I hereby yield the floor to the Swanky Conservative, Down Deep in Texas and In the Bullpen.
Although I didn’t feel that I had a dog in any of the involved hunts, JohnL at TexasBestGrok had certainly made a case against the apparently-successful Prop 2. If anything, he played a role in keeping me undecided on the matter, or at least the verbage of the matter.
Just as a cooling front finally reaches the Lone Star State, a firestorm has erupted in Texas politics, a conflagration with dramatic national ramifications.
A Travis County grand jury today indicted U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Sugar Land on a single count of felony criminal conspiracy involving an exchange of money that made corporate cash available to Republican Texas House candidates in 2002.
“I have done nothing wrong … I am innocent,” DeLay told a Capitol Hill news conference in which he repeatedly criticized the prosecutor, Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle. DeLay called Earle a “unabashed partisan zealot,” and “fanatic,” and described the charges as “one of the weakest and most baseless indictments in American history.”
In Austin, Earle told reporters, “Our job is to prosecute abuses of power and to bring those abuses to the public.” He has noted previously that he has prosecuted many Democrats in the past.
While DeLay retains his seat representing Texas’ 22nd congressional district, the suburbs southwest of Houston, he announced he would temporarily step aside as majority leader. House Republican rules forced him to do so while he fights the charge.
Republicans selected Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the current Republican whip — No. 3 in the leadership ranks — to fill the vacancy temporarily.
[…]
DeLay has said he believes the investigation by Earle, a Democrat, was politically motivated.
One of DeLay’s lawyers, Bill White, said prior to the indictment being returned that the facts of the case would not support an indictment against DeLay.
“It’s a skunky indictment, if they have one, a dead skunk in the middle of the road, stinking to high heaven,” White said.
The investigation focuses on the activities of a political action committee DeLay formed in 2001 — Texans for a Republican Majority.
It was run by Colyandro with the assistance of Ellis, who is the director of DeLay’s Americans for a Republican Majority.
TRMPAC raised and spent almost $650,000 in corporate money to influence the 2002 Texas House races. State law restricts the use of corporate and labor union money in races for elective office.
The indictment claims DeLay, Ellis and Colyandro conspired to raise $190,000 in corporate money for TRMPAC. The money was then sent to the Republican National Committee and was converted into donations from individual donors, which would have been legal under Texas law for use by a candidate.
The RNC then sent the money to seven specific Texas House candidates, the indictment alleges. Two of the Republicans listed in the indictments are from the Houston area, state Reps. Dwayne Bohac of Houston and Larry Taylor of Friendswood.
Winning control of the Texas House was critical for the election of Tom Craddick of Midland as speaker by a Republican House majority in 2002.
The state House majority also set the stage for Delay to push through a congressional. redistricting plan to draw districts that would give the GOP a majority in the state’s congressional delegation after the 2004 elections
Dr. Steven Taylor at PoliBlog provides a “DeLay Charges for Dummies” (no offense intended, as I actually respect the “… for Dummies” series as helpful introductions to a variety of topics) look at the charges, closing with the following:
If anything, it seems to me that this whole case will underscore the labyrinthine nature of campaign finance rules and regulations.
Translated: if this case goes to trial, it will be one heck of a boring trial. However, the circus outside the courtroom promises to be electric.
James Joyner of Outside the Beltway has a round-up of reactions from both the left and right side of the blogosphere.
I will withhold comment for now. For disclosure’s sake, I will state that, back in the day, my hometown of Angleton was part of Rep. DeLay’s congressional district. I will forever be grateful to the man for honoring me with a dual nomination to both West Point and Annapolis my senior year of high school, even though I eventually chose Texas A&M over those fine American military institutions.
And finally a Democrat of some note declares.
Democrat Chris Bell on Sunday formally kicked off his campaign for governor, focusing on failed attempts to reform school finance and saying his patience for Gov. Rick Perry has run out.
“Rick Perry just doesn’t get it,” Bell told a crowd of about 100 enthusiastic supporters in front of a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the University of Texas at Austin. “I know enough to listen when Texans tell me what they want.”
Bell, who lost his spot in the U.S. House of Representatives last year, said dissatisfaction with Perry prompted his decision to run for governor. He said Perry’s fiscal decisions are hurting people.
