Hey, buddy, can you spare $15B in fees?

Yep, the Texas Lege is going to pass a balanced budget that will close a $27 billion gap (NOT $15 billion, you have to allow for natural growth in programs) without raising taxes or touching the rainy day fund.

Well, the GOP's backdoor taxes, otherwise known as fees, won't do it, no matter how laughably transparent they are.

Here's the one I love:

State employees and retirees who smoke would pay a $30-a-month "tobacco user monthly premium surcharge," raising an estimated $42 million for the budget.

Yep, that's from the same Rick Perry and GOP legislative wingnuts who want to "get government off the people's back."

I guess that doesn't include spying on state employees, let alone retirees, to see if they're smoking or not.

An "electronic filing of documents fee"? The state already charges you to renew a car registration online. So, are we going to get fee double-dipped?

Short answer? Of course we will.

You know what's coming?

You know how colleges, starting a couple of decades ago, started charging more and more activity and user fees?

Well, if you're sending a kid to public school ... don't be surprised if you get stuck with some fees. But, what about kids already on free lunches? Ahh, well, social Darwinism says they probably shouldn't be in school anyway.

Oh, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, are you really sure you want to get rid of your state's income tax and lean on sales taxes? (And double-dipping fees?)

And, do you want to base your optimism on such a revenue structure on nutbars such as former Texas Rep. Talmadge Heflin?

Those who had claimed a massive Texas budget shortfall made assumptions about future spending that do not square with the realities of the legislative budget process. Agencies present legislators with optimistic or inflated requests, and legislators almost always pare those back to fit within the available revenue. The paring is much more aggressive during revenue difficulties.

Texas. The Ponzi State.™

Perry kills full-day pre-kindergarten

Gov. Helmethair, aka Lil Ricky Perry, has released his final list of vetoes.

Besides killing HB 130 to fund full-day pre-kindergarten programs across the state, he also decided to get tough on crime by killing a Royce West bill, officially HB 3128 that would have allowed “statutory” sexual criminals not to have to register as sex offenders. He also vetoes SB 223, also with a West connection, which would have allowed a person completing deferred adjudication to be eligible for a pardon.

“Interestingly,” the Morning Snooze, in its story, while mentioning the “Romeo and Juliet” sex offender bill getting vetoed, says not a word about the full-day pre-K bill.

While the tough-on-crime vetoes may help him a bit with the GOP base against Kay Bailey Cheerleader, we’ve already seen that teachers and other educators can sway races, per a couple of state House races last year.

If he does beat Hutchison in the GOP primary, he just gave himself a deeper road to hoe in the 2010 general election.

Complete list of Perry final actions is below:

======

From: "Governor's Press Office"
Subject: Gov. Perry Announces Final Decisions on Legislation

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
R i c k P e r r y


AUSTIN ­ Gov. Rick Perry today announced his final decision on major
legislation passed by the 81st Legislature.

³I am proud of the accomplishments lawmakers made this session and thankful
for their solid leadership,² said Gov. Perry. ³However, there was some
legislation that, in its final form, would have done more harm than good to
our citizens. After thoroughly and thoughtfully reviewing all legislation, I
am confident that the final outcome of all bills passed will move Texas in
the right direction, equipping our state to answer future challenges and
providing better opportunities for all Texans.²

Gov. Perry signed legislation allowing public schools to purchase electronic
textbooks (HB 4294), and issued an accompanying executive order (see link
below to view) supporting the State Board of Education¹s (SBOE) role in the
electronic textbook approval process.

³This legislation will further propel Texas schools into the 21st century
and ensure that our students have access to the most up-to-date information
available in each subject,² said Gov. Perry. ³For districts that are ready
for the transition to technology, it will provide the flexibility to choose
an alternative to traditional textbooks to effectively educate students,
bringing technological advances to the classroom and enhancing our
children¹s learning environment.²

The governor also announced his veto of legislation that would create a new
pre-kindergarten education grant program (HB 130); however, a similar grant
program already exists. Consequently, Gov. Perry encourages the Texas
Education Agency to ensure the $25 million appropriated for HB 130 be used
to expand the number of students served by the existing pre-kindergarten
grant program which could reach 21,000 more students (a 305 percent
increase) over the next biennium than would have been served under HB 130.

