We have discontinued the weekend roundup (at least for the foreseeable future).
Few people visit on the weekend, and when there’s no legislative session, most everything fits nicely in the Monday edition.
Texas politics daily reading (15 July 2011)
- Rick Perry & Nikki Haley Team Up to Promote the Cut, Cap, & Balance Pledge – Arlette Saenz, ABC News
- Rick Perry "never really has done all that well in Texas"??? – Beldar Blog
- Cruz has momentum on GOP Senate primary – Bruce Davidson, San Antonio Express-News
The story refers to candidate “Tom Lippert.” Ouch! - Lloyd Doggett’s last stand in Texas – Alex Isenstadt, Politico
- UTIMCO Board Approves Salary Raises for CEO, Staff – Reeve Hamilton, Texas Tribune
- Perry says those who oppose his prayer summit are "intolerant" – Wayne Slater, Trail Blazers
- Suit over Perry's prayer event misguided – Austin American-Statesman
- State Rep. Marc Veasey to file federal suit against GOP congressional redistricting plan – Gromer Jeffers Jr., Trail Blazers Blog
Lawsuits against redistricting are like “all-skate” songs. Everyone on the floor. - New Reality Emerging on Illegal Immigration – Michael Barone, National Review
Barack Obama has been calling for immigration legislation similar to what George W. Bush sought, legislation geared to a status quo that no longer exists and seems unlikely to return. That’s going nowhere. But sooner or later we should adjust the law to address the new emerging reality.
Texas politics daily reading (14 July 2011)
Top Stories
- After expense-paid trip to Turkey, Austin district to expand Turkish language and culture program – Laura Heinauer and Melissa Taboada, Austin American-Statesman
- Friend of Rep. Borris Miles runs Costa Rican 'medical tourism' firm; HISD approves $600K contract with doc linked to same firm – Trent Seibert and Jennifer Peebles, Texas Watchdog
- Port of Houston officials blast Houston reporter; Sen. Whitmire blasts Port officials – Wayne Dolcefino, KTRK-13 News
- Perry denounces new ATF rule on multiple gun sales – Todd Gillman, Trail Blazers Blog
- Texas Voters Will Consider 10 Constitutional Changes – Beth Brown, Texas Tribune
- Texas' debt growing at faster rate than federal government's – Mitchell Schnurman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Local borrowing accounts for almost 85 percent of public debt in Texas, because the government is so decentralized. Combine state and local borrowing, and Texas ended fiscal 2008 with $216 billion in total debt, up from $98 billion in 2001, according to census figures….
Texas doesn’t appear to be overextended. In a May report, Standard & Poor’s gave the state an AA+ rating, citing its outperforming economy, strong cash management and constitutional limits on debt.
“Texas has what we consider to be a very low net debt burden,” S&P wrote.
Anti-Perry Progressives and some journos jumped all over the headline to this piece, without really drilling into the details. Not unlike households that borrow to finance important capital investments (think home and car loans), many Texas localities have also borrowed to finance capital projects, with the approval of local voters. That’s a little different than running trillion-dollar deficits to finance federal “stimulus” and other unsustainable wealth-redistribution/entitlement programs, and as S&P notes, the Texas debt appears sustainable.
It’s also worth noting that “off the books” federal debt has actually exploded, something that Schnurman does not account for. See below.
- The Government’s Four-Decade Financial Experiment – Alex J. Pollock, The American
Over the last four decades, the U.S. government has engaged in a financial experiment, or adventure, of exploding agency debt relative to Treasury securities.
The huge debt of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, other government-sponsored enterprises, and other off-budget government agencies (“agency debt”) fully relies on the credit of the United States. This means it by definition exposes the taxpayers to losses, but it is not accounted for as government debt. As the Federal Reserve carefully notes in its “Flow of Funds” report, non-budget agency and GSE debt is not “considered officially to be part of the total debt of the federal government.”
Not “considered officially,” as they say—but what is it really? It puts the federal budget at risk, subjecting it to uncertainty of defaults. It has proven its ability to generate huge losses for the taxpayers. In other words, it is really, if not “officially,” government debt.
