Rick Perry's emergencies

If you had the slightest doubt about Governor Zoolander running for president, you can put that aside now.

Legislation requiring women seeking an abortion to first have a sonogram is an emergency that merits expedited consideration by the Legislature, Gov. Rick Perry told anti-abortion activists on Saturday.

A bill backed by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Houston state Sen. Dan Patrick will be granted emergency status, Perry told more than a thousand anti-abortion protesters at a rally. They had gathered at the Capitol on the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

[...]

The governor has previously announced four other emergency items for legislators to consider: eminent domain reform, ending "sanctuary city" policies that don't require police to check the immigration status of people they stop or arrest, a voter identification bill, and calling for an amendment to the US Constitution that would mandate a balanced federal budget.

The issues that Perry has given emergency status are important to his base of conservative activists and to the tea party movement.

Harold Cook has the lightest response, but this is really no laughing matter.

Tomorrow the Texas Senate will take up his first "emergency" -- voter ID -- in a 'committee of the whole' session.

It will eventually pass, and the only question is the level of opposition the minority will be able to muster. Whatever that amount is, how intense it may be, it will still only be symbolic.

Voter ID has the sole intention -- no matter how loudly or often Republicans claim it is something else -- of stifling Democratic turnout. Even prominent Republicans say that it will place a likely-insurmountable hardship on many of the elderly. But then that's just how they roll.

Moving forward, Democrats in Texas will have to make sure their voters have proper identification according to the legislation that will be crafted. Voters, for their part, are going to have to accept responsibility for making certain they are "qualified" to cast a ballot ... according to the GOP's definition of the word.

This additional voting requirement still won't stop disqualifications at polls, particularly those run by GOP election judges, nor will it end the thuggish tactics of the King Street Patriot/True the Vote denizens.

But it's going to be the new reality, just like community colleges closing, a hundred thousand teachers across Texas hitting the unemployment lines, and Medicaid patients dying because the the state no longer wants to pay for their care.

This is what a majority of Texans voted for last November. How do you like it so far?

Update: Burka, on the governor's priorities ...

I suspect that most governors, like 48 or 49 out of 50, would be embarrassed to fast-track such proposals when their state was facing a $27 billion budget deficit that is partly the result of the governor’s own policies, but nothing seems to be too blatantly political to embarrass Perry. And I think the reason no one really is wringing their hands over the governor’s upside-down priorities is that we long ago ceased to expect anything more.

And Gary Denton, on the V-ID bill ...

1) The legislation does not provide any alternatives to photo identification examples of identification that will no longer be acceptable to voter include student id cards, Medicaid/Medicare cards, expired driver’s licenses, expired passports, expired military id cards, birth certificates, official government letters, and employer id cards even if issued by a governmental entity.

[...]

9) Implementing redistricting plans and extremely strict photo id laws right before a Presidential election is a recipe for disaster in voter confusion.

The people most impacted by this bill will be students, (those who have) recently married (or) recently moved, very low income, elderly, legal immigrants, handicapped, (and) mainly urban dwellers who don't drive a car. These groups all lean Democratic so the Republicans count this bill as a success, getting any edge possible for elections.

And John Tanner, on why the V-ID bill will not withstand a court challenge.

Sunday Funnies

The final Countdown

Keith Olbermann was MSNBC's most popular personality and single-handedly led its transformation to an outspoken, left-leaning cable news network in prime time. Despite that, he often seemed to be walking on a tightrope with his job. Friday night, it snapped.


Olbermann returned from one last commercial break on "Countdown" to tell viewers it was his last broadcast, and read a James Thurber short story in a three-minute exit statement. Simultaneously, MSNBC e-mailed a statement that "MSNBC and Keith Olbermann have ended their contract." The network thanked him and said, "we wish him well in his future endeavors."

Neither MSNBC President Phil Griffin, Olbermann nor his manager responded to requests to explain an exit so abrupt that Olbermann's face was still being featured on an MSNBC promotional ad 30 minutes after he had said goodbye.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The shock and awe was apparent in our household as well as everywhere else online I reached for details. Josh Marshall, who had been on the program in the first segment, was no less taken aback than everyone else.

No leaks, even with what must have been a late-in-the-day decision. They all kept a damn good secret, didn't they?