Gov. Perry also vetoed SB 1440, which sought to clarify narrow and uncertain
guidelines set by the Gates v. Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory
Services (DFPS) court case. However, the bill goes too far. It creates
uncertainty about how DFPS would take children into custody which could
potentially infringe on the rights of parents and guardians.

³This court-created uncertainty is real and must be addressed, however I¹m
concerned SB 1440 overreaches and may not give due consideration to the
Fourth Amendment rights of a parent or guardian,² said Gov. Perry. ³I am
directing DFPS, to study the effect of the Gates decision on the ability of
the department to appropriately enter a residence and, if necessary, to
transport the child for interviews in a neutral location. I am also
directing the department to develop and recommend statewide procedures to
follow when seeking court orders without compromising the rights of parents
and families.²

To view the governor¹s executive order, please visit:
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/executive-order/12646/

To obtain statements regarding the governor¹s decisions, please visit:
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/bills/

The following bills and resolutions were filed without the governor¹s
signature:

HB 770 by Howard,Donna
Sponsor: Jackson, Mike
Relating to ad valorem tax relief for an owner of certain property,
including a residence homestead that is rendered uninhabitable or unusable
by a casualty or by wind or water damage, and to a restriction on the
authority to bring an action to remove a house that is partially located on
a public beach as a result of a meteorological event.

HB 1275 by Kohlkorst Sponsor: Hegar
Relating to the authority to impose a county hotel occupancy tax.

HB 3076 by Deshotel Sponsor: West
Relating to a parenting and paternity awareness program used in the health
curriculum for public schools.

SB 575 by Davis, Wendy
Sponsor: Shelton
Relating to the time for dissolution of crime control and prevention
districts and to certain taxes imposed by such districts or by fire control,
prevention, and emergency medical services districts.

SB 1219 by Averitt Sponsor: Deshotel
Relating to a parenting and paternity awareness component of the health
curriculum used in public high schools.

SB 1681 by Hinojosa Sponsor: Gallego
Relating to requiring the corroboration of certain testimony to support a
criminal conviction.

SB 1717 by West Sponsor: Davis,
Yvonne
Relating to regulation of owners of developments supported with low income
housing tax credit allocations and of housing sponsors of certain
multifamily housing developments.

HCR 237 by Hilderbran
Sponsor: Fraser
Designating the Brady World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-off as the official
Texas State Goat Barbecue Championship Cook-off.

HCR 282 by Coleman
Instructing the enrolling clerk of the house to make corrections in H.B.
3485.

The following bills and resolutions were vetoed by Gov. Perry:

HB 103 by Brown, Fred
Sponsor: Patrick, Dan
Relating to health benefit plans for students at institutions of higher
education and the operation of certain health benefit plans through student
health centers at certain institutions of higher education.

HB 130 by Patrick Sponsor: Zaffirini
Relating to an enhanced quality full-day prekindergarten program provided by
public school districts in conjunction with community providers.

HB 518 by Kohlkorst
Sponsor: Van de Putte
Relating to programs to provide student loan repayment assistance for
certain correctional officers, for certain speech-language pathologists and
audiologists, and for certain mathematics and science teachers.

HB 821 by Leibowitz Sponsor: Watson
Relating to the sale, recovery, and recycling of certain television
equipment; providing administrative penalties.

HB 1293 by Eiland
Sponsor: Ellis
Relating to the sale and marketing of life insurance and annuities.

HB 1457 by Hochberg
Sponsor: Duncan
Relating to procedures concerning verification of certain information
submitted in a voter registration application.

HB 2142 by McClendon
Sponsor: Carona
Relating to the promotion of toll projects by the Texas Department of
Transportation.

HB 2656 by Miller, Doug
Sponsor: Duncan
Relating to the composition of the board of trustees of the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas.

HB 2692 by Rodriguez
Sponsor: Watson
Relating to certain municipal requirements regarding sales of residential
properties in certain areas.

