Politics
Austin yards aren't yielding large crop of campaign signs for president
By Claire Osborn, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1 March2008
AUSTIN – Ellen Evgenides grinned when asked about the sign on her lawn resembling a billboard, visible to the drivers constantly streaming down Northland Drive in Northwest Austin.
Texas turnout may bring historic shifts at polls
By W. Gardner Selby, Juan Castillo, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN – The 2008 Democratic presidential race was already primed for the history books, with the early front-runner angling to become the first woman elected to the White House and the late front-runner seeking to become the first African American president.
Early-voting turnout turns heads
By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER / The Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
DALLAS – Ginny Caylor showed up to vote Friday morning at DeSoto Junior High School East and turned right around when she saw the lines.
Early voter turnout in Texas primary shatters records
By AMAN BATHEJA, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 March 2008
FORT WORTH – Early voting in Texas' March 4 primary ended Friday with turnout numbers that shattered all records, indicating that Texans are well aware of the pivotal importance the state may play in picking the presidential nominees.
Economy's holding up, but Texas voters think ahead
By BRUCE TOMASO and DAVID McLEMORE / The Dallas Morning News, 29 February 2008
DALLAS – For Texas voters, it isn't quite the economy, stupid.
For Democrats, Texas' faithful voters play a valued role
By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN – Not everybody was happy last year when the Democratic Party in Texarkana started selling T-shirts bearing a Bible verse and the words "Christian Democrat," John Delk recalls.
Undecided Democrats seek direction in person
By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
FORT WORTH – When Natalie Rossorelli turned up at the rally for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on a sunny Saturday morning, she did it for her family.
Release of Democratic caucus results is at issue
By GROMER JEFFERS Jr. / The Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
DALLAS – The spin tussle about the Texas primary results are starting even before the voting has finished.
Democrats' rhetoric heats up over caucuses
By JAY ROOT, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 March 2008
AUSTIN – Barack Obama's presidential campaign said Friday that Hillary Clinton, fearing a defeat in Texas, is trying to undermine confidence in the process by raising the specter of a chaotic and legally questionable election on Tuesday.
State's Democratic Party braces for lawsuit
By JAY ROOT, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 February 2008
AUSTIN – The Texas Democratic Party is warning that its primary night caucuses could be delayed or disrupted after aides to White House hopeful Hillary Clinton raised the specter of an "imminent" lawsuit over its complicated delegate selection process, officials said Thursday night.
When it's time to caucus, the process gets more complicated
By Chuck Lindell, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN – For Texas Democrats, the chance to vote twice in the presidential primary has produced an unwelcome result: twice the confusion.
Texas Democrats choose delegates in confusing way
By Chuck Lindell, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN – Before Tuesday night is over, Texans will probably know whether Sen. Hillary Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama received the most Democratic primary votes. But neither candidate is expected to dominate the all-important delegate count.
Texas Two-Step
Lufkin Daily News, 2 March2008
AUSTIN — Barack Obama has a secret weapon in Tuesday's Democratic primary in Texas, pretty well-known in these parts: George W. Bush.
GOP keeps delegate choices simpler
By Chuck Lindell, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN – When it comes to choosing their national delegates, Texas Republicans have a mercifully simple process.
Sam Johnson puts past differences aside, endorses McCain for president
By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
SAN ANTONIO – They shared a cell at the Hanoi Hilton for 18 months, but in Congress, Rep. Sam Johnson of Plano and Sen. John McCain have had an arms-length and often frosty relationship.
Lucio III: Obama can come around to Valley's view of NAFTA, border fence
By Joey Gomez, Rio Grande Guardian, 1 March 2008
BROWNSVILLE – Barack Obama’s top surrogate in the Rio Grande Valley believes the Illinois senator will moderate his position on NAFTA and the border wall as he learns more about what makes the border tick.
