politics

The Brief: December 14, 2009

By Reeve Hamilton Dec. 14, 2009

Kinky Friedman’s song “Before All Hell Breaks Loose” begins, “Time to resign from the human race.” Today, we will find out if he thinks it’s time to do the same in the governor's race. Full Story

Think like the political pros and your mind will go to the long game instead of the short one. The short game is the elections of 2010. The long game is redistricting in 2011, when maps are drawn that corral the voters into the districts that will elect legislators for the next ten years. Full Story

The Medina Effect

By Reeve Hamilton Dec. 11, 2009

Debra Medina may yet have a role to play in the race for governor. Analysts say her potential effect ranges from negligible to potential spoiler. Full Story

The Charter School Waiting Game

By Brian Thevenot Dec. 9, 2009

Nearly 130,000 students attend Texas charter schools, but 40,000 more are waiting to get in. Full Story

Party Matters

By Reeve Hamilton Dec. 7, 2009

Candidates from both sides of the spectrum are self-recruited and responsible for their own campaigns. So what's the value of a relationship with the state's political parties? Full Story

Audio: White Hits the Road

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Dec. 7, 2009

After Houston mayor Bill White joined the race for governor late last week, one of his first stops was Austin, a Democratic stronghold that made for a nice, safe place to start his campaign. Full Story

TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Ross Ramsey Dec. 5, 2009

It was a political week, with a full-court press from our staff on Bill White's switch to the governor's race and all of the fallout; the moves during the first week of filing for political races; Philpott's look at Republicans challenging Republicans; Hu's latest in the popular Stump Interrupted series; Ramshaw on emergency rooms, family doctors, and child protection; Stiles and Grissom mapping payday lending locations juxtaposed with family income data; Rapoport on the state budget and education; Thevenot on KBH's plans for schools; and Hamilton on the power (or not) of political endorsements. The best of the best from November 28 to December 4, 2009. Full Story

The Brief: December 4, 2009

By Reeve Hamilton Dec. 4, 2009

All ears are upon Houston Mayor Bill White — a man whose own ears Texas Monthly calls “perhaps a size too large for the superstructure.” Full Story

The Midday Brief: December 3, 2009

By Reeve Hamilton Dec. 3, 2009

Your afternoon reading. Full Story

2010: Clean Slate

By Ross Ramsey Dec. 2, 2009

Remember Van Taylor? Full Story

T-Squared: Poll Position

By Evan Smith Dec. 2, 2009

The collaboration of the big five newspapers on polling in the 2010 election cycle is good news for Texas. Full Story

Grading KBH's Education Plans

By Brian Thevenot Dec. 2, 2009

Education has emerged as one of the more contentious fronts in the gubernatorial campaign, with Kay Bailey Hutchison this week releasing a barrage of school proposals and attacks on the status quo. But the differences between the candidates have more to do with execution than with design. Full Story

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, appearing at the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum in Austin. — Credit: Elise Hu

2010: Where is Everybody?

By Ross Ramsey Dec. 1, 2009

Democrats are still talking about who'll fill out their statewide ticket, and it doesn't look like they'll know by the end of the week. Republicans might not see everyone's filing this week, but expect all of their non-judicial statewide incumbents to file for reelection. Full Story