Ronnie Earle for governor?
I don’t think he can win a Democratic primary against someone of equal or greater stature, and if he does win the Democratic primary, he has no chance in a general election. He won’t get a single Republican crossover vote. Republicans don’t believe that Earle was a fair prosecutor as head of the Travis County Public Integrity Unit, which has responsibility for overseeing ethics issues at the Capitol. I did think that he was fair: Earle prosecuted high-profile Democrats, most famously then-speaker Gib Lewis, who chose to resign, and attorney general Jim Mattox, who served two terms and went on to run for governor against Ann Richards in 1994, losing in the Democratic primary. But Republicans will never forgive him for what they regarded as an overzealous prosecution of then-treasurer Kay Bailey Hutchison, bringing felony charges for offenses that were more in the nature of misdemeanors. Nor are they likely to forgive his prosecution of Tom DeLay. Both prosecutions were ultimately unsuccessful, although DeLay did have to step down as U.S. House Majority Leader. The point is, Earle has zero crossover appeal, and the Democrats must field a candidate who can win over Republicans who are not enamored of Rick Perry. This is a doomed candidacy.
Tagged: governor, ronnie earle.
Brad R. says:
Thank you! Someone finally understands that Democrats need crossover votes. Earle does not bring this to the table and neither do the rest of the potential candidates the Austin establishment has proposed.
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Rog says:
In a race between Earle and KBH, who do you think John Connally’s daughter will vote for? There’s one cross over vote.
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Anonymous Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 4:53 pm
LMAO!!!!
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Anonymous says:
Didn’t Earle’s prosecution of DeLay fail because checks aren’t money, i.e., a fix by a Republican court?
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paulburka Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Yes, I think it was the Court of Criminal Appeals. Sharon Keller’s defense of Tom DeLay’s rights was especially touching.
The “checks are not money” case came from the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin. Presiding judge Ken Law was defeated for reelection.
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loggr150 Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Yes the 3rd Court of Appeals did say that checks are not included as money in the money laundering statute. Democrats on that same court wanted the same motion reheard but was refused. It is now in the hands of Criminal Court of Appeals — who already has ruled in DeLay’s favor on ex post facto — meaning you can’t charge someone with a crime that didn’t exist at the time. The statute clearly shows that checks were not included and therefore the court ruled appropriately.
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Anonymous says:
Yet another nail in the KBH coffin. An Earle candidacy comes with a mention in every single news story that he prosecuted her for abusing both her office and staff. How much you want to bet she doesn’t want to be reminded of that on a daily basis?
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Brad R. says:
And how did that prosecution turn out? Charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. She will use the outcome against him.
KBH destroys Ronnie Earle in a general election.
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Anonymous says:
When the story inevitably begins with the prosecution and all its tawdry details, most readers won’t make it to the end.
KBH doesn’t even run.
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Cincinnatus says:
Both prosecutions were ultimately unsuccessful, although DeLay did have to step down as U.S. House Majority Leader.Actually, aren’t some of the DeLay cases still pending? Perhaps that shows how politicized they were–the outcome of the court case was always secondary to the politics involved.
Earle has no chance in a general election campaign for governor. None. His best hope is to run for AG, beat Radnofsky (sp?) in the primary (which he could do handily), and then cross his fingers for a down-ballot Democratic surge in November.
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Patrick Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
@Cincinnatus
The problem with Earle (or any Democrat) for Attorney General (or any down ballot office) is that there has to be some kind of spark at the top of the ballot. I don’t know much about Tom Schieffer, but my initial impression is that he is not going to be the spark at the top of the ballot.
Akin to a baseball team needing hitters at the top of the order who can get on base, the Democratic ticket needs at least one gubernatorial candidate who can draw voters for the down ticket races. Without that, Ronnie Earle nor any other statewide candidate has a chance in the down ticket races.
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loggr150 Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
There are two counts against DeLay still pending in PRE-TRIAL motions!! One count, conspiracy to violate the election law, was thrown out by a Democrat Judge and upheld by the Criminal Court of Appeals because there was no such law on the books at that time saying, the a prosecutor cannot charge someone for a crime in Expost Facto, or cannot retroactively charge someone with a crime that may be on the books now but was not a law at the time of the alleged accusation.
