The Texas Observer

Progressive Texans’ hopes to have a dog in next year’s gubernatorial hunt were dimmed on Friday when Kirk Watson announced that he’ll forego the race and run for re-election to the state Senate.

On his Watson Wire, the former Austin mayor displayed his political acumen by explaining his decision without really explaining it. “First of all, I really like serving in the Senate and representing the citizens of Travis County,” he wrote. The other consideration, Watson said, was—repeat after me—wanting to spend more time with his family, particularly his younger son, who’s just entering high school.

In reality, of course, Watson would have been leading a semi-functional Democratic state party into battle against the huge money and superior organization that’ll be behind the Republican nominee, whether it’s Gov. Rick Perry or Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Watson, a tall, charismatic fellow who can “talk Texan” with the best of them, wasseen by many as the only Democrat capable of putting up a fight. But Watson, who’s in his early 50s, can afford to wait another cycle for Texas’ blue tide to rise a few more feet.

Watson’s decision leaves former state Rep. and U.S. Ambassador Tom Schieffer and humorist Kinky Friedman as the only Democratic candidates more than a dozen Texas could name. It could make it more likely that Ronnie Earle, the former Travis district attorney whom Watson once worked for, will jump into the race, as he’s been hinting for months.

The least-surprising reaction to Watson’s announcement came from an undoubtedly relieved Schieffer. According to the Houston Chronicle, he “welcomed Watson’s announcement” and said that “men and women of his character and capability are needed in the state Senate.”

Lloyd Doggett held another “townhall” meeting this Saturday, this time outside CommUnityCare, a non-profit health care clinic that serves a low-income, largely minority clientiele.

In a sign that Democrats and universal health care advocates are perhaps figuring out how to counter right-wing tactics, the event was spirited but civil and the reformers took control of the event. It looked little like the mob scene at the Randall’s last Saturday.

At the invitation of the clinic, both Doggett and Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who has suggested that the Obama plans might lead to a “single-payer, Washington-run system,” made an appearance. Cornyn left after the short press event, driving away in a SUV as protesters in the Doggett camp booed him. Outside the clinic, about 200 people stuck around for the townhall, a mix of local Democrats, progressive activists, “tea bag” types, Ron Paul libertarians, and some fans of Alex Jones, the Austin talk radio host and conspiracy theorist. Fans of reform outnumbered opponents about two-to-one.

“After what happened last Saturday, I figured Lloyd needed some help,” said Kent Johnson, who carried a sign reading “Insurance Costs Doubled Under Bush/The Right Did Nothing.” Of the protesters trying a repeat of the supermarket uprising, he said, “They tried but they were outnumbered.” Doggett supporters fanned out in front of the speaker’s podium, loudly cheering the congressman and others speaking in favor of health care reform. When the antis tried to drown Doggett out with cries of “Socialism!” or “Just Say No!,” self-appointed enforcers would push back with forceful “shushes.” One man carried a sign that simply said: “You Can Disagree Without Being Rude or Disruptive.”

George True, 35, used a bullhorn to tease the tea party people, a tactic he said he learned as an activist in Washington, D.C.

“Everyone’s scared of public speaking so you mock them,” he explained.

After stepping to the podium, Doggett called for a “civil discussion” and that’s mostly what he got.

“If the only thing coming out of this is the fight” - the squabbling and accusations - “that will be a defeat for health care,” Doggett said. “I hope you go away recognizing [a health care reform bill] is in your self-interest.”

The format of the townhall helped to defuse the tension. Each side took turns asking Doggett questions over a loudspeaker. (P.A. systems, as all good activists know, are magical things.)

A Travis County Republican precinct chair asked about the $1.6 trillion price-tag affixed to a version of the legislation by the Congressional Budget Office. Another woman said - like many at these events - that she’s “just scared.”

The health reform advocates focused on bringing the debate back to earth. One man spoke of running through three insurance policies for his sick wife in three years, all the while watching the premiums soar 67 percent. Even the militia types in the back, waving a “Come and Take It” flag, found that hard to jeer.

