Sigh:

Gov. Rick Perry certainly has taken his shots at Washington officials, labeling them power-grabbing, free-spending socialists. And now he says the feds are firing back.

The state lost the $2.6 billion contract for producing Army trucks. The Johnson Space Center is facing the cancellation of a $108 billion moon launch program. The Environmental Protection Agency is breathing down the state’s smoggy neck, as are other federal regulators.

Some believe that Texas skated during the Bush administration, and now regulations are being enforced. Or that with huge deficits, some programs and contracts are going to be cut.

And then there are those, including the governor, who believe Texas is being punished for having dodged the worst of the recession and for taunting Washington’s ear-marking ways.

“I tell people this president has put a target on Texas’ back,” Perry said last weekend, citing NASA cuts. “And I don’t appreciate it.”

First of all, Gov. Perry can’t have it both ways. He can’t rail against out-of-control Washington spending and then complain that Texas isn’t getting enough of it.

As for the regulators breathing down our neck, here’s some of the federal actions Texas has faced recently:

•In January, the Environmental Protection Agency declared more Texans breathe dirty air than previously believed, triggering requirements to cut pollution.

•In March, the EPA disapproved of the state’s permitting program for small and midsize businesses that emit pollution, saying it did not meet requirements of the Clean Air Act.

•This summer, the EPA is expected also to reject the state’s flexible permits for big industrial plants.

•The head of the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service reiterated that Texas faces a $173 million fine for delays in missed deadlines in processing food stamp benefits.

•The Department of Education rejected the state test given to license new elementary school teachers, saying it failed No Child Left Behind standards. Thousands of teachers will have to take new competency tests.

Sounds like we’re simply dealing with a government that actually wants its agencies to enforce the law. Unless Texas is the only state being regulated, this is just another meritless political attack on the Obama administration from the governor.  

The article also points to our state’s lack of political clout in Congress, for which we have Republicans to blame:

In the 2003 midterm redistricting push by Perry, a new Republican-tilting map was drawn that helped topple six longtime Democratic incumbents.

When the Democrats took control of Congress in 2008, Texas’ delegation was heavy with GOP members and had few seasoned Democrats in line to claim powerful chairmanships.

“It always helps when you have important friends,” Hickey said. “Those members of Congress are just critical.”

Democratic political operative Matt Angle agrees.

“Texas is struggling because it weakened its congressional delegation, taking away 100 years of seniority,” Angle said. “When you have to decide how the pie is cut up, Texas doesn’t have anyone holding the knife.”

The state’s problems are tied to Perry’s policies, he said.

“The chickens are coming home to roost a little for Perry,” Angle said. “And it’s typical bluster and audacity by Rick Perry to try to make himself a victim when he is the perpetrator.”

Perry pilloried Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the primary for bringing funding to the state, and now he’s bemoaning losing contracts and blaming Obama, Angle said.

On federal regulations, he said, “You don’t have disproportionate enforcement in Texas. You have disproportionate noncompliance in Texas.”

And you know what will solve these problems? A new governor.

As Nat-Wu noted in the previous post, the big news from last night’s Texas primaries is that Bill White and Gov. Rick Perry won their respectives races for their party’s gubernatorial nomination. White easily defeated all the other Democratic candidates with 76% of the vote. Gov. Perry also managed to get 51% of the vote, defeating Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina outright. While it would have been ideal for him to have been forced into a runoff while our candidate began his general election campaign, the outcome isn’t that surprising. Go Bill White!

Runoffs were also avoided in the other contested statewide races. Linda Chavez-Thompson won the nomination for Lt. Governor on the Democratic side. Hank Gilbert defeated Kinky Friedman in the Ag. Commissioner’s race and Hector Uribe will be the Dem’s Land Commissioner candidate. All of our endorsed candidates won except for Ronnie Earle in the Lt. Governor race.

