Tag Archives: Barack Obama

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 →

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“Waiting for Godot” in Texas

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. “It’s only a matter of time.” For more than a decade, that thought has provided solace to the out-of-power Democrats who dream of turning Texas blue, much like it was before Ronald … Continue reading →

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A look at HD136

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman takes a look at the new State Rep. district in Williamson County. All county and state elected officeholders from Williamson County are Republicans. The party has long dominated the area. But Democrats are eyeing the new district as … Continue reading →

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On turnout and 2012

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The watchword you have been hearing and will be hearing about this November’s election is “turnout”, specifically whether Team Obama can match or at least approach the success it had in turning out minority and younger voters. Here at home … Continue reading →

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Sadler’s challenge

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Democratic Senate hopeful Paul Sadler is a strong candidate with limited resources. Where have I heard that before? In Victoria on a recent Saturday afternoon, the candidate for the U.S. Senate had the crowd on its feet, the shouts and … Continue reading →

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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 →

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How many bonds are too many?

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We may find out this November. Houston voters may face a dizzying array of decisions in November as the city, school district and community college system seek authority to borrow more than $2 billion for construction work. The multiple measures … Continue reading →

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No Medicaid expansion for you!

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So much for that. Texas will not expand Medicaid or establish a health insurance exchange, two major tenets of the federal health reform that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld last month, Gov. Rick Perry said in an early morning announcement. … Continue reading →

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What will Texas do now?

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the Affordable Care Act has been upheld by the Supreme Court, there are two big issues that Texas will have to face. (*) One is the health care exchanges, and the other is Medicaid expansion, now that there’s … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS upholds Obamacare

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You can read the decision here. I’ll skip the analysis, since you can find a link to someone saying something about it on approximately 97% of the Internet today, but I will give a few links of my own, to … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Good move, Mr. President

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

About time. President Barack Obama’s administration announced Friday that it would stop deporting younger illegal immigrants and would begin granting them work permits. The policy will apply to immigrants younger than 30 who arrived in the U.S. before the age … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The “not Obama” vote, such as it was

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I now have my hands on a draft canvass for the Democratic primary in Harris County, and you know what that means: Precinct data! I’ll be doing various analyses over the week so we can get a better idea of … Continue reading →

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Democratic results, statewide

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Let me get this off my chest first: In tonight’s Texas primary, President Obama faces another set of red-state voters — and with it the possibility that some little known challenger could wrack up some significant portion of the Democratic … Continue reading →

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The Trib’s strange samples

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the UT/Texas Trib poll result the Trib should have reported: Q19. If the 2012 general election for U.S. president were held today and Mitt Romney was the Republican nominee, would you vote for [randomize] Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, someone … Continue reading →

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Another way Obamacare is helping Texas right now

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Insurance rebates. Texas consumers and businesses are poised to receive an estimated $186 million in rebates from health insurers under a requirement of the Affordable Care Act, according a study released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The health care act’s medical loss … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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And then they went right back to not caring about women

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Such a delightfully cynical little stunt. Thirteen Republican members of the Texas congressional delegation wrote a letter to President Obama protesting the administration’s decision to phase out funding for the Texas Women’s Health Program. The administration took the action after … Continue reading →

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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 →

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It’s time to go on the offensive for women’s health

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I believe that just as Democrats must make the 2012 elections in Texas about public education, they must also make them about health care, in particular access to health care for women. There’s some polling data to suggest this will … Continue reading →

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Who’s on the Perry 2014 bandwagon?

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe not so many people. If he really wants to run for another term as governor — as he told The Texas Tribune on Tuesday — Rick Perry has some work ahead of him. While 39 percent of Texas voters … Continue reading →

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Santorum surges in January UT/Trib poll

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There will come a day when using the word “surge” to describe the now-frontrunning Republican Presidential candidate in Texas will get old. That day has not arrived yet. Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has a commanding lead among Republican … Continue reading →

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The feds will run Texas’ health insurance exchange

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That seems to be where we’re headed. Texas is almost alone among the nation’s largest states in failing to start work on a key piece of the Affordable Care Act, as legislators and state agencies follow Gov. Rick Perry’s wish … Continue reading →

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Brown’s part time staff

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You have to admit, she does things her way. Houston District A Councilwoman Helena Brown, whose lone “no” votes against city spending have differentiated her from the rest of the 17-member council, also is an outlier as an employer: She … Continue reading →

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Perry’s (lack of) popularity

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. Gov. Rick Perry’s ill-fated presidential campaign left a sour taste with many Texans and damaged his standing with Republican voters, according to a new poll commissioned by the American-Statesman and other state … Continue reading →

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The last Presidential poll involving Rick Perry you’re ever likely to need

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, I know, there’s some talk that he might try again in 2016. Bring it, I say. In the meantime, PPP shows what might have been in Texas. Our poll of the state last weekend found Perry leading Obama just … Continue reading →

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Military spending is government spending

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

President Obama recently announced a change in direction for US military strategy in the wake of exiting Iraq, one that will involve some reductions in spending. Much pearl clutching and chin stroking followed. But ongoing tinkering with the nation’s defense … Continue reading →

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Who will be the Lege education expert post-Hochberg?

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In writing a political obituary for State Rep. Scott Hochberg, who announced his retirement from the House last week, Abby Rapoport spends a paragraph on his purported successor as the go-to education legislator. Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, is clearly … Continue reading →

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Sizing up the opportunities

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story about the new Congressional map and who’s looking at what (which ran in the Express News last week) has a lot of things we’ve been discussing, and a couple of things to point out. First, a theme … Continue reading →

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Help keep access to birth control

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, it’s been a rough year for advocates of reproductive freedom, here and elsewhere in the country. There’s a lot of work to be done, starting with the next election, to repair the damage and move things forward … Continue reading →

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Still nothing interesting in the 2012 Presidential polls of Texas

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a new UT/Texas Trib poll of the Presidential race in Texas, and while most of it is about the Republican nomination, the bit that interests me as always is regarding the general election: Perry would do better in a … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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