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Mon Jul 20, 2009 at 00:25 PM CDT
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| At least that is the impression you get after reading the editorial from the Lubbock-Avalanche Journal from this past Saturday. In reality though, they are correct. A number of politicos---both Republican and Democrat---are waiting in the wings for Kay Bailey to decide what exactly she wishes to do with her political future.
Upon her resignation from the United States Senate, Hutchison will trigger a special election that already has two Democrats and a number of Republicans vying to fill a vacancy that doesn't exist. If she resigns---and that is a really big if---you're likely to see a few more Republicans with larger financial war chests enter the race. But I'm beginning to think that Kay Bailey won't resign from the United States senate, which would foil a lot of plans and political futures of several Texas politicos. It must be so cool to be Kay Bailey Hutchison right now, holding the whole wide world in your hands. But maybe that much power and attention is pissing off a lot of people too, particularly within your own Party.
I mean think about it. David Dewhurst is eagerly waiting for Hutchison to resign so he can begin to run for her seat, if not fill it by means of a gubernatorial appointment by Perry. He has already corrected his rather suspect financial statements and disclosed his investment funds. Much like an individual or politician suddenly losing weight, correcting ones' statements and disclosing your riches is a sign of someone itching for a position higher than the one they currently retain. Dewhurst runs, then someone wants to run for his spot, maybe Attorney General Abbott, and then someone wants to run for his spot, and so on and so forth. Democrats are just as eager to play this game too. We've heard Senator Royce West for Attorney General, maybe Kirk Watson for Lt. Governor, or even governor. It's a snowball down hill effect. That process hasn't been triggered yet though and I'm not confident it will, thus foiling the political futures of a lot of folks.
Read more below the fold
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| As I have said time and again when discussing this situation, as long as Hutchison is not investing in new infrastructure and building a new Texas Republican Party to get out and vote for her in the primary, then Rick Perry will win the GOP nomination. I don't think Hutchison's full passion is in the race for governor. I think she will run, and she will announce, but I don't think she'll resign her senate seat. There is no urgency for resigning, after all, Republicans are deep in the minority and she can't help the GOP with anything in D.C. anyway. She'll surely foil all these R's and D's vying for her yet to be vacated seat, which I'm sure tickles her to no end to see all this jockeying going on. Plus she'll prevent Perry, her primary foe, from filling her seat. Why give him that power? I think she'll view this entire scenario as her consolation prize. She can walk away with no hard feelings should she lose to Perry and still claim to be the Senior Senator from Texas until 2012. If she should pull out the win she can resign thereafter. Sure she wants to return to Texas, but she can hang on for two more years as a senator, retire, and then return to Texas much the same way she supposedly views her potential gubernatorial run---as a retirement. I'm just beginning to think she doesn't have the heart for politics at all anymore, which would explain her lackluster "gubernatorial primary" performance, and overall lack of understanding, or urgency in needing to build campaign infrastructure. Face it; she has never had to do this before---investing in campaign mechanics and building Party infrastructure. And man does it show.
So, in conclusion, Hutchison will run for governor, continue and run a poor primary campaign, and is likely to lose to Perry without resigning her senate seat. She'll get to retain her senate seat, hang on for two more years, and then ride off into the Texas sunset. Should she win, which I find doubtful, she will resign after the election. Make no mistake that Hutchison, as with any egotistical politician, loves having the whole wide world in her hands. She holds the fate and political futures of a lot of Republican and Democratic officials between her palms and I think she loves every single solitary minute of it. |
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