So, what did I miss?

The trouble with a political blog hiatus during the run up to one of the most hectic primary seasons in a long while is missing out on all the good juicy bits of news. In an effort to catch up, here are some links to the big stories of the last couple of weeks - mostly for my own reference, but hey, maybe some of you were buried and need the update, too.

Kay Bailey Hutchison announced she isn't resigning until after the primary. I was actually at the TFRW convention when she made this announcement. So all the players stay where they are for the time being, because no one is going to challenge the Dew or Abbott with the kind of cash they have to play with, and no one can run for the Senate because the seat isn't open until 2012 or KBH resigns, whichever comes first. Incidentally, what's the over/under on Kay staying put until at least the gubernatorial inauguration?

Meanwhile, Democrat Tom Schieffer pulled his name out of the Dem's free-for-all gubernatorial primary, and it looks increasingly like almost-former Houston mayor Bill White is in. White has been running a campaign for U.S. Senate to replace KBH (see note about re: timing) and has some serious support for this new idea.

Speaking of Houston, early voting in the mayoral run-off began today.

A bunch of Republican candidates have emerged in Travis County - Bryan Law in HD 49 (LSR note on this here), Paul Workman and Holly Turner in HD 47. Look for more as filing opens on Thursday.

Dan Gattis announced he isn't running for SD 5 after all. A collective sigh of disappointment went up over central Texas when this hit the wire last night, but constituents need not fear. We actually want Senator Ogden right where he is as the budget will be such a huge issue going into the 82nd Legislature (that is, if the rumors, and Gattis, are right about Ogden's intentions). Meanwhile, we have Dan weighing in on interim charges. It will be okay, ladies and gents.

State Rep. Brian McCall announced, somewhat surprisingly, that he is not seeking reelection. Plano city councilmember Mabrie Jackson jumped in almost immediately. In other Collin County/DFW news, State Senator Florence Shapiro announced she will file...for reelection to the state senate.

Assuming everyone has heard this, but RPT Executive Director Eric Opiela has resigned. We wish Eric the best in his future endeavors, and thank him for his work.

Hey, looky there! Global warming is a hoax. No, really.

Guaranteed tuition is "guaranteed" again. A real shame that the state can't really keep funding this, especially as long as tuition hikes continue at the rate they're going.

More scandal with the Texas Youth Commission.

Okay, that's about all I can take. Assume for now that the onslaught of news is about to get real, folks. The "political season" is upon us.

Inching out from under my rock.....

LOTS going on!! So much to write about!

But. Before I start.

To the anti-incumbent movement: I believe in challenging incumbents - as in, the ELECTED DEMOCRAT INCUMBENTS that run Travis County from the schoolhouse to the state house! Your local taxing entities have more power than freshmen congressmen, and more direct control over what is happening with your taxes, the regulations you deal with, and the problems we all see in education, transportation, and more. MUD boards, school boards, city councils, county commissioner courts, judicial seats at all levels, state legislative districts - this is where change needs to happen first and foremost, ESPECIALLY in Travis County!

Candidate filing for partisan races on the March 2 primary ballot begins on Thursday.

Travis County partisan seats where no one (so far) has announced they will oppose the incumbent Democrat are:

State House Districts 46 and 50
State Senate District 14
District Courts: 147, 201, 250, 261, 299, 331, 403, 419
District Clerk
County Courts at Law: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
County Judge
Commissioners Court, Precinct 4
County Clerk
County Treasurer
Justices of the Peace: 1, 4, 5

And it isn't too early to start talking about the non-partisan local races that will take place in May 2010.

I have some things to say about the "burn it to the ground and salt the earth" mentality of the anti-incumbent movement, but those will have to wait until I catch up with the slew of news that has been happening during this blogging hiatus.

Interested in challenging the incumbent Democrats in the seats listed above? Call this office.

Temporary Hiatus

This blog is on hiatus until December 1.

My mother Lillian, who is suffering from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), is currently hospitalized after a second battle with pneumonia. Things are not going terribly well.

I am on hiatus from blogging and politics while all of this is going on. I will be back on the first of December, if for no other reason than to check in.