Various reports have Olbermann being let go because of Comcast's swallowing of NBC Universal earlier in the week, that he got fired because he said no to another  extension of his contract ($30 million for four years, signed in 2008 to make sure he was with the network through the 2012 election), and/or that he quit because Jeff Zucker was also shown the door in the wake of the Comcast-NBC merger. Anderson Cooper led his 9 pm (Central) broadcast on CNN with the news and reaction, most of it indicating that KO's mercurial personality had as much to do with his departure as anything else.

I would believe any of those versions. I would also observe that one thing MSNBC has been very good at over the years is throwing out their top talent if it doesn't toe their line. See Donahue, Phil and Banfield, Ashleigh and Shuster, David for evidence.

I'm a huge fan and I'll miss Countdown, but I'm not too concerned about KO's future and not just because money isn't the be-all-and-end-all for the dude (MSNBC is paying him his remaining contracted $14 mil). In six months -- after his non-compete expires -- he'll have an hour on Oprah's network, or HBO or someplace else where they aren't afraid of the brutal truth. He'll be wielding another very large, very loud megaphone, tormenting the Right into another derangement syndrome simply by relentlessly exposing their lies and hypocrisy.

And the same goes for Maddow, and Schultz and O'Donnell and Seder and Uyger and Stein and ...

Enjoy your sabbatical, Keith, and we'll see you when you get back.

Update:

Friday’s separation agreement between MSNBC and Mr. Olbermann includes restrictions on when he can next lead a television show and when he can give interviews about the decision to end his association with the news channel.

[...]

The decision was completed one year to the day from the last time NBC decided to end a relationship with an on-air star: Conan O’Brien. Mr. O’Brien agreed in the deal not to start up a new television show for nine months, and not to grant interviews for five months. The executives involved in the discussions with Mr. Olbermann said his agreement was not dissimilar to Mr. O’Brien’s.

The Texas budget cluster

The news coming out of Austin is so bad it is truly unfathomable.

A Sugar Land prison unit would be closed, funding for Brazosport Community College would be eliminated and thousands of jobs would be cut under a base budget presented late Tuesday night to state lawmakers dealing with a massive shortfall and the prospect of no new revenue this session.

The budget proposes nearly $5 billion less for public education below the current base funding. It is also $9.8 billion less than what is needed to cover current funding formulas, which includes about 170,000 additional students entering the public school system during the next two-year budget cycle. Pre-kindergarten would be scaled back.

Higher education funding, including student financial aid, would be slashed.

The proposal wouldn't provide funding for all the people projected to be eligible for the Medicaid program and would slash Medicaid reimbursement rates for health care providers.

Community supervision programs would be cut and a Sugar Land prison unit would be closed. Funding would be eliminated for four community colleges including Brazosport near Lake Jackson.

Thousands of state jobs would be cut.

The state wants to sell the land where the Fort Bend minimum security facility is located to developers. Let's pick it up from the TexTrib:

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, laid out the first grim round of proposed cuts on Wednesday — aimed at balancing the budget without new taxes or tapping the Rainy Day Fund — even some of his Republican colleagues couldn't stifle their objections. House Democrats went a step further, calling the cuts "akin to asking an anorexic person to lose more weight."

Pitts didn't sugarcoat the proposed cuts, which strike a potentially devastating blow to public education and health care, eliminate 9,000 state jobs and shutter two state institutions for people with disabilities, one prison unit and three Texas Youth Commission lock-ups. He acknowledged the cuts are painful, and that this budget proposal slashes every state function that isn't a completely necessary service ...

No new taxes, no existing tax increases, no using the Rainy Day fund, but every state fee that you can think of -- and many you haven't -- is going up. No more sales tax holidays. Traffic violation fees to the state increase 50%. Vehicle license fees, vehicle registration fees, vehicle inspection fees, driver license renewal fees, hunting and fishing license fees, state park admission fees ... on and on.

Even the Republicans are whining about the budget cuts.

No-new-taxes and limited government may be a GOP refrain, but not necessarily when implemented in Republican lawmakers' backyards.

Three of four GOP lawmakers whose community colleges would lose state funding under a starting-point, bare-bones budget proposal publicly decried the proposed losses Wednesday.

Their worries joined broader concerns by Democrats over the proposal that would meet a budget shortfall estimated to be at least $15 billion without new revenue, instead relying on cuts in areas including public and higher education and health and human services.

