Like his hero Little Richard, Jim Hightower knew how to scream and piss off the establishment. As a tour of his archives led by the man himself reveals, his is the story of a Texas-style progressive movement that peaked before the young Texans of today can even remember.
Griffin Perry
Posted inState Government
The Middle-Finger Vote
It’s embodied in the Tea Party movement, in this week’s runoff election results from Lubbock and Plano, in last month’s primaries, in Gov. Rick Perry’s embrace of states’ rights and the 10th Amendment, even in Barack Obama’s campaign against the status quo in 2008. Voters are furious, and politicians are listening.
Posted in
Higher Education
Ads Infinitum: White’s ‘Don’t Mess With…’
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White’s campaign is buying student newspaper ads that accuse his Republican opponent, Rick Perry, of playing politics with state universities.
Posted inState Government
2010: Reaching Across the Aisle?
The Texas Democratic Party wants you to know that 49 percent of the people who voted in last month’s GOP primary voted against Gov. Rick Perry.
Posted inState Government
2010: Step Into My Triple-Wide
For all they have in common as possible 2012 GOP presidential nominees, Gov. Rick Perry and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have different tastes in living quarters.
Posted inState Government
2010: Perry Speech Fuels 2012 Talk [Updated]
Governor Rick Perry’s speech at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference has national media pundits talking about Perry for president in 2012.
Posted in
Politics
Fee for All!
Every candidate vying for a legislative seat knows what lies ahead in 2011: a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion, probably higher, and state agency cuts to save as much of that amount as possible. But new revenue is a possibility as well, even if lawmakers are expert at the old sleight of hand, employing creative accounting and semantic trickery to avoid stepping on that political third rail, the tax hike.
Posted in
Energy
The Applicant
Can an energy regulator who’s on the board of an entity he oversees make a play for the top job there? Industry and government sources say that’s what Barry Smitherman, the chairman of Texas’ influential Public Utility Commission, is doing, though Smitherman won’t say whether he’s in the running.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: Drop-Out Throw-Down!
Bill White and Rick Perry fought over the hotly contested high school drop-out rate on Tuesday. Is it 30 percent (White)? 10 percent (Perry)? Or, more likely, somewhere in between?
Posted inState Government
2010: HD-66 Special Election Set
State Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, the soon-to-be Chancellor of the Texas State University System, resigned his seat at the end of last week. That means the voters of House District 66 have a special election coming their way .
