Thompson & Giuliani: A Texas Tornado Builds
Horns lock in the Lonestar State
By haystack Posted in 2008 — Comments (20) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
We heard this morning that Texas Governor Rick Perry has thrown down for Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani. The prevailing wisdom is that Rudy needs a little love from the south if he expects to clear the primaries; Governor Perry aims to please:
"For the last six months, I have cogitated, I've looked, I've studied these candidates — some of them I know very well — and came to the conclusion that the individual who can lead America with clarity, the individual who has the experience, the individual who cleaned up a city that was absolutely on its back is mayor Rudy Giuliani," Perry said.
"I'm proudly and excitedly going to campaign for him and work for him," Perry said, appearing on Fox & Friends for what was touted by the news channel as a "humongous Texas-sized announcement."
The Giuliani website, rightfully, is beaming with pride at the southern GOP pickup, posting Perry's statement in toto.
So goes Perry, so goes Tejas? not so fast...
More below the fold...
Apparently, there are a few political powerhouses in Texas who don't see things quite the same way as my "esteemed" Governor:
"The quiet coalition of conservative, blue-collar democrats and middle-America voters who supported Ronald Reagan are waiting for the chance to return to the 'days of yesteryear'. Fred will win this coalition and he will win Texas, with or without the support of an unpopular governor."
"With all due respect, Governor Perry's endorsement is all hat and no cattle," said Patterson. "He has no base to offer a national campaign. He only got 39% in his last election."
"Heck, even I got 600,000 more votes than he did in 2006," Patterson added.
"I'm confused," said Patterson. "Why would the most conservative governor in Texas history endorse a pro choice, rabidly anti Second Amendment, former New York City mayor who supported Democrat Mario Cuomo over Republican George Pataki for governor of New York?"
"Perry is the same governor who upstaged Arnold in California with a message that Republicans need to return to their conservative roots if they expect to win elections." Patterson said, "I guess the red meat he was serving in California was "rare" as opposed to "well done".
"What happened to Republicans using conservative principles as the first measure of who to support for elected office?" Patterson asked.
As we like to say down here in hickville...them's fightin' words.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson are in the Thompson camp, serving as co-chairs of the Fred Thompson campaign in Texas and "Texas Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo, another popular statewide official, will also play a prominent leadership role in the Thompson campaign's national organization."
Looks like Texas will be no cakewalk for EITHER Rudy or Fred...but there's gonna plenty of boot-scootin' scuffles in Austin to make it fun to watch.
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Thompson & Giuliani: A Texas Tornado Builds 20 Comments (0 topical, 20 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
haystack's 12th:
Conservatives (and Presidential Candidates especially) shall offer no aid and comfort to the opposition in times of legislative conflict (and ensuing political campaigns).
he won't single-handedly deliver Texas in a GOP Primary.
“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men."
If Romney's planning to turn the great "mo" he anticipates having from IA and NH into anything in the south, shouldn't he have some "big ticket" backers in the most populous state in the South? Even if Florida gets to seat its entire delegation (not assured given that the primary there violates the rules), there are more delegates at stake in Texas than in Florida (140 to 114).
Where's Romney's organization in Texas, or is he foregoing things there and banking on victories elsewhere (a dangerous plan given that he is perceived as potentially weak in the South)?
and use it to continue to win big afterward. Many election years it would be a solid plan. But most years you don't have as many name candidates running for office, or so many states holding primaries so early.
I still don't entirely mind Mitt Romney, but ever since I did my survey of contested elections, every time I think of Romney's strategy I think of George "Big Mo" Bush's plan to beat Ronald Reagan in 1980, heh.
HTML Help Central for Red Staters
Let's nominate the Nash Equilibrium for President.
Land Commisioner?
...
For cryin' out loud. Before we get all worked up over this, we should ask the state dog catcher how he feels about things.
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I'm sure it's on record somewhere that it is impossible to win the Presidency of the United States of America without the support of the Tejas Land Commisioner.
in the sticks, but "Land Commissioner" means something to we hicks in the heartland. Your dog catcher may be as useless as a Burger King cashier, but our land commissioner means a bit more to us than a large order of fries...
haystack's 12th:
Conservatives (and Presidential Candidates especially) shall offer no aid and comfort to the opposition in times of legislative conflict (and ensuing political campaigns).
From http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/html/exec/0905.html
The Land Commissioner, as the head of the General Land Office is known, gains power and significance as a result of the large amount of public land in the state and the resources, particularly energy, that are found on many of these lands. He or she is elected to a four-year term.
The General Land Office administers the use of all state-owned lands. This responsibility includes leasing for gas and oil production, mining, and grazing, and monitoring the environmental quality of public lands and waters. The office also operates the veterans' land program, in which state bonds are used to underwrite loans to military veterans for land purchases.