"Reality has set in today, members. We have seen what the budget is going to look like, and we've got to go from now campaigning to governing this state of Texas," said Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, whose district includes Ranger College, one of those slated to lose state funding. "To me, we've gotten off on a wrong foot."

He called the college-closing proposal "the height of irresponsibility."

Considering that Republicans have been in control of the Texas Senate since 1996, and the House since 2003, and Keffer himself has been in Austin since '96 ... who do you think he's talking about?

The community college flap is a telling slice of the debate to come as school districts, teachers, groups that advocate for vulnerable Texans, lawmakers and others gauge the effect of the budget shortfall. ...

The proposal provides no new funding for growth in any area, including public and higher education or Medicaid, Pitts noted. One school finance expert, Lynn Moak, said the public education cutbacks could cost 100,000 school district jobs over two years.

The only thing that was spared the knife was border security.

"We're already as a state 50th in per capita spending, so you've got to ask yourself when you see a base budget like this, at what point is this budget akin to asking an anorexic person to lose more weight?" he asked.

Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said, "The leadership has said that we want less government and we want to balance this budget through reduction. … Texans, whether you're old - seniors - whether you're young, in between, you're going to feel the pain. This the paradigm they've created. And now the question is whether or not Texans find that acceptable."

Rural Texas will be hammered the hardest by this budget, as the state and county governments are typically one of the largest -- if not the largest -- employer. Rural Texas went overwhelmingly for the Republicans in 2010.

Thus, Texans who voted for the GOP are getting exactly what they voted for. Texans who did not vote in the last election are also getting it. Hard.

The next two years of this debacle may teach some of them their folly. Then again, with the quality of Texas public education already poor and getting worse, they still may not learn the lesson.

Kuffner has a easy-to-digest list of the budget cuts, some of which are actually good ideas. The NYT's "What's the Matter With Texas?" has four point/counterpoint op-eds from Texas experts (if you count Talmadge Heflin as one of those, that is). And the Legislative Study Group has a five-page summary (.pdf) detailing how the budget cuts will affect Texans, which is the easiest and best resource currently available. Print it out, make a few extra copies, and take it to your next club meeting.

And keep in mind: this is what a very large majority of Texans voted for. They have, in fact, been voting for it for several years now.

Joe Leiberman's Retirement Party

He partially redeemed himself with his support of DADT, but he was smart enough to read the writing on the wall: Joementum long ago turned into Joenertia. One strongly held opinion that matches mine:

My corner of Connecticut was covered in ice today, until news broke of Sen. Joe Lieberman's impending retirement. Magically, a warm glow spread. It was a delicious feeling: the end of the reign of the politician I despise most.

Why do I loathe, loathe, loathe my 68-year-old four-term senator? My feelings are all the stronger for being fairly irrational. Lieberman's views are closer to mine than many politicians on whom I don't expend one iota of emotional energy. This, of course, is his power: He never loses his power to disappoint. Then there is the spectacle of it all: After each act of grand or petty betrayal, each time he turns on his former supporters, the Democratic Party and the Obama administration came back begging for more. Throughout the last Congress, he never let anyone forget he was the 60th vote.

Opposed the public option, supported the war in Iraq (he was on teevee yesterday saying Saddam threatened his neighbors and had WMDs), endorsed McCain, spoke at the GOP convention, joined the Republican caucus after that, switched back to the Dems after Obama was elected in order to keep his committee chairmanship.

It's always been all about him, and that's what I disliked the most about the man. Chris Murphy has announced as a candidate, and it will be a great day when we have a real Democrat in that seat.

More Senate stirrings

On the day that Ted Cruz threw his hat into the ring, a new poll shows Ron Paul in a dead heat with David Dewhurst for the GOP primary's US Senate nomination. Let's go to Politics Daily for the excerpt...

On a call with conservative bloggers Wednesday morning, former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz announced he would seek the GOP nomination for the seat.

Cruz told the bloggers he was letting them hear his plans first because they will be at the "frontier" of this race.

Now that's what you call sucking up. Cruz is at the very back of the pack as far as name recognition goes, to say nothing of experience. His single claim to respect from the establishment comes in the form of a million-dollar war chest, raised when he was planning on running for Texas Attorney General before Greg Abbott got cock-blocked by Kay Bailey's resignation two-step over a year ago. But Cruz makes up for his shortcomings with inflammatory Tea-ish rhetoric:

During the call, Cruz called President Obama "the most radical president ever to occupy the White House," and said the election is about "which candidate is best prepared to stand up and fight to stop the Obama agenda."