An older nurse described seeing patients falling through the cracks. “Everyone here needs health care so we can all be healthy,” she said. One man asked the congressman how best to repel the rumors about “ObamaCare,” such as the notion that the government will require euthanasia of senior citizens. “There are many people in this country who have died because they don’t have health insurance,” Doggett said. Of the rumors: “It is absolute nonsense.”

Single-payer advocates—a group that has dogged lawmakers at public events for years but received scant attention from the media—made their mark too. Doggett said he was open to single-payer, but that Obama had taken that option off the table at the onset of the health care debate.

At the end Doggett seemed pleased. “I think we’ve had a reasonable dialogue this morning,” he said. And he walked to his car with only his aides in tow.

So what on Earth could John Cornyn be thinking?

It seems every few days our junior U.S. senator — and soon-to-be senior senator if and when Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns her office to run for governor — is making national news with a head-scratching, overtly partisan, stick-the Democrats-in-the-eye kind of move.

You’ll recall that Cornyn single-handedly delayed Hillary Clinton’s confirmation as secretary of state on inauguration day. He then put off the confirmation of Eric Holder, who would be the nation’s first African-American attorney general, by at least a week. (The Los Angeles Times rips Cornyn for that here.) Most recently, he went a little over the top in criticizing the Obama administration’s reversal of Bush’s Gitmo and detainee abuse policies.

You have to wonder: is all this good for Texas? Does it help the state for our soon-to-be senior senator to spit in the collective face of the Democratic Party, which now dominates the Upper Chamber? The Clinton and Holder moves amounted to nothing in the end, but they won’t soon be forgotten, especially by the Clintons.

Moreover, Cornyn, in his new role as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has said he plans to try to take out Majority Leader Harry Reid next cycle. That’s Cornyn’s role now, but will that come at a cost for Texas’ interests in the Senate? The majority leader, after all, has a lot of power over the Senate’s agenda.

Keep in mind that Cornyn’s antics are mostly aimed at raising money. His main task as head of the NRSC is to scrounge up campaign money for GOP Senate candidates. There’s a lot of pressure to out-fund-raise the Democrats this cycle after Republicans were severely outspent in Senate races in 2008 and lost badly.

Cornyn’s attacks on Clinton, Holder and Obama were aimed at firing up the Republican base to donate, says Jonathan Allen, who covers Congress for Congressional Quarterly. He says that most senators probably brushed off Cornyn’s antics as just part of the game. “That’s pretty much par for the course in Washington,” he says.

While Reid’s office certainly won’t do Cornyn any favors, Allen says, Texas does benefit from Cornyn’s ascent — even if he’s in the minority. In the Senate, the minority party is entitled to a cetain number of earmarks. With Cornyn in the leadership, Texas will get its share of federal projects. Moreover, if and when the GOP retakes the Senate, Cornyn would acquire even more power.

Of course, now that Cornyn is head of the NRSC, he must perform well. His continued rise depends greatly on Republicans gaining ground in the Senate in 2010.

Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Round Rock) says he’s not a “gimmicky guy.” Then what was he doing chasing drivers around at a Shell station in Austin this morning for the benefit of the media?

Like many of his House Republican colleagues, McCaul is trying to capitalize politically on sky-high gas prices. So this morning, the congressman — dressed in a white knit shirt and loafers — buttonholed drivers at the pump, telling them about his “all of the above” energy plan, which includes developing renewable power (wind, solar, etc), “clean coal,” nuclear energy and “safe, environmentally sound” drilling in ANWR and other protected areas - with emphasis, it seemed, on the latter.

The congressman also collected receipts from folks that he plans to send to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who opposes increased drilling.

Most people, when McCaul prompted them, said they supported new oil exploration. But there were some surprises. One man, who put $38.50 of gas into his Honda Fit (40 mpg!), said he thought high gas prices were “a good thing” because they “will change habits.” He suggested to McCaul that subsidies for the oil and gas industry ought to be used instead for research into alternative fuels. Many drivers wanted to talk about the promise of renewable power. “Oil’s not going to be around forever,” said Karen Delle-Ford of Cedar Park. We should be looking at “friendly fuels” like wind and solar, she said. But McCaul pressed her about new drilling. As long as it’s “environmentally safe,” she said.

