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Why Ross Perot Has the President in His Hip Pocket

Glenn Hunter — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:45:50 +0000

Speaking here yesterday, FOX political analyst Brit Hume credited Dallas’ Ross Perot Sr.–he called him the “little guy” with the charts–for first focusing public attention on federal budget deficits during Perot’s run for the presidency in 1992. Back then the annual deficit was around $250 billion; today’s it’s upwards of $1.6 trillion. So, when we bumped into the billionaire businessman at last night’s bash for the Museum of Nature & Science, we asked if he sees any hope for getting the current deficit under control. “Not right now, because they’re printing money left and right,” Perot replied. “I thought our numbers were bad [in '92], but the ones today are makin’ our numbers look good.” Then, with a flourish, he pulled a crisp new bill out of his wallet and held it up, grinning. It had President Obama’s picture in the middle and the inscription, “One Trillion Dollars.” [FB commenter "Parker," I did this one especially for you.]

Hensarling: Build a Bank Fund, And It Will be Used

Jason Heid — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:26:43 +0000

Dallas’ own Jeb Hensarling is among the opposition speaking out against financial regulatory reform legislation approved by the House Financial Services Committee today. One of the measures would require big banks to pay fees into a $150 billion fund to be used in case one of them fails.

Here’s what “the GOP’s Most Powerful Nobody” said:

“Pre-funding the fund would lead to more bailouts because the fund would be sitting and available to be used,” said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas. “If you build it they will come, it will create an expectation that the fund would be used.”

Brit Hume: 2010 May Look Like ‘94

Glenn Hunter — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:04:14 +0000

Veteran newsman Brit Hume says Democrats are in “fairly serious trouble” because unemployment–the most important economic indicator in political terms–is likely to remain above 10 percent through 2010. Speaking at a Dallas luncheon today, the senior political commentator for FOX News (pictured) also said most Americans are more concerned with budget deficits than with reforming health care, especially after passage of the “bloated, reckless,” $787 billion stimulus bill. While President Obama has bet the ranch on health reform, Hume said, the public believes the reform tab will only worsen the deficit at a time when they’re “really worried about it.”

The president has pressed so hard on health care–and on other initiatives like climate-change legislation–because he knows that, with next year’s elections looming, it’s now or never, the newsman said. So, “what will President Obama do if he and his party suffer major losses next year?” Hume asked. He doubts the “quite liberal” president will move to the right, as Bill Clinton did after Democrats were rousted in the 1994 elections, but “that’s a decision [Obama] will face,” he said. Hume was guest speaker at the Salvation Army’s annual Doing the Most Good luncheon at the Anatole.

Dreher Reads Sarah Palin So You Don’t Have To

Wick Allison — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:31:17 +0000

The News columnist reviews Going Rogue today for “All Things Considered” on NPR.

Rick Perry To Be Installed as Governor-For-Life

Wick Allison — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:15:07 +0000

Kay Bailey Hutchison’s campaign is falling apart. Her heart is clearly not in it. Yesterday’s Houston ”event“ with Dick Cheney was only the latest in a desultory series. Two-hour delay? Five-minute speech? A crowd of 150?

A FrontBurnerian emails:

Ugh. She shaved her legs for that? Call me old fashioned, but I’d envisioned a ballroom fundraiser with hundreds of fat cat contributors, anxious to hobnob with the former veep and delivering bundles of checks, regardless of whether she attended or not.

Say what you will about Rick Perry (and I tend to say a lot, most of it unflattering), the man is in tune with the temper of the times. Tea parties, secession, Obama is a socialist — it all fits with the mood of his party, especially with the energized base of his party. Hutchison’s only choice was to appeal to the broader public and bring them back into the GOP primary. Instead, she’s tried to endrun Perry on the right (see Monday’s attack on the gas tax). She brings no credibility to that effort — and no passion either. It’s purely a ploy. And against the master of ploys himself, not a very good one.

Hutchison started this little venture as the state’s most popular political figure. After waffling on keeping her Senate seat, and with this disaster of a campaign unfolding around her, I wonder how she’ll end up.

An Abundance of Bushes at the Meyerson

Glenn Hunter — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:17:46 +0000

No fewer than three George Bushes were on stage for an event at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center Monday night, including Jeb Bush’s son George P. P’s Uncle George, the former president known as W, referred interestingly to W’s dad, the one called George H.W., as “the real President Bush.” Then 43 talked some about the book he’s writing, saying it would tackle subjects ranging from 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq to Hurricane Katrina, his “freedom agenda,” and the financial meltdown. “My hope is that when objective history is finally written, that historians will use [the book] as a basis to understand our times,” W said. Then he proceeded to read an irreverant “excerpt” from the tome that had 1,000+ people rolling in the aisles. SweetCharity has the details.

Ed Wallace: Texas Should Raise Its Gas Tax

Wick Allison — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:47:32 +0000

Our fair state faces a huge impending budget shortfall. On top of that, TxDot will soon be out of money. But we’re still growing. So the question is, how to build the roads and rail needed to keep from strangling ourselves?

Dallas Republican state senator John Carona has an idea: raise the gas tax 10¢. When asked about it, Rick Perry demurred, but said if the Legislature voted it, he’d have to go with it. That left an opening for KBH to attack him (proving once again that even the slightest hint of fiscal responsibility wins no friends in a GOP primary).

KLIF talk-show host and BusinessWeek columnist Ed Wallace thinks they are all a bunch of pantywaists. On Saturday’s show, he argued strongly that Texas ought to raise gas prices 20¢. With the way gas prices have been fluctuating the last two years, basically nobody would notice. But the hike would bring in $2 billion a year — more than enough to cover the state’s transporation shortfall, not mention CHIPs, education, and the unemployment fund. In his Monday Star-Telegram column (the man is a multi-media machine), Wallace argued that a national gas tax beats the daylights out of cap-and-trade, which will end up as another bonanza for lobbyists and Wall Street.

A guide to state gas taxes is here.

Rod Dreher on Journalists and Religion

Glenn Hunter — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:13:42 +0000

The DMN’s Rod Dreher has penned a great column about Islamic fanaticism, including this part which concludes with my nomination for Sentence of the Week:

That routine is, alas, not alien to American Muslim leaders with whom I’ve clashed since. They obfuscate what they really believe and try to intimidate critics into silence with accusations of bigotry. They cannily understand that’s kryptonite to many journalists, who find Baptists scarier than Wahhabists.

Completely Unsurprising Headline, Ctd.

Glenn Hunter — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:49:35 +0000

At the ribbon-cutting tonight for Dallas’ Main Street Garden, Mayor Tom Leppert said he wasn’t fazed or “surprised” by today’s news that GOP gubernatorial hopeful Kay Bailey Hutchison will remain in the U.S. Senate at least until next March. He also said it wouldn’t affect his future plans one way or the other–plans that Gromer Jeffers Jr. of the DMN reported today include considering a run for Hutchison’s Senate seat. “I told [Jeffers] that I’d look at things as they come up–as I always have in life,” Leppert said, downplaying The News‘ account. “That was much overdone.”

Hutchison Plays Hamlet: Will Stay in Senate (For Now)

Glenn Hunter — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:39:31 +0000

In the latest surprising development in her squirrelly “campaign” for Texas governor, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison now says she’ll remain in the U.S. Senate until after next year’s primaries. Gromer Jeffers Jr. got the scoop.