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BUSHNOCHIO'S NOSE GROWS LONGER AND LONGER. Don't know what Politex is talking about? "Ask Karl Rove," but ask him fast! Rumor has it that the Christian Coalition's Ralph Reed is expected to sign on as "top-notch strategist." Are Rove's days numbered? (AAS 2/28) 2/28/99
MEET THE TRINITY THAT MAKES CANDIDATE BUSH TICK: "THE MAN WITH THE PLAN," "THE ENFORCER," AND "THE SPIN CRAFTER." Strategy is shaped by Karl Rove, the Guv's political adviser, Joe Albaugh "keeps the process moving" as chief of staff, and "policy matters" are formed into spin language by Karen Hughes. Meet the two money men outside this inner circle: Bradford Freeman, West Coast, and Craig Stapleton, East Coast. Others close to the action that you need to know about are Donald Ensenat, James Francis, Donald Evans, Clay Johnson, and Harriet Mirs, who might very well be our new attorney general if Bush wins. 2/28/99
BUSH AND THE CHILDREN: WHAT'S NEEDED IS LESS TALK, MORE WALK. In his State of the State speech Guv-Dub said "Texas must be a place with healthy children," but he has failed to lead the legislature on a bill to provide health insurance to children in low income families. Texas ranks next to the national bottom with uninsured children. 1 in every 4 children in the state lacks health insurance. Since the feds promise to provide $2.80 for every $1 spent, "California will cover infants in families with incomes of up to 250 percent of poverty....So far, key (Texas) legislative decision-makers have been leaning toward the more restrictive standard of 150 percent of poverty. That would cut out about 220,000 children and leave a lot of federal money on the table." In today's editorial, the Statesman calls on Bush to step in and do something about our "shameful" health care record and says the failure of state leadership is "embarrassing." (AAS 2/27) George is also failing the children with respect to his education plan, according to House Public Education Committee Chairman Paul Sadler. He believes that the Bush-backed anti-social promotion Senate bill needs to add mandatory kindergarten for the 15% of the children who don't go and smaller remedial reading classes with 10 or less students in them. This would add another $300 million to the the bill's $200 million cost, and the Guv has refused to agree to the additional funding. Sadler responds, "We're going to make sure it's done right. It's too important to do otherwise. . . . If (the bill) needs to be thrown out, we'll throw it out and start over." 2/27/99
BUT HOLD, LORD HAMLET SPEAKS: "PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A DAY OF ANNOUNCEMENT IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS." So Politex's Bush Hog Day augury was correct (see 2/2 below), the "yes, no, or maybe" Guv did need 6 more weeks before making a presidential announcement. Most believe he'll say "maybe" he'll run, so he's setting up an exploratory committee. What did come as a surprise is that George is breaking another promise. Rather than formally announcing at the end of the Texas legislative session in May, "an aide said Bush will spend the summer traveling the country...and will not make a final decision about running for president until late summer or fall." A number of reasons for this decision come to mind: G-Dub will gain positive press and cut down on possible errors by giving three or four months of canned speeches to prepared crowds prior to getting into the primary battles; he anticipates some major legislative failures in Texas and wants to cover those with a national campaign prior to announcing; he doesn't want any more press scrutiny than he's getting as an unannounced candidate (see next story); he's planning a faux grassroots/anti-Washington summer campaign; in effect, he's running in the primary states without being under scrutiny as a primary candidate. It remains to be seen whether voters consider the decision not to announce in May smart politics or the height of arrogance. 2/26/99
"ME THINKS THE LAD PROTESTETH TOO AVIDLY." Prince George might want to reconsider his approach to the press or he could make his quest to become King Georg II even harder. Members of the press have been zeroing in on questions about possible coke usage in his 30's, and Dubya is on the attack: "I hope the serious press helps flush the garbage out of the system," Bush said. "The press ought to take a deep breath before they try to diminish anybody's life." The problem is what passes for the "serious" press in this country is asking the question. Also, folks have gotten real tired of politicians using Washington as a convenient scapegoat: yesterday Bush "told Texas reporters not to 'fall prey to the Washington, D.C., game' of spreading personal rumors about politicians' pasts." Perhaps deep breaths are in order all around. 2/26/99
ARE THE SINS OF THE FATHER BEING VISITED UPON THE SON? WHY CONSERVATIVES ARE PLAYING THE BUSH CARD. The Bush presidential strategy is necessary, simple, and obvious. He must appear to be a conservative until the primaries in Spring 2k and then appear to be a moderate until the elections in Fall 2k. But behind Poli Sci 101 is Sociology 101: "In addition to the policy splits, the dispute between the elder Bush and some conservatives was fueled by entrenched class schisms. Bush, the son of a Connecticut senator, was the embodiment of upper-crust Republicanism--in all of its Northeastern establishment, noblesse oblige coloration. Over the years, that tribe has been largely overrun by suburban and religious conservatives who are skeptical of their cultural opposites. 'The people today who control the party are people who were looked at in disdain by the people who considered themselves their social better....They don't like the bluebloods and the bluebloods don't like them.'" Dubya is part of that blueblood establishment, but he hides it better than his dad. He's better at acting like one of the guys. As we learned in the Sunday NYT magazine section profile last year, when at his ballpark, Walker, Texas Ranger made it a point use the public restrooms. 2/25/99
BILL SEZ DUBYA WILL LOSE THE NOMINATION IF SOMEONE ELSE CAN SAY, "I'M REAGAN, HE'S BUSH." William Kristol goes on to explain, "He's emphasizing the outreach to the Reagan wing because he knows that his potential vulnerability as a Bush is to a Reaganite assault." Ex-Prez Ford, on the other hand, says he's going with the Guv because "George W. Bush is talking a lot more moderately than his father." Sure, Jerry. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, it appears that Guv-Dub's made his inept appointment of the day (see 2/22) with his recommendation of El Paso's Woody Hunt to the UT Board of Regents, only to learn that Hunt's building company is being sued by the feds for up to $45 million for constructing uninhabitable military housing and that it owns and operates "troubled" housing complexes in Austin. A Statesman editorial got it right this morning when it called on George to "find a more suitable appointee." 2/25/99
BUSH ADMISSION OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY LEAVES APOLOGISTS FLAT-FOOTED. Yesterday, speaking in a non-subjunctive case, George said to DMN's Wayne Slater, "I'll be a different candidate than the previous Geoge Bush that ran for president." (Click on next story below.) Today, HC editors wrote, "Here in Texas, the governor should be forgiven for seeming to play coy. If he announced his candidacy he, no doubt, would be lambasted mercilessly for not paying enough attention to Texas' business during the current biennial session of the Legislature." Let the merciless lambasting begin! 2/24/99
JUNIOR SAYS HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM DAD AND CONSTRUCT A MORE CONSERVATIVE POLICY TEAM. Yesterday Guv-Dub indicated that he's used his father's name and cash connections as much as he could, but now its time to cut the ties that bind. "I'll be a different candidate than the previous George Bush who ran for president....First of all, it shouldn't surprise you that there will be new names and new people involved," Mr. Bush said. "Secondly, people who will be working for me will be conservative-minded people." As Politex indicated last year, "coordinating the team of foreign policy advisers is Condoleezza Rice, former provost of Stanford University and a Bush family friend." The economic policy coordinator will be "Larry Lindsey, a former Federal Reserve governor and Harvard professor who wrote a book defending the Reagan tax cuts." A Brookings Institute rep said G.W.'s problem might be that he'll begin to look like a Reagan retred: "If he's harking back to Reagan's optimism and effectiveness as a political leader, fine," Mr. (Thomas) Mann said. "But to imagine harking back to his economic and national security policies as a route to political success seems far-fetched to me." 2/24/99
