Burnt Orange Report

And There Are Still 309 Days Left Until December 1

By Vince Leibowitz

Comptroller Carole Strayhorn says now she may not be running for Governor. And she disputes that she ever told Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs says she may not be running for Comptroller again. And Susan Combs say she was never told so--directly.

Though it sounds like something more appropriate at a junior-high slumber party, this week's continuation of the Election 2006 Soap Opera began with a rousing game of "she said/she said:"

The Houston Chronicle (via Kuff) noted this morning:

Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn indicated Monday she may be about to back away from challenging Gov. Rick Perry in next year's Republican primary.

Strayhorn's spokesman, Mark Sanders, issued a statement denying she ever told Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs that she would not seek re-election as comptroller. Combs has been preparing to run for Strayhorn's office if she vacates it to run for governor.

[...]

Sanders said in issuing the statement that Strayhorn was not trying to send signals about whether she would seek re-election rather than run for governor. Sanders said Strayhorn just wanted to "set the record straight" about statements attributed to Combs.

Combs was quoted indirectly in Sunday's Corpus Christi Caller-Times as saying Strayhorn had told her she was not running for comptroller again.

"The people of Texas are certainly asking her (Strayhorn) to run for governor, and she is listening," Sanders said. "But the comptroller never told Commissioner Combs she is not running for comptroller again, and Commissioner Combs knows it."

Combs spokesman Reggie Bashur said Combs "agreed" with Strayhorn that Strayhorn "did not tell her directly that she was not seeking re-election."

Bashur said the Caller-Times article misquoted Combs. The reporter who wrote the story could not be reached for comment. Editors at the paper said they had no information that would cause them to run a correction.

Excuse me. I think I just hallucinated or something.

For one thing, the entire brouhaha is over this very gossipy political column in the Corpus Christi Caller Times, which notes:

The morning after the Texas State Society's Black Tie and Boots inaugural ball in Washington, which drew Texas politicians in droves, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs was hoarse, which she attributed to talking over the band.

Though she has not made a formal announcement, Combs said she would run for Carole Keeton Strayhorn's job as state comptroller, when Strayhorn tries to fill bigger boots, widely rumored to be Gov. Rick Perry's.

Strayhorn already has told Combs she is not running for comptroller again, so Combs' fund-raising efforts are directed at the job, she said.

"I will probably do a formal announcement in the next couple of months, but sure I am telling people I am running," Combs said.

Second, if Strayhorn didn't tell Combs she wasn't going to run, then why on earth didn't Strayhorn say something back on May 7 when this came out:

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs confirmed today she's planning to run for state comptroller in 2006, a job now held by fellow Republican Carole Keeton Strayhorn.

Combs wouldn't divulge any conversations she's had with Strayhorn, but said she doesn't expect Strayhorn to run for the office in the next election.

"I think it'll be an open primary," Combs said in a telephone interview.

Furthermore, since at least one GOP candidate--Bush/Cheney strategist Matthew Dowd--has floated his name about for Comptroller, I have trouble believing that Strayhorn didn't say what she says she didn't say--especially since the GOP establishment's already staying away from her like the plague.

Yes, in the wink-and-nod world of politics, It's easy to misunderstand if someone "did not tell [you] directly that she was not seeking re-election," but give me a break.

My, my. And we've still got 309 days left until filing opens on December 1. (That's 26,697,600 seconds or 444,960 minutes or 7,416 hours for those of you who keep count of such things. Tabulation via TimeandDate.com

Vince Leibowitz is County Chairman of the Democratic Party of Van Zandt County.