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?

Rick Perry to Menace State Again

Alleged Governor Perry (only slightly more popular than bird flu) makes official his threat to inflict another four years of arrogance, corruption, incompetence and boobery on an unsuspecting Texas in 2010.

Rick Perry Does Right Thing!

Nation gasps!
One can only hope that it was really some campaign donation that motivated this unprecedented second ever scrap of evidence of human kindness, so we don't have to revise our opinion of Perry as a preening, narcissistic tool.

Republican Efficiency Watch

Apparently, it is simply impossible to trust the Republic Party to control any portion of state government that deals with the poor, the powerless or the helpless. Can we please now retire that sad pathetic and empty slogan that the GOP will "run state government like a business"? And while we're at it, the trope that Rick Perry is anything more than a pathetic shill, an empty suit with all the leadership skill of a mollusk?

Rick Perry: Indian Fighter...

...bravely holding the line against any effort (no matter how small) to show the slightest amount of sympathy, consideration or basic human decency to the pitiful handful of tribes in this state not already eradicated by previous Governors.

Rick Brother is Watching You!

Pay not attention to the pathetic shambling excuse for a Governor peeking at you from behind the curtain!!

Suffer the Little Children

The TYC Scandal just keeps getting uglier, with a riot by juvenile inmates at the San Saba facility; revelations that official documents were altered, apparently as part of a cover-up; evidence that Perry's new TYC chief, Ed Owens, is already experienced in covering up sex scandals from his time at TDCJ; an internal email that shows "Special Master" Jay Kimbrough has adopted the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive strikes against the Media; and some excellent research from the Blogosphere that shows that evidence of abuse was known as early as 2004. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee has unanimously (and self-righteously) passed a bill to fire the entire TYC Board, a measure only necessary because our alleged Governor lacks the huevos to do it himself. But on the other side of the Capitol Building, Rep. Jessica Farrar places the blame where it truly belongs: a Legislature that has abandoned its constitutional, moral and ethical duties.
Why do scandals like the TYC fiasco happen? Because the government of Texas doesn't give a fat rat's ass about children. Children don't vote; more importantly, they don't donate money to politicians. And evidently, the people of Texas approve of this, because we keep electing this same impotent gang of craven morons, year after year after year.

Warren Chisum: Medieval Troglodyte

Paleo-Conservative Warren Chisum was recently voted Official State Laughingstock of Texas (replacing Rick Perry) for handing out flyers for an organization that believes the sun revolves around the Earth and that evolution is an evil Jewish plot. No, seriously.

I, for one, was impressed that Chisum could take time out of his busy schedule of shutting out any public debate or scrutiny as the Legislature abandons the state Constitution in order to remind us all that Copernicus is part of the "Kabbala-based" conspiracy "that has been at work over many centuries implanting the incredible evolution myth about the origin of the Universe, the Earth, and Mankind."

In the immortal words of the late, great Molly Ivins, you can't make this shit up, folks.

State of Confusion

A good deconstruction of Rick Perry's State of the State Fairy-tale from the fine folks at Somervell County Salon. Additional snark courtesy of PinkDome.

Rick Perry Develops the Appearance of a Soul

Orders mandatory HPV vaccination despite the wishes of the Tele-Pharisees that women be forced to die slow and painful deaths from cervical cancer rather than increase the odds that they would have sex by even a little. For those of you who are worried that Rick Perry having a soul is one of the signs of the Apocalypse, fear not! He probably only did it because he is bought and paid for by Merck. Feel better now?

Ted Nugent: The Angel of Unity

Aging has-been rocker prances around inaugural stage in tasteful Confederate battle flag wife-beater, shouting incoherent insults at brown people who can't speak gooder english like him, to the delight of onlookers, especially those who find the idea of a preening nitwit like Rick Perry on a national ticket to be falling-down hillarious.