JESSE PLAYS GROUCHO, GEORGE PLAYS HARPO, AND THE PRESS PLAYS CHICO. Ventura tells Lone Star reporters, "I haven't met a Texan yet that hasn't told me about drinking dirty water from a hoof print." Bush assures them, "I didn't take any silverware," from the White House during his visit. Then Jesse pulls Dubya away from the grinning scribes: "Come on, George, you got places to go." 2/23/98
BUSH "100% CERTAIN" TO RUN. BUDDING BRAIN TRUST INDICATES G.W. "ADMINISTRATION WOULD BE TO THE RIGHT NOT ONLY OF HIS FATHER'S BUT OF REAGAN'S." Moderate Republicans have been discomforted to learn who has Junior's ear: "Paul Wolfowitz, a preeminent foreign-policy hard-liner...close friend and ally Richard Perle...the Reagan administration's 'prince of darkness'...Indianapolis Mayor Steve Goldsmith, the party's outspoken guru of privatization...(and) Martin S. Feldstein, professor of economics at Harvard and a sharp critic of President Clinton's Social Security plan... .Former Federal Reserve Governor Lawrence Lindsey...has signed on to assemble the economic advisory team....The nature of his advisers suggests a second Bush presidency would be considerably more conservative than the first." 2/23/99
GEORGE DEFENDS SELF AGAINST PAST "HOTHEAD" IMAGE WHEN HE PLAYED PRINCE HAL TO LEE ATWATER'S FALSTAFF. Guv says, "I never had a temper. Have I ever been angry? Sure. Haven't you?" Bush ex-aide cautions, "The governor's anger might be tested anew if he gets into the White House derby." 2/22/99
BUSH ADMINISTRATIVE INEPTNESS--POOR APPOINTEES, WEAK OVERSIGHT--FUELS HOUSING AGENCY SCANDAL "For several months, the Tx. Dept. of Housing has been reeling as federal and state investigators probed public corruption allegations against one of its board members (Florita Bell Griffin) and questionable practices of its former executive director (Larry P. Manley)." Manley was "appointed in 1995 by Gov. George W. Bush to run an agency that dispenses half a billion dollars a year to improve housing for poor Texans." By 1996, "state auditors reported problems at the housing agency. Investigators said that year that the department under Mr. Manley had awarded developers tens of millions of dollars in federal tax breaks in an arbitrary and undocumented manner." In 1997, state auditors "uncovered more problems....They found that the agency had awarded more than 60 percent of the contracts under a new program to people who previously worked with Mr. Manley at Texas savings and loans." Manley resigned last summer. That same week, it was reported that Bell, another Bush appointee, was "accused of using her influence as a public official to approve federal subsidies for low-income real estate deals in which she had a special interest." Bush's replacement for Manley, Daisy Steiner, recently met with the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 2 and apologetically conceded that her "agency serves only 1.5 percent of the estimated l.5 million low income Texans who need housing help," a poor record, even using the agency's own criteria. The following day, two years late, the state auditors sent their 1997 findings to George's office. (HC 8/28/98, 2/3/99) 2/22/99
GEORGE DEFENDS SELF AGAINST PAST "HOTHEAD" IMAGE WHEN HE PLAYED PRINCE HAL TO LEE ATWATER'S FALSTAFF. Guv says, "I never had a temper. Have I ever been angry? Sure. Haven't you?" Bush ex-aide cautions, "The governor's anger might be tested anew if he gets into the White House derby." 2/22/99
BUSH GOES TO D.C. TO TELL REPORTERS HE'S FOCUSED ON TEXAS, RUNS 4 MILES, SEZ JEB'S OFF TO GOOD START. Wait, there's more: "Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, chairman of the Republican Governor's Association, endorsed Bush for the GOP nomination" and said, "George has been elected and re-elected the governor of a country. Texas is a country." Breaking his campaign promise once more, Guv-Dub went to Washington this weekend without a passport to spread the word that he thinks "it's important for people who are not living in Texas to know how focused I am with the legislative session." Important to whom? Right now, he's trying to get his watered down, questionable, and hardly original "anti-social promotions" bill through the House without any more damaging compromises. Not scheduled to begin until 2003, it will have to be funded at each legislative session, leaving Bush to make a political promise he will not be in a position to honor. However, he is in a position to honor his promised $2 billion property tax cut, but it turns out that the poorest Texans who have paid sales taxes that produced the budget surplus will get zero out of it; instead, their