Gohmert Blasts Obama’s Proposals
BY PHILLIP WILLIAMS, Tyler Morning Telegraph, 3 March 2008
GILMER – U.S. Rep. Louis Gohmert, at a Republican dinner in Gilmer on Saturday, said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposed health care plan is “scary stuff,” and assailed Obama’s proposal to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Hillary Rodham Clinton camp: Obama needs to sweep March 4 primaries
By CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
WACO – The Clinton campaign engaged in its own form of political poker, trying to reverse expectations and raise the stakes on Barack Obama by suggesting that if he doesn't win all four primaries on Tuesday, then it shows voters are losing confidence in him.
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama spar over experience vs. judgment
By CHRISTY HOPPE and TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
DALLAS – The Lone Star showdown roared into its final stretch Saturday, Hillary Rodham Clinton assailing Barack Obama's campaign as being built entirely on one anti-war speech six years ago and Mr. Obama questioning her judgment on what he calls the most important decision this decade: going to war in Iraq.
Mariachis play at Clinton rallies to preserve tradition, not push politics
By MICHAEL E. YOUNG / The Dallas Morning News, 3 March 2008
DALLAS – Call Ernesto Alonzo a mariachi without parallel, and without a party.
Poll shows Dems tied in Texas
By JAY ROOT, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN – Hillary Clinton is favored by Hispanics, women and lower-income Anglos. Barack Obama has basically sewn up the black vote and does well among men and wealthy suburbanites.
At Clinton, Obama campaign offices, volunteers work with urgency
By JEFFREY WEISS / The Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
DALLAS – Here's what you probably won't find this week at the respective Dallas headquarters of the Clinton and Obama campaigns: Smokey rooms, suits, loudly ringing telephones, hordes of volunteers stuffing envelopes, a majority of people over 35.
Obama, Clinton campaigns tout vigorous volunteer efforts in Central Texas
By W. Gardner Selby, Andrea Lorenz and Miguel Liscano, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1 March 2008
AUSTIN – Austin-area volunteers for Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton are doing far more than the typical telephoning of voters at dinner time.
The final push
By Melissa Mixon, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 3 March 2008
AUSTIN – As of 5 p.m. Sunday, Laura Smith might have been among a small number of people in Austin who hadn't been called by a campaign volunteer and asked to vote for one of this year's Democratic presidential hopefuls.
East Texas may hold key to Democratic primary
By R.G. RATCLIFFE and PEGGY FIKAC, Houston Chronicle, 1 March 2008
AUSTIN — Battleground Texas in the Democratic presidential primary is firming up, with Hillary Rodham Clinton in control of South Texas and Barack Obama apparently owning Houston and Dallas, a new tracking poll shows.
Dallas volunteers key to Democrats' Texas primary push
By BRUCE TOMASO and DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News, 3 March 2008
DALLAS – Sixteen-year-old Kristina Ferguson took her SATs Saturday morning.
MoveOn.org phone banks aim to ring up Texas votes for Barack Obama
By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News, 3 March 2008
AUSTIN – Phones were ringing in up to half a million Texas homes Sunday night, with the callers all saying the same thing:
With Edwards out, Obama enjoys fundraising lead over
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
AUSTIN – Barack Obama, after trailing Hillary Rodham Clinton in the chase for Texas money last year, has turned the tables on her – bolstered partly by the financial support of Democrats defecting from John Edwards.
As Texas primary nears, Clinton to try to siphon votes as Obama works to keep momentum
By GROMER JEFFERS JR. and CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
DALLAS – The fight for Texas is a tossup and could be decisive in the Democratic presidential race.
Obama, Clinton courting Texas' undecided voters
By CLAY ROBISON, Houston Chronicle, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN — Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama will be winging back to Texas for a series of eleventh-hour appearances today, each fighting to close the deal with a dwindling number of undecided voters.
Interview with Barack Obama
BY REBECCA HOLM, VICTORIA ADVOCATE, 2 March 2008
VICTORIA – South Texas is important to Sen. Barack Obama.
Crowd finally hears Bill
Abilene Reporter-News, 3 March 2008
ABILENE – Bill Clinton was about three hours late Sunday – but those who waited got what they came for.
Many wait extra 2 hours for Bill Clinton in Wichita Falls
Houston Chronicle, 2 March 2008
WICHITA FALLS — About 200 in the crowd of nearly 1,500 went home Sunday night when Bill Clinton was more than two hours late to a rally for his wife's presidential bid, but those who stayed cheered wildly throughout his speech.
