It's a first not only for the campaign of Hank Gilbert, but for any of the Democratic hopefuls for Texas Governor- the addition of a senior staff level position as an Asian & Pacific Islander American Outreach Director. Justin Gillenwater writes more at the Asian American Action Fund blog.
Hank Gilbert has enlisted political dynamo Geeyung Li to serve as APIA Outreach Director. Gilbert is the first candidate to create and fill an APIA outreach position for the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary. With the selection of Li, Gilbert has doubly demonstrated his valuing of the Asian American community.
Li is not only the first Outreach Director (of any identity group) for the Gilbert Campaign, but Li is also the first Asian American enlisted to a senior position in any of the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial campaigns. The Schieffer campaign has an Asian American on the campaign committee, but otherwise only has Asian Americans in low-level volunteer positions. The Shami campaign has yet to formally launch and therefore has no Asian American in any position. The Friedman campaign had the, for lack of a better word, "best" response to my query:
While we have a Jew, a Palestinian, and a redneck, we do not yet have any Asian-American staffers.
We have not considered race, ethnicity, gender or sex in our hiring at this time, but would expect our campaign and a Kinky administration to look like Texas.
When reached for comment about his joining the Gilbert campaign, Li said:
I am excited and humbled by the opportunity to serve the Asian American community. I believe the focus and outreach that Hank Gilbert has is the right step towards not only identifying and communicating the tangible needs that exist within such a diverse ethnic group, but also in building a group of civically engaged Asians that can have a permanent voice on the state level. I hope we can move forward on that, even if it is a small step, during this election cycle.
When will Sen. Hutchison resign to run for Governor?
* Never, & she loses to Perry - 63 votes (57.8%)
* Only after she defeats Perry - 30 votes (27.52%)
* December - 9 votes (8.26%)
* January - 4 votes (3.67%)
* October - 2 votes (1.83%)
* February - 1 votes (0.92%)
* November - 0 votes (0%)
Who do you support in the Houston Mayoral run-off? Vote here. Burnt Orange Report will reconsider the runoff field and issue an endorsement so we appreciate getting a quick read of where our readers stand.
Last Friday, Michael wrote a good post on Senator Hutchison's decision to postpone her much-delayed anticipation of a future resignation from the Senate at some indeterminate time in the future, choosing instead to once again ensure she has the proper time to "reassess" the options that have been identical for the past decade.
I know when I make the decision to lead, I always try to make it in the least inspiring way possible. (Eye roll).
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's commitment to continue to do nothing in Washington instead of doing nothing in Texas befits her non-legacy. As the senior Republican Senator from the largest Republican state in the country -- who enjoyed unprecedented power in Washington for eight years while a President from her state sat in the White House -- why does Hutchison think she can have any affect now? What is it she hopes to accomplish in Washington -- further her own legacy of ineffectiveness?
Kay Bailey Hutchison's latest decision to continue to do nothing in Washington only cements the fact that when Texans ask who the real KBH is, they are left scratching their heads -- because they don't know what she does or what she believes in any more than Kay does.
Hutchison's commitment to not commit stirred up a lot of flurry over the weekend. The Rick Perry talking point blog, Rick vs. Kay, captured lots of quotes from various Republican elected officials praising Kay for living up to her lifelong career of doing as little as possible. I've captured their quotes below, and added my own commentary following each statement:
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX): “I applaud Sen. Hutchison for once again putting Texas first and remaining in the Senate this year..."
Former Senator Phil Gramm: “It is the right thing for Texas and America. … Having worked with Kay, I am confident that she can both protect us in Washington and run successfully for governor.”
State Representative Dan Branch: She, like other professional women, can multitask as well as men or better,’ Branch said.
Me: Dan, thanks for deciding not to run for higher office. You would have been too sensible for a statewide Republican ticket.
Jason Embry also used the bulk of this morning's First Reading blog for the Austin American-Statesman to game out the various electoral calculus that is better defined (or better ill-defined) following Hutchison's declaration that she still wasn't going to do anything.