sales tax money will go to offset the payout to the wealthiest citizens who own the most property. Here's how Carlos Guerra explains it: "Bush's proposal to return $160 to every homeowner through a property tax cut, however, does not help the poorest Texans. Sales taxes collected 55 cents of every budget-surplus dollar and an unconscionable portion of that was squeezed from the poorest Texans. Let's also remember that more than 40 percent of Texans are renters who don't own homes, and renters also tend to be the poorer Texans who won't see a penny of that refund. How fair is it to refund money — 55 percent of which was collected from everyone — to less than 60 percent of the taxpayers?" To expand upon Clay Robison in another context, Bush's tax reduction program is "little more than a cruel joke" on nearly half of all Texans, of misplaced and limited benefit to most of the rest, and a windfall to the wealthiest. 2/21/99
PACKAGING W.: TOP 10 $ GATHERERS NAMED, PRELIMINARIES FORM, INCLUDING ALL-IMPORTANT "PREZ EXPLORATORY." Although Republican "Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson said of Mr. Bush in a radio interview: 'He hasn't really done much as a governor in regards of doing anything new or innovative,'" he did note that George has lots of cash and name recognition. "In his re-election last year, ...he raised more than $4 million - over a quarter of his total - from more than 20,000 contributors outside Texas." The "vision" of "compassionate conservatism" came later. The Bush bidness is all too typical: you get money and marketing strategy, then you figure out what you're going to sell. 2/20/99 br>REAGANITE TAX POLICY GROUP GIVES AWARD TO GEORGE FOR HIS TAX REDUCTION AGENDA. So far, the Guv has managed to reward oil lobbyists with a $45 million tax cut, and the greater share of the proposed tax cuts will be going to wealthy property owners and companies involved in research and development. To put this in perspective, "Texas collects 5.5 percent of its citizens' earnings, overall. But families that earn $20,228 or less lose between 10.6 percent and 28.3 percent of their income to state taxes. Those that earn less than $9,015 are paying 5.1 times their fair share. While this has long been suspected, few thought the inequity was so bad. Another shocker...is that all families earning $74,357 or less pay more than their fair share, while those earning $107,664 or more are paying only 57 percent of their fair share!" With respect to Dubya's "Tax Hero" award, then, the mission statement of Americans for Tax Reform should read, "ATR opposes all (fair-share taxes on the wealthiest members of our society) as a matter of principle." With respect to Bush, his mission statement could read, "the 'present tax system is heavily weighted for the very few with the most money,' and I plan to keep it that way!" (SAEN 2/17+19) 2/19/99
NOON UPDATE: L.A. DAD SEZ FALWELL MUST LEARN T0 SHARE. Another letter-writer asks, "Why is it always left to representatives of the Jews, gays, working mothers and other frequent targets of Falwell's extremist views to defend themselves? By remaining silent, other Christian leaders imply tacit approval of Falwell's agenda and methodology." 2/19/99
GUV'S "COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM" WORKS FOR BUSH BUDS IN OIL BIDNESS. They show "personal responsibility" by sending lobbyists to Austin, then they turn to their "faith-based institution," the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association. "What TIPRO wants to do here is dump an additional $45 million worth of tax liabilities on the non-well-owners of the state, and let me remind you on whom that burden falls. According to the state comptroller's office, the poorest Texans shoulder a disproportionate amount of the state's total tax burden. In its biennial study released just a few weeks ago, the office found that while the lowest-income residents pay the greatest percentage of state taxes, the highest-income Texans benefit most from exemptions on sales and franchise taxes. I must admit that this report amazed no one." 2/18/99
BUSH REPORTEDLY TELLING FAMILY AND ADVISERS "IF HE HAD TO GIVE A YES OR NO ANSWER TO A PREZ RUN TODAY, THE ANSWER WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY 'NO.'" “He has a past and — especially in this climate — he doesn’t need the grief,” says the insider source, who supposedly talks frequently with George. “His wife doesn’t want him to run. He has a great job in Texas, and if he declares his candidacy, that jerk from Hustler is going to unearth all the dirt on him. It could even cost him his political career in Texas. He figures, why do I need this?” The deep throat with a Texas accent reportedly thinks Dad could get Junior to run, but Politex thinks the whole story is political shenanigans as usual. George must have heard about the report; yesterday he said he was "warming to the task" of a prez run. The most likely rumor planters are those who don't want Bush to leave Texas alone in the mouth of Mad Dog Perry, and who can blame them? 2/17-18/99
TINKY FALWELL DOWN GO BOOM! (SO DOES BUSH.) Molly goes from the ridiculous to the slime as she describes the petrochemical legislation that, given his record, the Guv is likely to back. 2/17/99
"WHAT YOU BO'S GON' DO NOW?" BORIS THE BRIT TRIES HIS HAND AT CAPTURING G-DUB'S SCHTICK. Politex wonders who's zoomin' who as the "'uber-preppy' from Kennebunkport, Maine" is quoted as saying, "We're gon' talk about crawfish ay-touff-ay, haw haw." 2/17/99
TODAY GUV TALKS ON NATIONAL TELEVANGELIST'S SHOW AND BACKS THEOCRAT VOUCHERS AT "MAJOR" CAPITOL RALLY. Preacher James Robison warns fellow-Christians if they don't back Bush "may God forgive them." On another Christian front, George tries to keep the ed-stamp troops together as voter support dwindles and the battle lines begin to blur. The Theocrats want state money without government strings: "Any private school that whole hog buys into a voucher funding system will inevitably lose the ability to provide education that is uniquely built around the values of their faith group," says a Baptist rep, while an Eagle Forum spokesperson adds, "We see it as a back-door approach to control every private school in Texas." (AAS 2/16) 2/16/99
POLITICAL PRAYER OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION. (No link.) "Should (someone) stand to ask this body to take an action which would solely benefit themselves or the narrow interests they serve, to the detriment of all the people of Texas, we pray that you would strike them mute, strip them naked and turn them into a statue of stone to be permanently displayed for all to see the folly of their actions. Just kidding, Lord, but did we get their attention?" -- The Rev. Eston Williams, Aley United Methodist Church, Seven Points, during the House invocation Monday. (AAS 2/16)
G.W.'S STATE POLICIES FAILING ON 2 MORE FRONTS AS HE CONTINUES TO BE DISTRACTED BY PREZ RUN. George claims he's focused on Texas legislative business but an orchestrated draft movement, four years of benign neglect, and the will of the people are serious roadblocks to his desire to leave town with a record of accomplishments that will look good on his campaign resume. Since he won't announce until May and Dole and company are not standing around and waiting, the faux draft is needed to keep his name in front of the voters in the primary states.
Meanwhile, after 4 years of drift his program to deter child abuse and neglect is "playing catch-up." Texas ranks near the bottom in child welfare support and its philosophy is based on the generally discarded theory of intervention rather than prevention. As for his government-paid voucher plan for private schools, a recent Texas Poll had 46% saying "no" and 45% saying "yes." Of course, during the campaign Theocrat-backed "Mad Dog" Perry told his school voucher/ideological friends who contributed millions to his campaign that he'll "run over any school board or school superintendent that stands in our way." It's likely that the Lt. Gov. will be willing to include the majority of voters with the school boards and superintendents, but it's doubtful that Bush will want such carnage on his resume when the time comes to face the American people. Better to withdraw another campaign promise and spin the consequences, Guv. 2/14/98
PSST...HEY BUDDY! SHH...WANNA LOOK AT THE NEW BUSH PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN TAPE? The video's out of the bag. Yesterday, reporters learned that the Guv has sent out over 5,000 copies of his new presidential campaign cassette to backers all over the country. The focus was on $1,000 or more campaign contributors, then other backers who learned of its existence and called in. (There's a partial list of contributors on your right.) Now, he's giving copies to visitors such as British Conservative Party leader William Hague, who stopped by yesterday to learn the meaning of "compassionate conservative" and, in turn, taught W. how to use the word "herald" in a complete sentence. George most likely gave a copy of his new video to Louisiana Guv Mike Foster when he visited him in Baton Rouge yesterday evening, breaking a promise he made to Texans that he wouldn't leave the state until after this legislative session. Lousiana will hold the first presidential caucuses next year. More about the tape, you ask? Here are some excerpts. Gotta go! (AAS + HC 2/13) 2/13/99
