Category Archives: Show Business for Ugly People

Well, this could get interesting. Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell filed a lawsuit against Gov. Rick Perry’s 2006 re-election campaign and the Republican Governor’s Association today claiming they illegally hid $1 million in donations from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Netroots Nation, formerly known as Yearly Kos, will have its 2008 convention in Austin. There are many reasons that we chose Austin, personally, I was most compelled because the hotel rate was $25 better than the other city. But it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

TPM links to this qualitative look by the Brennan Center on the effects of Indiana’s restrictive voter ID law, and it’s a must-read. Citing new evidence that Indiana’s voter identification law is disenfranchising thousands of Indiana voters, lawyers at the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Last month, Elise Hu of KVUE took a look at the state of Texas’ email retention policy and how it relates to open record laws. A fellow named John Washburn read about it and decided to do something about it. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Paul Burka says yes. All signs point to Earle’s retirement as district attorney. The first indication I received was an e-mail from a prospective candidate: Paul, I am writing to inform you of my decision to commence an exploratory campaign … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Well, this ought to be interesting. The Lone Star Project reports as follows: A 2006 cynical smear campaign and voter suppression scheme orchestrated by Republican State House Representative Tony Goolsby (HD102, Dallas), along with Dallas County Republican Party Chair Kenn … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Elise Hu writes about Texas’ email retention policy and how it relates to open record laws. She cites a controversy in Missouri as an example of what can happen. Gov. Matt Blunt acknowledged Tuesday that “e-mails often are a public … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I figure the 2010 GOP primary for Governor will be about as crowded, and will feature as wide a range of talent and likeliness-to-win as a casting call for “American Idol”, and that’s even before factoring in what Rick Perry … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Evan Smith reports the true feelings of our senior Senator: The mood of the country right now is pretty frustrated. People don’t like the partisanship — there’s kind of a toxic atmosphere about politics — I think the blogs, interestingly, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Forty-two people have already rsvp’d to participate in Jim Dean’s Four Steps To Victory Tour stop in Houston on Thursday night. The event also features Houston’s newest City Council member, Melissa Noriega. You can rsvp here. Event details: Date: Thursday, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Nice. Progressive Texas bloggers have formed a new political action committee, the TexBlog PAC, “to effectively harness the power, energy, talent, and financial resources of the online, progressive community to make Texas a better place by electing Democratic candidates at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As it’s not exactly practical for me to drive to Austin on a weeknight for an evening event, I was unable to attend the first TexBlog PAC fundraiser, which took place last night in Austin. Fortunately, my colleague Matt Glazer … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In the comments to my John Marron interview post, Burt Levine says “I wish you wrote these so that people could read them.” I can certainly understand that sentiment, and Burt is not the first person to express it, so … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Don’t hurry home, Rick! For a governor who maynever run again for anything, Rick Perry of Texas appears ready to hit the campaign trail next year — for any Republican anywhere. “I may not be on the ballot,” Perry said … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Whenever I think I’ve become too cynical, I find it’s a good tonic to read stories like this. Minutes after being sworn in Wednesday morning as a U.S. citizen, Roger Negron had already registered to vote and was filling out … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Star Telegram has a story about the TexBlog PAC, of which I am a board member. The newly formed TexBlog Political Action Committee will hold its first fundraiser this month in Austin and has tapped five sitting Democratic House … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Though I trust that this comes as a shock to nobody, it’s still nice to see in the papers. Lionel Sosa has been a proud Republican for years. He produced campaign commercials for the late Sen. John Tower, worked as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Remember the case of Elizabeth Reyes, the attorney with the Secretary of State’s office who was fired after she was quoted in a Washington Post story about the possibility that Karl Rove had committed a civil offense by improperly registering … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I have three things to say about this article concerning Latino population growth versus Latino political power in Harris County and elsewhere. 1. I think one reason why Latino voter registration and turnout lags its population and is so poor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I think Perry and Greg have already commented on most of the main points regarding this fluffy story about the life and times of our senior Senator. But there is one thing that I need to say: “Before I retire, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Lisa Falkenberg discovers discontent and denial within the GOP. At a Mexican restaurant in the East End, Reggie Gonzales explains all the ways in which the Republican Party irks him these days: the “holier than thou” attitudes of some leaders, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In case you haven’t seen it yet, the just-unveiled updated Texas Democratic Party website is worth a look. It’s more community-oriented, got more up-to-date content, and it just looks nicer. Check it out. Continue reading →

Having previously made a mockery of the announcement that the state GOP has hired Talmadge Heflin to the post of Executive Director, I was all set to cackle a little more when I saw that Paul Burka‘s jaw had dropped … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Excellent. Former House Appropriations Chairman Talmadge Heflin of Houston is the new executive director of the Texas Republican Party, state GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser announced today. Heflin served in the Legislature from 1983-2004, when he was narrowly unseated by Democrat … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Today, July 19, has come to be known as “Blogosphere Day” on the progressive side of things. It dates back to 2004, when the confluence of a suddenly open Republican-held Congressional seat in Pennsylvania that had voted for Al Gore … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Our new Secretary of State is taking a crack at fixing the state’s messed up election management system. [New SOS Phil] Wilson’s office wants to simulate the load that the Texas Election Administration Management system, or TEAM, will handle during … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I got this a couple of days ago, but didn’t have a chance to post on it till now. This (PDF) is a letter sent from the interim President and Chair of the Board of Regents of Galveston College to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Apparently, Wikipedia wants to delete the entry for Mary Beth Harrell, because it’s an Article about a person that does not assert the importance of the subject. She was a candidate, but did not win the seat. I don’t see … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We have a new Secretary of State on the way to replace the outgoing one, Roger Williams. Republican Gov. Rick Perry is expected to promote a top aide to succeed Roger Williams as Texas secretary of state. Phil Wilson, Perry’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Observer blog has a great rundown on our soon-to-be-former Secretary of State, Roger Williams, and his future political ambitions. Maybe the leap from public steward to Republican candidate isn’t surprising, since Williams never missed an opportunity to use his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Secretary of State Roger Williams is resigning his position as of July 1. The car dealer from North Texas who gained notice as a Republican fundraiser was appointed to the mostly ceremonial office by Gov. Rick Perry in 2004. Although … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In my last post about Texas’ screwed-up statewide voter registration database, Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM), I noted that Racy Mind had promised an in-depth look at how it came to be. She has now delivered on that promise – … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Color me skeptical about this. The state elections director tried to assure skeptical voting officials Monday that a problem-ridden centralized voter information system would be fixed in time for the 2008 presidential elections. “Although we are having tough growing pains, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

For those of you who have not yet read Jeffrey Goldberg’s New Yorker article on the current unpleasantness within the Republican Party, let me nudge you towards it, as it’s a fine read. I’ll outsource the Tom DeLay-related snarkery to … Continue reading → Continue reading →