Prayers for my mother's comfort, my dad's strength, and my family's well-being would be greatly appreciated.

There were 14 murdered at Ft. Hood

Twelve military victims, one civilian. And one unborn child.

I agree with Sen. Hutchison, who told National Review Online the following: "Private Velez's family lost two family members at the hands of Nidal Hasan. As a supporter of Laci and Conner's Law, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, I believe the military should, as they have been authorized to do, charge Nidal Hasan with fourteen counts of murder."

As it is, the charges against Hasan are 13 counts of premeditated murder.

I don't need the justice system to confirm this, however. 14 souls were sent to their Maker that awful day, and at the hands of a terrorist.

Daily Texan denied access to UT-Austin tuition meeting

It is mostly inevitable that the University of Texas will raise tuition at some point in the near future. So when the UT-Austin Tuition Policy Advisory Committee decides to hold a hearing, one would think that what is discussed in that meeting would be important enough for the Daily Texan to send in a reporter.

And the Daily Texan thought so, too.

The university administration, on the other hand, did not, and denied admittance to the Daily Texan's reporter.

Whoops.

If memory serves (and the Lone Star Report's Will Lutz assures me, memory does indeed serve), when tuition deregulation was passed in 2003 largely at the urgent behest of the University of Texas system administration, transparency and accountability were assured.

But apparently, having a reporter in the room would "inhibit" some of the people (i.e., student body representatives) there. They might not feel like they could say what they really mean (i.e., they may not feel like they could agree with the administration if the student body could find out about it).

The Daily Texan admits that this may be true, but makes a case for their presence that I think is extremely important (emphasis mine):

[Those] concerns are understandable. The presence of The Daily Texan — which was denied access to a committee meeting Thursday night — at discussions might cause members to hesitate before speaking frankly on financial matters that could draw controversy.

But the committee was formed in the interest of students. And the interest of students, who are accustomed to news of rising costs, is served by open discussion — both good and bad news — concerning tuition rates. UT’s involved student body, for which The Daily Texan is just one voice, should be involved in this deliberation.

Amen.

Why do Communist crimes go unpunished?

A really great post up at Volokh Conspiracy by Ilya Somin answers the question of why the neglect of Communist crimes matters. Since this week we are remembering not just the 90th anniversary of Armistice but also the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall falling, I thought this would be very interesting to share with you.

Take this into consideration:

It is unlikely that communism will reappear in the exact form practiced by Lenin, Stalin, or Mao. However, the core ideas of socialism and class warfare are still advocated by various political movements and governments, especially in the Third World; for example, by rulers such as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, both of whom have cited the communists as models for their own policies. Sometimes, socialism and class conflict are coupled with extreme nationalism and oppression of minority groups, a combination pioneered by the Nazis. The debate over socialism is far from over. Moreover, future political and technological developments could make a resurgence of socialist totalitarianism more likely.

It ain't over yet, folks. The wall fell, and it was a victory - as a friend said the other day with regards to Berlin, "Es war eine grosse Seig fuer die Freiheit. Fuer Deutschland, natuerlich, aber doch fuer den ganzen Welt." Non-German speakers, that means "It was a big victory for freedom. For Germany, naturally, but also for the whole world." But it was just that - a victory - and not the end of the fight.

For more information: check out the Foundation for Investigation of Communist Crimes. There are statistics from the Black Book of Communism here. Information on Communist crimes in Vietnam can be found here.

When it comes to Austin in February, I urge you to see Formosa Betrayed, about Chinese oppression in Taiwan.

Nov. 11, 2009 - 90th anniversary of the end of the Great War

I suppose most people, despite [maybe] being taught this in their history classes in school, don't really remember that Veterans Day in the United States was born of Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day as it is known in many places.

The eleventh day, at the eleventh hour....

This day is being commemorated worldwide, not just in the U.S. There is a great blog post up at Samurai Dave about the end of the Great War.

It has been 90 years since the end of that war, which was supposed to end all wars. The war that really didn't end until 1945, and even then, you have to be really optimistic to think that the problems that sparked the original war in 1911 were without consequences that last to this day.

