Politex

Year end review: the five biggest days for North Texas politicos

This year's presidential election clearly excited PoliTex readers more than anything else in 2008. Here's the list of the blog's most popular days, in terms of number of hits.

1. Feb. 22: Hillary Clinton abruptly cancels downtown Fort Worth rally after police officer dies in Dallas

2. Nov. 4: Election Day

3. March 4: Texas primary

4. Oct. 16: Day after the final presidential debate and the ascension of Joe the Plumber

5. Feb. 29: Last day of early voting for Texas primary, Mike Huckabee campaigns at Fort Worth Stockyards

President's shoe incident inspires car dealer

   A turkish shoemaker who took credit for making the shoe that was thrown by an Iraqi journalist at President Bush recently said the incident prompted 100,000 orders for the same model. A local car dealer seems to be hoping that the incident will bring him a bit of that same financial magic. In a new ad James Wood, owner of car dealerships in Denton and Decatur, shows he has the reflexes of a president by ducking a thrown shoe while talking about great deals. -Matt Frazier

Hat tip to: Liberally Lean from the Land of Dairy Queen.

Gonzales says he was a casualty of war on terror

The former US Attorney General and Texas judge spoke at length with the Wall Street Journal about his controversial tenure in the federal government, his difficulty finding a job, and his plan to publish a book to set the record straight.

"...for some reason, I am portrayed as the one who is evil in formulating policies that people disagree with. I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror."

-Aman Batheja

Craddick to weigh next move at strategy session this Sunday

House Speaker Tom Craddick, faced with growing opposition in his bid for re-election to his leadership post, is calling supporters to Austin this weekend for a critical strategy session. One leading ally said the besieged House leader is expected to discuss whether he should stay in the race or withdraw.

“He’ll decide one way or the other,’’ said Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Chisum said he was invited by another Craddick ally who told him: “We’re having hamburgers and ice tea and we ain’t drinking no whiskey. We’re going to make some serious decisions.”

Alexis DeLee, Craddick’s communications director, confirmed the Sunday night meeting but said Craddick’s possible withdrawal from the speaker’s race “is not at all going to be part of the discussion.” Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, who plans to attend, also softened Chisum’s description of the gathering, calling it a fairly routine strategy session in advance of the upcoming 2009 Legislature.

Chisum said Craddick clearly has more support than any of his supporters but may be short of the needed 76 votes to win.

“I’m guessing in the numbers of 50 to 53, but that’s not enough to get there,’’ Chisum said. Craddick’s camp says the speaker has more than the needed majority but has not released a list of supporters.

 “At the end of the meeting, we’re going to have a plan,” Chisum said. “And the plan is that he stays and we’re going to do this and this. Or he decides that I can’t make it so you all need to move on.”

 One possibility, Chisum said, would be a “Plan B” option in which Craddick would withdraw and endorse another candidate.

 “If he thinks he’s got the votes, he’s going to move forward,” said Chisum. But, he said, “He’s as realist. If he can’t win, I’m confident he won’t take us down that road. If we’re going to win this, we’ve got to be sure we can.”

King, chairman of the Regulated Industries Committee, said Craddick has “told me on more than one occasion that if it ever got to the point that he didn’t think he could win he would be the first to withdraw and release his pledges.” But he said the speaker seems confident about his chances and predicted that he will win re-election.

He described the weekend gathering as “just a planning meeting to kind of see where everybody is at. I don’t think there is anything unusual or earth-shaking,” he said.

-Dave Montgomery

Will Tarrant area representatives back Craddick?

On May 25, 2007, House Speaker Tom Craddick sparked a late-night revolt in the Texas House when he asserted absolute authority to cut off any moves to boot him from office.

A day later, amid a tense environment in which some critics were hoping Craddick wouldn't last the week, the Star-Telegram polled Tarrant County area representatives about their position on Craddick's actions and his future as Speaker.

As the Speaker's race shifts into high gear, here's a reminder of where they all stood.

Poll: Sarah Palin more admired than Oprah

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton topped Gallup's annual list of the most admired men and women in America.

What may be more of a surprise is the rest of the list.

On the female side, Oprah Winfrey has held the second spot every year since 2002. This year, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shook things up by being the top choice of 11 percent of respondents, while Winfrey got 8 percent. Clinton beat them both with 20 percent. She won the poll last year too.

On the male side, Obama easily topped the poll with 32 percent of respondents naming him as the man they most admire. President George W. Bush, who came in first last year with a 10 percent showing, fell to second this year with 5 percent of the vote.

And proving that this may be the most unintentionally funny poll of the year, Laura Bush shares the number seven spot with Angelina Jolie while Bill Clinton landed in a three-way tie with Rev. Billy Graham and the Pope.