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eam says:
Earle should run — absolutely. Texas needs a fighter. Such confident, resounding declarations of “No” from other posters are based on what? Polls? Some intuitive connection to the Cen-Tex zeitgeist? Wishful thinking?
Mauro was a dud. Sanchez was a dud. Bell was a dud. At least Earle has the *potential* to run a real ground-warfare campaign, talking about real issues.
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trowaman says:
I second was Cincinnatus said.
Earl would be a step above Schieffer only to extent that voters would take note of the democratic party’s candidate in the general, he may draw out some more hard core liberals to the polls. Prob get around the same percentage as Scieffer. Watson is still the best choice for Gov.
Earl for AG would be a better office to try for. Go for it Ronnie!
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eam says:
By the way, there isn’t a single “expert” here who would have counted Obama as a crossover candidate in May 2007.
While there are various factors, it’s the race that you run that wins or loses the election. I can say with a fair degree of confidence that I know what kind of race it needs to be. The question is, who can run it?
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Texas Democrat says:
Earle has ZERO chance of winning the Texas Governor’s Mansion.
If he wanted to run for statewide office, he could have gone for State Attorney General instead and build up his experience as Travis County DA.
KBH will LOSE to Perry in the primary by the way once the Religious Right comes out for him in massive droves, causing him to win reelection to a 3rd full term.
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James says:
Earle should run so that all of the abuses of his office can finally be given a full airing. Let him defend disastrous cases like the Yogurt Shop killings and Lecresha Murray. I look forward to his attempts to explain why seemingly every potential rival of Ann Richards on her climb to power from Travis County Commissioner to the governor’s office was singled out by Travis County law enforcement (Earle or County Attorney Ken Oden)for investigation (beginning with the incumbent state treasurer). My, what a curious string of coincidences…
I would savor the moments when Mr. Earle has to leave his sanctuary of Travis County and defend his abysmal record in the other 253 counties of Texas. Please, please, please run!
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Texas Democrat Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:55 pm
IF Paul Hobby runs for statewide office again in 2010, it might be the Texas Governor’s Mansion or Lieutenant Governor (his dad’s gig for 18 years).
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loggr150 Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
OOOOHHH so agreed!
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Texas Democrat says:
Burka, I saw the Lycuem (or whatever the name is) poll and it says Perry has a 57 percent approval rating, has the backlash against President Obama’s handling of the economy gone to his favor ?
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paulburka Reply:
July 4th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Perry’s approval rating in Texas was 57%, Obama’s (according to the same poll) was 68%, which I find difficult to believe.
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Paul Burka's Research Assistant says:
I wasn’t sure why you felt like you needed to state the obvious, but then I remembered that your target was Texas Democrats.
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Conservative Texan says:
Rick Perry had ten years, as Lt. Gov. and Governor, to show some leadership and get rid of Earle’s role as statewide ethics prosecutor. The voters of one untypical county have no business controlling the so-called “public integrity” of the entire state; the function should have been transferred long ago to the Attorney General’s office.
But Perry did not have the political courage to take on Earle. Another reason to vote him out. A governorship is a terrible thing to waste.
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slick Reply:
July 6th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Every other Texan is subject to the prosecutorial discretion of a DA elected by the voters of the county were the alleged offense took place. Why should Travis County and the statewide elected officials who are engaged in public service here be subject to anything different? What you ask for is a special perk for these officials. Further, the Attorney General was never contemplated to have this type of prosecutorial role. It’s just bad public policy all the way around, nor is it very ‘conservative’.
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Anonymous says:
Well it’s a holiday weekend so I guess tha the State Mental Hospital gave Texas Democrat computer privileges in honor of our nation’s birthday – so we once again have to deal with the troll of expert analysis and absolutist statements about the future of Texas Politics (as well as statements completely off topic on a comment stream).
Ohhhhh, lucky us.
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Jerry Jeff says:
Burka:
I would curious about your thoughts about how Earle will raise money after all the commetns he had made about the evils of big money in politics and corporate money.
Would Earle not take funds from a corporate PAC?
People may not recall but when the hapless Shane Phelps made both his ill-fated attempts to knock off Earle as DA back in ‘96 and ‘00 he received a huge amount of funding from Registered Lobbyists.
Additionally, when Earle settled with some of the companies that were involved with the Bill Hammond fiasco at TAB (which in my book there should ahve been convictions, lawyers I know would love to have taken that case to a jury) he made those companies donate money to particular causes in Higher Ed I believe. There has been very little scrutiny of those transactions.
I am 100% in agreement with you that an Earle gubernatorial candidacy is a non-starter, but I would be curious to hear your thoughts on these topics…
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loggr150 Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Yes, good question! Where did the shakedown money of the TAB companies and the companies in the DeLay case go to? Will it somehow get kicked back to Earle now that he is retired? And all those years and countless charges he tried on TAB, costing the taxpayers millions – and he got ONE misdemeanor conviction. Oh good job there ol’ boy.
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Jerry Jeff says:
Clarification:
My reference was not clear: it was Ronnie Earle who received a large amount of campaign contributions in the 1996 and 2000 campaigns from Registered Lobbyists, not Shane Phelps.
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Seamoon says:
Tom Schieffer seems like a nice man, but he kept mentioning his brother (?) and baseball team (?).
My biggest problem with him is no one in the south end of the state has ever really heard of him and he believes the clean coal lie.
Watson from Austin (?)
Kinky I’d shoot any of my friends who voted for him.
Someone said Perry has a 57% approval. With whom?
KBH the only thing I can say good about her is that she sends polite letters telling me she doesn’t give a damn what I think.
I believe Mr. Burka should get out of town once in a while.
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David Kobierowski says:
If ethics is king, Ronnie should run.
The question is: how important is ethics to Texans? Will Texans place ethics and integrity over partisanship?
Are Texans ready to place a candidate’s principles over party loyalty?
I’d be interested in seeing objective survey data on how Texans feel about ethics, relatively speaking. Also how they feel about Ronnie Earle’s 30+ years of work to keep politics fair and ethical.
Best,
David Kobierowski
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slick Reply:
July 6th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Ethics? Texas? C’mon, David! You must not be from around these parts. Ethics is only important every thirty years or so on the heels of a major scandal. Sorry to disappoint you.
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Faith Chatham says:
Ronnie Earle excites the Democratic base more than any name which has been floated for Governor to date. Dirty dog Democratic activists who have been considering sitting this one out if the only choices on the table are GWB’s partner and Kinkey, are organizing and leading the DRAFT RONNIE EARLE for GOVERNOR campaign. He appeals to citizens, both Democratic and Republican and Independent who are disgusted with the rob, pillage, and charge the people more for less while lining the special interests pockets mentality of Austin. The realities of the current administration in Austin, and the similarity between many Democratic and Republican legislators’ lack of concern for the good of the people of this state (unless they are their personal benefactors) has united the far left and the far right on many basic issues.
The primary issues which most Texans are speaking with one voice are the strengths of Ronnie Earle. Texans want fairness. What is good for one should be good for all. There should not be one set of rules for the elite and another for the rest of us. Ronnie Earle has been consistent. From his days as a Legislator in the “Dirty Dozen” through this very minute, he has always applied the law equally to all. He even filed against himself when he discovered he’s failed to file paperwork!
He’ll win the Democratic primary if he declares and he’ll be the strongest Democratic candidate we can field against any deep-pocketed Republican in this state.
Mr. Burka, you are dead wrong on this one. Watch Ronnie Earle run and watch Ronnie Earle win!
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loggr150 Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Hah, treats everyone equally, good one, that’s funny, very funny
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lauri wiss says:
Well, Trimpack did occur on Perry’s watch with people on his staff. Letting Delay use staff and equipment from the Governor’s office will come back to haunt him.
Abbot allowed the problems with youth and prison issues to continue until 2008 when it was called to his attention in memos in 2002.
The TTC plans coming from the Governor’s Office began in 2002. The AG should not have had to declare in 2009 that it was unconstitutional,Perry should have known this in 2002. Don’t underestimate the TTC on voters and Perry’s initiative on this.
College education has skyrocketed again, Perry had input on those trustees who decided to deregulate tuition. The Call Center for Human Services was private corporation. Would it have worked it it had been done by employees currently employed by the state?
Unemploymenht is at an all time high here in the state. That is another group of people who will have many memories of not receiving their federal 13 week extensions for several months due tostate “computer problems” when they are already receiving state unemployment checks?
Tell me again why you think there won’t be Republican crossover?