HB 2820 by Chisum
Sponsor: Wentworth
Relating to contracts by governmental entities for professional services
relating to geoscience and landscape architecture.

HB 2888 by Martinez
Sponsor: West
Relating to financial assistance administered by the Texas Department of
Housing and Community Affairs.

HB 3148 by Smith, Todd
Sponsor: West
Relating to exempting certain young persons who are convicted of an offense
involving consensual sex from the requirement of registering as a sex
offender in this state.

HB 3202 by Bonnen
Sponsor: Jackson
Relating to authorizing the transfer of certain real property held by the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

HB 3346 by Farabee
Sponsor: Averitt
Relating to gas utilities and gas storage facilities.

HB 3481 by Veasey
Sponsor: Harris
Relating to the expunction of records and files relating to a person's
arrest.

HB 3485 by Coleman
Sponsor: West
Relating to certain county, municipal, district, and other governmental
functions, procedures, powers, duties, and services, including certain
criminal procedures.

HB 3515 by Dunnam
Sponsor: Carona
Relating to the creation of the offense of failure to report barratry and
solicitation of employment.

HB 3983 by Rodriguez
Sponsor: Watson
Relating to the imposition of property taxes on the residential homesteads
of low-income and moderate-income persons.

HB 4068 by Gonzales
Sponsor: Hinojosa
Relating to the conduct of judicial proceedings and transaction of other
essential judicial functions in the event of a disaster.

HB 4685 by Homer
Sponsor: Eltife
Relating to the County Court of Titus County.

SB 223 by West
Sponsor: Thompson
Relating to allowing a person who successfully completes a term of deferred
adjudication community supervision to be eligible for a pardon.

SB 434 by Wentworth
Sponsor: Bolton
Relating to the establishment and operation of a public transit
motor-bus-only lane pilot program in certain counties.

SB 488 by Ellis
Sponsor: Harper-Brown
Relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in the vicinity of a vulnerable
road user; providing penalties.

SB 686 by Davis, Wendy
Sponsor: Orr
Relating to the installation, maintenance, or operation of natural gas
pipelines on state highways and highway and county road rights-of-way.

SB 978 by West
Sponsor: Elkins, Coleman
Relating to the creation and financing of public improvement districts.

SB 1206 by Hinojosa
Sponsor: Edwards
Relating to the release from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of
certain inmates who complete a rehabilitation program.

SB 1343 by Hinojosa
Sponsor: Gonzales
Relating to the formula funding for public institutions of higher education
for certain credit hours that do not count toward a degree.

SB 1440 by Watson
Sponsor: Madden
Relating to orders and judgments rendered by associate judges in child
support and child protection cases and to the investigation of child abuse
and neglect.

SB 1760 by Watson
Sponsor: Branch
Relating to the administration of the Texas Save and Match Program to assist
qualifying beneficiaries under the state's prepaid tuition plans and college
savings plans and to the treatment of a beneficiary's assets under prepaid
tuition plans and college savings plans in determining eligibility for
student financial assistance and other assistance programs.

SB 2141 by Wentworth
Sponsor: Hughes
Relating to the statute of repose for engineers and architects.

SB 2169 by Ellis
Sponsor: Alvarado
Relating to the establishment of a smart growth policy work group and the
development of a smart growth policy for this state.

SB 2325 by Hinojosa
Sponsor: Madden
Relating to the confidentiality of certain information pertaining to the
State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

SB 2468 by Gallegos
Sponsor: Coleman
Relating to the postemployment activities of certain local government
officers in certain counties; providing a penalty.

SB 2558 by Gallegos
Sponsor: Thompson
Relating to the promotion and marketing of alcoholic beverages.

HCR 161 by Burnam
Sponsor: Davis, Wendy
Granting John Cook permission to sue the Benbrook Water Authority.

HCR 252 by Thompson
Sponsor: Averitt
Requesting the governor to appoint a Governor's Task Force on Horse and
Greyhound Racing.

SCR 59 by Jackson
Sponsor: Taylor
Granting MBP Corporation permission to sue the Board of Trustees of the
Galveston Wharves.