Bill stumps in Aggieland
By CRAIG KAPITAN, Bryan-College Station Eagle
COLLEGE STATION – With Tuesday's Texas primary vital to keeping Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign afloat, the candidate sent her husband Sunday to a place few other national Democratic figures have bothered to visit – College Station.
Bill Clinton rallies voters
By Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News, 2 March 2008
WICHITA FALLS – With less than 48 hours to go before the crucial Texas Democratic Primary, former president Bill Clinton flew into Wichita Falls late Sunday to campaign for his wife. Sen. Hillary Clinton is locked in a battle with Sen. Barack Obama for Texas’ 193 delegates to the nominating convention.
Clinton goes to church, stumps for wife in Houston
By TARA DOOLEY and CINDY HORSWELL, Houston Chronicle, 2 March 2008
HOUSTON – After attending the early-morning service Sunday at Lakewood Church with his daughter, Chelsea, Bill Clinton rallied Hillary Clinton supporters at Mason Park Gazebo.
Candidates shift views of NAFTA in Texas and Ohio
Houston Chronicle, 1 March 2008
LAREDO — If the shuttered factories that dot the Ohio landscape tell the story of NAFTA, so too do the miles of trucks carrying auto parts, fruit and tequila across the Mexican border through this booming port city in South Texas.
El Paso experts say Obama should win in Texas
By Brandi Grissom, El Paso Times, 3 March 2008
AUSTIN – There's a political spark on the UTEP campus this year that Professor Kathleen Staudt said she has never seen before.
Clinton TV ad questions Obama's ability to lead during crisis
By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
SAN ANTONIO – Hillary Rodham Clinton dramatized concerns that Barack Obama is ill-prepared to lead in a crisis, setting off a daylong feud over experience with a TV ad that evoked for Texas voters and viewers a red phone ringing in the wee hours at the White House.
Obama, Clinton wooing Hispanic voters with Spanish ads
By JAMES PINKERTON, Houston Chronicle, 1 March 2008
HOUSTON – It's not just a battle of speeches and campaign stops, but of mariachi bands, heartfelt corridos and slogans set to a rousing Reggaeton beat.
Despite Obama's native-son aura, area's Africans split
By LESLIE CASIMIR, Houston Chronicle, 1 March 2008
HOUSTON – For Houston's burgeoning community of continental Africans, the choice on Tuesday would seem easy:
Christian Right not yielding Texas to McCain
By KATHRINE SCHMIDT, Houston Chronicle, 1 March 2008
WASHINGTON — Arizona Sen. John McCain may have the Republican nomination all but sewn up, but some Christian conservatives seem determined to put up a fight for Mike Huckabee in the Lone Star State.
Huckabee's Fort Worth stop may be in vain, but staying in the race isn't
By DAVE LEVINTHAL AND BRENDAN McKENNA / The Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
FORT WORTH – Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee fortified his campaign trail credentials Friday afternoon by attempting, in the time honored name of political kitsch, to lasso a fake steer.
Huckabee tells Lubbock rally vote still counts
By Eric Finley, LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL, 1 March 2008
LUBBOCK – One man held a sign that read "Chuck Norris for vice president," and the actor got almost as many cheers as the man he was there to introduce.
Huckabee tries to lasso votes in Cowtown
By ANNA M. TINSLEY, Fort Wroth Star-Telegram, 1 March 2008
FORT WORTH – Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee stood in the middle of the Stockyards on Friday afternoon, swinging a rope and trying to lasso a bale of hay.
Huckabee stumps in Houston
By BENNETT ROTH, Houston Chronicle, 2 March 2008
HOUSTON – Mike Huckabee suggested that he might not bow to pressure from many Republicans to drop out after the March 4 primary even though he can't win enough delegates to prevent John McCain from getting the GOP nomination.
Huckabee Hustles to Border
By ASHLEY RICHARDS, LAREDO MORNING TIMES, 2 March 2008
LAREDO – Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, flanked by Chuck Norris, Minutemen founder Jim Gilchrist and U.S. Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, stood beneath Laredo's railroad bridge near the riverbank Saturday morning advocating stronger border security, including constructing a border fence, having more law enforcement and eliminating carrizo.
