What's the Matter with Texas?

Dubya's popularity is a scant 39%, though that still makes him more popular than Landslide Perry who is now hovering at 34%. And Cornyn holds only a four point lead on Rick Noriega. And both Obama and Clinton are polling at 43%, to McCain's 48% (against Obama) and 49% (against Clinton). Given that Rasmussen has always had a tendency to skew Republican, this is potentially very explosive stuff. Texas hasn't really been in play in a Presidential election since 1976, though the potential was there in 1996 had Bill Clinton not blown the state off. If even Texas is looking a little purple, then McCain is in serious, serious trouble.

UPDATE: A Research 2000 poll seems to confirm the Rasmussen results. So what gives? Neither Cornyn nor Kay Bailey Hutchinson have gotten just huge amounts of coverage lately, yet her approval ratings leave his in the dust, so it's hard to write this off as the Dubya anchor dragging down all GOP boats. Could it be that after a decade-long deathgrip on statewide office and the Legislature, the Republican brand name has fallen so far that it's Hutchinson who's the exception and Perry and Dubya the rule?

Texas Blue?

A good column from Paul Burka on the outstanding turnout in the Democratic Primary and the possibility of renewal for Texas Democrats. Put me in the "cautiously pessimistic" column on that. If we see a new Blue trend, it will have less to do with Democratic competence than (as at the national level) GOP incompetence, cupidity and arrogance. Also, Democrats will have to depend on a high level of Republican ennui, which isn't really a strong foundation for a re-alignment. In decreasing order of likelihood, I could see A) winning a statewide judicial race; B) winning control of the State House; or C) Rick Noriega beating Cornyn.

ALERT JOHN CORNYN!

Rush Limbaugh hates the troops! Quick! Someone get to the floor of the Senate with a meaningless paper fig leaf of fake indignation!

UPDATE: The conspiracy spreads! Now FOXNews hates the troops, too! We're going to need more resolutions.

UPDATE 2: ZOMG! The American Conservative is in on it, too!

John Cornyn Swoons!!

Heavens to Murgatroid! The sheer, vicious hatred of those awful Lefties! Thank Heavens Conservatives would NEVER engage in that sort of brutal personal attack against Our Boys In Uniform.

John Cornyn...

...now as stupid and intellectually dishonest as James Inhofe. And that's saying something.

Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

Thus passes Alberto Gonzales, quite possibly one of the worst Attorneys General in American history, certainly right down there with Ed Meese and A. Mitchell Palmer. I have encountered other lawyers like him, mouthpieces would say or do anything, legal, semi-legal or otherwise, on behalf of their clients, and who have completely forgotten their loyalty to the law and the justice system. Good riddance.

UPDATE: A classic 2003 Atlantic article on the cynicism and callousness of the Gonzo/Dubya team from it's earliest days back here in Texas.

UPDATE 2: Capitol Annex repeats Austin rumors that Dubya will tap Cornyn to replace Gonzo, presumably to prevent his defeat by Rick Noriega. I respectfully doubt it. Dubya needs someone non-controversial to prevent a bloodbath with Senate Dems. Not sure even Senatorial Courtesy would be enough to shoe-horn the notoriously unlikeable Cornyn through the process.

Rick Noriega MUST Be A Serious Candidate...

...because now the Right Wing Noise Machine is after him for "shouting about [his military] service."

Senator John Cornyn...

...still Jack Abramoff's trained poodle. And still only slightly more popular than heat rash.

Hard to Know Who to Root For

John McCain deploys F-bomb against John Cornyn. On any other occasion, I wouldn't cross the street to piss on Cornyn if he was on fire, but in this case, he had a valid point; McCain really has been too busy running for President to have much impact of legislation this year.

John Cornyn: Stooge, Goon or Flunky?

From the Somervell County Salon. When Senator John Cornyn (who was then Attorney General) shut down casinos operated by the Alabama-Coushatta and Tigua Tribes, was he doing so as a political stooge of Jack Abramoff, a goon for the Bush Campaign angry at the tribes for supporting Garry Mauro in 1998, or as a flunky of out-of-state gambling interests (thus betraying his own state)?

Dem-O-Con '06

Just got back from the Democratic State Convention in lovely downtown Fort Worth, where the west begins. I did not sit in Bloggers Alley, for two reasons: one, I didn't know about it at the time, and two, I was a delegate so, unlike the other bloggers, I couldn't even pretend to be a journalist. Also, I can't imagine lugging my laptop around like Jacob Marley's chains. The speeches went as expected: Wes Clark has a great stump speech now, much better than his stiff, wooden delivery in 2004; he doesn't sound like someone who's running for Hillary's VP slot. Someone needs to tell him that Daniel Boone was not at the Alamo, however, and it's William Barrett Travis, not "Brett Travis." Chris Bell is mildly energizing, David Van Os is crazy but in a good way, Hank Gilbert was brilliant. Chet Edwards delivered a very strong address on behalf on the Congressional Delegation, leading to some speculation that he might be interested in higher office, maybe against Cornyn. Considerably less Bush-bashing than you might have expected. I supported Boyd Ritchie for State Chair, not because I doubted Glen Maxey's ability, but because I knew that if he won, everyone Republican in the state would be running against him. That's not fair, of course, but this is Texas. Maxey was clearly the sentimental favorite, and frankly I thought Ritchie (who, God love him, is boring as dirt when it comes to public speaking) would lose in a runoff. I assumed the majority of Charlie Urbina-Jones' delegates would support Maxey, but evidently I was wrong. Maxey ended with a great concession speech. Overall, a good convention. Democrats are NEVER united, but there was less back-stabbing and bitterness than usual. Hell, the delegates even applauded politely for the bi-annual candidate representing Lyndon LaRouche (that is, after Bob Slagle yelled at us not to boo her).

John Cornyn: More Popular than Perry, but Less Popular than Mange

According to Survey USA, John Cornyn is one of the least popular Senators currently serving, with an approval/disapproval rating of 43/47. Men, women, age groups below 55+, Independents and Moderates all have a negative opinion of this smarmy blowhard. So, who out there will step up?