Return of the Jet-i

I don't really have a favorite in this game (about to kick off) but I thought this was clever.

Legend to the cast of characters here.

Who do you like in the Super Bowl?

Grandma says "toldja so"

(Former) Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn did not win friends five years ago when she warned Gov. Rick Perry and state lawmakers they were writing the "largest hot check in Texas history" during a tax overhaul that resulted in lower property taxes and a revised business tax.

Strayhorn told them their plan would fall about $23 billion short over a five-year period.

Now, five years later, state leaders are staring at an estimated budget shortfall of nearly $27 billion over the next two years.

[...]

At the time, Perry rejected Strayhorn's warning — saying she underestimated the tax reform and ignored economic growth from property tax cuts.

He also said at the time: "Future legislators are going to have the opportunity to be working with some numbers that are more current than what they're working at today — and some honest numbers."

The governor's office declined to comment about the accuracy of Strayhorn's April 2006 warning.

[...]

Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said the "Texas economy continues to grow steadily ahead of the nation, and the comptroller's biennial revenue estimate, as expected, is also reflective of the national recession's lingering impact on state revenue."

The projected shortfall reflects the amount of revenue needed to maintain current services, including the cost of educating an additional 170,000 school children during the next two years.

Perry, however, does not address the cost of current services.

"I think we have a budget of $76.5 billion and we're going to live with that. It's only a budget hole when somebody has wished that they had more money," the governor said last week.

So out of one side of his mouth Governor Smirky McHaircut proclaims the Texas economy the envy of the nation, and out of the other blames the effects of the Great Depression of 2010 and its impact on the Texas economy as the budget culprit. I just don't think he can flip-flop fast enough to have it both ways.

Let's sample a bit more from the article, this time from aspiring US Senator Dewhurst:

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said resurrecting Strayhorn's five-year-old forecast is "old news."

At the time, Dewhurst called huge budget shortfall projections "hypothetical and speculative."

He now says he knew that revenue projections from the revised business franchise tax "were inflated" and told Senate members in closed-door caucus meetings at the time that the tax would not perform as advertised.

Dewhurst said he also believed at the time that "we would grow out of it by now."

The lieutenant governor blamed the nation's economic collapse in 2008 for contributing to the state's projected budget shortfall today.

Update:

"There is not a $27 billion deficit, and I don't think there is even a $15 billion deficit," Dewhurst said.

Denial is the first stage. Do we have time for these men to get through anger, bargaining, and depression before they can accept reality? The session only lasts 140 days...

Dewhurst's duplicity -- together with a legislature that will demolish an already badly beaten Texas educational system, not to mention a social safety net in tatters -- should ruin his chances for higher office.

Unfortunately it may not.

While "moderate" Republicks will fall over themselves to fall in line behind The Dew, TeaBaggers should be watching him closely, as he is demonstrating nearly perfect Beltway-GOP predilections for deficit spending and ignoring reality. He's exactly the kind of Kay Bailey model they despise. But are they capable of ending his hopes for moving up the food chain?

Yes, I believe that they are. Whether they select one of the Williams sisters or "Mic" Patrick, I think they are up to the task of frustrating a long line of aspiring office-climbers (who are already lining up) by denying Dewhurst the Republican nomination for Senate next year.

And nothing would please me more than to have the most ridiculous nominee possible in 2012 get beaten by a Democrat ... just like what happened in Nevada, and Delaware, and Colorado in 2010.

Sunday Not So Funnies

Maybe she means it this time *updates*

She still has about a year to, you know, change her mind ...

Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced today that she will retire at the end of her current term, quashing speculation that she would run for a fourth full term in the U.S. Senate.

In an open letter to Texans, Hutchison said she wanted to live "full-time in Texas with my family" and was "forever grateful for the privilege of working for you in the United States Senate."

Hutchison's announcement will set off a wild scramble for the Senate seat the Dallas Republican first won in a 1993 special election against interim Sen. Bob Krueger, D-New Braunfels.

Hutchison said her early announcement "should give the people of Texas ample time to consider who my successor will be."

She pledged to continue carrying out her duties for the next two years "with the same vigor that I have employed during my Senate service."

Hutchison pledged to use her remaining time in the Senate "to fight the massive spending that has increased our national debt, the government takeover of our health care system, and the growth of the federal bureaucracy, which threatens our economy."

Oh just go ahead and walk away now, Kay.

Hutchison had promised to resign from her seat when she announced her 2010 primary challenge against Republican Gov. Rick Perry, but she changed her mind during the campaign.

"I intended to leave this office long before now, but I was persuaded to continue in order to avoid disadvantage to our state," she said.

The disadvantage was you sticking around, honey.

A large field of candidates is likely to seek the seat held for the past four decades by Hutchison and legendary Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Houston.

Former Texas Comptroller John Sharp and former Houston Mayor Bill White are potential Democratic prospects. Republicans who have expressed interest in the seat include Secretary of State Roger Williams, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones and state Sen. Florence Shapiro. Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst has not announced his plans but is considered a strong contender for the job. (emphasis mine)

Dewhurst has responded that he is too focused on the legislative session to concentrate on this right now. He can only think about one thing at a time, after all.

Update: Dewhurst wants the job so bad he's started imitating Kay's shilly-shally...

Less than three hours after telling a luncheon with the Capitol news media that he wouldn't think of running for the U.S. Senate until after the Texas Legislature ends in May, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announced that he will consider running.

The Williams twins are all in already. I anticipate that the two Republican ladies will jump in when they think the water is fine. Sharp has clearly stated his intentions as far back as March of 2010 ...

I want to thank everybody who came to support me in San Antonio last night. You confirmed to me that I am ready to win this Senate seat tomorrow, or in 2012. Thanks again, and I hope to see all of you again soon.

... but I don't think White will make this race. (Update: Sure enough, he declines.) The Perry campaign accomplished a real smear job on him -- as they did KBH in the primary -- and I just don't think he wants that job anyway. No word from 2006 Democratic nominee Barbara Radnofsky on whether she will enter the fray.

Keep in mind the Green Party has ballot access and will field a candidate in this contest.

Other Republicans I expect will likely make a go are state Sen. Dan Patrick. His Texas radio network gives him much more name recognition than many would think, and he is a Tea Party darling. People like Dallas mayor Tom Leppert and solicitor general Ted Cruz are longshots due to low name recognition and a lack of craziness that the TP prefers.

There may be a few surprise candidates on both sides but nobody who might be considered completely unpredictable. It's nice to see that the 2012 campaign has officially kicked off.

Update: the National Journal drops Chet Edwards' name, and The Hill's Brent Budowsky suggests San Antonio mayor Joaquin Castro.  Both men are well and good but don't hold much chance at gaining either the nomination nor the seat.