Two summers ago, I had the chance to visit the National WWI Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. It was an incredible experience. We grew up on the stories of World War II, but World War I could have happened 1000 years ago for all we learned about it growing up. 90 years ago is not that long ago, in the grand scheme. If you ever have a chance to visit Kansas City and go to the museum, please do so. Take your kids with you.

Thank you, veterans

This day is for my Dad, the Cold War veteran who tells stories about Russian submarines in the Mediterranean. For my Mom, the Vietnam and Cold War veteran, who got to work in the Pentagon, and who is now a disabled veteran suffering from ALS. For my father-in-law Warren, a United States Army veteran.

For Grandpa Jim, who served in the Navy in WWII, and in the Marines in Korea; make no mistake, he's a Semper Fi kinda guy. My Uncle Tim, a Cold War, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and all the conflicts in between veteran. For Uncle Pat, a Cold War Marine, who still oo-rahs with the best of them. For Uncle Jim, a Vietnam and Cold War veteran. For Uncle Billy, a Marine vet who served in Vietnam. For Aunt Edith, a Marine Corps Vietnam vet suffering from Alzheimer's disease. For my cousins Colette, Judy, Veronica, and Matt - in the Air Force and the Navy - serving today. For my brother-in-law Scott, who is training to be an officer in the Marine Corps.

For Grandpa Brice, who participated in many battles in the Pacific in World War II. He was awarded the Navy Cross, and none of us knew it until he passed away in 1993. He always told my mother that he was just a merchant sailor in the northern Pacific during the war.

For Great-Uncle Pat, who stormed the beach at Normandy. For our cousin Bill, who

For the family members whose names I'm still getting to know, who served in World War I, in the Spanish-American War, and in Indian conflicts on the plains. For the not-so-removed cousin who served in the Massachusetts cavalry during the Civil War, his brother who served in the infantry, and the cousins from the other side of the family who served the Bonnie Blue Flag despite just having come off the boat from Ireland.

For the family members from Massachusetts who fought a war for freedom from England.

For Mark, Josh and Kevin, who served in Iraq, and came back bearing terrible scars. "Thank you" will never be enough.

For Chris, who served in Afghanistan with the Marine Corps.

For the other Chris, just back from serving in the Navy.

For Alex and James, still holding down the fort so to speak, as Navy reservists.

For Joe, on his third tour in Iraq as a reservist in the Marines.

For Jason R. and Colby, who served in the Air Force, and Tristen, who was in the Coast Guard.

For Grant, Jason F., Josh, Julian, Tom, Robert, Jeremy, Eric, Kevin, Bobby, and all the people I'm forgetting and the ones I've never met, who served or are serving in the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force.

Last but by no means least - for Commander David Connole, who served in the United States Navy during WWII. His submarine, the USS Trigger, was attacked and sunk in April 1945, and later a USN frigate was christened after him. Cmdr. Connole was awarded the Silver Star posthumuously.

Chuck Hopson - New Republican

I know it's been quiet here lately, but only because things offline have been very busy. There has been plenty going on in the state political realm.

So. Big news last Friday. In the biggest party-switching news of the week, State Rep. Chuck Hopson declared his allegiance to the Republican Party. A few things happened in quick succession:

1 - Young Conservatives of Texas put out a press release making sure the record is straight on Hopson's voting record. He's got a lifetime composite score of 38 - which puts him among the most conservative Democrats, but no where near even moderate Republicans.

2 - Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the group with the money that made all the difference in Hopson's last election, endorsed him on Tuesday.

3 - Brian Keith Walker, Hopson's former opponent, has thrown his support to Hopson, calling him a conservative.

4 - Harold Cook, a longtime Democrat consultant, says he's happy to go to Hopson's district and campaign for "liberal Hopson." But local Cherokee County Dems are not happy with Hopson at all.

5 - Hopson has already drawn at least one Republican primary opponent, Dr. Michael Banks of Jacksonville.


