Category Archives: The making of the President

Is Hillary the key to turning Texas blue?

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe, but it’ll take more than this to convince me. The Lone Star State is headed blue — the only question is WHEN Texas becomes a Democratic state. If Hillary Clinton runs for president, she will have a fighting chance … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Julian 2016?

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I have five things to say about this. Texas Democratic powerbrokers are quietly promoting rising star Julian Castro as a consensus building leader with bipartisan support as they position the charismatic San Antonio mayor for the party’s 2016 presidential ticket. … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

This is what a full-scale Latino outreach program looks like

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is what I’m talking about. President Barack Obama’s campaign team realized even before Romney was nominated that the growing Latino vote was the key to a second Obama term. And they acted to sew it up with an early, … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

New pollster says Romney leads 55-40 in Texas

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It would figure that the day after I complain about a lack of polling data in Texas we get a fresh poll result for the state. Thanks to a lopsided lead among white voters, Romney is leading President Barack Obama … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Courting the Ron Paul voters

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck with that. Libertarian presidential candidate and would-be spoiler Gary Johnson smoked out new campaign cash here this week. But his hopes are just a pipe dream unless he wins over Republican voters loyal to never-say-quit candidate Ron Paul. … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Romney-Ryan

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. You’ve probably read all you can stand to read about this by now since it was everywhere on the internets yesterday, but do read Charlie Pierce if you haven’t already – he’s the best cure for mainstream media … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Romney-Ryan

From the “If pigs had wings” department

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s never a bad time to construct a counterfactual. What if Rick Perry had never said, “Oops”? What if he could have, for Christ’s sake, just remembered that he had wanted to gut the Department of Energy? What if he … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Roemer suspends his campaign

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

A moment of silence, please, for the end of the Buddy Roemer for President campaign. Today, I am no longer a candidate for President of the United States. After 17 months of a wonderful campaign, the lack of ballot access … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

RIP, Americans Elect

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official. After its board met Wednesday to discuss its options, [Americans Elect] released a statement Thursday indicating that it would not change its rules, effectively disqualifying all the candidates from participating in an online nominating convention that was scheduled … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

“Americans Unelect”

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. Americans Elect, the deep-pocketed nonprofit group that set out to nominate a centrist third-party presidential ticket, admitted early Tuesday that its ballyhooed online nominating process had failed. The group had qualified for the general election ballot in 27 states, … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Ours aren’t the only primaries being delayed

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Americans Elect has postponed theirs, but in their case litigation had nothing to do with it. The deadline for candidate ‘support clicks’ at Americans Elect Corporation was midnight last night (May 1), according to both its official Pre-Election Convention Rules and their online … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

PPP’s April poll of Texas

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s Public Policy Polling’s latest snapshot of Texas heading into May and the primaries. If Newt Gingrich was going to win a big victory anywhere between now and the Republican convention Texas would be a logical candidate…but it doesn’t look … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

So long, Santorum

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is Texas Republicans crying in their beer. Rick Santorum’s withdrawal today from the 2012 presidential contest makes Texas Republicans, once again, all but irrelevant in their party’s nomination process. The drawn-out nature of the race had … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Presidential Pinterest

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

A while back I wondered if political campaigns would try to leverage Pinterest as part of their social media strategy. At least one well-known campaign has now jumped on it. In case you missed it, Barack Obama [Tuesday] officially became … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Presidential Pinterest

Texas will be relevant to the GOP nomination circus after all

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

After Mitt Romney’s unimpressive showing on Tuesday, the race for the GOP Presidential nomination continues to slog on with no clear end in sight. Which is good news, I guess, if you’re a Texas Republican because it means that your … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: For the love of God, stop this thing already!

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This may be the earliest Chron endorsement ever. We say: Stop the shooting. We share the view of many that the Republican Party’s most constructive course going forward is to waste little time and unite behind the candidate most likely … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Colbert > Romney

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Naturally. How popular is comedian Stephen Colbert’s semi-serious Super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow? In Texas, it’s more popular that Mitt Romney’s leading Super PAC. Federal Election Commission records examined by the Houston Chronicle indicate more Texans have … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Colbert > Romney

Buddymentum!

