"Other big names" may enter primary for Texas GOP governor

D-FW right-wing gasbag Lynn Woolley shares my concern -- expressed at the end of this post -- about the ridiculous state of the Republican gubernatorial tilt:

It is becoming apparent that there is a possibility that neither Rick Perry nor Kay Bailey Hutchison may be the Republican nominee for governor of Texas. Both of them have issues that must be cleared up – and soon – or other big names are going to enter the race.

It is always instructive to observe the conservative mind as it attempts logic. Again, a primer: there's the Right, then the Far Right, then the Far Out Right. Woolley mostly occupies the middle ground of the extreme. First he deconstructs the governor's dilemma:

Perry is smack in the middle of a developing controversy over the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham – indeed a very bad man, but a man who may not have started the fire that killed his three children. The strange thing is that the question of Willingham's guilt is not central to the governor's problem. Of course, if Willingham did not set the fire – that's huge. But if Rick Perry interfered with the Texas Forensic Science Commission's investigation into the case – that's monumental.

Well, rise and shine the coffee's on; Rick Perry has a problem. And lookie here: so does Kay Bailey.

This sordid affair might prove very useful to Hutchison in her campaign to unseat the governor, except for the fact that she seems to have no fire in the belly to pursue the race. In a radio interview with WBAP's Mark Davis, she said she isn't sure when she will leave the Senate to pursue the governor's race full time. She isn't certain about what Congress will do with health care, and she wants to "stay and fight with every bone in my body against a government takeover."

And we all thought she wanted to be governor.

Pretty good slap, Lynn. There's a bit more.

So she's going to resign unless she doesn't, and she's going stay in the Senate to fight Obama's health care and energy bills unless she returns to Texas full time to run for governor. Are we confused yet?

I could get to liking this guy if he would keep using that cudgel on Kay. He really seems to believe that Perry is damaged goods, and that is a key concession from a Lone Star conservative talker.

Unfortunately Woolley leaves us hanging by not identifying any of the Republicans he suggests are interested in jumping into the race for governor. The moneyshot, though, is at the very end:

Perry needs to clean up his Willingham mess and Hutchison needs to make up her mind. The governor should stop talking about what a monster Willingham was and support a full investigation. And it had better prove Willingham was guilty.

Hutchison should resign soon and trust Dewhurst or someone else to take up the health care fight. If not, the governor's race could go to the Democrats for lack of a Republican candidate.

Well that would be the worst of all possible outcomes, wouldn't it? *snicker*

Anybody hearing any actual names of Republicans thinking about diving into the mosh pit?

Update: Oh hell, of course; Dan Patrick. The wart right in the middle of their face. How could I have missed it? *slap*

Kay Bailey: "Perry's actions give liberals argument to discredit death penalty"

It's just embarrassing watching her trying to squeeze herself into the space between Medina and Kilgore, on Perry's right:

"The only thing Rick Perry’s actions have accomplished is giving liberals an argument to discredit the death penalty. Kay Bailey Hutchison is a steadfast supporter of the death penalty, voted to reinstate it when she served in the Texas House and believes we should never do anything to create a cloud of controversy over it with actions that look like a cover-up."

So the greatest travesty here is not that an innocent man was executed, not even that Rick Perry is a wretched scumbag for allowing it to happen and then actively attempting to conceal it.

The most serious offense is the "cloud of controversy" the governor has created over the death penalty.

Who again are the Democrats who intend to vote for this harridan in the Republican primary in March, 2010?

Update: Medina, not surprisingly, makes considerably more sense than the senior senator. (Inquiring minds want to know: could Kay Bailey actually come in third in the GOP gubernatorial primary?)

Action for Climate Change

(This post is -- obviously -- part of today's Blog Action Day.)

If you're a conservative then you can keep on doing what you do best: deny, delay, obfuscate and avoid. If you're anyone else, you can help educate the ignorant.

Climate change in Google Earth

The human faces and stories of those who already confront climate change in their lives: Climate Orb

Kids vs. Global Warming

Pew Center for Global Climate Change's Facts and Figures (great for those who want the charts and graphics and clear explanations). Even more comprehensive data at their Climate Change 101 series.

Mother Nature Network's 15 Best Carbon (footprint) Calculators

CAP's Top 100 Effects of Global Warming includes “Say Goodbye to Pinot Noir”, “More Bear Attacks”, “Malaria Spreading in South America”, and “More Stray Kitties”.

You're more of the results-oriented type? 10 Solutions for Climate Change

Next week, on October 24, 350.org is organizing the International Day of Climate Action. You can visit their site and see what people all around the world are planning to do to demonstrate their commitment to stopping climate change.