I think it goes without saying that from a purely GOP perspective, Hopson's party switch is a major victory. This means the Republicans have picked up a seat and widened their majority without even trying. With Wichita Falls Rep. David Farabee's retirement, and an election year that is going to mean new Republican votes in many places.....I think the purported "blue Texas" my liberal counterparts have been so excited about is fast becoming a forgotten dream.

Via BOR: Where you can give blood to help Ft. Hood victims

Breaking a blogger rule to get the word out to more people. Blood donors are needed to help Ft. Hood shooting victims, and you can go to the following places in the Austin area if you want to help.

Thanks to Phillip at Burnt Orange Report for posting this list originally.

All Austin Area Seton Medical Centers

Click here for a map to find the location nearest you.

University Medical Center Brackenridge
phone: 512.324.7000
601 East 15th Street
Austin, TX 78701

Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas
phone: 512.324.0000
4900 Mueller Blvd
Austin, TX 78723

Seton Medical Center Austin
phone: 512.324.1000
1201 West 38th Street
Austin, TX 78705

Seton Edgar B. Davis Hospital
phone: 830.875.7000
130 Hays Street
Luling, TX 78648

Seton Highland Lakes Hospital
phone: 512.715.3000
3201 S Water St
Burnet, TX 78611

Seton Northwest Hospital
phone: 512.324.6000
11113 Research Boulevard
Austin, TX 78759

Seton Southwest Hospital
phone: 512.324.9000
7900 FM-1826
Austin, TX 78737

Seton Shoal Creek Hospital
phone: 512.324.2000
3501 Mills Avenue
Austin, TX 78731

Seton Medical Center Williamson
phone: 512.324.4000
201 Seton Parkway
Round Rock, TX 78665

Cedar Park Regional Medical Center
phone: 512.528.7000
1490 E Whitestone Blvd
Cedar Park, TX 78613

Seton Medical Center Hays
phone: 512.504.5000
6001 Kyle Parkway
Kyle, TX 78640

Central Texas Rehabilitation Hospital
phone: 512.406.6300
1201 West 38th Street
Austin, TX 78705

The Blood and Tissue Centers in Central Texas

Austin Donor Center
4300 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78756

Cedar Park Donor Center
920 N Vista Ridge Blvd, Suite 560 (at FM 1431)
Cedar Park, TX 78613

Georgetown Donor Center
1015 W University Ave, Suite 340 (in Wolf Ranch Town Center)
Georgetown, TX 78628

Round Rock Donor Center
2132 North Mays, Suite 900
Round Rock, TX 78664

South Austin Donor Center
9500 S IH-35, Bldg L, Suite 800
(Southpark Meadows: Right on Slaughter Lane, then left on Cullen, and look behind the Taco Bell.)
Austin, TX 78748

The Scott & White Hospital in Temple

Click here to find directions to the location

From their website:

Please come to Scott & White Blood Donor Center and donate blood as soon as possible, we are located in Room 115 next the McLane Dining Room in the main hospital. We are open today until at least 7 p.m. and you can contact us at 254-724-4376 if you need any assistance on determining your eligibility to donate.

UPDATED: Shooting at Fort Hood leaves 12 dead, 31 injured

UPDATE 3:00pm: The Statesman has a Twitter account open for breaking updates. Follow @FtHoodShootings or check the hashtag #FtHood

UPDATE 3:37pm: Live video news updates from Fort Hood

UPDATE 3:47pm: Reports coming in: 9 dead and 27 injured. People can check Red Cross website to check on and report that loved ones are okay.

UPDATE 3:51pm: Gov. Perry will hold a press avail regarding today's Fort Hood shootings at 4:30pm at the UNT Gateway Alumni Center in Denton

Killeen ISD schools in Fort Hood are on lockdown after a shooting at Fort Hood left seven dead today. NBC has the full story.

No word yet on whether it was military personnel or civilians. KXXV, the ABC affiliate for Waco/Killeen/Temple, says the Army is reporting 20 are injured.

Temple ISD schools are on "soft" lockdown and will release on time today.

I'll update as I find out more. Robbie over at UrbanGrounds has information as well.