The Color of Money

Chris Bell is steadily gaining on Rick Perry in the polls (mainly at Strayhorn's expense) but he's having a hard time keeping money in the pipe to stay on the air. To every trial lawyer that gave Strayhorn money: think about your decision when that pissant Rick Perry is signing yet another round of "tort reform."

The (Not So) Great Debates

Governor
Chris Bell: boring, yet earnest and the only grown-up on the stage. Had a couple of good lines about running against three Republicans and how Texans should be horrified that Rick Perry is already planning to run again in 2010. Extra credit for knowing that the Battle of the Alamo was in 1836.
Kinky Friedman: Ignorant beyond all belief, unfunny and pissy when asked questions, sort of like Bill Clements with a moustache. Endorsed DECLARING MARTIAL LAW on the Border within the first 5 minutes of the debate, thereby putting him to the right of the Minutemen. Will white liberals finally figure out this guy is a joke and a bad one at that?
Rick Perry: As prepackaged as Velveeta. Slick, smarmy, arrogant and condescending, especially when talking down to farmers who oppose the Pave Texas Corridor.
Carole Keeton Strayhorn: Her godawful attempt at impersonating Ann Richards is wearing thin. Manages to work the word "grandma" into every single bloody sentence that she shouts out like a tourist trying to make the locals understand English. Badly flubbed a simple question: who is the President of Mexico?

US House, District 17
Nicholas Vancampen Taylor: Came across like the preening, self-important College Republican he is, with the delivery of some weenie on a high school debate team. I lost track of how many times he managed to sneer the words "liberal," "San Francisco," "illegal aliens" and "Nancy Pelosi." Painfully obvious that he is being prepped with flash cards and is incapable of forming a complete sentence without bullet points. Spent a large amount of time bashing the "out of control" spending in Washington, DC. Uh, Nicky? Which party has been in control of Congress since 1994? Also, probably not a good idea to trumpet your ignorance in not being "at all familiar" with the most recent budget resolutions.
Chet Edwards: Earnest, friendly and obviously well-prepared while still maintaining his usual "aw shucks" demeanor. Managed to look genuinely hurt and disappointed that Vancampen wouldn't agree to stop the negative ads. I'll be interested to see how much he improves his vote total over 2004.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Rick Perry is evidently trying to outdo Joe Barton by having the most abominable environmental record of any Texas politician. His latest plan in a state with some of the worst air in the nation? Burn coal. More coal. Lots and lots of coal. And make sure it's the dirty kind, too. And all those kids who suffer and die from asthma? Their tough shit.
Best quote in the entire story:

give him (Perry) enough money and he'll do most anything apparently.

Truer words were never spoken.

Don't Look Now...

...Hutchison, you may smell good, but Barbara Ann is gaining on you. And Bell has closed to within single digits of Perry. From Eye on Williamson.

UPDATE: Kuff has a more sober assessment of the numbers.

West Nile Virus Gaining on Perry, says Poll

From Eye on Williamson, Perry is dropping, Bell is tied with Kinky and Strayhorn is dragging up in the rear. Maybe now the white liberals that make up the bulk of his support will start noticing just how unfunny Kinky really is.

Perry Full of Crap, Film at Eleven

From the Burnt Orange Report, an analysis (via the Lonestar Project) of Perry's false advertising media blitz that seems to have (at least temporarily) boosted his poll numbers.

The Bell May Toll for Perry

Yes, I'm still trying to get mileage out of "for whom the bell tolls" headlines. Sue me. From our good friends at Off the Kuff, a piece showing that in two out of three major recent polls, Chris Bell is outrunning Carol Strayhorn as the main contender to beat Rick Perry, who is hovering in the mid to high 30% range.

Texans Smarter than Governor, Lege

From the Burnt Orange Report, a recent poll sponsored by the TSTA shows that Texans believe improving education is more important than cutting property taxes by a 3-1 margin. Memo to Rob Orr: now might be a good time to stop representing Highland Park and actually represent your district.