The Midday Brief: Nov. 4, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney paid for automated telephone messages in Iowa accusing rival Rick Perry of contributing to illegal immigration." — Romney automated calls assail Perry in Iowa, The Associated Press

• "Rick Perry is attacking rival Mitt Romney on federal bailouts in a new web video, accusing the former Massachusetts governor of continuing to support the measures." — Perry slams Romney on bailouts in new web video, Trail Blazers

• "Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz has been bugging Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to debate with him for months. … When asked about whether he’d be taking Cruz up on his offer, Dewhurst spokesman Enrique Marquez had this to say: 'David looks forward to debating all Republican Senate candidates.' No word on whether that means Dewhurst has plans to engage in a seven-man debate, but it looks like we won’t be seeing him go head-to-head with Cruz any time soon." — Dewhurst’s willing to debate — just not one-on-one with Ted Cruz, Texas on the Potomac

• "Democrats hope to pick up as many as five U.S. House seats in Texas by challenging two freshman Republicans and gaining three new seats through legal challenges to a GOP redistricting plan." — Democratic campaign chief says he’s hoping to pick up five House seats in Texas, Texas on the Potomac

• "State lawmaker Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, has been the only lawmaker to react publicly to a religious slur that casually tumbled out of the mouth of Rep. Larry Taylor Thursday during a legislative hearing on problems facing wind insurance coverage. … 'If Larry were a state employee, he probably would have been fired today. Instead, Larry is asking Texas voters to give him a promotion to the Texas Senate.'" — Democratic lawmaker denounces religious slur, Texas Politics

• "Herman Cain is showing initial resilience in the face of allegations of sexual impropriety: More than half of potential Republican voters say the controversy is not serious, fewer than a quarter say it makes them less likely to support Cain, and he’s running essentially evenly with Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination. … Rick Perry trails with 13 percent support — less than half his peak in September — and Newt Gingrich has advanced to 12 percent, essentially even with Perry." — Cain Shows Initial Resilience in the Face of Controversy, ABC News

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "It’s not enough to say Washington has gone too far with job-killing regulations and reckless spending. Rick Perry now wants to destroy the nation’s capital as we know it." — Perry, Channeling 2010, Sharpens Anti-Washington Talk, by Jay Root

• "As the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, which have operated as one institution for 20 years, prepare to separate, major questions loom: Who owns the furniture and buildings? For whom do professors work? And if TSC students remain the 'Scorpions,' what will UT-Brownsville students be?" — After 20 Years, a Messy Divorce in Brownsville, by Reeve Hamilton