Perry, Hutchison, Medina debate tonight

The first contested Republican primary debate for Texas governor in 20 years is scheduled to occur on statewide television tonight as Gov. Rick Perry tries to fend off challenges from U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and activist Debra Medina.

The debate will be broadcast live locally in Houston at 7 p.m. on KUHT Channel 8, KTRK-DT Channel 13.2 and at 10 a.m. Saturday on KXLN Channel 45 (Univision in Spanish), as well as airing on radio on KSEV, 700 AM; KTRH, 740 AM; and KUHF, 88.7 FM.

An Internet live stream of the debate can be obtained from www.TexasDebates.org.

That Medina won the right to be in tonight's debate means she can already claim probably as much victory as she will see in this primary. She is popular with the TeaBaggers and Libertarians but so far that translates into 5% in the polling. She should do much better than this; Larry Kilgore managed 7.58% four years ago (he dropped out of this contest last month and endorsed Medina) and further, the sum of the "not-Rick-Perry" faction earned almost 16%. If that happens again this March -- and Kay can pull 35% -- then you're looking at a run-off. One that Perry likely still wins, but ...

Update: Peggy Fikac ...

GOP consultant Mark Sanders (who managed Carole Strayhorn's 2006 gubernatorial campaign) said the candidate to watch is Medina.

“She is the wild card. If she performs well, she could throw the gubernatorial election into a runoff ... It'll take more than just the debate, but she could be the anti-Washington, anti-incumbent candidate that many voters are looking for.”

Suggested reading:

The Pre-Game Show (the Texas Tribune's advance story)

Medina at the Ramparts (about her border policy)

Perry rakes in the money (but Kay actually has more)

Perry won't let Texas bid for federal education dollars (expect this to be a topic in tonight's debate)

Right Place, Right Time (Texas Monthly's Paul Burka on the governor's secret 2012 bid for the White House)

Perry for President: Conjuring the Apocalypse (a response to Burka from the Texas Observer's Bob Moser)

Charles Kuffner's summary (which includes the two links above)

Perry lacks trust in Texas voters (the Chron's Rick Casey)

SD-22: Kip Averitt, Darren Yancy, and perhaps some others

State Sen. Kip Averitt of Waco suddenly discontinued his bid for re-election yesterday, citing health concerns.

The decision comes a week and a half after the closing of the filing period to run for state elected office as a Democrat or Republican and leaves Burleson insurance agent Darren Yancy as the sole candidate left to campaign in the GOP primary.

No Democrats have filed to run for Averitt’s seat, which covers McLennan, Coryell, Falls, Bosque, Hill, Navarro, Somervell, Hood, Johnson and Ellis counties.

Averitt, 55, a certified public accountant, has represented Waco since 1992, when he was elected to the state House. He issued a statement to the Tribune-Herald that said in recent years he has struggled to balance health and the interests of his family with his role as a public servant.

“I have been advised that I must now put my health above all else — for me and my family — and it is with deep regret that I announce today the cessation of my Senate campaign,” the release states.

Averitt, a moderate Republican with tenure and respect from colleagues across the aisle, was in line for more power in the upcoming session.

In 2005, Averitt pushed to restore funding and loosen eligibility rules for Texas’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, which had been cut in the previous legislative session. He’s also been involved in crafting the state’s budget.

And as chairman of the influential Natural Resources Committee, he has been a strong voice for the creation of local groundwater-conservation districts and long-term planning of the state’s water.

On Dec. 10, Averitt and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst attended a Tribune-Herald editorial board meeting together. Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate, said at the time that Averitt’s name was in the mix to head the powerful Senate Finance Committee in the upcoming legislative session. On Dec. 23, Averitt filed for re-election.

So ... three weeks after filing, and ten days after the deadline, the candidates remaining are Averitt's primary challenger, TeaBaggin' Darren Yancey (disregard the ECO's bragging) and one of two Libertarians that gets chosen at their March 13 convention (Tim Ballard of Cleburne or Ben Faulkner of Red Oak). Harvey Kronberg at Quorum Report has video from Yancey's aborted run at Cong. Chet Edwards:



Harvey also provides this, in a 11:47 p.m. update:

"If Averitt withdraws after winning the primary, then the Republican District Executive Committee (comprised of the County Chairmen from each of the counties SD 22, Sec 171.054) selects his replacement (not the SREC/SDEC); and the Democratic District Executive Committee also gets to nominate an opponent (Sec. 145.036). No litigation necessary."