GEORGE SHARES IN Y2K PLAN THAT "RIPS THE DEMOCRATS APART." It turns out that the Guv's lack of leadership over the Y2K problem and his drive to protect businesses from computer-glitch lawsuits (see 2/5 below) parallels a national Republican strategy to shift silicon campaign money from moderate Democrats to the GOP. "The fundraising potential is enormous." 2/12/99
G-DUB, ANTI-GAY LEGISLATION, AND TINKY WINKY. Bills banning gay or lesbian adoptions or foster care placements were introduced this week. The wording of one bill "suggests that even if the foster or adoptive parents aren't homosexual, they could be disqualified by the presence of a gay or lesbian person in the household." Another would include bisexuals and make the foster care ban retroactive. Asked to comment the Guv said, "our agencies ought to work hard to make sure that adoptions and foster children are placed in traditional homes -- man and wife." He declined to comment on whether gays and lesbians should be banned from adopting children or being foster parents, or whether children should be removed from households headed by homosexuals. (AAS 2/12) In a Tinky Winky update, Johna Goldberg said, "My understanding is that in America, the biggest audience for Teletubbies is moms playing with their kids. The second biggest audience is pot-heads taking Rastafarian communion while knee deep in 7-11 microwavable burrito wrappers." 2/12/99
BUSH BACKER TERMS C-SPAN INTERVIEW "INAUSPICIOUS." "Bush badly needs some coaching lessons in speaking without a script; otherwise he’ll be creamed in the numerous debates that will take place within a short period of time next year. Asked by Brian Lamb if he likes reading, Bush said, 'Yes, a lot.' Prodded as to what kind of books he enjoys he answered: 'I love history. I just finished reading The Sword of San Jacinto about Sam Houston. I like occasional social commentary. I say occasional; I occasionally read social commentary. But I love history. I was a history major in college and I spent a lot of time on history. I’m trying to wrack my brain now that you asked me to think of all the great history books. Well, I mean, The River Also Rises, the book about the Mississippi River that flooded; the ’27 flood, I believe it was, of the Mississippi. It’s a great book... It’s amazing to be interested in history and living—making history. It’s an interesting coincidence.' As my friend Binyamin Jolkovsky would say: Oy!" 2/11/99
RITA BRAVER (CBS) CALLS BUSH "COY AND FLIRTATIOUS....COCKY AND CONFIDENT." "There’s something a bit scary about the idea that someone is thinking about running, not because he burns to shape the nation, but because he seems to be in the right place, at the right time with the right name and the right friends....He seems to have the style thing down just right. The question that remains is whether he has the substance to go with it." See above. ("Politics" 2/1) 2/11/99
RETIRED "ARCHCONSERVATIVE" U.S. HOUSE REP. FORMS DRAFT BUSH HOUSE COMMITTEE TO CUT INTO DOLE LEAD IN N.H. With "By George, American Wants You!" as its logo, the group is shooting for 100 House signatures. (AAS 2/11) 2/11/99
HEY GUV, HOW DO YOU SAY "BENIGN NEGLECT" IN SPANISH? Bush has had over 4 years to do right for higher education in heavily-Hispanic San Antonio and has failed. The UT Board of Regents dragged its feet in providing a university in the first place, now it's spending less $ per student than at the other three branches, passing the costs on to the students: "the cost for attending UTSA is almost $2,000 above the average for Texas public universities." UTSA also has the poorest student-to-teacher ratio and the fewest tenured faculty per student. Obviously, Bush talk about cooperation with his Latino voter friends does not translate into meaningful action to correct inequities in higher-education. 2/10/99
DRAFT SPIN CONTINUES AS IOWAN PILGRIMAGE TO AUSTIN MEETS WITH SUCCESS WHEN GUV GRANTS AUDIENCE. George promised the visitors he would actively campaign in Iowa next Febuary (DMN), so no plans for a candlelight vigil took shape, although one GOP consultant said, "Why go to Iowa when you can get Iowa to come to you?" 2/9/99
NEW TEXAS CONSTITUTION LOOKS D.O.A. AND POLITICAL FORENSICS FINDS NO BUSH FINGERPRINTS. The last time the legislature tried to push through a constitutional revision in the mid-70's, all hell broke loose. Dubya recently put legislators on notice to make nice for the visiting reporters so he can be the no-sweat GOP presidential candidate, and he meant it. The word is to "start a constitutional revision process, which would be continued with further study during the interim before the 2001 session," giving George plenty of time to leave town before the fireworks start. 2/9/99
GUV CALLED "COUNTRY CLUB REPUBLICAN" BY CHRISTIAN COALITION ATTENDEE AS N.H. HEATS UP. While theocrats suggest Bush "cares more about economic issues than social issues such as abortion," it will be easy for him to favor the spirit, if not the letter, of the broadly supported proposed state religious liberties bill. "In 1997 the U.S. Supreme Court said the (Clinton-backed) law...prohibiting the federal government from interfering with religious expression unless it possessed a compelling reason to do so...could stand, but that it could not be applied to state and local governments." This has caused the states to craft such legislation on their own. The language of the Texas bill has yet to be agreed to, and, as both Theocrats and Country Club Republicans know, "the devil is in the details." 2/8/99
READ MY COLUMN: NO NEW TEXAS! Sacramento scribe fears that California could become a Texas clone, and Bush is partly to blame. 2/8/99
DUBYA'S CRUMBLING COALITION: THEOCRATS DEMAND ACTION FROM "MODERATE" BUSH. "There's a lot of doubt in my mind that he means what he says," opines Texas Eagle Forum rep. "Social conservatives" point to past Bush failed promises and call for voucher legislation, abortion restrictions, and protection of religious liberties. Clay Robison suspects "that Bush is using the ('compassionate conservative') label to appeal to a broad cross section...without using the word 'moderate,' a much hated term on his party's right wing." George Will sees G-Dub's political language in a sinister light: "Bush's rhetoric, like Clinton's which it mimics, is evidence of more than just conservative panic about the public's receptivity to Clinton's belief that pathos is the primary business of politics. Rather, Bush's manner of speaking is evidence that Clinton's political style is not idiosyncratic but symptomatic. The conflation of culture and government is far advanced." The danger Wills sees is that a government on a "therapeutic mission both fuels and legitimizes government's expansions into new spheres of society's and individuals' lives." If true, consider the Theocrats' bill for services rendered if George should ever make it to the White House. 2/7/99
POLITICAL SUNDAY FUNNIES.There's George Will's Simon LaGree ending to his piece on Bush, rhetoric, and government as well as Bob Ray Sanders' take on the "growing 'chigro' problem in American." 2/7/99
CNN INTERVIEW: BUSH DEFINES CHILDHOOD AS CONTINUING INTO ONE'S 30'S Refuses to discuss any uses of drugs "as a child...20 to 30 years ago," because "it is irrelevant." 2/6/99
IF GUV WANTS CHILDREN TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS, WHY DOES HE ALLOW HIS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO MAKE THE WRONG ONES? ASKS GROUPS CONCERNED ABOUT UNDERAGE DRINKING. The Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife tempts kids with booze promotions and advertising in their parks, programs, and publications. Bud, alone, has poured in $5.8 million since 1991. It's time for W. to stop such promotions and advertising despite the protests of the parks officials and booze merchants. Of course, that means giving more state cash to Parks and Wildlife and giving less to reduce taxes on wealthy landowners. (See 1/31) 2/6/99
"Y TU, QUE?" LARGER HISPANIC VOTER SURVEY FOR PAST ELECTION CONCLUDES GEORGE GOT 39%, NOT 49% AS CLAIMED. G-Dub has opportunity to show that "Juntos Podemos" isn't just gas by complementing the Anglo woman and the Hispanic on the UT board of regents with another Hispanic, an Afro-American, and a non-Anglo woman,implies Carlos Guerra. 2/5/99