Bell promised parents he would work to make Texas public education the best in the nation within 10 years by giving teachers the resources they need. Bell suggested closing existing tax loopholes to raise money for education. He said he would release a more detailed school finance plan within a couple of weeks.
Just because he is the only declared Democrat with any political track record does not mean Bell is a shoe-in for his party’s nomination as there’s still the supposed grass-roots efforts for two-time Dem lieutenant gubernatorial candidate John Sharp and the threat of another run by the 2002 nominee Tony Sanchez. Bell does have a few negatives following him into the race.
“Chris has already been rejected by Democrats in Houston. State Democratic leaders are rejecting him by looking for someone else to run,” said Luis Saenz, Perry’s campaign director. He noted there was plenty of opposition for Bell before it was time to think about the general election in November 2006.
Currently, the hope for the eventual Dem nominee has to be for the Republican contender to be weakened coming out of a primary campaign between incumbent Rick Perry and current state comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a campaign already threatening to turn ugly.
Related — Campaign Sites of Declared Candidates:
Rick Perry (R, Incumbent) – Popularity and approval numbers leave him vulnerable.
Carole Keeton Strayhorn (R) – Unofficial motto of “One tough grandpa” is going to get real old real fast.
Felix Alvarado (D) – Middle School Assistant Principal. Chances? Nada.
Chris Bell (D) – Hoping bigger Democrat guns stay away from the hunt.
Richard “Kinky” Friedman (Independent) – You gotta love the “Why the hell not?” slogan.
Rick Perry is in as the Republican incumbent. U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has opted against a gubernatorial challenge, a move that may have averted a juggling of positions among Texas Republicans.
The GOP holds every statewide elected office in Texas and party leaders had been gearing up for a grand game of political musical chairs in case U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison jumped into the 2006 governor’s race.
Instead, Hutchison opted for another run at the Senate, leaving most GOP office holders sitting right where they are.
“Everybody stays home,” said Republican political consultant Bill Miller.
The lone exception: Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs, who has already declared her candidacy for comptroller. Sen. Todd Staples, a Republican from Palestine, is expected to run for agriculture commissioner.
There had been wide speculation that if Hutchison challenged Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst would campaign for her Senate seat and Attorney General Greg Abbott would launch a bid for lieutenant governor. Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams was considered a potential candidate for Abbott’s seat.
With Hutchison out, state comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn has decided to throw her hat in the ring as a primary challenge to Perry, a challenge that may grow bitter.
It promises to be an ugly battle between Republicans for the right to run for governor. Saturday, state comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn threw her name in the hat, and the political punches are already flying.
Strayhorn made the announcement just blocks away from the State Capitol. The 65-year-old grandmother thrilled the crowd with her fiery rhetoric.
“It is time for a change — it is time to send Governor Perry packin’,” she said.
[…]
“Now it’s time to replace this do-nothin’ drugstore cowboy with one tough grandma,” said Strayhorn — one tough grandma who’s promising one tough primary fight.
One thing is certain about the upcoming campaign, and that is that I will be absolutely sick of the phrase “one tough grandma” long before a single ballot is cast.
So far, no Democrat has declared.
We’d better be talking about some unobtrusive permits here.
The City Council today approved a measure that will require strippers to wear permits while they are on stage.
City Councilman Chip Haass pushed the amended human display ordinance as making it easier for police to identify dancers.
But a lawyer representing several strip clubs in the city said it would also create a physical danger by making it easier for an obsessed customer to find out a dancer’s real name and where she lives.
Attorney Jim Deegear has said he will file a lawsuit challenging the measure, which the 11-member council passed unanimously early Friday during a marathon meeting that began Thursday afternoon.
Deegear says the city’s strict rules are part of an effort to drive his clients out of business.
The strip clubs’ attorney makes a very valid objection about the publication of a dancer’s personal information. This is a rather poor idea.
There is one lingering question, though: is some sort of test needed to obtain such a permit and, if so, how is it scored?
And so long, Martin.
Congressman Pete Sessions has just been declared the winner in the hotly contested and recently redrawn 32nd over fellow incumbent Martin Frost. As I expected.
Current Presidential electoral tallies, per CNN, are Bush 193, Kerry 112, with several big players still too close to call (e.g. Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, etc.). At this time, no state called by the networks has changed hands from 2000.
No jitters, just a sense of calm and curiosity.
No matter the victor, the world will not end, the Islamist terrorists will neither immediately perish nor instantly bring about the downfall of Western civilization.