Sayonara for Kid CraddicK?

We can only hope — right, Helen Giddings?

With Democrats gaining a minimum of two seats in the Texas House and possibly even the four seats necessary to knot the House at 75-all, Tom Craddick’s days as Speaker might be numbered.

Unlike 2006, no “name” Republicans have filed for the seat, but Longview’s Tommy Merritt has thrown in his hat.

Numerous Democrats are interested:

Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, and Rep. Allan Ritter, D-Nederland, both filed for the speaker contest Wednesday.

Both are popular moderates, considered able to work with Republicans. Other Democrats in the race are Houston Reps. Sylvester Turner, a friend of Mr. Craddick, and Senfronia Thompson, a popular liberal member.

But, “Craddick Democrats” like DeSoto’s Helen Giddings are going to have to break their addiction, stop claiming they can deliver more for their districts by siding with Craddick, and do the right thing.

Especially if Dems get four seats and Craddick Democrats like Giddings remain stubborn, they could end on the wrong side of the vote and wind up in the political wilderness.

Dallas-Texas results

Update 11:15 p.m. – Snooze says it could weel be a wash on state House races statewide.

Update 10:25 p.m. – Sheriff's race called for Valdez.

Update 9:45 p.m. – Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie says he thinks Texas should have 2 to 5 more Dems in the state House and that he's being conservative.

Lupe Valdez well ahead of Lowell Cannaday in early returns for Dallas County sheriff.

Kim Brimer behind early in his Senate District 10 re-election bid against Wendy Davis.

Carol Kent up on Tony Goolsby in House 102.

Republican Linda Harper-Brown also trailing. And in another Republican-held seat, Democrat Robert Miklos leads Mike Anderson.

Parkland bond is passing easily. Good.

Unfortunately, the near-dead, near-comatose Ralph Hall is still leading in re-election to U.S. House District 4 so far.

Info per Dallas Morning News and its Trailblazers blog.

Election watching tips

Yes, this one would definitely be a good one. Indiana’s polls close at 6 Eastern. If the race is tightly fought, it’s good for Obama. If the state is being called for Obama, election over! Next, if Virginia is called early for Obama, election over.

Salon has more tips — are undecideds breaking for Obama? How strong the youth vote?

And the gray-haired lady has its own checklist, done to the theme of a seven-course meal.

Finally, the Dallas Morning News has a time-scheduled watch list for both state and national elections.

Overstuffed by election news? Salon has movie recommendations.

Intrade - Texas House

Sunday, The Dallas Morning News had wrap-up/overview articles on north Texas state House races in tighter contests. (Sorry, I didn't save half a dozen links.)

From what I read, I wouldn't be surprised if Democrats don't have a couple of pickups here. Statewide, I'm still not thinking they'll have enough for a majority, but they will have enough for some Republican to consider challenging Kid Craddick again, and know he doesn't have to find as much support from Craddick Democrats.

Whether anybody will make that effort or not is, of course, another issue.

Does Yvonne Davis even know her district's boundaries?

When I went to vote early today, it was here in DeSoto, where I live.

DeSoto, every square mile of it, is in Helen Giddings' House District 109. But, somebody from Yvonne Davis, whose District 111 is generally northwest of Giddings' district, was passing out campaign flyers.

Yes, it was early voting and you can vote anywhere, but, still, the staffer should have been asking people if they were from Duncanville or southwest Dallas, at least.

This certainly doesn't help Davis' reputation in either Dallas or Austin political circles.

Turn out Rick Noriega’s lights, the party’s over?

Rasmussen’s new poll has Big Bad John Cornyn up by a whopping 55-40 margin and even worse for Rick Noriega, up 54-32 among unaffiliated voters. Plus, amazingly, Cornyn still has a better favorable/unfavorable ratio.

And, spare me the claims of Rasmussen’s GOP bias. Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight says it ain’t true.

As I’ve blogged before, there’s going to be plenty of finger-pointing, and even a circular firing squad or two, if Cornyn actually winds up with a double-digit win.

I would prefer seeing the circle-jerk within Kos and other MSLBs even more than that within the Texas Democratic Party.