UPDATE 2:57pm: An aide to Congressman John Carter was at Fort Hood today, says that he saw a soldier with blood on his uniform run by saying that a man was shooting. H/T NT Conservative.

UPDATE 3:06pm: Reports are coming in that two shooters are on the run, one in custody. There's a live feed of the Dallas helicopter en route to the scene here.

UPDATE 3:11pm: Security increases at Ft. Stewart in Georgia according to WSAV Executive Producer.

UPDATE 3:29pm: KLBJ's Jeff Ward reported that the shooters were wearing military uniforms

OT: The Yankees win #27!!

I haven't been this happy about a baseball game in a very, very long time.

Thanks, boys. I know my mom appreciates it.

Levity from the Cap Metro sunset report

I count myself lucky that I don't have to read through sunset reports as part of my daily job, but I know people who do. I got clearance to share this tidbit y'all might find interesting:

Capital Metro is explaining, in the report, which policies give them concern and will cause them trouble in the future. In the ADA section, Capital Metro says:

"This service currently consumes approximately 20% of the agency's budget for two percent of its riders."

Wow! Think about how the rest of us taxpayers feel on a daily basis. This transit authority consumes 44% of our local sales tax revenue for less than 2% of our daily commuters.

Majority of ISD tax increases passed Tuesday

Oh, now, come on, people! At least Lake Travis ISD voters rejected their tax increase. 26 districts passed tax increases yesterday - roughly 63% of school district tax increases that were on Tuesday's ballot. Which, admittedly, is down from a high of 93% in 2006. But with voter turnout so low everywhere, you have to think that apathy prevented more tax increase rejections.

The Statesman article I linked to above mentions that Canutillo ISD, near El Paso, was one of the districts where the tax increase failed. The El Paso Times has an article about what the failure means. Scare tactics like these apparently failed to move voters: "With the $1.9 million revenue the Canutillo school district would have received if the proposal on the ballot had passed, officials were looking to increase salaries of 900 employees, which required $500,000. Other expenses Canutillo was looking to fund with the tax increase included building upgrades to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act."

It's no wonder, though - Canutillo ISD is currently in bonded debt to the tune of $123,621,565 - over $100 million - and that was as of August 2008 (source: Texas Bond Review Board). What on earth did they do with over $100 million in bond building funds, some of which dates back to 1996, if they weren't making their buildings ADA compliant?! And with that kind of debt load, it isn't any wonder the district is having trouble meeting salary increases.

Until school districts learn to reign in their spending, voters should not approve tax increases, at least not without taking a hard look at where the money is going. I have to commend once again the voters in Lake Travis ISD and Canutillo ISD, and in the 13 other districts where people said "no" to tax increases during rough and uncertain economic times. At the same time, you have to wonder - if they had just said "no" a little earlier, to huge bonded debt, and demanded fiscal responsibility, would the districts have had to ask for tax increases now?

We need to learn that fiscal responsibility and accountability is important in times of plenty as well as in leaner days.

NY-23: Why Hoffman's loss was not a win for moderates

I started seeing this meme hit Twitter and Facebook last night: NY-23 was a referendum on conservatism, and maybe now the Republican Party will learn to run moderates in northern races because we can't win otherwise.

All due respect to the gentlemen who believe that, honestly. But I must disagree.

NY-23 was a referendum on nothing except poorly executed strategy and Republican establishment arrogance. This is a race that wasn't really a race until the NRCC began spending money (over $1 million, according to some estimates) slamming - you guessed it - Doug Hoffman instead of the Democratic candidate Bill Owens. The liberal Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava (and all indications are that she is, in fact, to the left of even Owens!), did not drop out of the race until late last week - absentee ballots had already begun arriving in election offices.

A great combination of factors ensured, ultimately, that Hoffman was going to lose.

Consider this: Hoffman is no one's idea of a politician, except the scrappy grassroots who are determined to grow citizen candidates. He didn't have a lot of money, and he was rejected by the Republican party insiders locally who thought only a liberal-leaning "career" politician could pull off a special election. Given the tremendous force going against him early on, he still got 45% of the vote. Owens only won with 49%. Scozzafava, not surprisingly, managed to scrape 6% of the vote because her name was still on the election day ballot, and up until Friday of last week, she was still running for the office.