Yawn. This PPP poll bears out that Cruz has a loooong way to go to get credible in the GOP primary. It's the one that has Dr. No on the lead.

If Rep. Ron Paul decides to seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican incumbent Kay Bailey Hutchison, he would become an instant frontrunner, a new poll found.

The Public Policy Polling survey showed that Paul, the longtime Lake Jackson congressman and two-time presidential contender, would start the Republican primary race in a statistical tie with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, with other potential candidates in a hypothetical 2012 Senate match-up trailing far behind.

Paul, whose son Rand was elected to the Senate from Kentucky last year, received the backing of 21 percent of Republican voters. Twenty-three percent named Dewhurst, whose personal wealth and name recognition make him a top-tier hopeful, is currently the top pick of 23 percent of GOP voters.

Nobody has mentioned Paul as a contender before today but that will change quickly with this news.

Among other candidates who were tested, Attorney General Greg Abbott polled third at 14 percent, followed by Joe Barton, R-Ennis, 7 percent, Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, 6 percent, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, 3 percent, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, 3 percent, former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, 3 percent, and former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, 1 percent.

I have to say that I still don't think Paul -- or Barton, for that matter --  will make a run, as it means they'd have to give up their seat in the House. But Paul definitely has something to chew on.

Vince shows that Democratic contenders also get swamped in hypothetical matchups, which I would expect to see at this early stage. The numbers barely change among D's and R's. I take this poll as simply a popularity contest of the respective brands.

Dewhurst, for his part, screwed the pooch in his inaugural address yesterday. Paul Burka's comments are nothing short of devastating:

I thought Governor Dewhurst’s speech was all wrong. It was too long, too partisan, too campaign oriented. He had one foot off the platform on the way to Washington.

Sometimes the things he said made no sense at all. Speaking of the early settlers, he said, “Those men and women who made their way to Texas, who settled these unforgiving plains, who sought neither a handout nor a stimulus check — they simply sought freedom.”

Oh, please. Was Stephen F. Austin oppressed in Missouri? Was Davy Crockett in debtors’ prison in Tennessee? Did Jim Bowie face constant harassment in Arkansas? Nobody came to Texas for freedom. They came for cheap land and the chance to make a better life for themselves. Texas is not about noble ideals. It’s about making money.

[...]

Dewhurst is following the Perry model: If you rail enough about Washington, you can make people forget about what is — and what is not — happening here. Which is: a humongous shortfall and a leadership that is willing, even eager, to wrap Texas in a fiscal straightjacket and throw it under the bus to benefit their own political ambitions.

His priorities, Dewhurst said, include securing our borders, encouraging more job creation, passing Voter ID, improve our public schools because a quality education gives every child a chance to realize their dreams, continue building a world class transportation system, make healthcare more accessable and more affordable with better medical outcomes at a lower cost by passing reforms that will lead the nation…

Does he think we’re all stupid? Does he think that anti-Washington rhetoric will make us forget that he is going to whack $25 billion out of the budget? There won’t be enough money left to build a farm-to-market road, much less a world-class transportation system. Quality education with 30 kids in an elementary classroom? A more affordable health care system? More affordable for the state, maybe, after Medicaid has been cut to the bone, but not for you and me.

My reading of Dewhurst through the years hasn’t really changed very much. It comes down to this: He wants to do the right thing, but he can never bring himself to do it. He perpetually runs scared, scared of the tea party, scared of Dan Patrick, scared of Rick Perry, scared of the Republican senators, scared of his own better instincts. And so we get speeches like this one, which doesn’t ring true.

No incumbent in Texas has served longer and is more of a blank slate than Dewhurst. The state's most powerful elected official is an empty suit, and that's why he won't make it to the Senate.

And today was supposed to be a day about Michael Williams, but news about his impending resignation and announcement for the Senate has been invisible.  Who knows whether he ceded the cycle to Cruz and Paul, but it seems ignominious that the leaks about him breaking news today turned out to be false.

Tune in tomorrow -- hopefully -- for the Bowtie's response to these developments.

Update: Surprisingly muted ...

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams says he has sent Gov. Rick Perry a letter telling him he will be leaving the commission on April 2 to concentrate on a race for the U.S. Senate. ...

