Perry's Money Machine

BY DISH CONTRIBUTOR MARK YZAGUIRRE:

Zac Morgan wrote a great piece at FrumForum in which he stated that Texas Governor Rick Perry is in a unique position to unite different factions of the GOP and Morgan described Perry as the "Teastablishment" candidate.  I think this is a great description of Perry's strengths.  While much of the attention recently has focused on Perry's Tea Party and religious conservative strengths, I'd like to discuss part of the establishment side of his political capital, namely his ability to access a key financial pillar of the GOP donor base - wealthy Texas Republicans.

            Perry is a prodigious fundraiser and has raised over $100 million in his gubernatorial campaigns.  He is not uncomfortable meeting a group of businessmen in a boardroom and this has always been a strong point for him.  While his rhetoric may be populist, he generally doesn't stray into rhetoric that can come off as a type of right-wing class warfare, the way some conservatives (like Sarah Palin, for example) sometimes do.  This is helpful in fundraising and in making affluent voters feel comfortable with a candidate.

            Perhaps more importantly, if Perry runs, he will have first-class access to the Texas Republican donor base.  While this may seem obvious and would be true regarding the local donor base of any Governor from a given state, I'd suggest this is of particular importance given Texas's economic strength and historic role in modern conservative politics.  On the first point, Texas has had a better time of it during this recession and thus there is a fair amount of money on the table.  But more importantly, the Texas conservative donor base has long been a source for donations that runs independently from other conservative donor bases.  At its best, it's acted as a counterbalance to the East Coast or California GOP establishments.  At its worst, it can fund some admittedly cranky stuff.  (For more information on both, I suggest that anyone reading this pick up a copy of Brian Burrough's The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes for some historical context.) 

            While times have changed since the era described in Burrough's book, one can still say there is a Texas conservative establishment that follows its own path and has real power.  A candidate who can dominate that constituency has a major leg up on his or her opponents and Rick Perry is in a position to do that.  Doing so will place him in a strong financial position, and one that can encourage donors in other parts of the country to join his bandwagon.

            Rick Perry hasn't announced whether he's running for the GOP presidential nomination (though it looks like that's around the corner), so one can't make head-to-head comparisons at this time.  Also, other GOP candidates are very much in the hunt regarding Texas donors. For example,  Mitt Romney has raised serious funds in Texas and Jon Huntsman has former Congressman Tom Loeffler (a major Texas GOP fundraiser) in his corner.  But Perry is in a unique position to capture much of this constituency, and this constituency has an outsize influence in Republican politics.  That is a strength that should not be overlooked.

Editor's Note:  This article was previously published at FrumForum on August 10, 2011.

Winning is Everything

BY DISH CONTRIBUTOR: MARK YZAGUIRRE

I wrote a piece a month ago about how Governor Rick Perry is a very lucky politician, one with an uncanny knack for knowing how to understand and operate under (or to his detractors, reinvent himself and follow) changing political circumstances.  He has never lost an election and has been able to politically succeed over the decades.  The most recent legislative session is no exception to this rule, and only adds to this trend.  As Jay Root writes in an article in the Texas Tribune (also published at the Tribune's partner, the New York Times):

The reach of his power, and his willingness to use it, have been most striking in the recently concluded sessions of the Texas Legislature, which gave Perry a fairly long wish-list of conservative reforms. If Perry does end up on the presidential campaign trail, he will be ticking them off like a pre-trip checklist. Curbs on abortion — done. Lawsuit restrictions — check. Staggering cuts to programs once seen as off-limits — yes, yes and yes.  “Basically nobody has dominated the executive branch, that I’m aware of, like Rick Perry has,” said Jim Henson, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. “It’s a very different kind of governorship now. He’s been there so long, and he’s effectively used the resources at his disposal.”

Whether or not one supports Rick Perry as a Presidential contender (and to be fair, he has not announced a run for the Presidency at this point) or his policies, it is undeniable that he has been able to achieve his goals with regard to the Texas Legislature and the Executive Branch.  If Perry runs for President, he can give a list of policy accomplishments that  pleases many conservative voters.  If one were to create a Tea Party checklist of issues, Perry has acted on many of them and can place himself as an alternative to more moderate GOP former Governors like Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman.  This may not be ideal for winning in the general election (Tea Partiers aren't the majority of the American electorate and they may not be the majority of the GOP electorate), but it does position him well with Republican primary voters. 

As George Will points out in the article linked above, "French cuffs and cowboy boots are, like sauerkraut ice cream, an eclectic combination", but sometimes eclectic combinations work.  If nothing else, Rick Perry's political skills have worked well for purposes of achieving the ends he has sought, including passing legislation that conservatives have been unable to pass elsewhere.  Those aren't trivial points to bring up to conservative voters who seem to be underwhelmed with the current batch of GOP candidates.  

Glenn Beck Rents a House in DFW Area

He is leaving FOX but he's not leaving Politics and the story seems to be that he's moving to North Texas. Glenn Beck has often joked about moving his family to Texas when his talk show on GBTV.com starts in September. Plus one of his best friends and frequent fill in host Pat Grey lived in Houston for quite a while with regular visits from Beck.

Beck's company spokesperson at Mercury Radio Arts isn't talking this week about the rumors, but some folks in Tarrant County seem convinced that Beck will move there, maybe into a leased mansion in a Westlake neighborhood which also has been home to the Jonas Brothers.