Y2K? DETAILS OF BUSH LEADERSHIP FAILURE SHOW ONLY 11 OF THE TOP 30 STATE AGENCIES "ON TARGET." PUBLIC SAFETY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE ARE IN THE WORST SHAPE, ALONG WITH THREE OTHERS. (No link.) Those five "are considered to be at risk of not being fully prepared," says Carolyn Purcell, executive director of the Department of Information Resources, the overseeing agency. Two questions. What would an independent 2YK expert report? Given the serious downside to this time-sensitive problem, why wasn't the Governor tracking this lack of progress from the start? (AAS, 2/5 and 1/28 below.) 2/5/99
DUBYA/MAD DOG'S BENEFACTOR'S SAN ANTONIO ED-STAMP PROGRAM NOT WORKING. BUSH SPINNER SAYS "GOV. BUSH BELIEVES WE SHOULD LOOK AT ANOTHER (PILOT PROGRAM)." Try Mars, Guv, 'cause what the Theocrats want is out of this world. The $50 million voucher program, backed by Leininger and Walton money, sent "the best students" out of public schools to private schools and "turned away disabled special education students." Such students are the most expensive to teach. The San Antonio project is the latest, largest, and best financed anti-public school program in the U.S. Presently, the pro-voucher lobby's media arm is financing a telemarketing blitz to convince the legislature to go with their flow. George says he wants a pilot voucher program "to see if it works." Earth to Guv: we already have one in San Antonio and it doesn't. (AAS,2/4) 2/4/99
BUSH SEES SHADOW: SIX MORE WEEKS OF UNDECLARED CANDIDACY. A gathering of citizens and out-of-state visitors as well as crews of international reporters watched as George W. Bush stepped out of the governor's mansion early this morning into Austin sunshine, amidst groans from many of the observers. It was previously determined that if Bush saw his own shadow on the morning of the second day of February, he would wait at least six more weeks before declaring his presidential candidacy. Sandra People, 26, of Scranton, Pa. said, "It's something unusual, something you can say you did once." It was not immediately clear whether People was talking about her viewing of the event or the Governor's long-anticipated announcement of his presidential candidacy. 2/2/99
17 Disabled Protesters Arrested Outside Governor's Mansion as they protested Bush decision to fight a federal court case that stands to broaden states' treatment for people with disabilities. Guv said, "I want the decision made in Texas, not through a federal court."
Coalition of Theocrats including Ralph Reed's Christian Coalition and Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum meet with Forbes, Kasich, Bauer, Smith, Keyes, and Quayle in attempt to select consensus WH2K candidate to the right of Bush, Dole, McCain, and Alexander.
Oilman Bush's first order of busine$$: "give emergency status to proposal to suspend (4.6%) severance taxes on oil production until Aug. 31." (AAS, 2/3)
W. to have Austin meetings with New York City's Mayor Giuliani on 2/ll and William Hugue, head of Britain's Conservative Party the following day.
Bush Housing Dept. appointees still under legal, legislative fire in the scandal that won't go away. (4th item.)
Dubya's spinlady scolds reporters with a "caution." What's next, her way or the highway? 2/3/99
DAD, JEB, AND DUBYA KEEP MUM AT ALFALFA CLUB'S ANNUAL YUKFEST. With over 500 of Washington's top judicial jokesters on hand for the annual raucous caucus, perhaps G-Dub thought it wise not to remind anyone of the joke he served up at last year's gathering: he said that as the Alfalfa Club's mock presidential nominee he would "propose that every city have a telephone number, 119--for dyslexics who have an emergency." Alan Simpson, the mock nominee this year, said he would "retain a clear knowledge of the difference between a horse race and a political race. In a horse race, the entire horse runs!" 2/2/99
"BUSH'S PRINCIPAL POLITICAL ADVISER" CALLS ATTACK ON 60'S LEGACY BY LITERATURE PH.D. THE "ROAD MAP TO THE GOVERNOR'S ATTITUDES ON THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT." (From fifth paragraph on.) Conservative Myron Magnet's book contends overzealous liberals "held the poor back from advancement by robbing them of responsibility for their fate and thus further squelching their initiative and energy....For the breakdown of the poor to be healed and the moral confusion of the Haves to be dispelled, we need above all to repair the damage that has been done to the beliefs and values that have made America remarkable and that for two centuries have successfully transformed huddled masses of the poor into free and prosperous citizens." Is The Dream and the Nightmare really about "discipline for the lower orders"? (Third section.) (AAS, 1/27/99) 2/1/99
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