Famed actress Kathleen Turner will play Molly Ivins in the premier of a new one-woman play about the famed Texas journalist. the play -- Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins -- will premier early next year at the Philadelphia Theater Company. It was written by Margaret and [...]
More than 2,000 people last week attended a Christmas party at the House of Blues sponsored by state Sen. Royce West and Dallas lawyer Domingo Garcia.
It can easily lay claim to being the event of the season, boasting a cavalcade of local politicos and celebrities.
The party, which alternated [...]
Waco Democrat Chet Edwards holds one of the most Republican congressional districts in the country that isn't represented by a Republican.
Naturally, Republicans have been angling to change that for years -- without success. He survived re-redistricting, and one onslaught after another, even in the years when a Republican president, George' [...]
I interviewed Farouq Shami after he filed for governor today. He seemed pretty confident. Having no government experience isn't a liability, he said, because he's a team builder.
He also explained why it's legit for him to call his Houston-based hair products company, Farouk Systems, a billion dollar company -- even' [...]
Our Bob Garrett is at state Democratic headquarters in Austin, and he reports:
Houston businessman Farouk Shami has made his run for governor official, filing paperwork with the Texas Democratic Party to run in the March 2 primary.
Shami was greeted [...]
As we reported on Twitter two weeks ago, Kinky Friedman has abandoned his quest for governor next year. Instead, the singer/songwriter/mystery novelist/humorist/cowboy bon vivant says he'll file for Texas agriculture commissioner. Friedman finished fourth in the governor's race four years ago, where he ran as an independent. This time, he's' [...]
The GAO this morning overturned the Army's decision to shift a $2.6 billion truck contract from a BAE Systems plant outside Houston to Oshkosh Corp. -- providing some political cover to Texas politicians in both parties and, obviously, a ray of hope to 3,000 workers whose livelihoods are on the [...]
It turns out that President Obama's "thanks" for appearing in a commercial promoting George Lopez's television show was a couple of jokes from Lopez at the President's expense.
It was not Stephen Colbert famously eviscerating President George W. Bush at the White House Press Dinner, but Lopez lobbed a few gentle' [...]
Gromer Jeffers reports this morning that several North Texas Republican parties are handing out platform quizzes to candidates to determine whether they agree with core party principles. Here's a look at the documents candidates are receiving.
The first quarter of Texas' budget year has been dismal, Comptroller Susan Combs confirmed today. The revenue workhorse, the sales tax, put into the state's piggybank just under $4.7 billion between September and November. That's $719 million, or 13.3 per cent, less than the $5.4 billion Texas collected in September,' [...]
We broke the story about how Rick Perry's chairman of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission was soliciting money for the governor's re-election campaign from the owners of bars and restaurants he regulates. Perry's reaction at the time: No problem. A Perry aide said there's nothing wrong with a state [...]
Some of Texas' grass roots conservatives and one of their alums -- Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken -- are complaining that Comptroller Susan Combs recently awarded $2.45 million of state funds to local skills development programs launched by left-leaning groups tied to the Chicago-based Industrial' [...]
Well, that was fast.
Less than 48 hours after pushing the idea that he was seriously contemplating a run against GOP incumbent Susan Combs, state Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, told the Quorum Report in an interview this morning to nevermind. He'll be filing for a sixth term for' [...]
Texas Railroad Commission member Michael Williams is "probably one of the brightest stars in the country" among conservatives and deserves to be Texas' next U.S. senator, South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint (right/AP photo) said this morning in a conference call.
"Michael Williams is the Democrat Party's" [...]
Long-shot Republican candidate Debra Medina will air TV ads this weekend, introducing herself to voters and talking about her experience -- knowing the state and U.S. Constitutions, for instance, and balancing her work and home budgets. The ad will air in Lubbock, Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin this [...]
Republican Cynthia Dunbar of Richmond, one of the most outspoken social conservatives on the State Board of Education, has decided not to seek another term next year. Other members of the board confirmed Wednesday that her current employment with a law school in Virginia has made [...]
An interesting development in conservative Senate politics: The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza reports that Sen. Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican working to back conservative candidates, will endorse Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams as the eventual replacement for Kay Bailey Hutchison.
As Todd Gillman reported Monday, DeMint's political action committee [...]
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami today unveiled his jobs plan -- create them himself.