The home he has reportedly leased it the $3,900,000 home of Jorge & Vanessa Piedra (she is a Swarovski heiress; he is a major league ballplayer who's had some issues) at 2208 Vaquero Estates Boulevard in Westlake. The Piedra home has been on the market since August 2009, and originally listed for $5,400,000. The price was lowered to $3,900,000 and then put in the rental pool for $20,000 a month, which is actually more than the original lease offer of $15,000.

So this is what Glenn and his wife, Tania will be getting: 7,904 square feet, four car garage, almost two acres of land (1.7ish), a Hill Country styled house, La Cornue stove, master retreat with a relaxation room, study, steam shower, limestone, hardwoods, travertine, seven bedrooms, both sun and exercise rooms, a guest house with living, bedroom, bath, and of course a pool. And if he decides he likes it so much he wants to buy, seller financing is even available! Bonus!

Back to business: Beck fueled the guessing by telling Gov. Rick Perry he'll move to Texas and even said Monday...

"I could run for governor," Beck said.

This is his final week of a three-year career at Fox so everything is mobile. According to Beck, Mercury has 150 employees who can live and work anywhere also has said to Texas Governor RIck Perry:

"I'll move my company to Texas, but I need you to give me zero income tax -- do you see what I'm saying?"

Perry has already named Beck an honorary Texan, grinned then responded...

"I think we can work with you," he said.

Beck, as most of us know, was a radio jock in Houston and  is well aware that Texas doesn't have an income tax.

This of course also adds fule to the fire for those who think Perry will be running for President.

Radio host-turned-state Sen. Dan Patrick and had this to say:

"Glenn could go anywhere in the country," Patrick said by phone from Austin, "but he's coming here because we are pro-business and because he loves the independent streak and conservative influence we have in Texas."

Patrick said Beck will be "proud to call Texas home and we'll be proud to have him here."

Guess we get to keep guessing for a few weeks!

A Good Day for Rick Perry

By DISH Contributor Mark Yzaguirre:

The big political news on Thursday involved the en masse resignation of Newt Gingrich's Presidential campaign staff.  It goes without saying that this isn't good news for Newt Gingrich.  But it may be good news for someone else - Texas Governor Rick Perry.  A Wall Street Journal article that came out before the Gingrich news said the following regarding a possible Presidential run by Perry:

Should he run, Mr. Perry would first have to overcome an organizational hurdle. Assured that he wasn't running, his two top campaign aides, Mr. [David] Carney and former campaign manager Rob Johnson, both signed up with Mr. Gingrich, the former House speaker.

            According to this article, Carney and Johnson were among the Gingrich staffers that resigned.  So that's one organizational hurdle for Perry that may have just become easier to overcome, should he decide to run.  Once again, Rick Perry has some good fortune. 

Editor's Note:  This article (under a different title) was previously published at FrumForum on June 9, 2011.  

Paying for Governor??

Yep, you read it right, if U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns her seat to run against Gov. Rick Perry next year, it could cost Texas taxpayers up to $30 million to hold a special election to fill out her term, state election officials said Thursday.

Is this something that bothers you or are you willing to take the hit for something new?

Secretary of State Hope Andrade, a Perry appointee mind you, wrote a letter to a conservative advocacy group saying the cost of a special election would be $18 million to $20 million, with $10 million more in expenses needed if a runoff is required. Andrade is Texas' top election official and this letter could influence who runs. Could they tell Kay to step back and not run because of the state of the current economy feeling it would not be a move for which Texans would not be willing to pay?

Perry's campaign siezed on the estimate to accuse Hutchison of possibly wasting taxpayer dollars for personal gain.

“The senator's potential resignation to run for governor amounts to nothing more than another taxpayer-funded bailout, only this one benefits one person's political ambition, leaving Texas taxpayers holding the bill,” said Perry spokesman Mark Miner.

Those are some pretty fierce words. Hutchison spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said Andrade's estimate was a “political ploy” by a Perry appointee designed to “bully” Hutchison out of the race. Baker noted that Perry's aides have asked several university regents to resign for supporting Hutchison, and that one from Texas Tech had complied. So it seems Perry is not above blackmale.

“Just because Rick Perry has successfully bullied some university regents into resigning doesn't mean he can bully Kay Bailey Hutchison out of this race,” Baker said.

Hutchison has said she will resign her Senate seat in October or November to concentrate on challenging Perry in the Republican primary next March. Perry has the power to name an interim senator until a special election is held to fill Hutchison's term through 2012.

If Hutchison resigns by Sept. 28, the election would have to be scheduled by Nov. 3, the same day as the Houston mayor's race. An election on that date is considered unlikely because it would benefit Democratic Houston Mayor Bill White, who is running for Hutchison's seat.

If she resigned after Sept. 28, the election would have to be held by May 8, 2010, although Perry could set an emergency special election for an earlier date. State law prohibits the governor from setting a special election on the same day as the March primaries.

If this does in fact happen, the Andrade camp says the cost estimate is based on Perry calling an emergency special election with no other elections involved. Since Hutchinson has yet to resign and still has time, it's concievable that this is all ado about nothing.

A Nov. 3 election would cost less because it would coincide with a statewide vote on constitutional amendments, and a May 2010 election would have reduced costs because of city and school board elections being held at the same time.

Besides White, other candidates eyeing Hutchison's Senate seat include former Democratic Comptroller John Sharp and Republicans former Secretary of State Roger Williams, state Sen. Florence Shapiro and Railroad Commissioners Elizabeth Ames Jones and Michael Williams.