The Midday Brief: Nov. 22, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "With two days until Thanksgiving, a major travel day, former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz has decided to take advantage of what he claims is a fallacy in the record of David Dewhurst." — Dewhurst wins pro-life endorsement, Cruz goes on the attack, Texas on the Potomac

• "Ever since the Department of Justice’s gun-running operation known as Fast and Furious became public, the Obama administration’s response has been slow and infuriating. Of particular concern is Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s lack of candor concerning what he knew and when he knew it." — Perry: Eric Holder must go, The Washington Times

• "Anita Perry is recruiting volunteers to help her husband, Rick, win the GOP presidential caucuses in Iowa.  Texas' first lady sent out an e-mail asking for volunteers to join the campaign's Iowa Strike Force. The first-in-the-nation caucuses are on Jan. 3." — Anita Perry forms Iowa 'strike force' for husband, USA Today
  

• "A few days after appearing at a Family Leader forum, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is the latest GOP presidential candidate to sign the group’s controversial marriage pledge." — Rick Perry signs Family Leader's marriage pledge, Des Moines Register

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "The Garland Republican pleaded guilty in court Tuesday to felony abuse-of-office charges after illegally pocketing state travel money. The humbled legislator agreed to five years probation and said he was thankful that the issue was finally resolved." — Rep. Joe Driver to Get Five Years Probation

• "With fewer than a third of the seats in the Texas House, barely a third of the seats in the Texas Senate and no statewide candidates elected since 1994, Texas Democrats are not exactly at their most powerful. What will it take for the party of LBJ, Ann Richards and Henry Cisneros to regain its footing?" — How Democrats Can Come Back: Three Views