I’ll grant that a Kerry presidency will be a step towards a quicker peace and a greater acceptance in the global community. I do not view either of these issues a plus at this momentous crux in history. Kerry will pursue fuzzy ol’ Osama, and vigorously at that. It is a political requirement for his possible administration. He will work quickly to bring a state of stability in Iraq; however, not the longterm stability that is needed, as he will only work for a stable enough situation to tone down operations and begin an “honorable” draw-down. Other than Osama, the military aspects of the war against Islamic terror will begin to wane.
None of this means we are doomed. It only means that we would creep back to a pre-9/11 mindset. Osama’s capture or death would clinch this, and we would call victory and leave intact the dangerous environment that allowed an animal like Osama to grow and flourish. No, Western civilization would not immediately fail, but the long-term price for its survival would increase dramatically — a needed burden prolonged only to our children or grandchildren.
A Bush win would perpetuate the fight as is, pursued with energy and tenacity on several fronts. The war will be fought decisively; Bush simply and instinctively realizes it is better to fight it now with an iron gauntlet balanced by a promise of liberty. Whether now or later, that is the longterm formula for success, to offer opportunity of hope and destroy those who refuse.
Other than Bush’s tax plans, there is little domestically in either candidate that the libertarian side of me can support, but certainly Kerry’s plans are worse from my vantage.
Jitters, no. Doom, no. Hope, yes. Intrigue, definitely. Here’s some things I’ll be keeping an eye on tomorrow evening (and possibly Wednesday morning):
Okay, I’m calm. On the other hand, my girlfriend is fretting up a Texas twister. Apparently, so is blogger Phil Gray of Shades of Gray (Umbrae Canarum), who expresses his jitters at great length here.
Texas’ recent redistricting has left two current congressmen, Pete Sessions and Martin Frost, slugging it out against each other in a bitterly-contested affair. A poll released today shows Sessions holding a lead only three weeks before the election.
U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions is slightly ahead of his Democratic rival, U.S. Rep. Martin Frost, in one of the nation’s most watched congressional races, according to a newspaper poll of likely voters.
Sessions has 50 percent to Frost’s 44 percent in the survey, which polled 800 likely voters last week for The Dallas Morning News. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
Pollsters randomly selected 32nd Congressional District households with published telephone numbers. The survey was conducted by Iowa-based public opinion firm Selzer & Co.
Frost, Texas’ most senior congressman, was forced to run in Sessions’ Republican-leaning district after Republicans decimated Frost’s district in off-year political remapping.
Frost immediately attacked the poll, contending it undersampled hispanics, who represent over a third of the district’s population.
Representative of the animosity shown throughout this campaign, the Frost camp called Sessions a hypocrite for streaking thirty years ago as a college freshman.
Democrats today circulated old newspaper clippings of a 1974 college streaking stunt staged by hundreds of students at Southwest Texas State University, including an 18-year-old Pete Sessions.
Sessions, a conservative Republican who wrote a column condemning Janet Jackson’s nude display during this year’s Super Bowl halftime performance, apparently bared his bottom with about 300 male and female students on the streets of San Marcos during the two-night rampage.
….
Sessions’ campaign isn’t denying the congressman’s public nudeness.
“Congressman Sessions’ old school days are long gone,” said Sessions’ spokesman Chris Homan. “He recognizes it as an immature action of an 18-year-old college freshman.”
But Frost’s campaign is holding Sessions’ bare bod to the fire.
“Pete Sessions exposed himself to children and strangers,” said Frost spokesman Justin Kitsch. “He’s exposed himself as a hypocrite as well.”
Sessions’ spokesman dismissed the comparison of Sessions’ juvenile acts to those of Jackson, who revealed her breast in front of millions of Super Bowl watchers at the finale of a halftime performance with singer Justin Timberlake.
This isn’t exactly the kind of exposure the four-term Republican wants in the final three weeks of a tight race with Frost, a 13-term Democrat. The two incumbents are battling for Republican-leaning Dallas area District 32 in what is expected to be the most expensive race in the country.
There has been much silliness of this sort, as well as more serious allegations, by both sides in this contest. However, decades-old college frivolity is not going to alter Session’s poll lead. As a resident of a nearby district who actually works within the confines of the 32nd, I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that Sessions will carry the day on Nov. 2.