| The Dallas Morning News, without question, has shown up for the 2010 election season with the best political coverage in the state. Between now and the primary, everyone else is playing catch up. They laid the gauntlet down on Day One, and it's going to take some seriously impressive efforts from other news organizations to match what the DMN has put forth on their first day. Most major papers wrote a couple stories. The Austin American-Statseman, Houston Chronicle, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, San Antonio Express-News, and Texas Tribune all did a couple pieces. The Waco Tribune had some great local stories, as did the Amarillo Globe-News and others. But the Dallas Morning-News covered every angle, every kind of story, and wrote a lot every time. Most importantly, the Dallas Morning-News is covering this year's elections. If you picked up a DMN newspaper in twenty years, you would know exactly what is happening in Texas politics today. Here's an overview of all their excellent coverage: - Texas Gov. Rick Perry has toiled to steer clear of George W. Bush's shadow
Wayne Slater -- who, along with Ken Herman, is probably the dean of the Capitol press corps going into the 2010 election cycle -- starts things off with a major piece on Rick Perry. For both Republicans and Democrats, Rick Perry is the defining figure of the 2010 elections, so it's fitting (and smart) to read a piece by Slater on Perry in today's paper. Slater writes:
If Bush reflects the rise of the Republican Party in Texas, Perry represents its political dominance and recent populist shift. [...]
Perry, who succeeded Bush in 2000, has become the state's longest-serving governor and has charted his own course. He has replaced all Bush appointees with his own. He tells voters he's a fiscal conservative and Bush was not. He has abandoned his predecessor's bipartisanship and pressed his own distinct agenda.
- Tough fights for Texas House shape up in Dallas area
After the Governor's race, the biggest story this year will be whether or not Texas Democrats can re-take control of the State House and elect a Democratic Speaker going into the increasingly important 2011 election season. With eight competitive State House seats, Dallas County is a crucial battleground for next year's Speaker's race. Their coverage, accordingly, is very detailed.
- Texas Democrats optimistic they'll break string of losses in statewide races.
Of all the state papers that wrote about the general filing up and down the ballot, the DMN was the only one that accurately portrayed both sides of the ticket. Whereas most papers -- especially the Statesman -- more or less dismissed Democrats' opportunities this election cycle, the Morning News did not. No one thinks it won't be an uphill battle, and the DMN acknowledges that. But they balanced Slater's piece on the Perry/KBH race with a great piece about how Democrats are in the best position to win in over a decade: The party that has wandered in the political desert for 16 years without a statewide victory filled their primary roster with the optimism of a clean slate – well, as clean as any slate can be that includes humorist Kinky Friedman. Leading the lineup is the great hope White – former Houston Mayor Bill White, a man with a constituency, money-raising clout and executive experience. He will have to beat six others, including Houston hair products tycoon Farouk Shami, to take on the Republican nominee.
[...]
The winners will face Republican incumbents, who all have reservoirs of political cash. And they will begin with an electorate tilted toward voting Republican. Nevertheless, those incumbents will have to defend lackluster performances, said Kirsten Gray, a Democratic spokeswoman. "We have an opportunity to restore real leadership after a decade of failed Republican rule and debilitating partisanship," she said, adding that Democrats have been rebuilding their party and gaining momentum. "When we win in 2010 and restore leadership for Texans, it will be the culmination of all that hard work," she said – with resolve.
Texas Democrats have been building a resurgence in years, and it's no accident that we have fielded our strongest ticket with the most realistic chance to win in over a decade. It is nice to see a major paper discuss that progress -- and not simply dismiss it as a throway line -- both for Democrats' own political wishes, but also for the sake of journalistic accuracy.
Do Democrats have an uphill fight in 2010? Absolutely. But are we better positioned then ever before? Absolutely. The DMN story treats that second part fairly, making it one of a few examples of reporters' setting aside their own political analysis and, instead, simply reporting on the state of Texas politics as of January 5, 2010.
- William McKenzie: White positioned to push judicial reform
In an interesting op-ed piece, editorial columnist William McKenzie discusses the potential for Bill White -- as both a lawyer and businessman -- to potentially breach the judicial divide that separates lawyers (TTLA) and businesses (TLR) in every judicial, and most non-judicial, races in Texas. With nothing more than "good government" in mind, McKenzie writes:
In case you haven't noticed, judicial candidates go around with hat in hand, asking for cash and votes. The only folks who really donate to their campaigns are lawyers and businesses, each of whom has an interest in seeing them elected. This is true whether we're talking about a local trial bench, appellate court or the Texas Supreme Court. Trial lawyers once dominated elections. Then, the business community did. The back-and-forth has fueled Texas' ugly judicial reputation. White is in a perfect place to change this perception, more than any other gubernatorial candidate, as both a successful trial lawyer and a businessman.
- No serious challengers for Texas' U.S. House delegation
Oh yeah! Remember our Congressional races? The DMN actually covered them. What a welcome surprise.
- Dallas County Democrats gear up for decisive primary
All the way down the ballot, now, the DMN even goes into great detail about local county races.
Now that's journalism. My hat's off to the entire Dallas Morning News political team today. I look forward to reading their ongoing coverage in the coming months -- and looking forward to other news organizations across the state working to reach the bar the DMN has set for the 2010 election cycle. |
