Clay Robison has landed on his feet after being laid off from the Houston Chronicle. Formerly known as the Dean of the Austin Press Corps, Clay Robison will be on the other side of the news for a little while, trying to get us to report certain things. Specifically, he wants us to report positively about Tom Schieffer's Democratic candidacy for governor.
First off, I think I speak for everyone in saying we are glad Mr. Robison has found a new job. He has a good mind for politics, has contributed a lot to Texas politics specifically, and deserves a job in this state.
As far as campaign strategy goes, this could be a coup for the Schieffer campaign. If nothing else, Robison probably is on friendly terms every reporter in Texas who might cover this race. Even if he does not have much recent campaign experience, his connections serve as a major plus.
And perhaps more importantly, this announcement means one thing more: if you had your doubts about the seriousness of the Schieffer campaign, they should subdue. Even if someone else enters the race as a Democrat who we initially like more, the Schieffer campaign will definitely still be worth our attention.
"In the new century, one of the most profound questions for democratic society is whether an independent press survives. The answer will depend on whether journalists have the clarity and conviction to articulate what an independent press means, and whether, as citizens, the rest of us care." -- The Elements of Journalism
Clay Robison leaves the Texas Capitol press corps today after 38 years of service. Let go by the Houston Chronicle as part of a massive downsize in their newsroom, we will sincerely miss his writing, his knowledge, and his conviction. Clay leaves behind a legacy that will forever remain a testament to the best that journalism has to offer -- as Ross Ramsey testifies in Elise Hu's Political Junkie blog:
"He wrangled the weasels in government (and in the newspapers where he worked) for nearly 40 years and did it quietly, plugging away without fanfare and stacking up scoops and credibility and the sort of reputation the rest of us dream about. You can stack newbies and new media folk all the way up to the goddess on the top of the Pink Building and still not replace Clay. The Chronicle's done with him, but I don't think the rest of us are." - Ross Ramsey, Texas Weekly
His work continues to show us the way, because at every point where we struggle, he has survived. We continue to evaluate what it means to speak truth to power and serve as an engaged citizen; Clay Robison has lived that fight since before we were born. And at those twists and turns in Texas politics where we find ourselves cornered by political and personal loyalities, Clay has already blazed a smooth and straight trail to independence, credibility, and unmatched success.
The newspaper industry across the country, and here in Texas, is suffering under a failed business model that, somewhere over the past thirty years, lost focus on the non-monetary value of fulfilling journalism's primary purpose: to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing. Yet, as newsrooms grew without purpose and publishers and financial stakeholders pursued the same bottom-dollar business that has crippled our economy across all sectors of industry, there always remained those reporters who -- against all odds -- remained committed to the cause.
Clay Robison was one of them. He knew what it meant to be a journalist. Clay did not think of politics or policy; he thought of people. He asked questions and wrote stories that not only spoke truth to power, but moved those powers to act better. Clay leaves behind not only an informed audience, but an impassioned one. We count ourselves among those who -- though we will never do true justice to his work, and will often pursue different means to that ultimate self-governing end -- will always celebrate his passion for the pursuit of truth.
Thank you, Clay. We wish you the best of luck in your next steps, and we hope you find the proper forum to continue your exemplary work for many years to come.
Different election years bring many changes but, in Texas, there seems to be at least one constant: speculation that John Sharp will run for statewide office.
Sharp, the former comptroller who lost bids for Lieutenant Governor in 1998 and 2002, has been rumored to be considering a run for either Governor or the U.S. Senate.
While many commenters on BOR have said (accurately, I believe) that Sharp would be a fairly weak candidate in a Democratic Primary, Clay Robison wrote an article that once again suggests that Sharp would run for Hutchison's seat ... in a special election.
Running in a special election with many candidates would allow Sharp, who still has fairly high name ID compared to other potential candidates like Florence Shapiro and Elizabeth Ames Jones, to side-step the problems he may have with the Democratic Party faithful.
Sometimes, the political itch just won't go away. Friends of former Comptroller John Sharp, who has lost two races for lieutenant governor and has long eyed the governor's office, say he now is focusing on a U.S. Senate seat ...
Sharp, a Democrat, has been mostly overlooked in the speculation, and he is shy about talking to reporters about his plans. But friends say he has been making the rounds, shoring up potential political and financial support, etc.
Some fellow Democrats believe Sharp's chance to win another statewide office has come and gone. And they believe he may have hurt himself within his party by helping Perry win passage of a new business tax two years ago, when the Legislature was facing a Texas Supreme Court deadline to make school finance changes.
But Sharp wouldn't be running in a Democratic primary. He would be running in a potentially wide-open special election.
The dynamics of a special election will be markedly different than a typical primary/general. At least one potential candidate, John Sharp, seems to be preparing to take advantage of the expected special election.
Yesterday, I linked to the Clay Robison's story about how John Cornyn had politicized Hurricane Dolly.
Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLaughlin e-mailed Robison informing him that the press release in question had been issued by Cornyn's senate office, not his campaign.
McLaughlin seemed to think he was making a relevant point. In reality, however, the relevation seemed to further cement what Robison had written.
Clearly partisan messages should not be coming from tax-payer funded offices. John Cornyn's campaign team seems to disagree but I think the people of Texas are with us on this one.
Robison also includes in his post a quote from McLaughlin that seems to threaten the reporter with limited access to Cornyn if he continues with his ... well, fair and accurate reporting.
Fortunately, the levees held against the flood waters, but political anger was gushing from the Cornyn camp today. It seems the e-mail wasn't sent by the Republican senator's campaign, but by Cornyn's official, taxpayer-funded office in Washington.
"Your inability to tell the difference between the two is very disconcerting," sputtered Cornyn's campaign spokesman Kevin McLaughlin in an e-mail.
Disconcerting? Perhaps. But it often is difficult to tell the difference between Cornyn's campaign handouts and his official pronouncements, particularly since the official messages (the ones we taxpayers pay for) are headed by Cornyn's name in big letters against a background of those favorite campaign colors -- red, white and blue.
And the message had partisan overtones. By addressing the Senate's Democratic leader, Cornyn's office seemed to be trying to blame the Democrats for underfunding the levee system, when, in fact, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have failed to adequately protect thousands of Valley residents from disastrous flooding.
"Your mistakes have consequences," McLaughlin said.
So does congressional hand-sitting.
In the last 36 hours, John Cornyn and his employees have politicized a dangerous hurricane and threatened a reporter.