... (B)y giving Perry such advance notice, it will allow the governor to consider whether to replace him on the commission. There is discussion in the Legislature with taking the three-member panel down to one commissioner or possibly combining it with other agencies.

Perry could appoint someone to replace Williams on the commission. That appointee would have to stand for election in 2012 to fill the term through 2014.

Williams said he is not overly worried about the possibility of millionaire Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst entering the race.

"One of the lessons of 2010 is that message and the right messenger can trump money," Williams said.

Williams missed an good opportunity to capture some attention with this tepid announcement. Not a good way to start.

The Bush family pushback against the Tea Party

Two news items. First, Jeb:

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has some stern words for fellow Republicans who have been using harsh language about immigrants. Bush said GOP politicians who have demonized immigrants and opposed proposals such as the DREAM Act — which would provide a pathway to citizenship for children brought illegally into the country who excel in school or join the military — are risking a long-term backlash against their party.

Bush is correct, naturally, but to the Teas this is blasphemy. Just read the comments attached to the story. More ...

"It's impossible to imagine that Republican or conservative philosophy could be the majority philosophy if we don't attract more Hispanics to our side," he said.

Bush said that the failure of U.S. immigration enforcement had created a backlash against immigrants, and he said better enforcement was the first step toward passage of policies such as the DREAM Act.

"A great country has to have control of its borders," he said. "If that is done, I can guarantee you that the tone of the immigration debate will change dramatically."

Bush called for "a legalization process — without a doubt" to clarify the status of more than 11 million people currently living illegally in the U.S.

"I think that is policy of common sense, which many conservatives are going to support," he said.

Absolutely laughable in the current environment, isn't it? Give the man points for speaking an inconvenient conservative truth. Then again, what truths are convenient for them?

(That last is teasing, Republicans. Sort of like Olbermann's "Worst Persons", it's humor at your expense. Buck up and take it like a grown-up.)

In other developments the Bush patriarch, Herbert Walker, announced his endorsement for US Senator. It's his old Midland car dealer.

Today, former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, a Republican, is announcing the backing of former president George H. W. Bush, who will bestow his endorsement at a 3 p.m. press conference at his Houston office.

Williams has had his eye on Hutchison's seat for a while. He did not lose focus even after Hutchison decided to stay in office during her recent unsuccessful gubernatorial bid, which also received the elder Bush's endorsement.

"We announced in January 2009, and regardless of who was in or not, we've never stopped campaigning since then," Williams told the Tribune on the day Hutchison revealed she would not be seeking re-election next year, leaving the seat open.

I'm sure that great deal he got on a brand-new Dodge Coronet wagon in 1955 had nothing to do with it.

More from Jason Embry at Postcards:

The Bush endorsement could give his campaign a nice boost, particularly since the field is crowded and Williams doesn’t have the statewide name recognition of someone like (David) Dewhurst, who has held statewide office since 1999. A high-profile endorsement can be particularly helpful early in a campaign as a candidate tries to build momentum and attract donors.

Yes, this endorsement has to be interpreted as an insult to the Lite Gov. Bush 41 has traditionally endorsed the mainstream Republican (like Kay Bailey for governor last year). But if only Poppy had picked the other Williams, I could have titled this post "The Bush Family Affirmative Action Initiative". Alas. Maybe W will help me out shortly.

Roger the Dodger is plenty Tea-flavored, but there's a bum rush to starboard aboard the USS Texas GOP and Michael's big fat head is taking up a lot of the space on that side of the deck.  Only Sarah Palin's imprimatur will mean more to the TP than Jim DeMint's, and he's been in the Railroad Commissioner's corner since 2009.

Is it wrong to call Michael Williams a dark horse candidate? Probably, but not for the reason you're thinking.

One last note, from Embry's column:

Meanwhile, Michael Williams is likely to resign from the Railroad Commission this week to focus on his U.S. Senate bid.

Guess who appoints the person to fill his seat until the next election?

MLK Day Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance celebrates the MLK holiday as it brings you this week's blog roundup.

Off the Kuff wrote about Governor Perry's sanctuary scam and what it says about his priorities.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that Perry and his merry band of republicans play to the Tea Party and corporate polluters while the EPA starts doing its job.

Lightseeker over at TexasKaos offers some ideas on how you can become a civility warrior, starting today. Hint: think leading with good values and standing up for what you want among your friends and colleagues. Check out: How to inject civility when Uncle Joe Starts channeling Glen Beck.