Here's a look at the full top ten:

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,008 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 12-14, 2008.

Click here for last year's poll results.

-Aman Batheja

Craddick ousted, Dems say; 76 in House pledge "no"

Texas Democrats announced Monday that 64 Democrats will not support Midland Republican Tom Craddick as Texas House Speaker, effectively throwing the speaker's race open.

The House Democratic Caucus, led by Waco Democrat Jim Dunnam, announced: "Today, the fact that there will be a new Speaker for the 81st Texas House of Representatives is established."

Twelve Republicans had already deserted Craddick, meaning that 76 House members are now publicly pledged against him.

Six Republicans are already running against Craddick with more expected to announce. Republicans dominate the House 76-74. (Ten Democrats have not opposed Craddick.)

The Democratic caucus statement said the 64 Democrats are pledged to "allowing each House member to represent their constituents to the best of their ability, and allow ideas, bills and policy to be dictated by the merits."

"I think today and tomorrow you'll see some of Craddick's lieutenants and committee chairs come out against his re-election," said River Oaks Republican Charlie Geren, a Craddick opponent ever since leaders tried to force through a school voucher plan that would have taken money from middle-income public schools in northwest Tarrant County.

"With Tom, you never say 'never,' " Geren said. "But I don't believe he will be the next speaker."

Geren said he expects at least one new candidate, maybe more. The six Republican challengers include Eastland Republican Jim Keffer.

Craddick has been House Speaker since 2003 when Republicans assumed control of the House. He has led the Republican Caucus for 20 years.

All the Tarrant County Democrats signed the pledge opposing Craddick.

--Bud Kennedy

From stage to podium? Georgetown actor-lawmaker challenges Craddick

According to the Austin American-Statesman's political blog, Wiliamson County Republican Dan Gattis is the latest Republican to announce that he will challenge incumbent Midland Republican Tom Craddick as speaker of the Texas House.

Gattis, a lawyer and amateur actor, becomes the sixth Republican to challenge Craddick along with six Democrats.

What's interesting about Gattis is that before he was elected to the House, he played a lawmaker on stage in a play, Sonny's Last Shot, about a young freshman who comes to Austin and gets wooed by the business lobby.

Writing about the play in The New York Times, playwright Lawrence Wright even had a throwaway line about how "Maybe one day he'll get elected speaker."

Several of Craddick's opponents have promised to unite behind one challenger -- probably not Gattis -- at an announcement Friday. The Republican challenges include Eastland Republican Jim Keffer, who represents Granbury.

Until we know more, here's the latest take from Texas Monthly political editor Paul Burka: Burkablog.

--Bud Kennedy

Report: Texas will get four extra seats in US House in 2010

As usual, New England's loss is Texas' gain.

Election Data Systems, a political demographics consulting firm, reports that updated census figures from July show that Texas is due three extra seats in the US House, and that will rise to four seats by the time apportionment happens in 2010.

The losers: Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Texas will gain more members in the House than any other state, according to the report. Four other states - Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Utah - would each gain a seat and Arizona would likely nab two. Depending on how population trends move in the next two years, Oregon, North Carolina and South Carolina might get extra seats too.

Thank (or blame) Texas' steady population growth, due in no small part to our state's stickiness.

And our neighbor to the east, Louisiana, has nearly recovered from its mass migration losses following Hurricane Katrina. If it hadn't, the state could have been due to lose more than just the one seat it's currently projected to give up.

"The severe decline in the state’s population as a result of Katrina in August 2005 has been nearly made up in the 2008 estimates. The state is just short of where its population was reported in 2000 with these new estimates," according to the report.

-Aman Batheja

Brimer turns down hypothetical job offer

 The Sunset Advisory Commission met in Austin this past week to talk about the beleaguered Texas Department of Transportation.

S-T transportation guru Gordon Dickson was there and so was Republican state Sen. Kim Brimer of Fort Worth, periodically chewing on his trademark cigar throughout the meeting. Brimer will lose his place on the Sunset Board next month after Democrat Wendy Davis takes over his seat in the state Senate. 

At Tuesday's meeting, as the board discussed replacing the five Transportation commissioners with a single transportation czar, lawmakers debated who would be qualified to be czar. After someone suggested that people who were recently members of the Texas Legislature should be barred from the job, state Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, offered a hypothetical.

“What if the governor wants to appoint Brimer?” asked Estes, tapping his outgoing colleague on the shoulder.

Brimer, who was seen by some as a transportation wonk in the State Senate, had been silent most of the day.

“You’d be a damn fool to take this job," Brimer said.

-Gordon Dickson and Aman Batheja