Ronnie Earle stood up for keeping the process as ethical as possible, especially with budget cuts being the response to his being effective.
KBH will have a higher bar to climb if Ronnie Earle is her opponont. Just whaling away at Perry will not tell us what she will be doing for the state.
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DM Reply:
July 13th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Correction. Tuition was deregulated by the Legislature, as a way to help balance the state budget (since they could then limit higher education funding). The regents permitted tuition to rise quickly as real per-student state funding declined.
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Miss Scales of Justice says:
Ronnie Earle is perceived by many in the public (exclusive of Republicans) as a hack politician who unethically used his office for partisan political purposes – and that makes him the worst kind of public official – a bully who threatens to jail public officials or drown them personally in legal bills when in reality he does not have a case against them.
Earle’s own office did not want to go forward on a number of his high profile prosecutions – they knew the evidence was not there. But Earle often ignored what is written in the Penal Code and talks about what the THINKS the law should be; and moved forward to get one of his hapless grand juries to indict.
Too often, Earle would simply wait out the other side and cut a deal. He knew that people at some point want to get on with their lives.
Whether you like or dislike Jim Ellis and John Colyandro, or whether you think they are guilty or innocent – it is now almost five years since they were first indicted and they have not gone to trial. Five years! If he had a case they’d already have been tried, found guilty and sent to jail.
And those indictments came just as we entered the fall campaign of 2004 – what a coincidence. This has been a one sided argument in the media and the public eye, because people could not speak out againt Ronnie Earle because of the fear of reprisal or their law clients cases prevented them from speaking freely. Well no more.
The 2010 campaign will now put Ronnie Earle on trial and believe me, Republican and Conservatives – many of then Democrats like former Speaker Gib Lewis (and possibly the relatives of the late Jim Mattox) will have a few things to say about Ronnie Earle – things they and their lawyers have never been able to say in public while Earle was still in office.
Bring on the public trial of Ronnie Earle, it is long overdue. Democrats should heed the old adage of be careful what you wish for and be sure you know what you are asking for. Republicans and Conservatives are hoping, if not praying, that you nominate Ronnie Earle for Governor.
I can hear the carving knives being sharpened as I type…
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loggr150 Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
You said it baby, right on!
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Fiftycal says:
Yes, run Ronnie run. It will be interesting with the pictures of Ronnie as “Chief Witchhunter in Charge” when the publicity on KBH’s bogus prosecution, the TAB case, where “indulgencies” were given by blackmailing companys into “giving” money to select firms (ACORN?) in return for no prosecution. How about his woeful prosecution of a cop murderer, the guy that gunned down Officer Raplh Abalnedo in 1978. The murderer was captured with the real machine gun used to kill the officer, the officer described him before he died and there also was a hand grenade on the murderers person. But due to Earle’s incompetence, there have been 4 trials thrown out and the guy is still waiting to be sentenced. Yah, run Ronnie run.
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cynic on the floor says:
Sheesh. Such a non-story created by wannabe political hacks….who first tried to float van de puke and then watson. Chicken littles. I agree that an Earle run at the goverorship is doomed, no matter what the red coats do to each other.
Now, if Ronnie were to run for Lt Gov, AG, that might be worth writing about.
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linda says:
David K asks how important ethics is/are to Texans. If “ethics” had any importance to Texans, Rick Perry wouldn’t be governor now.
Earle should run for lite gov.
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eam says:
Ronnie Earle is perceived by many in the public as the one person willing to challenge the hack politicians who unethically use their office for partisan political purposes.
Good folks can get their feelings hurt and whine all day about Earle going after KBH and Tom DeLay/TRMPAC — but Earle was doing his job. Any Republican wanting to criticize Earle for being partisan (when he’s prosecuted Democrats and Republicans), you need look no further then the Bush Attorney General’s office and their political litmus test for hiring to measure the hypocrisy of the Republican accusation.
Texas needs new leadership up top. Everyone out in the real world (unlike consultant/politico la-la land) knows it. Earle may or may not be it — but a lot of folks would be interested in hearing him make his case.
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texun says:
It comes down to the question of who can hold the core of the Democratic party in the Primary. I don’t see Schieffer managing it, nor will Earle; the same with Watson. They’re reputable middle-aged Anglo men drawing on a party in which they are in the minority.