This week, McBlogger takes a look at No Labels.

Letters From Texas published a powerful guest editorial from Jeff Rotkoff, on the issue of tea partiers' claims that America is a tyrant state.

Bay Area Houston has a perfect picture of Palin, but not for children.

At Capitol Annex, Vince takes a look at the potential contenders for U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat now that her retirement has thrown the doors wide open for the 2012 primary.

After a two-part investigation last year on one town's air quality problems, WhosPlayin was happy to report that the town of Flower Mound is increasing the scope and frequency of its air quality monitoring program as complaints continue by neighbors of natural gas facilities. A Lewisville neighborhood group facing gas well development in residential neighborhoods quickly followed suit, announcing increased testing and testing for sulfur compounds.

On the scene for the 82nd legislative session's opening day, PDiddie managed to defy the Capitol's tech support department with laptop connectivity issues, and then quickly ran his Android's battery down Tweeting. Still, he managed a Brains and Eggs post about the day 24 hours after the fact.

TXsharon catches the Big Gas Mafia telling the truth. Gas does migrate up from the formation and it does so in a big way. Read about it on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

After reading a Texas tea party blogger who had just attended a Tea Party meeting, Neil at Texas Liberal wrote about the Tea Party vision of America. Will English-only require a federal language bereaucracy? Will deportation of all undocumented persons mean government raids in our homes? Does the Ten Commandments posted at every public building mean that Christianity can't thrive without government support? Will repeal of healthcare reform allow insurance companies to once again cancel the policies of people who get sick?

TexasVox reviews the showdown over greenhouse gas permits at an EPA public meeting in Dallas. Over 100 local residents showed up to support the EPA and the Clean Air Act, demanding action on climate change because Rick Perry and TCEQ refuse to follow federal law.

George at The Texas Blue had been taking some time off post-election... but the reaction to events in Arizona finally pissed him off enough to write. (And just in time for the new legislative session!)

Return of the Jet-i

I don't really have a favorite in this game (about to kick off) but I thought this was clever.

Legend to the cast of characters here.

Who do you like in the Super Bowl?

Grandma says "toldja so"

(Former) Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn did not win friends five years ago when she warned Gov. Rick Perry and state lawmakers they were writing the "largest hot check in Texas history" during a tax overhaul that resulted in lower property taxes and a revised business tax.

Strayhorn told them their plan would fall about $23 billion short over a five-year period.

Now, five years later, state leaders are staring at an estimated budget shortfall of nearly $27 billion over the next two years.

[...]

At the time, Perry rejected Strayhorn's warning — saying she underestimated the tax reform and ignored economic growth from property tax cuts.

He also said at the time: "Future legislators are going to have the opportunity to be working with some numbers that are more current than what they're working at today — and some honest numbers."

The governor's office declined to comment about the accuracy of Strayhorn's April 2006 warning.

[...]

Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said the "Texas economy continues to grow steadily ahead of the nation, and the comptroller's biennial revenue estimate, as expected, is also reflective of the national recession's lingering impact on state revenue."

The projected shortfall reflects the amount of revenue needed to maintain current services, including the cost of educating an additional 170,000 school children during the next two years.

Perry, however, does not address the cost of current services.

"I think we have a budget of $76.5 billion and we're going to live with that. It's only a budget hole when somebody has wished that they had more money," the governor said last week.

So out of one side of his mouth Governor Smirky McHaircut proclaims the Texas economy the envy of the nation, and out of the other blames the effects of the Great Depression of 2010 and its impact on the Texas economy as the budget culprit. I just don't think he can flip-flop fast enough to have it both ways.

Let's sample a bit more from the article, this time from aspiring US Senator Dewhurst:

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said resurrecting Strayhorn's five-year-old forecast is "old news."

At the time, Dewhurst called huge budget shortfall projections "hypothetical and speculative."

He now says he knew that revenue projections from the revised business franchise tax "were inflated" and told Senate members in closed-door caucus meetings at the time that the tax would not perform as advertised.

Dewhurst said he also believed at the time that "we would grow out of it by now."

The lieutenant governor blamed the nation's economic collapse in 2008 for contributing to the state's projected budget shortfall today.

Update:

"There is not a $27 billion deficit, and I don't think there is even a $15 billion deficit," Dewhurst said.

Denial is the first stage. Do we have time for these men to get through anger, bargaining, and depression before they can accept reality? The session only lasts 140 days...