Log Cabin Republicans seek change in party's stance on gays
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
DALLAS – Like many Republicans, Rob Schlein advocates low taxes, limited government and a robust national defense.
In Senate race, Democratic rivals hope this is Gene Kelly's last dance
By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN – Two Democrats have spent many weeks crisscrossing Texas to win their party's nod for U.S. Senate.
What's in a name?
Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
DALLAS – Gene Kelly, a retired Air Force lawyer, has never held public office, but he's run repeatedly for statewide office as a Democrat.
Noriega: Cornyn not right candidate for East Texans
By Jamaal E. O'Neal, Longview News-Journal, 2 March 2008
LONGVIEW – Texas representative and Texas U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega, D-Houston, blasted Sen. John Cornyn for abandoning Texas values and siding with private interests at a Saturday campaign stop in Longview at the Gregg County Democratic Party headquarters.
Opponent challenges Rep. Noriega to release utility lobbying records
By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News, 29 February 2008
AUSTIN – Ray McMurrey, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, released his teaching records Thursday and challenged opponent Rick Noriega to do the same with his utility lobbying records.
Longevity could hurt Ralph Hall in 4th Congressional District race
By JIM GETZ / The Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
DALLAS – From the Boiler Room Coffee Bar in Sherman to the Plain & Fancy Sandwich Shoppe in Sulphur Springs – and all the stretches of gently rolling ranchland dotted with campaign signs in between – people know Ralph Hall, or at least who he is.
Ads spark quarrel between Congressional competitors
By Guillermo X. Garcia, San Antonio Express-News, 1 March 2008
SAN ANTONIO – The mudslinging in the Congressional District 23 Republican primary deepened over the weekend, as accusations about distorted records and misleading campaign ads heated up what is considered an already tight race.
Republicans targeting House seats that were lost in 2006 to Lampson, Rodriguez
Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
SAN ANTONIO – Republicans still hot over the loss of two congressional districts to Democrats in 2006 – seats that traditionally have been theirs to hold – are looking to win them back this fall.
Criticism of Texas Supreme Court, Court of Appeals motivates judicial candidates
Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
HOUSTON – The court of public opinion has not been kind to the state's two highest courts.
National Rifle Association tells House candidate to stop using its logo on mailer
By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News, 29 February 2008
DALLAS – Jon Cole, who recently criticized his Republican primary opponent for running advertisements with an endorsement that didn't exist, has come under fire himself for his campaign mailers.
Complaint lodged with Ethics Commission over House District 43 candidate
By Steve Taylor, Rio Grande Guardian, 2 March 2008
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND – A voter in Texas House District 43 has filed a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission that a Democratic challenger illegally accepted campaign contributions and made campaign expenditures.
Margo, Haggerty slugfest culminates in vote Tuesday
By Brandi Grissom, El Paso Times, 3 March 2008
AUSTIN – Two El Paso Republican heavyweights have their final round Tuesday in a knock-down, drag-out campaign that has attracted a statewide audience and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Out-of-town money infuses Travis district attorney race
By Steven Kreytak, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1 March 2008
AUSTIN – More than half of the money raised by the four candidates squaring off in Tuesday's Democratic primary for Travis County district attorney has come from donors who live in places such as Dallas, San Antonio, Lubbock and Houston, according to an analysis of campaign finance reports.
Poll finds GOP edge fading in Harris County
By ALAN BERNSTEIN, Houston Chronicle, 1 March 2008
HOUSTON – The Republican race for Harris County district attorney seems headed for a runoff and the party's contest for county judge looks tantalizingly tight as the GOP advantage in local general elections fades away, according to a poll conducted for the Houston Chronicle.
After memorable month, will Democrats forget about Texas?
Austin American-Statesman, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN – The high stakes battle between U. S. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee has made for an interesting month in Texas.
Texas, Ohio voters weigh economy
Austin American-Statesman, 1 March 2008
AUSTIN – As a general rule, Americans worried about the economy tend to turn to Democrats, just as worrisome national security issues tend to favor Republicans.
