The difference between news and news lite, in one announcement from U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco.
News lite: He won the endorsement of the Texas Farm Bureau. It's important, but not unexpected. News: He won the endorsement of the National Rifle Association Victory Fund, which he's won before but which you might expect to favor the Republican in a closely contested race important to conservatives in Washington. Edwards' challenger is Bill Flores of Bryan, who gets good grades from the NRA, but not its PAC endorsement. Edwards played it nicely, too, creating a diversion from the other story of the day — his non-appearance with visiting VIP Barack Obama, who was in Texas to raise money in Austin and Dallas.
• Put this away for later, if San Antonio Republican Jeff Wentworth really does leave the Senate later this year to take a job (not yet offered, at last check) at Texas A&M. Former House member Bill Seibert, R-San Antonio, is kicking the tires, and Rep. Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels, has friends calling reporters to say he's interested. Others on the list, mentioned here previously, include former Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson, who's running for the House, former Chamber of Commerce honcho Joe Krier, who is married to former Sen. Cyndi Krier, R-San Antonio, and Texas Racing Commission Chairman Rolando Pablos, also R, also San Antonio. Were Wentworth to win reelection in November and then quit, it would set up a special election. Miller and Larsen would be able to run without quitting the House (we're assuming here they'll both win in November), and Pablos would have to quit the racing panel to run.
• Republican state officials are once again threatening to sue the federal government, this time over legislation to provide emergency funding for government employees jobs. Texas Democrats in Congress added language requiring the state of Texas to use money designated for education only for that purpose [1], prompting the governor and other state officials to accuse the congressmen of playing politics with more than $800 million in funding. The Guv says the provision would require the state to guarantee future spending, and that would violate state law.
• Barack Obama was only briefly in Texas this week, but long enough to raise a reported $1 million for the Democratic National Committee [2]. And that was just the Austin fundraiser. After a speech at UT touting the importance of higher education, the President jetted off to Dallas for another fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The DNC pledged to give at least $250,000 of the money raised here to the Texas Democratic Party.
• The expected budget shortfall continues its path of destruction, as Texas universities, anticipating reduced funding, are offering to buy out tenured faculty members [3]. The University of Texas and Texas A&M currently have offers out to qualified faculty members, and hope to use the savings to avoid cuts to degree programs. The University of Houston is also considering buyouts, after it considers the economic impact of such a move.
• The state’s economy is improving [4], Comptroller Susan Combs said in an interview with the Associated Press. Her agency has been reporting increases in sales tax receipts since April, although months of drops that preceded that still have the state behind its targets to keep the budget in balance.