- State Debt Per Capita, 2009 – The Tax Foundation
Note that Texas debt-per-capita is among the lowest in the country. - Perry, Social Conservatives and the Road to the Top – Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune
- Rick Perry mixes Texas-sized helpings of jobs, social values – Kathie Obradovich, Des Moines Register
- Rick Perry's Confederate past? – Justin Elliott, Salon.com
- Perry's noncandidacy working well for him – Jason Embry, Austin American-Statesman
- Do Big-Name Members of Coalition Openly Support Attacks on The Governor of Texas? – Times of Texas
- Fringe group sues to block Perry participation in prayer rally – Chuck Lindell, Postcards
On Debt (State and Federal)
Recommended
Texas politics daily reading (13 July 2011)
Top Stories
- Ron Paul won't seek congressional term in 2012 – John Tompkins, The Facts
- Gun rule predicted to be lost on cartels – Nolan Hicks and Lynn Brezosky, San Antonio Express-News
It’s truly bizarre that this story doesn’t even reference the Obama Administration’s misguided “Fast and Furious” fiasco, in which the government forced gun stores to carry out questionable gun sales. Curbing that misguided practice will likely have more impact than constitutionally dubious executive branch gun-control overreach! - We Can Sell Our Beer in Texas, but We Can't Tell You Where – Jacob Sullum, Reason
- Why let IPAB control health care? – Sen. John Cornyn, Politico
- EPA decision will cost Texas jobs – Bryan Shaw, Houston Chronicle
- EPA: Texas plants will get new air permits – Ramit Plushnick-Masti, Austin American-Statesman
- Trucking Program Raises Border Policy Questions – Julian Aguilar, Texas Tribune
- Prosecutors: Texas law would have offered lots of non-capital murder options for charging Casey Anthony – Grits for Breakfast
- Public Choices – Houston's Clear Thinkers
- State Rep. Woolley missed most of special session – Jason Embry, Postcards
- Top lawmaker pledges to 'listen better' – Peggy Fikac, Houston Chronicle
Why does Fikac so regularly devote disproportionate space to the largely irrelevant minority party? Does she not have any sources among people who actually make policy in this state? - Police union director also a red-light camera lobbyist – Chris Moran, Chron Houston Politics
- George P. endorses Cruz – Aman Batheja, PoliTex
- What's Rick Perry waiting for? – Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman, Politico
- GOP indecision on 2012 may give Rick Perry a ‘huge opening’ – Philip Rucker and Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post
- Why neither Giuliani nor Perry will run – Stewart Lawrence, The Daily Caller
- TX-14: Congressman Ron Paul Will Not Seek Re-Election – Phillip Martin, Burnt Orange Report
- Two state legislators eye bids for Congress – Jason Embry, Postcards
- Perry Prayer summit endorser calls Statue of Liberty a "Demonic Idol" – Wayne Slater, Trail Blazers Blog
Journos trying to turn prayer summit affiliates into Jeremiah Wright are REALLY stretching — but perhaps there wasn’t any Karl Rove news to obsess over. - Texas House GOP leader eyes Ron Paul's congressional seat – Robert T. Garrett, Trail Blazers Blog
Recommended
Roundup: Who’s running, for what?
Texas politics daily reading (12 July 2011)
Top Stories
- Dewhurst Casts a "Long Shadow" in U.S. Senate Race – Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune
David Dewhurst might be the safest bet for the U.S. Senate since former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.
- Don't believe the anonymous chatter about a Perry-Bush feud – Douglas MacKinnon, Austin American-Statesman
- Bush Peeps vs. Rick Peeps? A Feud? Overblown? – Rick vs Kay
- Packing pistols: Is Texas safer with more licensed to carry? – Dave Fehling, KHOU News
Recommended
- A quicker special session could have reinforced lawmakers' austerity sermons – Jason Embry, Austin American-Statesman
The House sometimes met for less than an hour at a time, and lawmakers’ chairs often sat empty. They even adjourned a couple of times because they lacked a quorum, meaning more than a third of the chamber was missing.
But most of them took taxpayer money to cover their housing and other expenses each day of the session.
That’s outrageous, of course, but it’s just as outrageous that various conservative priorities (such as sanctuary cities and airport anti-groping legislation) fell by the wayside because legislators dallied.