How did Texas Dems get such a convoluted primary system?
By Ken Molberg, Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
DALLAS – Texas Democrats head into a heated presidential primary Tuesday, except the primary vote isn't the only one that matters.
I'm a superdelegate; that doesn't mean I'll vote as Texas votes
By David Holmes, Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
DALLAS – How does it feel to be a Texas superdelegate right now?
We recommend Barack Obama
Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
DALLAS – Texas Democrats have a chance to make history as they choose between two qualified presidential candidates. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton often seem to be singing from the same hymnbook, but that doesn't mean this race is a close call.
We recommend Mike Huckabee
Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
DALLAS – Whatever Texas Republican primary voters do Tuesday, John McCain is all but guaranteed to be the party's presidential nominee.
We recommend
Houston Chronicle, 1 March 2008
HOUSTON – The Chronicle recommends the following candidates for their party's nomination for election to Texas House and Senate seats:
Government
Texas attorney general, family-court judges battle over child-support collection
By DAVID TARRANT / The Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
DALLAS – Claiming that nearly $200 million in federal funding is at stake, the Texas attorney general's office is involved in a faceoff with family-court judges over who has the right to collect child-support payments.
Rethink the emergency-room logic when it comes to health care
By John Young, WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD, 29 February 2008
WACO – "People have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room." — President Bush
News
As climate gets drier, will LCRA be prepared?
By Asher Price, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 3 March 2008
AUSTIN – The news from around the nation has been grim: Lake Mead, the reservoir that sustains Phoenix and Las Vegas, could dry up in the next 13 years.
LCRA has long said it is obligated to give people water, but is it?
By Asher Price, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 3 March 2008
AUSTIN – For decades, the Lower Colorado River Authority has insisted that it is obliged to sell its water to all comers as long as the supply in the river and the Highland Lakes holds out.
Feeding frenzy for LCRA water
By Asher Price, AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN – A year ago, with stock tanks reduced to muddy bogs by drought and wells running dry, many Central Texans were told to cut their water use or risk getting fined.
LCRA provides water to wide area, but does it have enough?
By Asher Price, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN – "We came to the river, which has a guard on either side of luxuriant trees, nut trees, ash trees, poplars, elms, willows, mulberries and wild grapevines much taller and thicker than those of Castile. It has sand banks which mark how high it rises, a quarter of a league wide. The water is of the best we have found." — an account of the Colorado River by a 1709 Spanish expedition
West Texas radioactive waste site a hot topic
By JANET ELLIOTT, Houston Chronicle, 2 March 2008
AUSTIN — The executive director of the state's environmental agency is poised to recommend a radioactive waste dump in West Texas despite a report from agency scientists who said nearby groundwater makes the site unsuitable.
Wind power woes not sole issue in near blackouts
By TOM FOWLER, Houston Chronicle, 1 March 2008
HOUSTON – Texas' near miss with rolling blackouts Tuesday night may appear at first blush to be a sign of the failings of wind power — more than 80 percent of the state's wind turbine energy went offline when a North Texas cold front stilled the air.
Magazine asks readers to submit Bush library designs on envelopes
By KATHY A. GOOLSBY / The Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
DALLAS – The Chronicle of Higher Education recently invited creative types to a challenge – submit a design for the George W. Bush Library on the back of a No. 10 envelope.
Kent Biffle: Truth revealed about Texas State History Museum's writing on the wall
Dallas Morning News, 2 March 2008
DALLAS – Scholarly sleuth James E. Crisp will formally reveal to historians this week a jarring error literally carved in stone at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.
Jackson Lee takes on fight for housing
By LINDSAY WISE, Houston Chronicle, 1 March 2008
HOUSTON – When Tropical Storm Allison toppled a tree into Gloria Jack's northeast Houston house in 2001, the widowed mother of seven couldn't scrape together money for repairs.
People
Gulf Coast recovery head steps down, plans return to Texas
Dallas Morning News, 1 March 2008
NEW ORLEANS – A key figure in the federal effort to rebuild the Gulf Coast is stepping down, saying he's satisfied a foundation is in place for the area to come back from the 2005 hurricanes.
