Hutchison spreads her own ‘silly rhetoric’

By LISA FALKENBERG
To play on a campaign slogan of Republican gubernatorial candidate Kay Bailey Hutchison: Kay, you can do better.

Thus far, the U.S. senator has presented herself as the moderate, the voice of reason, in her Republican primary battle against Gov. Rick Perry.

While Perry has been flirting with secessionists and thumbing his nose at stimulus funds in the name of political symbolism, Hutchison has called for more “enlightened” leadership and at first tried to focus on issues that unite Republicans — low taxes, limited government, property rights — rather than those that may divide, including abortion and morality-based issues.

Even a month ago, when Perry was feeding the fear about the president and his policies by saying Texans “ought to be scared” about policies such as “Obamacare,” Hutchison, too, vowed to fight “this massive government takeover of our health care system.” At the same time, she acknowledged the very real health care crisis in Texas under Perry’s leadership: namely, the highest rate of uninsured children in the nation.

But, over the weekend, an op-ed by the senator signaled a shift. Hutchison, who has criticized Perry’s “silly rhetoric,” engaged in some of her own.

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