Ultimately, though, none of this matters. None of it. KBH could never win the Governor's primary, and even if she did -- how would she win the general election? She has almost no political instinct, and has not defined herself at all. To date, she has allowed Perry to define her completely.
Meanwhile, the Texas Democratic Party has done work of their own to define Hutchison -- or ill-define her, as the case may be. Below is their top ten list that answers the question, "Who is the Real KBH?" -- follow the links, and try to imagine how she could ever get elected for any office again:
In his remarks, Rick Perry calls for doubling the size of tea parties. This is from last Friday's tea party, which took place (as you can tell) directly outside the Texas Capitol. Rick Perry's campaign was signing up people -- literally -- just outside of this shot:
Rick Perry's call to double the size of these violent crowds is far more dangerous than anything he may make up about what's going on in Washington today. Perry has no sense of self-respect -- for himself, or for the state of Texas -- when he makes these calls of action.
As a resource for those who may visit or pass along this post, I wanted to re-post something the Texas Democratic Party recently put out -- the "Top Ten Rick Perry Failures." Here they are -- with full resources, links, facts, and talking points on each page that is linked:
This is the first in a series of posts examining the future of Texas Politics that I hope to write. I intend to examine ongoing demographic and political shifts in detail, and look to the future of statewide elections, Congressional and State Legislature elections, and redistricting.
Texas is the second largest state in the Union, after California.
Texas has been, for several years, a majority minority state.
Texas has 34 electoral votes, which will increase to 37 or 38 for the 2012 Presidential Election.
On the Presidential level, Texas has been one of the primary pieces (if not the primary piece) in the Republican Electoral College puzzle for years.
On the State level, Texas has not voted for a Democratic candidate for anything Statewide since 1994.
Yet if we can extrapolate from current trends, at some point in next decade Texas will become a bona fide purple swing state. Then it will become a blue state. Then it will become a linchpin of the Democratic electoral coalition, and as Texas flips, modern Conservative Republicanism as we know it will face mortal danger.
The rumors about Houston Mayor and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bill White switching to the Governor's race circulated again this week, and the White camapign denied them (again). With Kay Bailey Hutchison appearing to once again be waffling on her decision to resign from the Senate, some have thought White would rather jump to the governor's race than wait until 2012.
Ross Ramsay's Texas Tribune article identified John Sharp and Rick Perry as the two pushing the rumor, which if true certainly does not put Sharp, the former Texas Comptroller and current Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, in very good company.
BOR's Todd Hill wrote in August that Texas Democrats should "get off Bill White's back and get on John Sharp's" when it came to deciding if one of the two leading Democrats would switch races.
I think Sharp is better qualified, and in a better position politically, to change the dynamics completely of the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Sharp's campaign doesn't appear to be raising the funds necessary, outside of personal loans, to remain competitive in a potential U.S. senate race. I suspect that is because those donors who thought Mayor White would run for governor versus the United States Senate suddenly found themselves choosing between Sharp and White. Many people, including myself, believe that Bill White is the brightest star we have in the Democratic Party, and donors and grassroots supporters do too. Those who committed to Sharp assuming White would run for governor suddenly switched allegiances upon his announcement that he would run in an eventual special election senate race. White's fundraising numbers prove that is the case. That doesn't mean those donors don't support Sharp, they just don't support him in a head to head race with Bill White.
In this race without an election date, not much has changed since August, although White's financial advantage over Sharp has only widened.
Sharp came extremely close to defeating Rick Perry in 1998. Since then Perry has gone form being George W. Bush's Lt. Gov. to becoming one of the most unpopular governors in Texas history. Despite Perry and Sharp's past collaboration on school finance, if he decided to switch to the governor's race, he would probably be the favorite versus Perry. Democrats would have a strong candidate for governor and Bill White's huge fundraising lead would stay in the Senate race, where he gives Texas Democrats their best chance to win a Senate seat in years.
"There’s just too many people running," Thompson said. "Any time someone jumps in, they cut your percentages down."
