Earlier this month Texas Governor Rick Perry helped push a so-called RINO — Republican In Name Only — off the congressional ticket in New York. Only to see the Conservative Party candidate he backed lose to a Democrat. But that kind of “Us vs. Them” — “True Republican vs. Moderate” battle was invisible during the just completed Republican Governor’s Association meeting in Bastrop County.
State Government
Stay informed on Texas state government with The Texas Tribune’s in-depth coverage of the governor, Legislature, state agencies, and policies shaping the future of Texas.
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State Government
2010: The Texas Tribune Index
The number-crunchers among the Republicans and the Democrats in Texas use election results to get a feel for the political environment in each legislative district. They start with statewide races and then bake in some assumptions about what might happen if they put the right candidates in place. We and other political watchers need the same thing, without the partisan ingredients. So we cooked up the Texas Tribune Index.
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State Government
TribBlog: Rick Perry as Chuck Norris in the Twittersphere
He can “can blow bubbles with beef jerky”?
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Demographics
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Multi-part stories from Ramshaw and Grissom and Stiles on mental health services for detained immigrants and on payday lenders who provide exorbitantly priced credit to people with nowhere else to turn… Twitter, word clouds and the race for governor — a Stiles joint… Farouk Shami is in and Hu was there to watch… Philpott went to Bastrop for a gather of Republican governors… Rapoport finds a State Board of Education that’s trying to control itself… and we have the skinny on legislative races that are likely to be competitive (only about 5 percent of the races on the ballot). It’s the best of The Texas Tribune from November 14 to 20, 2009.
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White: Still Running for Senate. Really.
Houston Mayor Bill White, interviewed by Texas Tribune Editor-in-chief and CEO Evan Smith at the Center for Politics and Governance at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs. White said, once again, that he’s running for Senate and not governor.
Posted inState Government
Running with the Numbers
Texas gained more than 41,000 jobs in October, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. More than 100,000 jobs were lost over the previous two months. These statistics are good political fodder when there’s a fight for the governor’s office brewing, like there is now.
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Ads Infinitum: Medina’s TV Spot To Air in East Texas
This ad is worth a look. Toward the end, there’s a special shot of Medina really connecting with common man, by carrying a non-descript giant sack on her shoulder.
Posted inState Government
KBH Internet Ad
Kay Bailey Hutchison doesn’t attack Rick Perry in her television ads (which just started today), but her Internet advertising is a different proposition. Here, she’s deconstructing his first TV spot. His is an attack on her; she’s returning the volley.
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Economy
TribBlog: Unemployment Rises in Texas
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent in October, up from 5.2 percent a year ago.
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State Government
Debtors’ Treadmill, Part Two: Political Payday
Groups that offer high-interest, short-term consumer loans and want to avoid state regulation contributed more than $1.4 million to Texas politicians over the past nine years, Texas Ethics Commission records show.