As you may have read by now on various other blogs, we had a blogger conference call with Chris Bell last night. You can read about what we talked about and people’s reactions to it at the following locations:
Common Sense, plus a coda here
By the Bayou (crossposted at Come and Take It)
Panhandle Truth Squad, which wins my Best Line of the Week award:
Having lots of Aggies on your side in a political battle is like forming an alliance with Klingons. They’re loyal; they’ll fight to the death; they might freak you out a little along the way.
Not in attendance but there in spirit were the new graduate-to-be Byron, and Supreme Irony.
All those folks did a fine job of covering what we talked about, so I won’t duplicate their efforts. I encourage you to read some or all of their accounts. I feel confident that if you’re at all inclined to think that maybe we can do better here in Texas, you’ll find lots to like.
I believe that if the 2003 legislative session and the special session fiasco of 2004 didn’t make it clear to anyone who’s paying attention that there’s a serious void of leadership in Austin, this session should remove any lingering doubt. Rick Perry isn’t about solving problems, he’s there to advance the narrow interests of his base. (Quick, what’s Perry’s plan for overhauling school finance? Why, gambling and property tax cuts, of course.) Since he’ll need their fervent support to survive a primary next year, you can count on more of the same, assuming he can tear himself away from fundraisers long enough to take action on anything.
There’s a reason why Rick Perry has never had good approval numbers. The question is whether someone can take advantage of his inadequacies and make the case for a different direction. I think Chris Bell can do that, and I hope you’ll give him a chance to make you think so as well. If you’re already convinced, you can help out by making a contrbution or by joining in on a house party on June 12. There’s sure to be more opportunities soon, so stay tuned.
UPDATE: On a related matter, here’s a report from Chris’ recent visit to Dallas.
UPDATE: Two more entries from the PTS guys, both of which are worth reading. Looks like there’s still more to come, too, so check back.
Chris Bell Liveblog
I missed the Chris Bell conference call tonight, but The Agonist has a liveblog of the call. Charles Kuffner set up the call, and I planned to attend, but catching up with sleep was more of a priority. I’ve also…
Bell should run for Attorney General. He will never survive his own party primary for Governor and, even if he did, would be crushed by Perry (yes, Perry, not Hutchison) in the general election.
But in the AG’s race — which is almost surely oing to be an open seat, with incumbent Greg Abbott running either for the Senate or Lt. Governor — Bell could drive an anti-corruption message, continue his crusdade for ethics reform, and generally portray himself as Texas’ version of New York’s AG Elliott Spitzer.
He might even have a chance to win. He will have no chance whatsoever as a gubernatorial candidate.