Credit where it's due

To Scott Brown, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Kit Bond (!) and George Voinovich for breaking with their party and voting to advance the jobs bill.

Four Republicans joined Democrats in a key cloture vote moments ago, allowing debate on a jobs package to move forward. After overcoming this hurdle, debate on the bill can begin.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) broke with his party and voted with the Democrats. So did Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Kit Bond (R-MO) and George Voinovich (R-OH).

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) was the only Democrat to break with his party.

The final vote tally was 62-30. 

Our two Texas morons Corndog and Kay Bailing-Out, naturally, voted against unemployed Americans. Only slightly less disgraceful than the execrable Nelson.

"I hope this is the beginning of a new day here in the Senate," (Senate Majority Leader Harry) Reid said.

The bill, which is much smaller than some original proposals, would exempt businesses from paying Social Security payroll taxes this year after hiring from the nation's pool of millions of unemployed. The Build-America Bonds Act of 2009 would be renewed by the jobs bill. The scaled-down bill would also extend some tax breaks for small businesses, renew highway programs through December, and put $20 billion in the highway trust fund.

Go to the link to see Scott Brown's statement and expression of hopeful bi-partisanship. Let's see if his colleagues denounce him for it. With the announcement that HCR will be presented shortly for a vote again, this is, dare I say it, a good sign.  A healthcare bill -- without a public option and with the odious Nelson abortion amendment in -- appears to be on the docket and subject to a majority vote (what's referred to as reconciliation, meaning of course that 51 votes is all it will take to pass it).

If that's all that can be done, then get on with it, ladies and gentlemen.

Update: Eight more Republican senators found their way over to the light.  Let's not accuse them of being against it before they were for it ...

But Kay Bailey skipped out on the vote.  I believe that''s called 'cutting-and-running'.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance reminds you that early voting locations are open until 7 p.m. each day, until the conclusion of EV on Friday. Here are this week's blog highlights.

BossKitty at TruthHugger is amazed that anger is directed toward the Internal Revenue Service when Americans elect the very people who make the laws IRS enforces. Joe Stack targeted the wrong end of this chain. Taxpayers get end up owing money because they do not understand the laws their representatives make. Tax and Defiance: Short Sighted Protester Joe Stack.

In times of depleting incomes, Republican Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack brags about his $2.3 million tax-funded soap box derby track, at Bay Area Houston.

Two Steps Forward One Step Back for Tainted Texas Air at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

This week at Left of College Station, Teddy reflects on the next 40 days of protest that are taking place at Planned Parenthood and reviews a performance of the Vagina Monologues at Texas A&M. Also, a look at the poll numbers in the campaign to be the next governor of Texas, and a review of the week in headlines.

The Conservative Politicians Against Compromise convention picked an old-school nutjob as the presidential nominee in 2012, notes PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know why Republicans hate education so much? Why make community colleges unaffordable?

In Lewisville, the school district has revoked consent for a community organization use their parking lots to gather signatures for a petition drive on the weekend, reports WhosPlayin'.

In what will come as a massive surprise, McBlogger endorses Hank Gilbert. Find out why here.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson shows that even without the severe decrease in sales tax receipts, Texas would still be facing a budget crisis: Understanding the budget and Texas' structural deficit.

Off the Kuff notes the humor of our Attorney General suing to protect the sanctity of divorce.

Libby Shaw at TexasKaos does the accountability analysis on the GOP stimulus hypocrites. See her scorecard here: TX U.S. House Members Join Senators in GOP Hall of Hypocritical Shame.

If Citizen Sarah had a nickel for every time she's put out a statement saying something along the lines of :Governor Perry is blowing hot air about climate change" she could probably buy something really fancy, like a Mexican Coke in a glass bottle. See Texas Vox for more details.

The Texas Cloverleaf reports from frigid New Jersey and wants everyone to know that the Garden State -- and others -- has not fallen into GOP hands.

Ron Paul for President (LMAO)

The Conservative Politicians Against Change convention picked a throwback lunatic as their nominee in 2012.

Rep. Ron Paul won the most support for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination in an unofficial straw poll of conservative activists attending an annual conference.

A libertarian from Texas who has railed against spending and the Federal Reserve, Paul won the Saturday contest at the Conservative Political Action Conference with 31 percent backing. He has sought the presidential nomination in the past and attracted a following among a segment of voters frustrated with Washington.

Participants cheered as their favored candidates' names were announced. Some members of the audience cheered while others booed loudly when event organizers announced Paul as the winner.

Paul spoke at the conference along with potential presidential candidates former Gov. Mitt Romney, of Massachusetts, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty, of Minnesota. Romney won second with 22 percent, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin came in third with 7 percent and Pawlenty finished with 6 percent.

Fewer than a quarter of the 10,000 attendees participated in the balloting, an unscientific sampling that only offers bragging rights.

Dr. No would be the PERFECT candidate for the Party of No, n'est ce pas?

Personally, I think it was the coveted Bruno endorsement that put him over the top.

