Nobody is required to pay attention to you just because you’re running for office. Not the news media, not the money people and not the voters. But where is the line on who’s in and who’s out?

Former gubernatorial candidate and Tea Party favorite Debra Medina and other activists slammed what they called a culture of crony capitalism in Texas politics at a Capitol press conference on Thursday — taking aim at Gov. Rick Perry.

Party leadership said the "closely held" news was a "shock," but it didn't take long for the line to start forming after U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, announced that he would not be seeking re-election, opting instead to focus on his bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

Rick Perry has forged a coalition of economic, religious and social conservatives that helped him become the state's longest-serving governor, poised to run a national race.

While television and conservative talk radio continue to marginalize his presidential candidacy, unrest and anxiety over the nation’s economic woes festers, and a passionate and energized base of young people supporting him grows. It's long past time to take him seriously.

Republicans might not all like House Speaker Joe Straus, but he's got a better chance than his predecessor to lead the House to "fiscally responsible, limited and just government," according to Debra Medina, the conservative activist and former Republican gubernatorial candidate.

2010 didn't turn out like it looked a year ago. Unexpected people showed up. The political environment bloomed red instead of blue. The Tea was strong. And big shots turned into paper tigers. Here are some of the political personalities who mattered.

Not to be-Labor the point, but on this Day when we pause to celebrate the men and women of Texas (and elsewhere) who work for a living, we thought we'd show off the sweat and toil of our crack interviewers. Nearly every Trib reporter has sat down with a few of the most interesting and newsworthy Texans over the last few months: current and former elected officials, authors and activists, operatives and candidates, and policy wonks of all types and stripes. Thus far we've conducted 37 so-called "TT Interviews" (a respectful riff on the Rolling Stone Interviews that many of us grew up reading) and presented them as audio, video, a transcript or some combination of the above. This non-narrative form is an effective and compelling way to tell the unfiltered stories of Texas politics, public policy and government; enjoy. And happy holiday.

The third-place finisher in this year's GOP gubernatorial primary on whether she'll vote for Rick Perry, how she feels about the mosque near Ground Zero and what her reaction to Glenn Beck should have been.

The humorist, singer, and sometime Democrat Kinky Friedman addressed delegates of the Libertarian Party of Texas yesterday. On his mind: what Debra Medina should have said to Glenn Beck, why the "Tea Party folks are like Barbara Jordan" and sex with horses.

Debra Medina may have been shut out of the Republican Party of Texas' 2010 Convention in Dallas, but her new advocacy group will still celebrate in the city next weekend.

In November 2007, when the presidential campaign of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, raised more than $4.2 million in a single day, the grassroots-fueled "money bomb" became part of the national political conversation. But while the tactic was in greater use this cycle, the underwhelming showing of candidates who employed it reveals its limitations.

Former gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina took her free market politics to the Texas Senate on Thursday, sharing a lively debate with lawmakers on the Health and Human Services Committee.

She's back! This morning, former Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina sat for a lengthy interview with BBC presenter Stephen Sackur.

Our obsessive-compulsive election day and next day coverage: frenetically updated county-by-county maps and up-to-the-minute returns in every race on the ballot, Hu's awesome crowdsourced liveblog, Ramshaw on the twenty surprise outcomes, Aguilar on recount possibilities and dead incumbents, M. Smith on how judicial races turned out, Rapoport on changes at the SBOE and who was elected before the first vote was cast, Thevenot on whether the GOP has a problem with Hispanics, Hamilton on how the Tea Party fared, Grissom and Ramshaw on the legislative and congressional mop-up, Ramsey on what happens now, Stiles on how much candidates spent per vote; and my post-primary debrief with Rick Perry's pollster and George W. Bush's former strategist. The best of our best from March 1 to 5, 2010.

There’s one sure-fire lesson to be taken from the recently ended primary battle in Texas.  When it comes to the position of governor, 9/11 “Truthers” need not apply.

The Cook Political Report calls Bill White the strongest Democratic candidate since Ann Richards — possibly strong enough to oust Rick Perry.