Archive for January 4, 2013
Dewhurst doubles down on another Lt. Gov. run
Jan 4th - 9:57 pm
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is recommiting to his reelection campaign. In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, he said “I am 101 percent committed to run for re-election. There is no question about it.”
Following his loss to Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2012 U.S. Senate primary, Dewhurst first confirmed to Capital Tonight’s Paul Brown that he did, in fact, intend to run for reelection. He made his plans clear during an interview at the Republican National Convention.
In his interview with the Morning News today, Dewhurst said, “I will be doing things over the next six months and through the summer to make sure that I win re-election in 2014. I am real excited about putting in place a legacy for the state and the things that are necessary for this state to stay number one for decades to come.”
Dewhurst will face several big name Republicans in his reelection bid. Also in Tampa, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples told Capital Tonight they still had every intention of running for the number two spot in Texas government, despite Dewhurst’s announcement. State Comptroller Susan Combs is also thought to be interested in the job.
What still remains to be seen is what Gov. Rick Perry will ultimately decide. When asked if he plans to run for an unprecedented fourth term as Texas Governor, Perry has repeatedly said he won’t announce any decisions until summer; when the legislative session is over. And of course, there lingers the question if he has an even higher office in mind.
Cornyn: Partial government shutdown may be necessary
Jan 4th - 11:49 am
Senator John Cornyn said today that a partial government shutdown may be the only way to secure the country’s long-term economic future.
In an article published in the Houston Chronicle, Cornyn takes aim at the Obama administration’s handling of the fiscal cliff, accusing the president of “purposefully slow-walking the process in a shameless attempt to score cheap political points.”
Cornyn, who is the Senate Minority Whip and a member of the Senate Finance committee, voted in favor of the last minute deal to extend billions of dollars in across-the-board spending cuts. He said while the bill wasn’t perfect, it was necessary to support a measure that would make the Bush-era tax cuts permanent for most Texans. Now, he is looking ahead to the impending battle over the debt ceiling. In his op-ed, Cornyn said:
“The coming deadlines will be the next flashpoints in our ongoing fight to bring fiscal sanity to Washington. It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country, rather than plod along the path of Greece, Italy and Spain. President Obama needs to take note of this reality and put forward a plan to avoid it immediately.”
Cornyn isn’t the first Republican to suggest that a partial government shutdown might be necessary. Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomney defended his vote on MSNBC’s Morning Joe saying, “We Republicans need to be willing to tolerate a temporary, partial government shutdown.”