Dewhurst's duplicity -- together with a legislature that will demolish an already badly beaten Texas educational system, not to mention a social safety net in tatters -- should ruin his chances for higher office.

Unfortunately it may not.

While "moderate" Republicks will fall over themselves to fall in line behind The Dew, TeaBaggers should be watching him closely, as he is demonstrating nearly perfect Beltway-GOP predilections for deficit spending and ignoring reality. He's exactly the kind of Kay Bailey model they despise. But are they capable of ending his hopes for moving up the food chain?

Yes, I believe that they are. Whether they select one of the Williams sisters or "Mic" Patrick, I think they are up to the task of frustrating a long line of aspiring office-climbers (who are already lining up) by denying Dewhurst the Republican nomination for Senate next year.

And nothing would please me more than to have the most ridiculous nominee possible in 2012 get beaten by a Democrat ... just like what happened in Nevada, and Delaware, and Colorado in 2010.

Sunday Not So Funnies

Maybe she means it this time *updates*

She still has about a year to, you know, change her mind ...

Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced today that she will retire at the end of her current term, quashing speculation that she would run for a fourth full term in the U.S. Senate.

In an open letter to Texans, Hutchison said she wanted to live "full-time in Texas with my family" and was "forever grateful for the privilege of working for you in the United States Senate."

Hutchison's announcement will set off a wild scramble for the Senate seat the Dallas Republican first won in a 1993 special election against interim Sen. Bob Krueger, D-New Braunfels.

Hutchison said her early announcement "should give the people of Texas ample time to consider who my successor will be."

She pledged to continue carrying out her duties for the next two years "with the same vigor that I have employed during my Senate service."

Hutchison pledged to use her remaining time in the Senate "to fight the massive spending that has increased our national debt, the government takeover of our health care system, and the growth of the federal bureaucracy, which threatens our economy."

Oh just go ahead and walk away now, Kay.

Hutchison had promised to resign from her seat when she announced her 2010 primary challenge against Republican Gov. Rick Perry, but she changed her mind during the campaign.

"I intended to leave this office long before now, but I was persuaded to continue in order to avoid disadvantage to our state," she said.

The disadvantage was you sticking around, honey.

A large field of candidates is likely to seek the seat held for the past four decades by Hutchison and legendary Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Houston.

Former Texas Comptroller John Sharp and former Houston Mayor Bill White are potential Democratic prospects. Republicans who have expressed interest in the seat include Secretary of State Roger Williams, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones and state Sen. Florence Shapiro. Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst has not announced his plans but is considered a strong contender for the job. (emphasis mine)

Dewhurst has responded that he is too focused on the legislative session to concentrate on this right now. He can only think about one thing at a time, after all.

Update: Dewhurst wants the job so bad he's started imitating Kay's shilly-shally...

Less than three hours after telling a luncheon with the Capitol news media that he wouldn't think of running for the U.S. Senate until after the Texas Legislature ends in May, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announced that he will consider running.

The Williams twins are all in already. I anticipate that the two Republican ladies will jump in when they think the water is fine. Sharp has clearly stated his intentions as far back as March of 2010 ...

I want to thank everybody who came to support me in San Antonio last night. You confirmed to me that I am ready to win this Senate seat tomorrow, or in 2012. Thanks again, and I hope to see all of you again soon.

... but I don't think White will make this race. (Update: Sure enough, he declines.) The Perry campaign accomplished a real smear job on him -- as they did KBH in the primary -- and I just don't think he wants that job anyway. No word from 2006 Democratic nominee Barbara Radnofsky on whether she will enter the fray.

Keep in mind the Green Party has ballot access and will field a candidate in this contest.

Other Republicans I expect will likely make a go are state Sen. Dan Patrick. His Texas radio network gives him much more name recognition than many would think, and he is a Tea Party darling. People like Dallas mayor Tom Leppert and solicitor general Ted Cruz are longshots due to low name recognition and a lack of craziness that the TP prefers.

There may be a few surprise candidates on both sides but nobody who might be considered completely unpredictable. It's nice to see that the 2012 campaign has officially kicked off.

Update: the National Journal drops Chet Edwards' name, and The Hill's Brent Budowsky suggests San Antonio mayor Joaquin Castro.  Both men are well and good but don't hold much chance at gaining either the nomination nor the seat.