On the Republican side, the crazy wing of the party didn’t do as well as you might have thought they would. Tea Party challengers to Republican incumbents were mostly defeated across the state, doing better in state legislative races than Congressional ones. Thomas Ratliff, a more moderate Republican, managed to beat State Board of Education member and prominent social conservative Don McLeroy – a victory for those of us who still want science to be taught to our kids. State Rep. Todd Smith, whom conservatives blame for letting the Voter ID bill die, easily defeated his challenger Jeff Cason.

Statewide Democratic Results

Statewide Republican Results

With the 2010 primaries coming up, the TWM wanted to let everyone know where we stand. While it will be tough year in an already tough state, we believe the Democratic side has some of its best candidates in years. Below we offer our endorsements in the contested statewide races (the attorney general’s race is uncontested with 2006 U.S. Senate candidate and Houston lawyer Barbara Ann Radnofsky running. Unfortunately, no Democratic candidates filed to run for the comptroller’s office), along with each endorsed candidate’s websites so that you can read about their background, issue stances, etc. in detail. Primary day is March 2nd (first day of early voting is Feburary 16th). Don’t forget to vote!

Governor: Bill White

Former Houston governor Bill White is by far the most promising candidate running on the gubernatorial side. Hands down he has the most experience with his three terms as governor of what is one of Texas’s largest cities. There he gained popularity and was known as being able to work with Democrats and Republicans. In the governor’s race, he offers the clearest chance (as supported by polling) that Democrats have of beating whomever wins the Republican primary with his popularity, name recognition, common sense ideas, and ability to organize and fundraise. There’s a real shot for Democrats to win the governorship this time around and the choice is clear.

http://www.billwhitefortexas.com/

Lt. Governor: Ronnie Earle

Unlike the other contested races where I feel there is clearly a best candidate, this race features two solid candidates: former DA for Travis County Ronnie Earle (who has gone after Kay Bailey Hutchison and Tom Delay for corruption charges) and ex-VP of the AFL-CIO and vice chair of the DNC, Linda Chavez-Thompson. Both have proud credentials that will excite the base, but I believe Ronnie Earle edges out as the toughest challenger to someone like David Dewhurst. Chavez-Thompson would too easily be painted as an out-of-step liberal with this state, while Earle knows how to fight off charges that he’s a partisan hack (he’s prosecuted just as many Democrats, if not more).

http://www.ronnieearle.com/

Ag. Commissioner: Hank Gilbert

Gilbert is running again and his opposition is Kinky Friedman. Given that information, I almost feel I don’t need to say much more. Hank is the only real Democrat and this race, but he’s also a good candidate. When he ran back in 2006, he carried 46 counties in Texas, many of which had not been carried by a Democratic candidate in years.

http://hankgilbert.com/

Land Commissioner:  Hector Uribe

Former State Senator Hector Uribe is the best choice over Bill Burton, who served as a JP in Henderson County. I give Burton props for being elected in that part of the state (where my parents live actually), but Uribe has the edge on experience and would be the most likely to pull out a victory.

http://hectoruribe.com/

Quite amusing:

Texas has one of the most conservative delegations in Congress, yet more than half of the state’s Republicans in the U.S. House face challengers from the right – most inspired by the anti-tax Tea Party movement.

It’s a sign of discontent among conservatives that could make for a messy spring, even as Republicans expect huge gains in House races across the country later in the year.

Many of the challengers want little more than to vent, shake up the GOP and prod Washington toward fiscal responsibility. If they win, so much the better. Others want it all: a GOP purified by combat and reborn ideologically.

Most hilarious to me is that turncoat Rep. Ralph Hall has the most challengers – five.

Now are any of these candidates going to give these Congresspersons a serious run for their money? Probably not, but hey, anything that divides Republicans against each other I’ll take, especially since almost every member of Texas’ U.S. House delegation looks to be safe this time around (glad some Dem is running against Mike McCaul though, given he’s the only GOPer even slightly vulnerable, even if he is the guy that ran last time).

UPDATE: And Libertarians have candidates for every office!