I enjoyed the steady anti-Earle tirade: it sounded like the 19th hole at the country club. What consumate illusionists–just like my friends who believe that when the find the perfect putter, they’ll be two-putt golfers forever.
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harriet irby says:
Perry is
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harriet irby says:
Perry is already running hard for governor. The Texas hard right has got “tea partyitis”. This bunch is back to basics with “old South Conservatism”, God,guns, ” free Markets”, and yes, secession for real. Not good KBH stuff when you throw in some sexism and military macho rhetoric.
If KBH goes down in the primary after roughing up Perry pretty good: a opening of sorts is created for Democrats.
Earle is the real deal as far as honest is concerned. He has gone across parties to ferret out ” bad folks” and this should interest the so-called independent voter. If his strategists are savvy enough to grasp the issue and define that group.Havent we had enough of “goofy Republican Governors” of either gender?
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Pete says:
What the question about Ronnie Earle should be is whether he has a vision about what the State of Texas should be. If he does, I’ve not heard it. I’m not a Rick Perry fan, but he is able to communicate a vision of the type of place he believes Texas should be and how it should operate. We all want good, ethical government. Generally (in places other than Louisiana, Illinois or similar ethical cesspools)good, ethical government without an overriding substantive goal seems doomed to fail. Look at Jimmy Carter. An ethical guy whose administrative ineptitude and a political style that infuriated both parties doomed his presidency.
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Elsbeth says:
Pete, Perry is a visionary? You’re serious about that?
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Seeing right through you says:
Earle run for Lite Guv? Bizarre. Dewhurst or Abbott either one would bury him – especially Dewhurst who is too rich to be bought and would bury Earle in an avalanche of his own cash.
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Paul Burka's Research Assistant says:
Earle is seen as the one person willing to flagrantly abuse his office for political purposes.
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Paul Burka's Research Assistant says:
Correction:
Earle is seen as the one person willing to flagrantly AND SELF-RIGHTEOUSLY abuse his office for political purposes.
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Todd says:
Mattox lost to Ann Richards in 1990, not 1994 (when Richards lost re-election to GWB.)
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Blue says:
Ronnie Earle doesn’t crack 35 percent in a two-way race. He’d be a disaster as a D candidate for Governor.
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slick says:
I heard Earle speak at a Democratic function here in Austin about 6 months ago. I was unimpressed — he’s not polished, has no sense of timing and delivery. I’m a D and inclined to support him on his “clean government” bonafides, but he just doesn’t have much of a spark to him.
Ten bucks says either John Sharp or Bill White jump into the race for governer and bury Tom Scheifer (I’m so confident this guy won’t make it that I’m not going to learn how to spell his name!). One of them will decide that it’s not worth cutting each other up for US Senate, and they’ll jump it — it will be a game changer.
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Anonymous says:
Hardcore leftys love Earle, but his self-righteous pontificating is not a message that appeals to moderates and independents who want to know what a candidate is going to do to make Texas a better place to live.
Earle does not know the law and has embarrassed Travis County for decades. He has built up a power base so no one takes him on, which is the only way he stays in office. The “clean government” moniker is about as convincing as Obama’s promise to bring down health care costs by spending trillions of dollars that we don’t have.
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Lance says:
I believe the Governor’s race will be decided by Central and East Texas voters. With a strong showing in Central Texas and a focused campaign in the suburb areas of Dallas, Houston, and East Texas, a Democrat can win a statewide election. I agree with Paul that Ronnie would not win a Governor’s race. Ronnie is not the candidate the Democrats need for the Governor’s race.
Ronnie would be better to run for the AG’s office. The AG’s office in Texas is a soft target if the Democrats go for it. No wants to run for it because Abbott has lots of money in his war chest. I think Ronnie could raise lots of money if he were to run for the AG’s office. Ronnie has a long history of being tough, what does Abbott have besides lots of money?????????
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Anonymous says:
“Ronnie has a long history of being tough, what does Abbott have besides lots of money?????????”
Knowledge of the law for one thing, which is a desirable quality for an AG. This would take Ronnie out of the running for AG.
There is a difference between being tough and being a bully. One can respect toughness even if you disagree with the person’s views. Ronnie is just a bully who (with good reason) has a lot of enemies on both sides of the political fence.
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