Polls show that Americans are softening their opinion on offshore drilling. A recent CNN poll put support for the measure at 69 percent. So it seems this whole “Drill Here, Drill Now” gambit is actually working for the GOP. But there is little evidence that ramped-up domestic oil production will have much of a near- or long-term effect on oil prices. The Department of Energy estimates that opening ANWR up to exploration will reduce the price at the pump by only a few cents. But McCaul insisted the market would respond immediately if Congress acted. He pointed to the drop in oil following Bush’s lifting of the executive ban on exploration of the outer continental shelf.

Meanwhile McCaul’s opponent, Larry Joe Doherty, is ridiculing the congressman’s energy plan. Jon Niven, a Doherty staffer, was on-hand at the Shell station with a poop sheet that tallied McCaul’s votes against alternative energy and the $107,000 he’s taken from Big Oil.

One driver was suspiciously on-message. Without prompting, the woman began profusely thanking McCaul and the Republicans for their efforts. She even wrote a snappy note to Pelosi on her receipt: “Dear Nancy, Hope you enjoy your vacation. Get back to work.” The local TV guys were eating the made-for-TV moment up. But, as it turns out, the “random” driver was Rosemary Edwards, the chairwoman of the Travis County Republican Party and occasional donor to Republican candidates. Edwards said she just happened to be driving by and saw McCaul.

Happens to me all the time too.

We caught up with Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) back home for Thanksgiving. On Tuesday he did an event at Escuelita del Alma Learning Center in Downtown Austin. Good to be among friends to reiterate a warning to parents about the recent avalanche of recalled products from China — including toys painted with (and sometimes made out of) lead. TexPIRG backed him up. You can get most every recall sent to you by signing up with the Consumer Products Safety Commission mailing list here.

Doggett occupies a powerful perch these days as a senior member of Ways and Means in the majority party. It’s a long way from his days as one of the targets of Tom DeLay’s redistricting axe. In 1994 he was first elected to represent the historic 10th District, which sent both Lyndon Johnson and Jake Pickle to Congress. DeLay redistricted him to the Valley thinking a Hispanic would pick him off in the primary. They didn’t count on his work ethic and intense desire to serve constituents. Doggett was first sworn in the year the GOP took over the reins of the lower house, just as Newt Gingrich became the first GOP speaker in nearly a half century. Yet he has consistently blown his opponents out of the water on election day.

We asked Doggett about something Karl Rove wrote in the Wall Street Journal recently: Congress has not done its work. And these failures will have consequences. Democrats had a moment… They’ve squandered it. They have demonstrated both the inability and unwillingness to govern… their true colors are coming out and the public doesn’t like what it sees.

Doggett, not unreasonably, blamed the Senate. “I think on the House side, it’s been really productive,” he said. The lack of a 60-vote, filibuster-proof number of Democrats in the U.S. Senate has been the ultimate problem. No matter what the House manages to pass, the old guard of Senate Republicans have the last laugh. “Senate Republicans tend to block it,” Doggett said. Add to that the sudden regular use of George W. Bush’s veto pen, and the gridlock is a little more comprehensible.

“They have decided that President Bush will remain a divider and not a uniter,” he said. “He has no real interest in any bipartisan accomplishments. They’re not willing to work toward middle ground… There’s been no willingness to do that.”

Doggett noted the peculiarity of the first override of a Bush veto, which involved super-majorities of both houses overriding the veto for an appropriations bill funding water resources and water resource development. Doggett noted that he did not support all of the elements of the bill, but, he said, it did provide critical infrastructure dollars for places like Onion Creek in South Austin that flood like hell during storms.”Strange one for him to pick to veto,” Doggett said. “I call him ‘Rip Van Bush.’ He really has been inactive for almost six and a half years.”