The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone had a fine Labor Day weekend as we bring you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff looks at a movement to end pensions for public employees.

Amy Price is one of just a few progressives running for Houston City Council in 2011, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs is helping her campaign.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson shows that the Texas GOP's next trick will be to come after pubic employee pensions to protect their wealthy campaign contributors: "Wisconsin-style" pension scheme coming to Texas.

My favorite Rick Perry costume is "tough cowboy who shoots coyote with laser pistol". Libby Shaw has some of the others at TexasKaos. Read all about it in her piece: Rick Perry's Colorful Costumes.

This week, McBlogger considers The Audacity of Hopelessness.

Neil at Texas Liberal noted the absence of Tea Party-sponsored highway rest stops between Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. Government plays a role in our everyday lives that some of us may only consider when they are constant attack.

With the beginning of the college football season this weekend, Citizen Andy asks "Why does Rice play Texas?" And how does it relate to the wildfires, Obama's cave-in on the EPA's smog rules, the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline protests, Hurricane Irene, drought and economic malaise, clean air, climate change, and a switch to a clean energy economy? Read up at TexasVox.

America must decide, all right

The Grand Old Psychopaths are amping things up this week.

Ron Paul is taking on Rick Perry in a new television ad blasting the Texas governor for for supporting Al Gore’s 1988 presidential campaign, POLITICO has learned.

The 60-second spot, backed by a six-figure ad buy — the first negative ad attacking Perry to come directly out of a Republican campaign this primary season — contrasts Paul’s endorsement of Ronald Reagan in 1980 with Perry’s role as the Texas chairman for Gore’s first presidential campaign.

“The establishment called him extreme and unelectable, they said he was the wrong man for the job. It’s why a young Texan named Ron Paul was one of only four congressmen to endorse Ronald Reagan’s campaign for president, believing in Reagan’s message of smaller government and lower taxes,” the ad says. “After Reagan, Senator Al Gore ran for president, pledging to raise taxes and increase spending, pushing his liberal values. And Al Gore found a cheerleader in Texas named Rick Perry. Rick Perry helped lead Al Gore’s campaign to undo the Reagan revolution, fighting to elect Al Gore President of the United States.”

You were aware that tomorrow night's debate was being held at the Reagan library*, right?

The ad, which Paul’s campaign is also trying to place during Wednesday’s POLITICO/MSNBC presidential debate, comes as Paul has increasingly focused his fire on his fellow Texan. The two have never had much of a relationship, and Paul’s repeatedly tried to paint Perry as an establishment candidate no different from the rest, and dismissed him Friday as just a “candidate of the week.”

“There are a lot of candidates who climbed real fast and went down real fast,” Paul told The Associated Press.

Perry’s camp has so far resisted engaging with Paul, though that may prove trickier when the two share the stage for the first time during the campaign at Wednesday’s debate.

Unlike his previous volleys, in this ad Paul only goes after Perry, leaving Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama alone.

“Now America must decide who to trust,” the ad closes. Al Gore’s Texas cheerleader, or the one who stood with Reagan.”

This is why I'm glad the president's speech on jobs isn't conflicting with the Showdown in Simi Valley. Like the rest of the nation, I'm going to be glued to my seat in front of the teevee so that I can witness the destruction, howl at the monkeys, and document the atrocities.

Go Ron Paul. LMFAO

*This link has some must-see video of Perry's debate with Kay Bailey last year.