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For the three of you reading this who know who Buddy Roemer is and were aware that he was running for President (other than Greg, who of course already knew), this announcement from his campaign may possibly be of interest … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Harry Potter and the Truly Awful Presidential Candidates

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You tell ’em, Daniel Radcliffe. [Daniel Radcliffe, star of the “Harry Potter” movies, says] that he has been “disgusted, amazed, stunned” by candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination, such as Rick Santorum or Michele Bachmann, who have been openly hostile to … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Harry Potter and the Truly Awful Presidential Candidates

Roseanne!

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Meet your newest Presidential wannabe. The Associated Press and TMZ are reporting that comedienne and self-proclaimed “domestic goddess” Roseanne Barr has filed documents to run for president. Apparently, she thinks that only a woman can solve this nation’s problems. Check … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Roseanne!

Meet your minor parties

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

PoliTex lists some of the non-standard political parties that hope to put a Presidential candidate (and some others in a couple of cases) on the ballot this year. They range from the good old fashioned Socialists to the (possibly illegally-named) … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Don’t say “We won’t have Rick Perry to kick around any more” just yet

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

By now everybody knows that Rick Perry has suspended his Presidential campaign and endorsed Newt Gingrich as his preferred not-Romney. The news of this was on the TV screen in the lobby of my office building as I entered this … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Look out, here comes The Donald

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Make of this what you will. Donald Trump supporters have met an official ballot deadline in Texas, paving the way for the business mogul to become a third-party candidate there, a source close to Trump tells The Blaze. Trump himself … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A little schadenfreude to end the year

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our only Governor. Gov. Rick Perry was once again stumped on the stump Thursday, this time with a question about a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that threw out Texas’ anti-sodomy law. Perry, taking … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A little schadenfreude to end the year

Ballot failure

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Newt Gingrich will not appear on the Virginia presidential primary ballot, state Republican Party officials announced Saturday, after he failed to submit the required number of valid signatures to qualify. The announcement was … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

From the “You don’t like me! You really don’t like me!” files

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is Rick Perry’s latest TV ad, uploaded to his Presidential campaign’s YouTube channel, in which he promises to end President Obama’s war on religion. No, I don’t know what he’s talking about either, but that’s not important. Look at … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Saturday video break: Oops, he did it again

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to take a break from the Popdose covers list for this entry because it’s never a bad idea to kick Rick Perry when he’s down. I’m sure you’re aware of his “Oops” moment the other night, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Saturday video break: Oops, he did it again

Why is stimulus by one type of government better than the other?

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Perhaps someone should ask that question at the next Republican Presidential debate, which they seem to have every week or so. Gov. Rick Perry’s record of creating jobs with taxpayer money is coming under greater scrutiny because of his presidential … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Why is stimulus by one type of government better than the other?

Our expensive Governor

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another story about our Governor and his expensive travel habits. The cost is mounting for Texas taxpayers as Gov. Rick Perry pursues the presidency, with new figures showing the tab for the governor’s security detail has topped $364,000 for out-of-state … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Our expensive Governor

PPP: Perry takes lead on Obama in Texas

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Not by that much, however. Rick Perry has an under water approval rating in Texas and he’s leading Barack Obama by a smaller margin than John McCain won the state by in 2008…but at least he is leading Obama, which … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

My one piece of advice to Barack Obama in re: Rick Perry

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

By now you’ve probably heard about Rick Perry’s long-anticipated announcement that yes indeedy, he is running for President. I plan to avoid this subject as much as possible, because there’s only so much blogging about Rick Perry one can do … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

PPP poll shows Obama leading Perry in Texas

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Perhaps this will put a little dent in the Perry-for-President bandwagon. A potential Rick Perry Presidential bid has been getting oodles of attention in the last few weeks. There’s one place where voters aren’t real into the possibility though- Texas. … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Maybe Perry for President would be good for us

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

When George W. Bush began being talked about as a Presidential candidate, the story line on him was that he was a well-liked, popular Governor who had bipartisan appeal and support in the state. Outgoing Democratic Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Maybe the problem is that the national GOP isn’t nutty enough

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Have no fear, Texas may come to the rescue. First, there’s Dan Patrick. Houston state Sen. Dan Patrick announced this morning he’s forming an exploratory committee for the US Senate seat being abandoned by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison . Patrick … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment