Friday, January 14, 2011

The Tea Party's First Scalp In 2012

...is Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson.  Rather than facing a promised primary challenge from the Tea Party right over the next 18 months (and especially considering the pounding she took in the state's gubernatorial race last year), she's hanging up her spurs altogether.

Kay Bailey Hutchison said today that she will not seek another term in the U.S. Senate.

"I have known since 2006 that I wouldn't seek another term," the senator said in a telephone interview. "I wanted to announce it on my own terms and in my own way."

Needless to say, the list of Republicans looking to claim the seat is, well, Texas-sized.

Contenders to fill Hutchison's seat started to emerge soon after she made her announcement.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst issued a written statement that said: "While my focus remains on the challenges we face here at the state level and making this upcoming session successful, I fully intend to explore running for the United States Senate, and should I run, I will run with the intention of winning and continuing to serve the people of Texas just as I have done throughout my career."

Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones also issued a statement on Senate campaign letterhead just a few minutes after Hutchison spoke to The Dallas Morning News.

"I look forward to an aggressive, spirited campaign on the issues," she wrote.

Other likely Republican contenders to succeed her include Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert , state Sen. Florence Shapiro of Plano , Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, Weatherford car dealer Roger Williams, and Ted Cruz, a former Texas solicitor general and candidate for state attorney general.

And you can bet with Texas Republicans having a supermajority in the state legislature, all of these candidates are going to have to fall in line with whatever tea-flavored legislation that comes down the pike.

Hutchinson won't be the last Republican senator to hang it up in 2012 either rather than face the Tea Party, and that's a shame.

6 comments:

Zandar's Credibility Problem said...

I don't think talking about "getting scalps" of Congresswomen is appropriate political rhetoric at this time, do you? You know, if we're still blaming "eliminationist rhetoric" and all for "contributing to the climate of hate".

It's just as likely that Giffords was targeted because she introduced legislation to cut 5% of the federal workforce two days before she was shot by your logic since we're so eager to be blaming things that have nothing to do with the actual crime, right?

D Johnston said...

ZCP, I have a question. Y'see, your behavior makes no rational sense to me. You have chosen to troll a blog - an odd choice in itself, but compounding this is your choice to troll a blog that gets around 500 hits a day. What's more, you are trolling this site all day, every day - sometimes leaving several comments in a row, sometimes leaving dozens of comments in a day. And if that weren't enough, your comments are almost inevitably attempts to impugn the blogger's character, including repeatedly questioning Zandar's mental state.

So here's my question: Why did you go off your meds?

That Other Mike said...

Not rhetoric, ZCP. Violent imagery != rhetoric.

Saying "Let's get us some 2nd Amendment solutions!" = rhetoric.

Rhetoric attempts to sway a listener to action. Add it to the list of things you don't understand.

Fail troll is fail.

Zandar's Credibility Problem said...

It's so easy when Zandar's such a tool.

Anyone arrogant enough to name a blog "psuedonym versus the stupid" deserves to be taken down an infinite number of notches.

I'm doing a public service.

The Troll Known as Zandar's Credibility Problem's Erectile Dysfunction said...

Even if you didn't totally suck at it (and you do!), relentlessly trolling a blog is hardly a "public service." But you're not the first wingnut ninny to imagine that being a Keyboard Kommando is an act of valor.

innocent bystander said...

i'm sorry, but trolling any blog is a fundamentally pointless activity. what in the fuck are you yammering about there? you act as though the left has a monopoly on opinionated bloggers. it's silly. we all know there are conservative analogs to this blog. you agree with the opinions posted on them, therefore you think the smug monomania found on conserva-blogs is acceptable. you aren't going to change anyone's mind here. except maybe when it comes to reading comment threads on this blog. holy fuck, i'm getting tired of scrolling past you guys. ZCP? post less. steveAR? post shorter. please?

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