- Parsing the History of Perry's Higher Ed Battles – Reeve Hamilton, Texas Tribune
- Higher Ed Is Burning – Dustin Matocha, Empower Texans
- Higher Education Coalition attack on Perry raises eyebrows – William Lutz, Lone Star Report
- Inside Intelligence: When It's Insiders vs. Outsiders – Jim Henson, Texas Tribune
- Texas lakes down 13% in last year, report says – Betsy Blaney, AP
- Rick Perry pitches 'The Response' in new video – Alexander Burns, Politico
Texas politics daily reading (11 July 2011)
- Texas aglow with effort to save the incandescent light bulb – Richard Simon, LA Times
- Texas’s Progress on Juvenile Justice – New York Times
- Guest Column: How Partisan are Texas House Members? – Mark P. Jones, Texas Tribune
- Lawmakers keep Texas moving in right direction, but failed to seize additional savings opportunities – Talmadge Heflin and James Quintero, Austin American-Statesman
- With closing of agency, worries about services for rural Texans – Tim Eaton, Austin American-Statesman
The Texas Department of Rural Affairs, the office that helps keep rural Texas communities afloat, is scheduled to close in October…
Think about the implications of that lede… as if a small government agency could actually keep a community (any community) “afloat” (as the writer put it).
- Austin-area care providers brace for state cuts – Mary Ann Roser, Austin American-Statesman
“We’re really talking about women’s health,” said Regina Rogoff, CEO of People’s Community Clinic in Austin.
No, actually, we’re really talking about a conservative state deciding that it will not ask taxpayers to fund the abortion industry, directly or indirectly.
- Trouble for Doggett? In new district, Dems may seek new blood – Ken Herman, Austin American-Statesman
- Despite Violence, Mexico Plants Hum at Border – Randal Archibold, New York Times
- Conditions, Health Risks Sicken Colonias Residents – Emily Ramshaw, Texas Tribune
Weekend reading (9/10 July 2011)
- Criticism of Texas' execution of Mexican Leal doesn't bother Perry – Michael Graczyk, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
On behalf of Perry, [spokesperson Katherine] Cesinger repeated what he has said before: “Texas is not bound by a foreign court’s ruling.”
“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the treaty was not binding on the states and that the president does not have the authority to order states to review cases of the then 51 foreign nationals on death row in the U.S.,” she said.
The governor was on firm constitutional ground, and no serious doubts were raised about the killer’s guilt, so it shouldn’t be surprising that he wasn’t particularly bothered.
- Picking the Wrong Fights – On the South Steps
- Rick Perry's Death Penalty Problem – Tim Murphy, Mother Jones
Texas Governor Rick Perry’s close relationship with fringe figures of the religious right is likely to be an issue for [journalists] if, as looks increasingly likely, he decides to run for president. But his central role in an international incident could loom even larger [for anti-death penalty activists and journalists].
Our reworked lede is more accurate. Texas Iconoclast is happy to provide such editing services when needed.
- Perry and the megapastors: Don't count on him to reject endorsements – Wayne Slater, Trail Blazers
- Financial aid cuts threaten momentum at Texas colleges – Mitchell Schnurman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Strangely enough, there is still plenty in the budgets of state institutions of higher learning to sponsor events like this one.
