Inside Texas Politics: Border, Chemicals and Workers' Comp

On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics, I talked with host Jason Whitely and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy about Gov. Rick Perry vs. President Obama on the surge of Central Americans — many of them children — to the U.S. border. Politically, it may raise Perry's visibility, but it remains to be seen how his call for the swift deportation of children will resonate with the public.

We also talked about state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio — his remarks to the state Democratic convention last week were deemed insulting and racist by some and maybe not the best strategy for a party that's been on the ropes for 20 years; the Tribune's four-part "Hurting for Work" project, which details considerable gaps in the state's workers' compensation system; Attorney General and GOP gubernatorial nominee Greg Abbott's statement last week that Texans could drive around their neighborhoods asking businesses what hazardous chemicals they house — it might have been a political gaffe, but we may not hear too much about it till after Labor Day; Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who may have pulled a clinker of his own, sending out a fundraising letter hard on the heels of his call for Dallas to care for some of those Central American immigrants; and, finally, whether calls for a protest to greet those immigrants when they arrive in Dallas, similar to one California experienced last week, may hurt the GOP's attempts to reach more Hispanic voters.

Also: Jason interviews Jenkins about his call to offer shelter and comfort to some from the recent border surge; Jason interviews U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, who just paid a second visit to the border; the notion that closely held for-profit corporations can have religious beliefs is debated; and the mayor of Toronto is surprisingly buff — if you can believe your eyes.