You really get the notion that none of Paul's staff has explained to him what "teabagging" means. And hey, that's a good thing.

Update:

“He’s missing a rudder or something,” Juanita opines. “He starts off sounding like a normal human person, but then he wanders off into very strange lonely places. He starts saying stuff like ‘no taxes, freedom, hate the IRS, it’s MY money, personal freedom, group freedom, pickle relish, your granny’s undies, trig function, War of 1812, soft socks…..’ and all the teabaggers in the room think to themselves, ‘he’s not nuts; he’s just deep and smarter than me’ because they are accustomed to being the dumbest person in the room.”

Sunday Funnies

Pitchers and catchers reported today

... in Kissimmee and elsewhere. WOO HOO

Hair Balls share eleven things to ponder regarding the Astros as they open spring training.

When I lived in Florida in 1992, I went to about a half a dozen different games -- St. Pete (then it was the Cardinals), Dunedin (Blue Jays), Clearwater (Phillies). When I moved back to Texas in '93 -- and my mother still owned her condo in Clearwater -- I went back a couple of times in March for a few days, catching the Yankees in Tampa and the Phillies in their then-brand-new Grapefruit League home. Also jumped over to Osceola County Stadium one afternoon and saw the 'Stros.

There is positively nothing finer than a spring training game in Florida during the first week of March. You can watch the seagulls circle lazily overhead while ballplayers jog in the outfield during the game (they don't do that in late March, when position battles and roster cuts get serious).  I haven't made it down in quite a few years but believe me, it's always on my mind. Go here if you want to see what's going on. Or here. Or here. Or here.

Who besides me wishes ...

... that Joseph Stack had been in therapy for the past month, and Tiger Woods had flown a light plane into a building?

-- More TeaBaggers conferencing this week in Washington. Last year that conclave produced hilarious video of an obese Rush Limbaugh bouncing up and down like a circus elephant. This year so far, only TelePrompter hypocrisy.

-- The History Channel will air a "documentary" on the Kennedy family that will allegedly focus on any variety of family peccadilloes. The producer, Joel Surnow ...

... smokes cigars with Rush Limbaugh, can "hardly think" of Ronald Reagan without "breaking into tears," and believed that "America [was] in its glory days" under President Bush.

-- "The Flintstones" is not a documentary, but far too many of our neighbors think it is ...

Nearly a third of Texans believe humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time, and more than half disagree with the theory that humans developed from earlier species of animals, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

-- Roger Ebert, the film critic who was the co-host of a popular movie review show some time ago, is finally reaching the end of the line in his long battle with oral cancer. He writes a moving essay about dying in this month's Esquire. Warning: clicking the link reveals an unsettling photo of Ebert's physical appearance as a result of his many surgeries.

-- Rick Perry, Greg Abbott, and Todd Staples rolled out their opposition to climate change this past week, and were greeted with the appropriate scorn and derision.

-- The BAE truck facility in Sealy finally did lose, after appealing the decision to the Pentagon, their federal contract this week. Thousands of Texas jobs will be lost as a result.

-- Doug Fieger, The Knack's lead singer, passed this week.  I played that album until the diamond needle cut all the way through to the other side of the record.  'My Sharona' was a huge song in the '80's at my fraternity parties.

-- Early voting continues in Texas this weekend. The turnout in Harris County has been massive.

Shami campaign staffers resign

Farouk Shami's campaign has imploded in the past few days. First there was an internal e-mail sent to media (including me) revealing inner turmoil over who was responsible for communications, and now this ...

Several top campaign aides to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami resigned today, said Charlie Ray, who had been the campaign’s press secretary.

Five staff members stepped down, including Ray, campaign director Vince Leibowitz, and communications director Kelly Love Johnson, Ray said.

The resignations come a day after the campaign’s internal chaos spilled into public when a bizarre e-mail exchange was, apparently inadvertently, sent to reporters.

On Tuesday, Ray and Shami gave out conflicting information about the roles of aides David Diaz and Jessica Gutierrez, both of whom had been sending out press releases on behalf of the campaign. Ray said that neither were authorized to speak for the campaign, but Shami said late Tuesday night that both had permission to give such statements.

More from Vince Leibowitz ...

“Clearly, (Shami) will not accept political strategy from the people who are there to provide it,” Leibowitz said.

Leibowitz and Ray, you may recall, had earlier replaced Jason Stanford, who ran Chris Bell's 2006 gubernatorial campaign and is now working for Kinky Friedman.

Bill White ought to be able to cruise to a run-off-free win in the primary and look forward to taking on Rick Perry in November (whether or not the governor clears the primary without a run-off).

Update: More from TrailBlazers and Texas Politics, including this ...

"Too many cooks in the kitchen," Ray said today.

Ray said it made it too difficult to "manage the message" when the campaign staff and staff from Shami's hair care company were both doing messaging.

Leibowitz said there was a difference over whether the professional campaign staff was going to run the show or Shami's corporate staff.

"You can see who won," Leibowitz said.