- Perry's education record distinctly different from Bush's – Kate Alexander, Austin American-Statesman
This is a foreshadowing of things to come. If Gov. Perry decides to run, expect many stories from MSM journos that rehabilitate W (by comparing him to the dastardly current Texas governor). - UT partners with Soros and NPR – Daniel Greer, AgendaWise Reports
- Chisum changes tactics – Enrique Rangel, Amarillo Globe-News
Texas politics daily reading (8 July 2011)
- EPA requires Texas power plants to lower pollution – Ramit Plushnick-Masti, AP
The Obama Administration’s War on Texas continues. - Texas executes Mexican man after court stay rejected – Michael Graczyk, AP
- The Next Big Boom Towns In The U.S. – Joel Kotkin, Forbes
Kotkin remains bullish on Texas: #1 is Austin. #4 is San Antonio. #5 is Houston. #7 is Dallas. - Could Rick Perry Surprise in New Hampshire? – Scott Conroy, RealClearPolitics
- Bush/Perry Squabble Recalls Reagan/Bush – Jeffrey Lord, The American Spectator
A notable exception to so many recent Bush/Perry squabble articles in the mainstream news press (most of which have added little to Kevin Williamson’s fine piece for NRO). - Houston's pension plight is like a slow-motion crash – Bill King, Houston Chronicle
Like Bill White before her, Houston Mayor Annise Parker is postponing (and making worse) the eventual municipal pension day of reckoning, not unlike other Texas cities. Expect the broader issue of muni pension reform to occupy the state legislature eventually. - Let the open debate on higher education flourish – Ronald Trowbridge, TPPF
- Improvement Comes Up Short in South Texas Colonias – Emily Ramshaw, New York Times/Texas Tribune
Texas politics daily reading (7 July 2011)
Top Stories
- Gov. Rick Perry: The Candidate Obama Would Fear the Most – Merrill Matthews, Human Events
- Texas to federal government: Back off our health care programs – Mark Lisheron, Texas Healthcare Report
- Continue to Preserve U.S. Sovereignty – Ted Cruz
- UT Dean Rejects "Seven Solutions" in New Report – Reeve Hamilton, Texas Tribune
It was really hard to see THAT one coming. - The Professor vs. the Pundit: A Debate About Tenure – Reeve Hamilton, Texas Tribune
Recommended
- Fort Hood suspect to face death penalty in military trial – Angela Brown, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
- Judge rejects Willie Nelson plea bargain in pot case – AP
- Drought putting intense pressure on Texas game, other wildlife – Kate Galbraith, Fort Worth Star Telegram
- Perry appoints Houston investor to higher-ed board – Joe Holley, Hearst Texas Politics
- A Normal Party and the Difference Between Bush and Perry – Jonathan Tobin, Commentary Magazine
- Gingrich's former Iowa chief joins Rick Perry for president group – Wayne Slater, Trail Blazers Blog
This “news” is nearly a week old, yet it just appeared on the north texas regional newspaper’s little blog as if it’s new, with no links to anyone else. - Courtroom Battle Begins on Abortion Sonogram Law – Chris Hooks, Texas Tribune
- Houston Mayor Annise Parker disregards will of voters, turns red-light cameras back on – Kevin Whited, blogHOUSTON
Texas politics daily reading (6 July 2011)
Top Stories
- Sen. Dan Patrick goes beyond the talk in Legislature – Joe Holley, Houston Chronicle
- Patrick ponders his future (and Dewhurst) – Joe Holley, Chron Texas Politics
- Capitol Affair – Paul Burka, Texas Monthly
But the rise of digital media not only empowers legislators but also terrorizes them. Until recently, they had more or less been able to keep the public out of their business. Those days are over.
It’s telling to read a veteran Texas political journalist so openly lamenting the passing of an elitist Capitol political culture (because it was fun being part of the Club, no matter how detached from voter preferences the Club might be!).
- Liberal trial lawyer (and major Texas Tribune donor) Steve Mostyn vows to continue anti-Perry vendetta – Brandi Grissom and Jay Root, Texas Tribune
Recommended
- Almost 1,500 new laws are taking effect in Texas – Anna Tinsley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
And despite real cuts, most Texans won’t even notice. - Heralded Air Force pilot Scott O'Grady announces Texas House candidacy – Theodore Kim, Trail Blazers Blog
- Interview: Sen. John Cornyn “Raising Taxes Should Be Off The Table” – Scott Braddock, KRLD
- Scrap metal thefts rise despite steep penalties for theft: Best deterrent is business regulation – Grits for Breakfast
- Texas presses for Mexican's execution – Allan Turner, Houston Chronicle
Even the anti-death-penalty Houston Chronicle seems to have had difficulty mustering a Chron Eye for the Death Row Killer Guy for this one. - Perry’s pick at SBOE – Paul Burka, BurkaBlog
I suppose readers don’t need to be told that “conservative,” when used to refer to an SBOE member, refers to someone who is more interested in fighting the culture wars than in improving education.
Is this an alleged dean of Texas political journalism or an angry Progressive blogger?
- McKinney Falls – Paul Burka, BurkaBlog
Another casualty of Perry’s war against higher ed.
It is an understatement to call this a loaded and lazy mischaracterization. One expects better from an alleged dean of Texas political journalism.