Scozzafava did what an unknown third party candidate tends to do in hotly contested races. She made up the margin of victory and swung the race to the Democrat. She was responsible for what we in Travis County Texas might call the "Libertarian" effect on the final vote tally.

Let's face one other hard truth. Scozzafava may have been responsible for what was, in effect, third party shenanigans in the vote tally, but she was a candidate from one of the two major parties. Doug Hoffman was the true third party candidate. There is every chance that there were party-line voters who could not stomach voting for someone perceived as outside the mainstream - there is a reason third parties are more successful in polling than in elections. Despite the occasional wailing and gnashing of teeth from certain grassroots movements about the need for a third party in this country, none has ever been truly successful in doing anything other than taking votes away from a major party.

I know a lot of people won't want to hear that, but take a look at Virginia, where Republican Bob McDonnell ruled the day among independent voters. Despite all the rhetoric about the evil Republican Party, McDonnell won handily as a Republican.

I think there was a lot playing in NY-23 that those of us who weren't there for most of it haven't taken into account. Hoffman's loss is not about conservative versus moderate versus liberal. It is about Republican branding, and to whom Republican leadership lends aid. Had the Republicans backed the conservative from the get-go, like they did in Virginia, victory might have been Hoffman's. History bears this out - when a Republican at least talks like a conservative, he/she wins. Go liberal, and the base will revolt. They did in NY-23. They've done it elsewhere.

Last night's elections in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York were referenda on three things: Barack Obama's leadership, Congressional folly, and the Republican Party's embrace of individuals who do not represent the majority of Republican values.

Aggies, rural counties against Prop 4

(Readers: Please note that this post refers to Proposition 4 from the NOVEMBER 2009 ballot, and not Proposition 4 on the MARCH 2010 Republican primary ballot)

Despite the fact that Prop 4 will ultimately pass statewide, it is going down in Brazos County - the only county with a Tier One university to oppose Prop 4.

Gig 'em. :-D

The Houston Chronicle's Texas Politics blog is also reporting that Prop 4 is suffering in rural counties - and, perhaps not surprisingly, Williamson County.

Props 1 and 4 are only passing with about 57% of the total vote, whereas every other proposition has 60% in favor or better. With regards to Prop 4, I think this deserves some analysis, because clearly the Hobby-funded Texans for Tier One and the elected official support was not enough to ensure overwhelming victory - and a handful of conservative grassroots groups with far fewer resources (we didn't have billboards, for instance) managed to change quite a few minds.

Be interesting to see - did more Republicans turn out statewide than Democrats? We already know that was the case in early Travis County voting.

Beer/wine sales APPROVED in Hewitt, TX; liquor sales approved in Temple

Yeah, yeah, there are much bigger things going on. I know, but this is really interesting!!

Hewitt, Texas residents are so far rejecting propositions approving propositions that would allow beer and wine sales in stores and restaurants. Hewitt is near Waco, for the geographically-disinclined among you.

Meanwhile, in Temple, TX, voters are ALSO so far approving a referendum allowing liquor sales in stores.

Hewitt and Temple are probably an hour drive apart.

Just so you know.

All info via BallotPedia.

Election results coming in; post updated

I'll try and keep updating this post as election results trickle in. Polls officially closed in Texas about two minutes ago. I'll also update with some of the results from across the nation, as they are relevant to the conservative movement.

The first thing I want to link y'all to is a list of predictions for NY-23 on Red County. As a part of the editorial staff at Red County, I offered a prediction, listed with those of my fellow editors.Check it out here.

In Virginia, the governor's race has been called for Republican Bob McDonnell. Watch Creigh Deeds' concession here.

Live results (Politico has maps, including NY-23)

Texas (Constitutional Amendments)

Texas (Houston/Harris County)

Virginia

New Jersey

NY-23

Travis County early voting results are in. Here's how Travis County voted early on the propositions and local tax increases.