Thompson said last week he was considering ending his bid. He had said he had launched his campaign earlier in the year assuming he would be in a three-way race with former ambassador Tom Schieffer and humorist Kinky Friedman.
There are now at least four Democrat candidates for governor -- Schieffer, Friedman, East Texas rancher Hank Gilbert and Fort Worth teacher Felix Alvarado. Houston Hair-care magnate Farouk Shami and former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle have said they may join the race as well. Candidates can not officially file for a place on the March primary ballot until December.
Thompson said he is endorsing Gilbert, who most closely matches him on several key issues including an opposition to toll roads.
Just a day after Dick Cheney endorsed Kay Bailey Hutchison, her opponent Rick Perry answered with the endorsement of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, the chair of the Republican Governors' Association. Barbour was in Texas earlier today, appearing in Fredericksburg and Dallas, to announce the endorsement, according to the Statesman.
When Hutchison's campaign announced the Cheney endorsement, Perry's camp shot back with an attack on Hutchison's time in Washington.
“It’s not surprising, since they both worked in Washington for so long. Washington insiders stick together," said Perry spokesman Mark Miner.
Haley Barbour has been a Washington insider for over two decades. One of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington in the 1990s, Barbour served as chair of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997.
When Perry was by the Statesman asked whether he would rather having Cheney or Sarah Palin endorsing him, Perry, who is expected to campaign alongside Palin in January, answered as you might expected: "I think I'd stick with Sarah." Whether a parade of unaccomplished conservative govenors (sound familiar?) will help convince Texans to stick with Perry for a third term remains to be seen.
On a 36-25 vote, the State Republican Executive Committee elected Cathie Adams the party's chairwoman over Melinda Fredricks. Adams will serve as chairwoman at least until June, when the state party will meet and have elect a full-term chair. Cathie Adams has spent years as president of the Texas Eagle Forum, an organization, which nationally "has been leading the pro-family movement with strength and decisiveness since 1972." She also already endorsed Rick Perry for governor, just like her predecessor Tina Benkiser. And she might be even more conservative.
Interestingly, the Republican Executive Committee decided to vote without debate. Why?
There was no debate because members agreed not to hold a general discussion before voting. Member Rebecca Williamson of Hunt told colleagues before the agreement to restrict discussion that an initially contemplated 30-minute debate might lead to controversy and personal attacks.
But in this game of Hide and Seek, we can find what we want to know, anyways. Even without debate, we now definitely see three truths about the Texas Republican Party.
The Texas Republican Party is split into two groups. The first group is the one of crazies. The crazies move forward gun-ho and follow their leader, the Reverend Rick Perry.
The second group is one of confused and/or unorganized non-crazies. There is no leader here, but Kay Bailey Hutchison is the highest ranking among them.
The crazies are winning. Adams was just elected today, and she's already taking shots at Kay. It's amazing how the crazies can stay on attack even when Rick Perry misses a step or two, as he definitely has with the Cameron Todd Willingham case. And in response, the other Republicans are dithering more than anyone else in the country.
But Republicans don't want you to know this. The dithering hide from the press because, well, they are dithering on how to play the game of politics effectively. And the crazies sometimes have to hide just because their crazy.
Just as a reminder, these people hold an absolute majority in every section of Texas state government. Ditherers. Crazies. Really.
Perry: "This is where a government entity can take a piece of property and hand it over to a private developer for development, to enhance tax revenues. When we're building highways in the state of Texas, that still stays the sovreign land of the state of Texas. So when the next road that's built in the state of Texas and there's eminent domain [unclear word] that goes into place..."
[Camera operator]: That's quite the spin.
From the YouTube channel "Perry's Reality" -
The account that puts up this -- and other -- anti-Perry YouTube videos is most likely run by a Hutchison operative (though I have no way of knowing that -- it could be someone from one of the Democratic campaigns as well).
Regardless, the fact that Perry was asked -- rather point blank -- about whether or not the constitutional amendment prohibits future Trans-Texas Corridors, and ducked the question, is newsworthy.