Texas early voting and SocraticGadfly endorsements

The Texas Secretary of State’s office has a full list of candidates statewide.

Information about top Dallas County races is here and on the Dallas County Elections is website; sample ballot here (PDF).

For President/Vice President:
• Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente. They are NOT listed on the ballot by name, but YES, you can write them in. Ask an election clerk for help.

Federal races?
• Rick Noriega for U.S. Senate. He’ll be better than John Cornyn, and has looked somewhat better as a candidate himself in recent days.
• Libertarian Jarrett Woods in U.S. House District 30. Eddie Bernice Johnson was a timid Johnny-come-lately on Iraq War progressive issues. Within her district, she long opposed phase-out of the Wright Amendment for personal reasons — her bookstores at D/FW Airport — against the interests of one of the largest corporate taxpayers and employers in her district, Southwest Airlines. She needs to go. Unfortunately, there’s no Green third-party opponent and I’m not endorsing a Republican.
Also, at least here in the ’burbs, EBJ has a customer service problem of sorts. I don’t know how things are in the Dallas portion of her district, but I never once saw here in Lancaster in six-plus years as community newspaper editor there. In contrast, I’ve seen Kenny Marchant multiple times at Cedar Hill or join south suburban Dallas events in just 13 months.

State office races?
• State Senate District 23? Royce West continues to get things done in a bipartisan fashion without selling out core principals.
• In State House District 109, Libertarian Kevin Jackson over incumbent Democrat Helen Giddings. This “Craddick Democrat” needs the boot for that reason alone.
• I don’t like Texas’ method of electing state judges in partisan races, and therefore refuse to endorse anybody.

Local races
• Lupe Valdez in the Dallas County Sheriff’s race. This is as much an endorsement against Lowell Cannaday, although I have nothing against him as a person and also abhor the idea of electing sheriffs. But, first, Cannaday is 71; is he old enough to bring new thinking to the department. And, I think that, if for no other reason than to push back against some of the recent sexual orientation smear, Valdez deserves four more years.
• John Ames of DeSoto for tax assessor-collector. Another office I’m not sure should be elected, but it is, and Ames is a local. South of the Trinity needs a few more countywide offices.

Texas Senate debate II liveblogging

Grades and wrap-up at the bottom

First, an apology; I got here late due to having to repair an old, crashing computer at work, but I listened to the radio broadcast on the way home.

I heard some HUGE hypocrisy from Cornyn.

Claiming he is FOR more financial sector legislation, that he wants grand juries looking at Wall Street, etc. Utter bullshit. The rest of the debate was in this same vein, of Cornyn fighting "entrenched Washington" while striving for bipartisanship.

Cornyn apparently pulled up Texas House Dems' flight to Ardmore over the redistricting fracas at some time, too. I heard him reference Ardmore at about 8:20.

He then said Noriega wouldn't do anything re a bailout. And then, he said the bailout brought tax benefits to Texas. Noriega did some instant judo on that, with the pork for wooden arrows, Puerto Rican rum, etc.

For Rick Noriega, at least, he seems more fired up than the first debate.

8:33 Gromer Jeffers asks great question about addressing poverty

Cornyn talks about getting people opportunities to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

Noriega: “Some people don’t have boots.”

8:35 Cornyn – nobody likes the way Washington works in a non-bipartisan sense. Another lie. This one coming from Bush’s Texas lapdog, vs. his No. 10 Downing Street lapdog.

8:39 Cornyn opposing TXU’s coal plants now?

8:40 I LOVE the idea of the video clip interview as a debate question set-up.

8:41 Cornyn – Noriega health plan will cause rationing, etc.

Hey, John, we ration healthcare now.

8:44 Paul Burka asks if Cornyn has pushed Perry and Craddick to do more at the state level with S-CHIP.

8:48 Noriega – government as “negotiator” for lower insurance rates. Sounds a bit brreaucratic, and convoluted.

8:52 Interesting final question by KERA’s Shelly Kofler – both candidates asked to pretend being a small businessman themselves, with a crew of illegals showing up.

