Austin Chronicle:"Strongly spined"

Now this is how a candidate gets endorsed:

The race for attorney general's office hasn't garnered one-umpteenth the attention of the tragi-comic governor's draw, despite the Texas-sized personality fighting for the public interest. With an omnipresent Stetson and bolo tie, Van Os is a striking figure, even before he opens his mouth. A specialist in constitutional and labor law, Van Os has targeted Texas oil barons and insurance and pharmaceutical giants, in his populist, anti-corporate, whistlestop campaign. The implicit contrast is that incumbent Greg Abbott has let such corporate wrongdoers run roughshod over the state – as indeed he has. Despite several splashy "cyber crime" initiatives (remember getting tough on MySpace?), Abbott has done little to make Texans safer, especially from the pollutant-spewing, scofflaw conglomerations drawing Van Os' ire. Abbott has also been a complicit servant to Tom Delay and Gov. Perry in the disastrous redistricting saga, never hesitant to defend another gerrymandered map on behalf of his bosses. Partisanship and hoary headline-hogging have defined Abbott's tenure, and we'd be happy to see him go; we're even happier his challenger is as strongly spined as David Van Os.

Surely it's just a coincidence

Once again from the Houston Chronicle, unintended irony.

This story:

Information on builders getting tough to nail down

Used to be, diligent consumers would check out complaints against builders at the attorney general's office, look for major lawsuits at the courthouse, and investigate credentials.

But now that's getting harder to do because the Texas Attorney General's Office stopped processing all consumer complaints three years ago, and there are fewer homeowner lawsuits at the courthouse because of binding arbitration clauses in contracts.

And, a new state-mandated credential — a registration with the Texas Residential Construction Commission — doesn't carry as much weight as some consumers may think, consumer advocates say.

And this story:

Builder's $8 million tops GOP donor list

Which -- despite the misdirection in the Chronicle's reporting suggesting that he isn't involved in Texas races -- reminds us that Bob Perry has contributed over a million dollars each to both Greg Abbott and Rick Perry, the two fellows who have been slightly involved regarding the creation and oversight of the Texas Residential Construction Commission, a payola sham if ever there was one.

Johncoby has written extensively about the TRCC (pronounced "trick").

Had enough of this kind of government?