It’s Rick Perry. Well, not exactly. What has happened is that Team Perry has taken over the Dewhurst campaign. Dave Carney is in charge. Mark Miner has joined the communications team. Rob Johnson is heading up the Super PAC. Everyone understands what that means. It means that the Perry playbook
In reading the last couple of days of convention coverage, I found two key takeaways that have been overlooked: (1) Rick Perry is still very strong with the base of his party. He still connects with the rank and file when he makes a rousing speech, as he did at the
What Texan could forget this season’s disappointing premiere of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” after Guy Fieri and Matthew McConaughey collectively butchered the very meaning and essence of King Ranch Casserole? Tonight, Fieri bravely ventures his way back
In a previous post, we highlighted an opportunity to virtually hangout with Tyson Cole of Uchi and Uchiko in Austin. Today, Google+ and Zagat join forces again to present yet another virtual culinary gathering. But this time, the
Here is a tweet from today’s Republican convention: When Perry mentioned Dewhurst at #rptcon, the whole convention booed. We want proven conservative Ted Cruz fighting for us! Well, I guess that settles the issue of whether an endorsement by Rick Perry is good or bad. I said “good”
The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the original $26 million jury verdict in favor of Jordan Fishman, an American businessman who contended that his intellectual property had been stolen by a Chinese company represented by Ted Cruz. In a statement issued earlier today, the Dewhurst
The Economix blog in the New York Times carried the news that the Texas economy grew 3.3% last year, trailing only North Dakota and West Virginia, two states that rely heavily on energy fuel, and Oregon, which posted a 4.7% gain in manufacturing. From the article: The
There has been a lot of criticism, much of it justified, directed at Comptroller Susan Combs, and some observers would say that it is too much for her to move up to higher office. What her critics may not realize, however, is that the comptroller’s office has become something of
There is good news on all fronts about state revenue. The Statesman reported today that the franchise tax, the weakling among state revenue producers, is performing above expectations. Overall, tax collections have been robust, up 12.56%, year to date, over 2011 levels. Sales taxes are up 11.71%. Oil
UPDATE: Earlier this afternoon, Representative Hughes called me to say that his statements during the conference call last night “bore no resemblance” to the summary I posted below from another blog. After I wrote about Mr. Hughes, Empower Texans posted the audio of the conversation, which I subsequently listened to.
Boiling down the primary results to the ten most important events: 1. Three Straus chairs lose; two others face runoffs 2. It’s Dewhurst vs. Cruz in U.S. Senate runoff 3. TLR’s candidate finishes third in SD-25 brouhaha 4. Wayne Christian defeated for reelection 5. Jana Duty defeats John Bradley for
It is always sad when someone passes before his time. Ken Legler was a member to be reckoned with in the Legislature. It was Legler who sounded the alarm to his colleagues that redistricting was taking a turn that could cost Republicans seats. His involvement in the redistricting battle spurred
Every time I use Yelp, I hate myself. But I do use it to size up restaurants, especially new ones, because it’s there. It has iPad and iPhone apps. It’s easy. What can I say? But what I really, truly want are restaurant reviews by somebody I actually trust
Robert Miller published this on his blog yesterday. I agree with everything he says. Michael Quinn Sullivan is trumpeting the fact that three Republican Texas House Committee Chairs were defeated in Tuesday’s primary, and two others are in runoffs. He states that primary “race after race was
Dewhurst has no business being behind the eight-ball in this race. His campaign should have wiped the floor with Ted Cruz. In late January, Cruz’s name ID was 40%. All Dewhurst had to do was stay with his message–that is, touting his record as a conservative light guv and basically
I can’t believe the Dewhurst campaign resorted to the old internal poll gimmick. Accrording to the Statesman, Mike Baselice has written a memo indicating why Dewhurst will defeat Ted Cruz in the runoff for U.S. senator: Recent internal campaign polling found that Dewhurst has a 65 percent favorable
Hey Texas chefs, do you like being told your cuisine is inedible? Do you like being chastised in your own kitchen every five seconds? Do you like being driven to the edge of tears? Well gas up and head to San Antonio this weekend: Hell’s Kitchen is hosting an open casting
If there was one refrain I heard from the Dewhurst camp, it was that they wanted to win without a runoff. But they didn’t make it. From the start of the evening, it was pretty clear that Dewhurst was going to fall short. The closest he got was 47.3%. Hours
Straus’s margin of victory was of landslide proportions. Despite having more than $100,000 spent against him, and a blizzard of negative mailers, he cruised to a decisive victory over Matt Beebe. But the big story of the election is the carnage that befell Straus’s chairs. Vicki Truitt, Tuffy Hamilton, and
Now what? Texans for Lawsuit Reform invested a ton of money in Elizabeth Ames Jones, their handpicked candidate to defeat state senator Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio. But Ames Jones failed to make the runoff, leaving physician Donna Campbell to oppose Wentworth. Jones is well known in San Antonio, in
For those who have ever craved an inside look at the culinary creativity of the Uchi and Uchiko kitchens, you now have your chance. The team is hosting a virtual Google Hangout on the Zagat Google+ page today at 2 p.m.
Calling all bacon-burger lovers: P. Terry’s is about to make your dreams come true. The megapopular Austin burger joint is introducing applewood-smoked bacon on its menu at its new location in The Village at Westlake shopping center. This new location
Couldn’t Hughes wait until the election was over before the speaker’s race began? The July 31 runoffs now loom large, as they will be battles between the Straus- and anti-Straus factions of the Republican party in the House. The party is undergoing a purification, driven by Perry’s endorsements and alliances,
These are the House incumbents whom I believe are in trouble as election day approaches: Sid Miller — He blew a huge lead and now appears to be headed for a runoff. Incumbents seldom fare well in runoffs. Jim Landtroop — Same story, second verse. An incumbent in a runoff.
Close races are the norm in redistricting years because candidates must communicate with large numbers of people they have never represented before. They don’t know their constituents and vice versa. The most effective campaign tool is direct mail, and candidates may not know what their opponents are saying about them
The first year we had no idea if our BBQ festival would even draw a hundred attendees. Really. We were that naive. Well, it sold out in hours. (One of the big draws was Snow’s Barbecue, pictured at its home base in Lexington.) The second year, we increased attendance
The Tribune has the numbers: Dewhurst 46% Cruz 29% Leppert 15% James 3% I was not a believer in the recent UT/Tribune poll that showed Dewhurst’s lead down to single digits (40% to 31%). I don’t believe that the race has ever been this close. The PPP numbers seem much
There doesn’t seem to be much love lost between the governor and the state’s soon-to-be senior U.S. Senator John Cornyn. When Perry was contemplating a race for president in 2011, Cornyn’s comment was a lukewarm, “The field is already pretty full. There have been a lot of people working at
This number comes from pollster Mike Baselice, based on high turnouts in Harris County. I’m surprised, because I thought there would be a lot of apathy in the absence of a presidential race. This level of participation would be good for David Dewhurst, because it would indicate that a lot
Yesterday, we introduced you to John T. Edge’s newest book, The Truck Food Cookbook. The culinary author traveled across the country to dine at some of the nation’s most beloved mobile food establishments, including East Side King of Austin and Jarro Cafe in Houston, to
Few chefs command the kitchen as confidently and calmly as Sonya Coté. As the executive chef of East Side Show Room and Hillside Farmacy in Austin, she has enlivened the local food scene and transformed it into more than
Listen up Houston foodies: Eat St. will be filming at a number of mobile food trailers, trucks, and carts in the city from May 24-29. Some of the trucks and trailers involved include The Modular,
Patricia Kilday Hart reported the development in the Houston Chronicle blog about two hours ago. She writes: Remember those rumors that the University of Texas Board of Regents were considering firing UT-Austin President Bill Powers for “insubordination” after he mildly complained that they rejected a proposed tuition
For the past few years, food trailers, trucks, and carts have rivaled the traditional brick-and-mortar building as primary sources of delicious, affordable modern cuisine. In fact, take a look around the state of Texas and you’ll see cities like Houston, Austin, and even Dallas jumping on the mobile food wagon
Here’s what he has to say: Texas Republicans have an important election on May the 29th. We have a lot to be proud of. That’s why I’m proud to endorse David Dewhurst,” Perry says in the 30-second TV spot. “David Dewhurst repeatedly cut spending. David strongly opposes a
From the politicalwire Web site: The Topeka Capital Journal reports that robocalls made by Sarah Palin to influence the outcome of the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Texas were actually going to voters in Kansas. Said Palin: “Hello, Texas! I’m Sarah Palin.”
Allegations against Hamilton, posted on the Web site “Texas Conservative Republican News” include: * Tax liens of $601.92 and $2,657.91 against Hamilton * A $2000 civil penalty levied against Hamilton for ethics violations * Sexual harassment allegations against Hamilton The latter was an incident that took place on the floor
During his commencement address to UT graduates and their families on Saturday, Gates praised Bill Powers, saying, “You are blessed to have him as your leader. The best I can wish for all Longhorns is that people like Bill Powers and [former president] Larry Faulkner continue to lead
This is a correction of an earlier post concerning the counties with the highest percentage of registered voters who have cast ballots. The corrected numbers: Montgomery 3.01% Galveston 2.68% Williamson 2.33% Fort Bend 2.23% I am somewhat surprised by the result. I don’t think Montgomery has a lot of hot
Gates’ resume includes his current job, Chancellor of William & Mary, as well as Secretary of Defense in the George W. Bush administration and Director of Central Intelligence. It will be interesting to see if Gates alludes to the current controversy at UT. Perry wanted Phil Gramm to be president
The first obvious point to make is that somebody failed to vet White. The question that should be asked of every candidate for office is, “Have you ever done something that could cause you a problem if it becomes public?” In the White campaign, who did the vetting? Some consultant’s
Here is the lead from the Journal’s story: The national debate over the cost of a college degree is roiling the University of Texas’s flagship campus, where the school’s president has been at odds with board members and with Gov. Rick Perry over the wisdom of raising tuition. The
[Readers can find the story in the Daily Buzz section of the Quorum Report.] From the QR story: HE 19 candidate James White this evening described as “a desperate lie” the disclosure by the Tuffy Hamilton campaign of student and parental complaints against White of inappropriate and sexual references made
Mail-in ballots exceed in-person voting in a couple of counties. For example, in the first day of voting in Harris County, 3,380 votes were cast in person. Mail-in ballots totaled 10,027. The other big county for mail-in ballots was Tarrant (Fort Worth). On the first day of voting, 2,147 votes
I don’t know why the Statesman has made an issue of Governor Perry’s failure to endorse Joe Straus. No one with political savvy should have expected otherwise. The speaker does not need Perry’s endorsement to buttress his conservative bona fides; his record of budget cuts and conservative legislation in the
The Texas Tribune today posted a story saying that in an exclusive interview, University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa contradicted published reports questioning the job security of UT-Austin President Bill Powers. As the author of those published reports, I wish to reiterate to readers that TEXAS MONTHLY has a
From politicalwire.com: Former Bush pollster Jan van Lohuizen warns Republicans in a new memo they are increasingly on the wrong side of the gay marriage issue: “The increase in support is taking place among all partisan groups. While more Democrats support gay marriage than Republicans, support levels
The race to replace Kay Bailey Hutchison in the United States Senate has not produced any stars. Some national conservative publications ballyhooed Ted Cruz, but ultimately his boomlet was a ripple, not a wave. The only candidate who advanced himself politically (other than Dewhurst, the likely winner) is Tom Leppert.
Numerous Texas chefs credit their profound talents to years of hard work in culinary school, rigorous training alongside great chefs, or hours of sweat equity in restaurant kitchens. Great cooking, however, is not a subject that can be summed up in the span of a few short years in the kitchen; lessons usually begin
The Texas Conservatives Fund PAC, an independent expenditure group, polled in the Senate race recently. May 1-7, 800 Republican primary voters, MOE +/- 3.5%. Here were the results: Dewhurst 57% Cruz 16% Leppert 12% James 4% Undecided 11% Positive/Negative Cruz 30/22 Leppert 30/7 James 25/18 The Indiana Senate race is