Noriega tries to dodge, then says, “I don’t look and assume. It’s not a fair question.”
Cornyn agrees system is broken, including the documentation part of it. Rides Noriega's coattails without having to offer up his own dodge.

But, is it broken? Immigration and Customs’ raids on meatpacking plants show the documentation of workers is not a broken part of the system. ICE knew who to arrest, and later, on the "Iowa Kosher" plant, was able to figure out who was underage.

Yes, some aspects of the system may be broken, but the system as a whole is not broken as far as what it's supposed to do. What's broken is the issue of how seriously we want to sanction employers and how seriously we want to monitor the border.

Noriega also whiffed on a shot to look at trade issues and foreign policy in this context.

So, both candidates dodge the question. Or, both lie about it.

Cornyn closing. Thanks, etc., and re-elect me.

Noriega. “This government is in the ditch.” (Earlier, he mentioned lack of trust in the system.) He should have condensed his thank-yous to the bare minimum, though.

Wrap-up: Noriega did better than in the first debate. Seemed somewhat more vigorous, but somewhat overprepped at the same time. He gets a B-minus overall.

Cornyn gets a C-minus. It was a nice attempt of his to try to be "Mr. Outsider," but I think Cornyn pinned enough Bush on him for a bit of it to stick. But, Cornyn may be able to dodge the worst.

Bottom line? It's still Cornyn's election to lose, but the margin for losing tightened at least a little. I still say Dem 527 groups should fund Libertarian Yvonne Schick to bite at Cornyn from the farther right.

GOP behind Texas vote scam?

I guess Texas House races are the driver

An apparent mass-blast e-mail is claming a straight Dem vote won’t record an Obama vote.

Not true. In fact, Texas Democratic Party spokesman Hector Nieto said it’s just the opposite.

With eSlate, punching the button for Obama after punching the straight-ticket button will actually cancel the straight-ticket vote.

So, I’d say this is a way to try to negate Democratic votes for down-ballot races, and a sign the GOP is running scared on the Texas House flipping as a result of this election.

Anybody wanna check Tom Craddick’s computer?

Sean at FiveThirtyEight drinks Noriega Kool-Aid

Sean Quinn at FiveThirtyEight.com says Rick Noriega is “a credible candidate in the Lone Star State.”

Either Sean is uninformed, he’s delusional, or he’s right, in the sense that Texas Dems have a fairly low “credibility bar” for statewide office. Here’s what I told Sean:

Sean, has Noriega been selling you some cheap crack? He’s NOT that credible; he’s a bland and relatively uninspiring speaker/campaigner, he ran too hard too long on his “I’m a war veteran” shtick, has been an indifferent fundraiser (Mikal Watts and his private war chest would have been a MUCH better choice.) And, it ‘s not just Noriega; can the Texas Dems as a party not raise money?

Hell, he just barely avoided a primary runoff against a teacher (halfway legitimate opponent), a security guard and the “other” Gene Kelly.

As for “winners,” by her not acting too bat crazy, I said Libertarian Yvonne Schick won the first Senate debate. Maybe Noriega would be more likely to win if liberal 527s would back-door Schick some money, especially (and, I’m not joking) if she could get a Kinky Friedman endorsement.

Beyond that let’s not forget Noriega barely avoided a primary runoff against a halfway credible schoolteacher, a security guard and the “other” Gene Kelly.

Noriega can still "sell" me if he does a hell of a lot better in the second debate.

Cornyn-Noriega debate I wrap-up

Here’s my wrap on the first John Cornyn-Rick Noriega Texas Senate debate, liveblogged here.

That said, first of all, Jim Lehrer, Tom Brokaw and especially Gwen Ifill could learn boatloads about how to run a debate from the moderator and panelists tonight.

Second, the Commission on Presidential Debates could learn have to have something closer to a real debate.

OK, how did the candidates do, and how does this play out politically?

Libertarian Yvonne Schick got enough exposure to not seem a total whacko, and yes, the bailout may have sent a lot of phone calls to her website. What would really help her?