Ballot initiatives across the country being reported on here. Major issues include Taxpayer Bill of Rights in Maine and Washington, and a vote on same-sex marriage in Maine.

Travis County early voting results are in

Travis County early voting results, on the 11 state constitutional propositions and local elections:

Prop 1: 49.42% for, 50.58% against, 13,179 votes cast
Prop 2: 60.65% for, 39.35% against, 13,185 votes cast
Prop 3: 65.26% for, 34.74% against, 13,159 votes cast
Prop 4: 55.66% for, 44.34% against, 13,179 votes cast
Prop 5: 70.01% for, 29.99% against, 12,934 votes cast
Prop 6: 67.73% for, 32.27% against, 12,946 votes cast
Prop 7: 73.31% for, 26.69% against, 13,148 votes cast
Prop 8: 76.27% for, 23.73% against, 13,213 votes cast
Prop 9: 81.78% for, 18.22% against, 13,184 votes cast
Prop 10: 75.63% for, 24.37% against, 13,010 votes cast
Prop 11: 77.49% for, 22.51% against, 13,197 votes cast

City of Rollingwood Proposition: 65.13% for, 34.87% against, 152 votes cast

Village of the Hills Prop 1: 91.27% for, 8.73% against, 401 votes cast
Village of the Hills Prop 2: 93.03% for, 6.97% against, 402 votes cast

Lake Travis ISD Proposition: 44.12% for, 55.88% against, 1419 votes cast

Travis County ESD #11 Proposition: 76.00% for, 24.00% against, 75 votes cast

Confirmed: Republicans pick up seats in Palo Pinto, Hardin, McCulloch Counties

Confirmed! Here's the press release from the Texas GOP.

The national Democratic Party has left the locals, and they're flocking to the GOP. We are more than happy to welcome them with open arms.

ETA: Beaumont Enterprise has more on the Hardin County swaps.

House Ways & Means Chmn. against spending and revenue caps

"It is the ultimate act of arrogance to tell you how to spend your money."

No, that's not a quote from Ron Paul, or even John McCain. It's from Democrat State Rep. Rene Oliveira, chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, the committee that handles all taxation in the state of Texas. He said it while addressing a conference put on by the County Judges and Commissioners Association in Corpus Christi (more here).

It is in reference to revenue and spending caps for local governments. Oliveira believes that no one should tell counties and cities what to do in terms of spending - apparently, not even the people who elected county and city governments.

It is the ultimate act of arrogance to tell you how to spend your money - you being the taxpayer, who doesn't get much of a choice in how the governments who collect the taxes spend it. Oliveira claims that groups who want spending or revenue caps don't understand what it costs to run local governments. The thing is, we do understand - what we don't get is how a county can justify spending $100,000 or more on lobbyists for tax increases, or how a city can justify spending $40,000 or more to send elected officials to conferences. We don't get how requiring local governments to get a vote of the people (on a uniform election day) before spending beyond a certain limit is tyrannical - after all, the best form of local control happens at the polling booth.

Rep. Oliveira thinks it is arrogance to tell cities and counties how much they should be allowed to spend. This is the man controlling the committee that dictates tax law in the state of Texas.

You should be concerned. You should be very, very concerned.

PS - Rep. Oliveira was named Legislator of the Year by the Texas Association of Counties, an organization your city pays dues to belong to, and whose legislative agenda is blatantly contrary to taxpayer interests.

PPS - Along these same lines: Democrat State Rep. Garnet Coleman, who chairs the House County Affairs committee, said at this same conference, "The people who you pay for now through indigent health care will have insurance paid by the state and federal government if a meaningful health care reform bill passes Congress." A fancy way of saying, we're just going to shift the burden, and not actually do meaningful reform, and we'll congratulate ourselves when we do. Coleman was named a Champion of County Government by the Texas Association of Counties.

Party switching in Hardin and Palo Pinto Counties

This news is so huge, I'm almost afraid to post it.

This morning, various sources indicated that as many as 73 Democrat elected officials across the state are going to announce today that they are switching parties. 73 new Republicans, all over Texas, at the local level.