That's also verified in this update from Michael Shapiro at the Waco Trib:

If GOP voters pick Averitt in the primary and he then withdraws, both parties would have the opportunity to name replacement candidates. Those candidates would be picked by the two parties’ District Executive Committees, which consist of party chairmen from the 10 counties in the district.

This district is pretty solidly red, but Averitt's withdrawal gives Democrats and independents a shot at an unexpected open Texas Senate. More developing.

Update: More inside baseball from the TexTrib.

Haiti

-- Two aggregates, one from Neil at Texas Liberal and one from conservative Blue Dot Blues have links you should follow.  You can simply text HAITI to 90999 and a $10 donation will be forwarded to the American Red Cross and billed to your cell by your provider. As BDB notes, the Red Cross is reporting that they have already extinguished their inventory of medical supplies.

Update: Katie Shellnutt at Believe It or Not posts ...

Apparently all those ten-buck and five-buck donations add up, with the Red Cross earning $1.2 million from texts alone by the end of Tuesday.

-- Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson quickly spewed their hate, and Keith Olbermann just as quickly shut them down.



Text:

"Even the worst of us in this political mosh pit of the early 21st Century can stop on occasion in grief and human sympathy, in mourning, or just in self-preservation. Not Rush Limbaugh, and not Pat Robertson. We'll explore this at length later, but Mr. Robertson, it is laughable now to try to call him Reverend, explained today that this earthquake was the result of a quote "Deal with the Devil" that he claims the nation made in the 19th Century to gain its freedom from France. "True story", Robertson says. Sir, because of your tone deafness and your delight in human misery, and your dripping, self-satisfied holier-than-thou senile crap, I am now likelier to believe that *you* are the Devil."

"Limbaugh, meantime, did not know when to just shut up. Today he blamed "Communism" for the poverty of Haiti, blamed President Obama for holding a news conference the day after this cataclysm, when he did not hold one after the failed, half-assed terror attempt in Detroit, and said Mr. Obama would quote "Use Haiti" to quote "Burnish their shall we say, credibility with the Black community in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned Black community in this country."

"Mr Robertson, Mr. Limbaugh. Your lives are not worth those of the lowest, meanest, poorest of those victims still lying under that rubble in Haiti tonight. You serve no good, you serve no God. You inspire only stupidity and hatred, and I would wish you to Hell. But knowing how empty your souls must be for you to be able to say such things in a time of such pain, I suspect the vacant, purposeless lives you both live now, are Hell enough already."

As did Raymond Joseph, the Haitian ambassador to the United States:

"I would like the whole world to know -- America especially -- that the independence of Haiti, when the slaves rose up against the French and defeated the French army -- powerful army -- the U.S. was able to gain the Louisiana territory for $15 million. That's 3 cents an acre. That's 13 states west of the Mississippi that the Haitian slave revolt in Haiti provided ..."

"So, what pact the Haitian made with the devil has helped the United States become what it is."

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Late Night spat

The drama consuming NBC's late night programming has been hard to keep up with ever since rumors spread that Leno was losing his prime time show and returning to late night. The fate, not only of Jay's show, but Conan O'Brien's and Jimmy Fallon's hang in the balance as negotiations continue between the network and its comedy stars.

I'll let you do the clicking and the watching of the videos at the links, but some are do-not-miss; these ...

CBS' late night king David Letterman put his two cents in Tuesday night, saying the entire shuffle is and will cost NBC "Hundreds and hundreds of millions and millions of dollars" and that between Leno and O'Brien it all boils down to money. He also suggested a replacement for NBC's soon-to-be-vacant 10:00 p.m. time slot: "Law And Order: Leno Victims Unit."

... and this one:

Jimmy Kimmel has also come out in support of Conan, going as far as doing his entire show last night dressed as Jay Leno.  With prosthetic chin and all, Kimmel mocked Leno's lack of scruples over the switch: "Conan O'Brien today announced that he is leaving NBC. He released a statement today that said, 'I won't participate in the destruction of the Tonight Show.' Fortunately though - I will!", he mocked.