11:55 a.m., Bullock particularly went after Mark White.
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The Mustache That Dare Not Speak Its Name Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 2:05 pm
And that turned out so well for the Democratic Party in Texas, didn’t it? Bullock did a lot of good things and clearly cared about Texas, but the mythmaking about him seems overdone a couple of decades afterwards.
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Nick says:
It’s farcical that the Tea Party are supporting a guy who has spent his entire career working in government, and attended elite East Coast schools.
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The Mustache That Dare Not Speak Its Name Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 1:40 pm
“If God didn’t want them sheared, he would not have made them sheep.”
–Calvera in “The Magnificent Seven”
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Nick says:
I don’t think people are sheep, I just think it’s the partisan mind at work. Basically, all the stuff they talk about they just really don’t care about when their guy is in there (deficits, elite schools, being a lawyer, catching Bin Laden, etc.).
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John Johnson Reply:
July 31st, 2012 at 4:04 pm
You are talking about the radicals, Nick. The 42%’ers in the middle care. In this particular race there ended up being no good choice. Flip a coin for most. For me, take the one who is predictable. Others seem to think Cruz is R. Paul clone. How disappointing it is going to be for them if Cruz does indeed prevail.
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