Confirmed switches: 4 in Palo Pinto County (the county judge, the county clerk, and two JPs) and 8 in Hardin County (positions unknown).

To give you political junkies some geographic orientation here, Palo Pinto is in State Rep. Jim Keffer's district, and Hardin is in State Rep. Tuffy Hamilton's. Both are Republicans, whose counties are the yellow-dog Democrat kind.

Not so much anymore.

I'm going to go ahead and post this - there will be more information on this later today.

The World Series and the Economy

Conor Dougherty from WSJ on the World Series and the economy:

"If the Yankees win the World Series the economy will have a nice bounce back in 2010 but if the Phillies prevail it will be a long slog to recovery, according to a Real Time Economics analysis of gross domestic product following Yankees and Phillies World Series victories since 1930."

So - Go Yanks.

Dems celebrate anniversary of election - Republicans turn out to vote

Organizing for America is "celebrating" the anniversary of the 2008 election by hosting Election Day Reunions across the state. Meanwhile, Republicans in Travis County are turning out in force to actually, you know, vote in the current election. Travis 211 is reporting that 3"R" voters (three or more Republican primaries in their voting history) made up most of the early voting turnout in Travis County.

County-wide, about 20% of “3R” Republicans (those that have voted in the last 3 primaries) have voted early, and its close to 10% for all voters with a Republican voting history. Democrats are turning out at around 3%, and non-partisan voters are turning out still well under 1%.

It is really impossible to tell what this means for particular amendments. One could make an educated guess that Travis County Republicans are getting a lot of the non-partisan conservative messaging on the amendments, and that might have something to do with it, and it would mean that Props. 2, 3, and 11 have a good shot of passing in Travis County. Statewide, these numbers mean little unless compiled with other counties' numbers, and we know that the election will be swung by Harris County turnout because of the local elections there.

Still, I find it interesting that the Dems are celebrating last year's victory, instead of working to turn out voters right now.

Dem primary field for governor narrows

Mark Thompson, a Democrat who had been seeking the party's gubernatorial nomination, has dropped out of the race and endorsed Hank Gilbert.

This leaves Gilbert, Tom Schieffer, and Kinky Friedman (and possibly others) in the mix on the Democratic side.

H/T Burnt Orange Report (say what you want about the BOR Boys, they're a great source for insider Democrat news)

More recommendations on constitutional amendments

Kathy Haigler, SREC secretary, has compiled a list of conservative and Republican recommendations and endorsements on the Texas constitutional amendment proposals.

Jason Moore, also on the SREC and head of Citizen Watchdogs out in Odessa, posted the .pdf file here.

Of course, I'm most interested in Prop 4. From Kathy's list, here are the groups and individuals opposing Proposition 4 (something you won't hear about in the mainstream newspapers, which insist that opposition is only coming from a scrappy group of college kids - NOT TRUE!!!):

Kathy Haigler, SREC Secretary
Talmadge Heflin, Former State Rep., HD 149
Kelly Shackelford, Free Market Foundation
Sheryl Berg, SREC Committeewomn for SD 11
Josh Flynn, SREC Committeeman for SD 15
Mark Ramsey, Texans for Better Science Education
Heritage Alliance
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Americans for Prosperity
Wallbuilders

This is what one might call overwhelming conservative grassroots opposition to Proposition 4.

Election Day is TOMORROW

Election Day in Texas is tomorrow, and just because we're not in the middle of incredibly high-profile and important congressional races and other things does not mean it doesn't matter if you turn up to the polls or not.

Houstonians are ruling this election, folks, because of the expected high turnout for Houston mayor and other local elections. Austinites, listen up. You CAN and you SHOULD make a difference on elections that affect the entire state. These constitutional amendments aren't the sexiest thing going, but they will still affect your day-to-day life as a Texan.

So. Show up tomorrow at the polls. Open 7am to 7pm. A list of where you can vote is located here.

And I realize, posting all this on a blog is preaching to the choir - but you can always remind your neighbors. And their neighbors. And so on.