A halfway endorsement, or hat tip, from Paul. Or, without a full-fledged embrace, some sort of favorable comment from Kinky Friedman.

That said, what if she pulls down 5 percent of the vote Nov. 4? And, should some Democratic-focused 527 look at funneling her money?

Second, Cornyn made no huge gaffes, but just took a detour around the truth on some bailout-related issues and healthcare. His version of “there you go again,” told in two or three different ways, didn’t sound convincing.

Noriega did a solid but not spectacular job of selling himself. He needs to set his pants on fire in the second debate or we can finish writing him off.

And, if it turns out that in Kentucky, a Democrat can pull down powerhouse Mitch McConnell, but Noriega can’t topple a one-term senator, it’s going to reflect badly on both him and the Texas Democratic Party.

Grades? Schick B/B-minus. Noriega B-minus. Cornyn B-minus/C.

Beyond the grades, Schick is the biggest winner by far for the visibility factor with only a moderate kookiness level attached.

Liveblogging Cornyn-Noriega debate I

So far, Noriega has had some decent talking points but not inspiration. Cornyn got called out on using tax cuts for rich as part of paying for bailout, and whiffed.

Libertarian Yvonne Schick? A lot of people say her time in the debate hurts Noriega by taking time away from him. But, it may help if she is halfway intelligent, in taking votes away from Cornyn. OTOH, she's thrown out an occasional doozy.

And, she's a Scientologist to boot? Whooooo.....

8:23 Noriega both good and bad on immigration, as far as political play.

The good? Talking about how the Cornyn plan would take private property from Americans.

The bad? Talking about expanding visas.

8:26 Cornyn lies about Medicare fraud, and doesn’t put it into context of fraud in private insurance, where fraud is higher.

As for the S-CHIP lack of sign-ups, that’s an issue that’s ultimately at Rick Perry’s feet. And Noriega is whiffing on chance after chance to ion the tail of Perry as well as Bush to Cornyn’s backside.

That said, Cornyn is right that Medicare is in shakier straits by far than Social Security. And, speaking of which...

8:32 Noriega nails Cornyn on wanting to privatize Social Security in light of the Dow's bleeding the last couple of weeks.

Good question on gun shows and sales loophole – well-phrased. Schick doesn’t describe how closing this loophole would somehow infringe that right.

Noriega schwaffles and panders to Texas chapter of NRA.

Cornyn stresses his Texas AG fence.

8:36 Patriot Act – Schick is right… repeal it. Noriega’s “review” it is weak.

8:40 Fairness Doctrine? Another good question.

Cornyn goes in the tank for Big Media. Schick is hard-core libertarian. Noriega twists answer to Cornyn opposing journalism shield law.

8:42 War on Drugs – David Jones asking another damn good question.

Noriega – I’m law and order from my border service. Cornyn – I was Texas AG, remember! Schick – End the WOD.

8:45 Earmarks – Cornyn – I’m seeing the light of transparency. Schick – cut government. Noriega – I oppose; why did bailout have to have sugar attached, rather than homeowner help.

8:47 Public campaign finance – Schick – take a guess. Noriega – “get money out of politics,” then talks about money in judiciary, which is a state not a federal issue. Cornyn – against.

David Jones then tanks with a “wow, Barack Obama” question for Noriega, as wild cards go to one candidate, no follow-up.

Schick asked on Bob Barr support. Supports most, but disagrees with him “dissing” Ron Paul, when it was actually the other way around.

Cornyn – what to do w/Mexican drug cartels? Do what we can, but Mexico is sovereign.

Clean air or political smog on DFW air quality?

State Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth organized a Metroplex air quality meeting at UT-Arlington yesterday, but his Democratic election opponent, Wendy Davis, charged him with “shameless election-year pandering.”

Bremer sponsored Senate Bill 1177 in the 79th Legislature in 2007, to require new air quality testing at Midlothian cement kilns but Davis charged that he had been AWOL or in opposition on several other air quality issue.

Two months left; with both House and Senate Republicans having a number of individual seats under strong challenge, and worried about losing control of the Lege, especially in the House, will we see more “hearings” held by various incumbents in coming weeks?