Burnt Orange Report

The Latest on the Guv Race

By Byron LaMasters

After closely following the likely 2006 GOP primary race for governor for awhile now, the Austin American Statesman finally gave Chris Bell a chance for some Q&A today:

Austin American-Statesman: At what point does the exploratory campaign quit being exploratory?

Bell: It stops being exploratory when we find answers to some fundamental questions of viability, but so far the response to our New Mainstream message on ChrisBell.com has overwhelmed me.

AAS: How crowded do you expect the Democratic primary to get?

Bell: I don't expect to run unopposed, but it could not be clearer that the grass roots of the Democratic Party is hungry for new leaders with a new message for reform. No one seems to have much appetite to refight yesterday's battles with yesterday's leaders.

With Democratic governors in red states such as Oklahoma, Wyoming, Montana and Kansas, it's becoming clear that this is a nomination worth having, so we expect to compete for the title.

AAS: Will the presence (or absence) of other Democrats down ballot help or hinder the candidate at the top?

Bell: It depends, of course. It depends on whether we choose leaders who reflect the ethics and values of the New Mainstream. It depends on whether we identify the next generation of leaders.

AAS: How much money should a Democrat expect to raise to be competitive with the eventual Republican nominee?

Bell: A lot. Actually, an obscene amount, but let me put it in perspective. We think we need to raise far less than it cost Texas hospitals to provide basic health care in ERs to the uninsured, and about 40 times less than the amount in federal matching funds for children's health insurance we have turned away. It will cost 45 times less than Texas would have saved by reimporting prescription drugs, but almost twice as much as drug companies spend a year for Texas lobbyists. Perhaps worst of all, it's less by a lot than the tuition increases that UT students paid.

You want an exact number? We figure it'll cost as much as the amount of CHIP money that the state auditor said Gov. Rick Perry lost through mismanagement. And I'll wager the governor has no idea how much that is.

Also in the news today are some editorials on the guv race from the Longview News-Journal and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (from Saturday).

Chris Bell has a press release out today as well about the "ethics emergency" here in our state. Read it in the extended entry.

BELL DECLARES 'ETHICS EMERGENCY'

"We need to hold our state government as accountable as it holds our schoolchildren"

AUSTIN - Saying proposed ethics legislation would only encourage Rick Perry's unethical performance in office, Chris Bell today declared an Ethics Emergency. An "ethics emergency" has admittedly no force of law, just like Rick Perry¹s revolving door policy. Bell also conceded that declaring an "ethics emergency" would be about as effective in stopping ethical transgressions as the Snack Tax would be in making us all skinny.

But it makes a point that Rick Perry just doesn¹t get. Examples of cronyism, conflicts of interest, insider deals, revolving door loopholes, and pay-for-play have become business-as-usual with Rick Perry in the Governor¹s Mansion. In stark contrast is the record of longtime ethics watchdog Chris Bell. In Jun. 2004, then-U.S. Rep. Bell broke a seven-year-long "ethics truce" by filing an ethics complaint against Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Also, as a Houston City Council Member, Bell was responsible for sweeping ethics reform.

"Only in Washington would a truce on ethics make sense to some folks, but here in Texas it looks like Rick Perry is taking ethics lessons from Tom DeLay," said Bell. "This isn¹t just an ethics truce, this is a wholesale ethics surrender."

HB 3148 would give blanket civil immunity for "violations of law involving the making, acceptance, or reporting of political contributions and expenditures." Usually tort reform is aimed at creating a more favorable climate for business. In this case, tort reform would help create a more favorable climate for cheating.

HB 913, sponsored by Mary Denny, would give political appointees veto power over criminal prosecutions of violations of the state election code. In an editorial, the Austin American-Statesman called the Denny Bill "one of the worst pieces of legislation in recent memory." Mary Denny is the chair of the House Ethics Committee.

"We need to hold our state government as accountable as it holds our schoolchildren, and these ideas would take us in the opposite direction," said Bell. "These ideas are dangerous for democracy, and the fact that they could become law-let alone the fact that Rick Perry hasn't denounced them-means we have an ethics emergency on our hands."