House Democrats' political arm seizes on school cuts, buys ads

 House Democrats have begun trying to regain seats lost in November, seizing on proposed budget cuts to public school.
A radio spot produced by the House Democratic Campaign Committee is airing in Corpus Christi, where the party lost two House seats on Nov. 2: Abel Herrero lost to Republican Connie Scott and Solomon Ortiz Jr. fell to Republican Raul Torres.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/hubyzr

Wins on both sides accompanied good campaigning, scandals in 2010 political news

When Texas historians muse about the 2010 election, they'll probably concentrate on the Republican wave that washed through the state last month. Everywhere but in Dallas County, that is. Here, the county solidified its role as a Democratic bastion, despite some hard-fought local races.
 http://dallasne.ws/eNuxkm

Staff writers Rudolph Bush, Robert T. Garrett, Todd J. Gillman, Gromer
Jeffers Jr., Kevin Krause and Wayne Slater contributed to this report.

 

Slater: Bristol Palin, Tom DeLay reflect the country's polarized political dance

"Compromise was bad. Partisanship was good. Dividing voters, us vs. them, was the way to win elections."

http://bit.ly/e2iZRm

As Bush kicks off book tour, historians crown his family a Republican dynasty

AUSTIN – When three generations of Bushes assembled in May at a church in a fashionable part of Miami, it was more than a wedding and a family reunion. It was a gathering of the Republican Party's most enduring modern dynasty. "While they disdain it, especially George W. who recoils in horror at the whole thing, they are our royal family," said historian Doug Wead.


Slater: http://dallasne.ws/9PHGMG

Bush dynasty's best ally: the Clintons

Politics makes for strange bedfellows: http://dallasne.ws/bWrOK0

GOP congressional candidate Stephen Broden says he would not rule out violent overthrow of government

WASHINGTON — Republican congressional candidate Stephen Broden stunned his party Thursday, saying he would not rule out violent overthrow of the government if elections did not produce a change in leadership.
Melanie Mason reports: http://dallasne.ws/9tPtOz

What do Tom DeLay, Kay Bailey Hutchison & Bill White have in common?

Slater knows:
Turns out, Tom DeLay , Kay Bailey Hutchison and Bill White all have a friend in famed Houston crriminal lawyer Dick DeGuerin . White is calling for an investigation into state business subsidies to political contributors of Gov. Rick Perry. And DeGuerin agrees. DeGuerin joined the dustup today over The Dallas Morning News report that top Perry political contributors benefited from $16 million in taxpayer dollars from the governor's high-tech fund.
http://dallasne.ws/d3075l

Perry plans male-oriented fundraiser

Rick Perry's state fundraising chairman, oil and gas man James H. Lee, is one of the hosts of a "wild game" fundraising dinner where a few, select men can pay $15,000 each to eat pheasant and wild sausage and have meaningful conversation with the governor.
Hoppe peers through the cigar smoke:
http://dallasne.ws/c3gsyw

Candidates trade attacks sitting down

The candidates for agriculture commissioner lit into each other Friday, as their first public conversation this year turned from the state's water deficiencies to tough personal attacks. The race snagged headlines early in the season for their campaigns' vitriolic assaults, but the candidates had avoided direct blows to each other until asked about the allegations at a Dallas Morning News editorial board meeting. Jessica Meyers reports: http://dallasne.ws/a6uGBK

Candidates for Texas governor getting personal on social sites

Mulvaney:
AUSTIN – The candidates for governor are getting their messages out – sometimes in 140 characters or less. Taking a lesson from the Obama presidential campaign's use of social media tools, Republican Rick Perry and Democrat Bill White are embracing Facebook and Twitter to personally engage their supporters.
http://dallasne.ws/9Q9BTY

White's new spot: Part of a one-two punch against Perry

Slater takes a look: http://dallasne.ws/aNRIJz

3 Dallas executives give $1 million each to target Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, other Democrats

Slater:
Rees-Jones is helping bankroll a group spearheaded by Karl Rove and funded largely by Texans to air TV spots attacking Reid and other Democrats.
http://dallasne.ws/d7wpJd

Finally, an honest political TV commercial

Slater: So Patrick Rose/Dan Branch walks into a bar and Mark McKinnon has a video camera. I'm Just saying ...
The irrepressible Harold Cook, political consultant to the stars, points us to perhaps the most honest political spot in history. Finally, a candidate speaking truth to the voters!
http://dallasne.ws/bNsXWr

Q&A: New Texas GOP chief addresses party's challenges

Hoppe sat down with new TX state GOP chair Steve Munisteri and asked him some questions:

AUSTIN – Newly elected Texas Republican Party Chairman Steve Munisteri, who triumphed over an incumbent for the first time in party history at the state convention 10 days ago in Dallas, spoke Tuesday about the party's challenges, including its $700,000 debt, and its future direction.
http://tinyurl.com/2eaq5j8

Slater: Texas Republicans display a siege mentality

Slater looks back on the Texas GOP weekend in Dallas:

For a party in power, there seem to be a lot of martyrs in the Texas GOP.


Rush Limbaugh says Democrats are the party of victims. But it was the Republicans at their state convention in Dallas this weekend who clearly saw themselves as the oppressed and mistreated.
http://tinyurl.com/2f6gwtx

The Texas Political Heat Index

The Texas Heat Index is a fact check of whether candidates, campaigns and interest groups are telling the truth as they aim to persuade voters. Claims are rated with Texas flavor, using the chili-pepper index on a scale from one to four.

Better work, and without the bizarre conclusions. see for yourself:

http://heatindex.dallasnews.com//

Bill White releases his income taxes

Slater:

The Rick Perry campaign has been demanding for months that Democrat Bill White release his income taxes for the years he's served in public office. And today, White did.
http://tinyurl.com/38og7vb

See White's returns and disclosures here: http://www.scribd.com/document_collections/2494244

Bill White says Rick Perry isn't working very hard

Hoppe: Perry working hard, or hardly working?

A look at four recent months of Gov. Rick Perry's schedule shows that he isn't exactly burning the midnight oil.


The Bill White campaign requested the governor's official work calendar for this year and the open records request showed that Perry performed no scheduled state work on 24 of 72 business days. That's one-third of the work week without phone calls or meetings. The calendar covered January, March, April and most of May. The February record has not yet been released.
http://tinyurl.com/3y4o5vx

Abbott denies campaign rival's charge that he went easy on BP

Kim reports:
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Monday that he feels "frustration and aggravation" over BP's response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and that the company's actions could lead to criminal charges.


He dismissed accusations by his campaign opponent that he has shied away from criticizing BP or downplayed the spill's magnitude.
http://tinyurl.com/2eh6mbs

Guns, horses, the Marines, cowboy hats, the Constitution: The best political TV ad ever

Slater says it's the best ever. Seeing is believing:
http://tinyurl.com/33cycw9

Texas governor's race: A chance to chant

Slater offers the play by play:
The Texas governor's race is beginning to sound like competing chants from two cheering sections facing each other across a football field. First the Rick Perry side: "Release your income taxes!" Then the Bill White side: "Audit the enterprise fund!"
http://tinyurl.com/38nfmgh