all the news that's fit to print

NTL has fallen victim to a self-imposed semi-hiatus, so we thought we'd give you the rundown of what's been going on in Texas politics over the past week or so.

• Mikal Watts withdrew from the Democratic primary, leaving the field wide open for Rick Noriega to challenge John Cornyn for his Senate seat. Watts cited time away from his family as his reason for leaving the race.
  
  
• Gov. Rick Perry has decided to endorse former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the Republican primary. Some speculate this has to do with Perry's aspirations to become vice president, and Giuliani's need to sway the ultra-conservative Southern voting bloc.
  
  
• Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is planning to resign in 2010 to run for governor of Texas. Maybe she just now remembered her promise of a self-imposed term limit? Preparing for her gubernatorial bid, she seems to be trying to position herself as more of a moderate: she voted in favor of S-CHIP and the Dream Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.
  
  
• After previously denying vital funding to community colleges, Rick Perry restored the vetoed funds, allowing for performance incentives for two-year institutions.
  
  
• The City of Lewisville is considering regulating uses of personal parking garages. The ordinance, which will be considered at the first November meeting of the city council, would prohibit the use of garages for non-parking purposes.
  
  
• The sheriff of Potter County has been indicted on three felony charges relating to bribery and campaign corruption, but here's the kicker: he hasn't been, and likely won't be, removed from his position as sheriff!

If you've seen any other exciting Texas-centric tidbits, statewide or regionally exclusive to North Texas, then feel free to be our muse! Leave a link in the comments.

move on, senator betray us

In a post on Thursday, we told you of Sen. John Cornyn's sense of the Senate resolution that would condemn liberal organization MoveOn.org for running an ad in The New York Times that used wordplay to ask if General David Petraeus was really "General Betray Us."

Democratic rival Rick Noriega, who plans to challenge Sen. Cornyn for his seat in 2008, had this to say about Cornyn's political theatre:

Yesterday, he voted against restoring the Constitution’s basic right of habeas corpus. Yesterday, he voted against the Webb-Hagel amendment, legislation that would have provided a safety net for our troops, requiring that they spend as much time at home with their families as they spend deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan. And today? He’s wasting the Senate’s and the people’s time by introducing a resolution about MoveOn.org’s ad!

That's right, Cornyn voted against the Webb-Hagel amendment. Now who doesn't support the troops? MoveOn should run an ad in The Dallas Morning News outing "Senator Betray Us" as the chickenhawk that he is. How dare the Senator waste the Senate's time by introducing his resolution of condemnation in an effort to save face for his buddy Petraeus, all the while voting against real legislation that would support the troops?

Please donate to Rick Noriega and Mikal Watts today. Maybe next session, our Senator won't make the state of Texas look like a joke.

Vote in Democracy for Texas Senate Poll

Democracy for Texas is conducting a poll to determine who will receive DFT's endorsement for the Texas Senate primary: Mikal Watts or Rick Noreiga. To help voters decide, they have posted an extensive candidate questionnaire covering major issues.

To vote, click here.

And, as if you needed any reminder why replacing John Cornyn in the U.S. Senate is an imperative in next year's election, just review Cornyn's plan for supporting the troops. In a Terry Schiavo moment, he sponsored an amendment to condemn Move-On for its Petraeus ad, just after filibustering an amendment by Senator Webb to give the troops more time between Iraq rotations. Good to know the junior senator has his priorities straight.

It's so touching that Cornyn feels the need to protect Petraeus. Someone should explain to the senator that the term "character assassination" is rhetorical. The real dying is going on in the sands of Iraq by an army close to the breaking point, and the Republican rubber stamps don't care.