The Land Commissioner authorizes exploration and exploitation of public lands, so the Commissioner's decisions affect hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity. This also has a significant impact on state government and services, as the General Land Office generates hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties on oil and gas extracted from state lands.
[snip]
As with similar offices in other states and at the federal level (for example, the Department of the Interior), the Land Commissioner must reconcile the economic use of natural resources with environmental protection and conservation. State lands are a valuable source of revenue, particularly given that the state cannot draw on an income tax for revenue and that a significant share of oil and gas royalties are dedicated to public education. These issues are particularly acute in the coastal areas, where the state owns four million acres of submerged lands and all of the beaches. The General Land Office is thus under intense pressure both to exploit and preserve public lands, generating equally intense interest in elections.
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson served as a state senator before being elected in 2002. He succeeded David Dewhurst, who used the office as a platform for his successful campaign to be elected Lieutenant Governor. Both are Republicans.
So... yeah. Bagging the State land commissioner in an oil state is just a step or two above dog catcher.
Moe
PS: I'm not affiliated with the Thompson campaign. I'm not even voting for him in the primary.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
The Railroad Commissioner is a fairly important job, too. I know, I know, all the time you spent in State elective office gave you a good feel for the relative power and importance of State offices in other States, but you're gonna have to take our word for it.
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We are all heroes, you and Boo and I. Hamsters and rangers everywhere, rejoice!
when only people with land could vote, I'll bet the Land COmmishioner really could swing entire elections.
“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men."
haystack's 12th:
Conservatives (and Presidential Candidates especially) shall offer no aid and comfort to the opposition in times of legislative conflict (and ensuing political campaigns).
That the franchise had been extended beyond landowners decades before Texas became a State, yes?
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We are all heroes, you and Boo and I. Hamsters and rangers everywhere, rejoice!
for returning to that system, or at least getting rid of womans suffrage. If you did that no democrats would ever be elected again.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
don't forget to disenfranchise the minorities, non-christians, homosexuals, and northeasterners as well! then we will truly have a perpetual republican majority, and the dreams of the founders will finally be realized.
My goodness. Oh my gosh HA HA HA HA ha ha ha ha ha ... ha ha ... ha ... heh ... ooooooh, heh. uh heh. he heh.
Sigh. Good times.
OH, here it comes again, HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
HA HA HA HA HA HA
HAH HAH HAH!!!!!!!
Thanks alot, heh ha heh huh, now my stom, hehehaha, my stomach hu-hu-ha-hah-hurts!
absentee
the Texas Railroad Commission has generally been the Big Enchilada of the state's administrative apparatus:
http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2005/childs.htm
Since this thread is about Perry, note that the governor of Texas has relatively weak powers compared to other states, as defined in the Texas constitution.
Perry's endorsement may help Rudy with the party establishment here, but I doubt it means anything to the citizens of Texas.
Perry couldn't have studied too hard...Rudolph didn't design or implement the plan which drastically cut the crime rate in New York but, as with several other "successes", he rode it for all it was worth...Highly disingenuous.
Why Rudolph Giuliani Really Shouldn’t Be President
http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/specialguests/2007/mar/08/w hy_rudy_giuliani_re ally_shouldn_t_be_pr esident
Read the editorial reviews of the following books at Amazon;
Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 by Wayne Barrett and Dan Collins
http://www.amazon.com/Grand-Illusion.../dp/0060536608
The Full Rudy: The Man, the Myth, the Mania by Jack Newfield.
http://www.amazon.com/Full-Rudy-Man-...76679&s;r=1-1
Rudy!: An Investigative Biography of Rudolph Guiliani by Wayne Barrett.
http://www.amazon.com/Rudy-Investigative-Biography-Rudo lph-Guiliani/dp/0465005241/ref=sr_1_1/002-6972407-2757625?ie =UTF8&s;=bo oks&qid;=1188176754&s;r=1-1
Guns and Rudy: The Whole Story
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/articles/article.ht ml?id=25471
“I believe that conservatives beat liberals only when we challenge their outdated positions, not embrace them. This is not a time for philosophical flexibility, it is a time to stand up for what we believe in,” - Fred Thompson
But only a mo-ron goes on a conservative website using TPM as a source to attack a Republican Candidate for President!
Why not just use the Cummunist Manifesto to attack Capitalism? Or quote Desmond Tutu in defense of Aparteid!
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About the Author
Lord Vegas is a true American. some would call him a Mutt, but he prefers the term mixed breed.
Perry is "the most conservative governor in Texas history"?
Man, no love for his predecessor, eh?
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill