M. Smith’s interview with the new chair of the Texas GOP, Philpott on Republicans and Tea Partiers living in harmony, Aguilar on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s not-yet-released strategic plan, Ramshaw’s tragic tale of out-of-state kids in Texas treatment centers, Grissom on how budget cuts could impact juvenile justice, Stiles’ awesome new population app, Galbraith on the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer, Hamilton’s interview with the commissioner of higher education and the debut of Hu’s new video debate series: The best of our best from June 14 to 19, 2010.
Politics
Stay informed with The Texas Tribune’s in-depth political coverage, including Texas elections, state government, policy debates, and the leaders shaping the future of the state.
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Politics
2010: Perry 48, White 40
The latest Rasmussen Report poll results show incumbent Gov. Rick Perry with an 8-point lead over his Democratic challenger, Bill White.
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Economy
Scott McCown vs. Talmadge Heflin
The executive director of the progressive Center for Public Policy Priorities and the director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, debate the best way to dig out of Texas’ multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall.
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Politics
The Big Hungry
Texas’ participation in the federally funded summer food service program is dismally low compared to the national average — meaning only a small percentage of the state’s 2.5 million low-income kids are getting free meals.
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Politics
The New Tenthers
Conservatives in Texas are invoking the 10th Amendment at every whistle-stop. But what rights does it actually protect?
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Politics
The Polling Center: Bill White’s “Everywhere Else” Problem
Bill White’s problem is an “everywhere else” problem, which is only partly rural in nature.
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University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
We Like It Better Here
A majority of Texans believe the state is on the right track, while a plurality thinks the country is on the wrong track, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
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Politics
The Polling Center: Location, Location, Location
At this point, anti-incumbent sentiment in Texas appears to be dwarfed by party identification and opposition to the national Democratic Party.
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University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
Perry Up by 9 in New UT/TT Poll
Gov. Rick Perry leads his Democratic challenger, former Houston Mayor Bill White, 44 percent to 35 percent in the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, which was conducted May 14 to 20. Fifteen percent of the 800 registered voters surveyed are undecided about which of the gubernatorial candidates to support, while 7 percent prefer “someone else.” Perry leads among men, women and Anglos. White leads among African-Americans and Hispanics. In five other statewide races polled, each Republican leads his Democratic opponent by a double-digit margin.
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Health care
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Thevenot on the ideological backbiting at the internationally famous State Board of Education; Stiles, Narioka and Hamilton plumb employee salary data in Texas colleges and universities; Grissom looks at the problem of insufficient indigent defense; Cervantes on the push for “veterans courts” emphasizing treatment and counseling over punishment; Aguilar finds border congressmen asking the governor for a fair break on federal homeland security dollars; M. Smith on another BP rig in the Gulf; Ramshaw reports on nurse practitioners trying to get permission slips from doctors; Hu follows up with lawmakers poking at whistleblower allegations of trouble in the state’s workers’ compensation regulation; Hamilton stops in on Luke Hayes and his efforts to turn Texas into a political powerhouse for Obama; and Ramsey writes on generation changes at the Capitol and on political pranksters: The best of our best from May 17 to 21, 2010.