Archive for the ‘National Politics’ Category

ODESSA --- Although she may no longer be in office when it comes time to cast a dissenting vote on the proposed cap and trade legislation, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Monday she’ll continue working to oppose the bill. “It’s the most flawed piece of policy that I can imagine,” said Hutchison, speaking to local government and ... Full story

Back in 2002, it was up to Republican John Cornyn to keep a Kirk from taking a Senate seat -- Ron Kirk, the Democratic nominee, former Dallas mayor and now, the president's trade ambassador. Cornyn won that election. Fast forward seven years. Cornyn is now the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and there's another Kirk ... Full story

For all the talk about co-ops, Medicare Advantage and delivery system reform, the Senate Finance Committee markup on health care reform may really be about something else: the 2010 elections. Democrats and Republicans alike see the deliberations as an opportunity to score points for midterms — either broad, global points that may help sway seniors, a critical voting bloc, ... Full story

By Jordan Fabian Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) on Tuesday morning praised the Senate's vote yesterday to strip funding from the community organizing group ACORN, which is embroiled in voter registration fraud scandal. The second-term Republican praised Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), a member of the Housing and Urban Affairs Committee who proposed an amendment blocking grant money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development directed toward ACORN ... Full story

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 ... Full story

By MICHAEL GRACZYK (AP) HOUSTON — Special teams of Texas Rangers will be deployed to the Texas-Mexico border to deal with increasing violence because the federal government has failed to address growing problems there, Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday. "It is an expansive effort with the Rangers playing a more high-profile role than they've ever played before," ... Full story

By Reid Wilson National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) will inform colleagues on Tuesday that the August recess gave Republicans a new advantage heading into the 2010 elections. In a memo to Republican senators, Cornyn calls the summer break “nothing short of a disaster for our Democrat colleagues” that put momentum behind the ... Full story

By: Cragg Hines Kay Bailey Hutchison had sweet dreams of the governor's mansion. She'll have to play smash-mouth politics to get there. Oh, Kay! What have you gotten yourself into? The simple answer is that Kathryn Ann "Kay" Bailey Hutchison, a Republican and senior U.S. senator from Texas, has entered the race for governor back home, a job she ... Full story

JAY ROOT, Associated Press Writer AUSTIN (AP) ― U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison released eight years' worth of tax returns Wednesday, revealing that she and her husband have made millions from salaries and real estate in that time. Hutchison, who is challenging Gov. Rick Perry in the Republican primary for the 2010 governor's race, released the returns about ... Full story

The Texas governor on Arnold, Sarah, ObamaCare and the future of his party. By EMILY ESFAHANI SMITH Austin, Texas California needs a strong leader, says Texas governor Rick Perry. That strong leader, Mr. Perry thinks, needs to go to Sacramento and "take special interests out" of government. He needs to "make massive cuts" in spending and taxes. And ... Full story

By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON – Out on the stump last week, Kay Bailey Hutchison kept the focus on how much better Texas would be if voters replace Gov. Rick Perry with her, while remaining coy about how much longer she'll stay in the Senate. But now that she is officially running for ... Full story

By Jessica Brady Roll Call Staff   Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) directed criticism toward the White House again Wednesday over a recently dissolved Web-based program designed to target misinformation in the health care debate. The National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman, who initially aired his problems with the program in an Aug. 5 letter to President Barack Obama, reiterated ... Full story

Commentary by Ken Herman Wednesday, August 19, 2009 Well now we're rolling in the Republican gubernatorial primary battle. What we've got here is a he-said, she-said between two long-serving politicians, each of whom thinks their long service is good and the other's is bad. On Tuesday, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison was on the second of her five-day kickoff tour ... Full story

By DAVE MONTGOMERYdmontgomery@star-telegram.com   AUSTIN — The much-anticipated confrontation between the state’s top two political titans opened Monday as U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison formally launched her campaign to oust Gov. Rick Perry in the Republican primary, telling Texans that it’s time to retire the state’s longest-serving governor. Perry’s campaign fired back by depicting Hutchison as a ... Full story

By W. Gardner Selby The White House has evidently shut down an e-mail box it recently established for visitors to forward information they consider fishy regarding plans to overhaul the delivery of health insurance. That’s a score for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who (as I noted here) speculated the request for fishy notes was leading President Obama’s staff members to compile an electronic enemies list — ... Full story

By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.   HOUSTON — Gov. Rick Perry looks as if he stepped out of a Marlboro billboard: square-jawed, weathered face, a shock of black hair, steely eyes. He even says “howdy” when he enters the room. His public persona is so folksy that many opponents have underestimated his political skills. But Mr. Perry, a conservative ... Full story

Two weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal published a story with this headline: "Perry vs. Hutchison promises a Texas-size brawl." Expect more of those types of articles in the weeks and months ahead. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has yet to formally declare that she is running for governor (after months of hinting, she is expected to do that today), but her decision to challenge Gov. Rick ... Full story

by Former Rep. Martin Frost I received an e-mail from one of my law partners in Denver recently asking me about Houston Mayor Bill White, who was in town raising money. Basically, my partner wanted to know who White is and why he is running for U.S. Senate as a Democrat in a reliably Republican state for a vacancy that did not yet exist. The answer is ... Full story

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has not endorsed anyone in New Hampshire, but they are making little secret of which candidate they want to win the nomination. Former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (R), who resigned last month in order to explore a race, will benefit from a fundraiser at NRSC headquarters on Sept. 22, according to an invitation for the event. Click here to read ... Full story

The health care reform battle that's been raging in Washington is now being fought in communities across the country. House members' summer break began 2 days ago, and Senators take a month off beginning Friday. With them at home for the recess, grassroots troops are being called up to the front lines. KERA's Bill Zeeble reports on north Texas efforts from both sides. Click ... Full story