"What we're going to be doing is opening small factories in all communities that need jobs," Shami, founder of hair-products companies, said in an Austin appearance.
"We're going" [...]
Democratic statehouse Rep. Mike Villarreal of San Antonio is considering running for comptroller and is expected to make a decision next week. The five-term House member is a financial advisor who holds a masters in public policy from Harvard.
The state Democratic Party has been trying [...]
Comptroller Susan Combs filed for a second term, promising to work to make government more transparent and accountable.
Last week, while Democrats were recruiting possible candidates for all statewide offices, Combs struck a defiant tone, saying she was ready to take on any [...]
The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee has approved Rep. Joe Barton's BCS-busting bill on a voice vote. There was one dissent: Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga. The bill would try to alter the format for choosing a national champion.
Next step: the bill would need approval from the full committee,' [...]
Opposition to Barton's bill showed up today. No one is supporting the BCS -- in fact it is the complete opposite -- but now three representatives have voiced that Congress should be spending time on other things.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said, "BCS means business, consumers and seniors. That's what I" [...]
Subcommittee chairman Bobby Rush, D-Illinois, opened the hearing with an amendment that would further tweak the BCS.
It would further define "unfair or deceptive" to prevent the BCS from finding a loophole, such as calling the title game "The Big Game" or "The Final Game." The amendment would also ensure that [...]
Just about to get started at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee markup of the College Football Playoff Act -- the brainchild of Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington.
If the bill passes muster today, it would be a small but significant step toward turning up the pressure on the NCAA and the [...]
Did Kay Bailey Hutchison support redistricting - the controversial, contentious and hyper-partisan exercise of 2003 when Gov. Rick Perry forced the Legislature into special session to redraw congressional boundaries two years after they'd already been redrawn, leading to the ouster of seven senior' [...]
State Sen. Royce West is not one to shy away from cameras, at least when it's good publicity. So it was not a surprise to see him Tuesday night at the final day of filming for the new ABC series The Deep End.
West actually got an acting role in the [...]
For anyone thinking the Copenhagen climate change summit would just be a celebration of measures to defeat global warming, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, has news:
He's coming, and he is going to disagree.
Barton, one of Congress' biggest critics of global warming, will travel to the United Nations conference next week with' [...]
The District 100 Texas House race will be determined by voters, not endorsements.
But it's interesting to watch incumbent Terri Hodge put together a coalition of supporters that includes some of the biggest names in local politics.
Today she released the host committee for her December 17 holiday fund-raiser. The list [...]
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, as expected, filed for re-election on Tuesday, declining to discuss what he'll do if the U.S. Senate seat now held by Kay Bailey Hutchison becomes vacant early next year. For now, Dewhurst said he is planning for his third term as the' [...]
Count Dallas Rep. Jeb Hensarling among the fiscal conservatives who are appalled at the new jobs program President Barack Obama is announcing this morning.
The Obama plan will entail incentives to help small businesses grow; modernize roads, bridges and [...]
Word is that Kinky Friedman might drop out of the Texas governor's race. He could run for another office, say, lieutenant governor or agriculture commissioner. Or maybe land commissioner -- Jerry Patterson, the office's current occupant, hopes so.
Patterson, the Republican land commissioner, is running for reelection. It's a race that [...]
Republican Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson is seeking re-election, but he has noted that Democratic candidates -- such as Hank Gilbert and potentially Kinky Friedman -- are jumping around, looking for promising races. Gilbert has gone from governor to agriculture commissioner. Friedman, who announced for governor, said he is now evaluating [...]
Tea party activist Debra Medina filed for the Republican nomination for governor on Monday. The Wharton businesswoman becomes the third candidate to formally seek the GOP nomination. Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison are also seeking the party nomination.
Media advocates smaller government and the protection of [...]
Wayne Slater's latest Between the Lines column, on the tension between Kay Bailey Hutchison's primary and general election messages, is not to be missed. Click here to read it.
[...]Democratic candidate for Governor Farouk Shami has fired four top aides. They had been on the job for less than three weeks.
Campaign manager Joel Coon and communications director Jason Stanford were among the high-level officials dismissed by Shami last week. Because of confidentiality agreements, they could not comment on the [...]
Kay Bailey Hutchison formally filed Monday for the Republican nomination for governor, hoping to finally quell questions fanned by rival Rick Perry that she might never actually make the race. Hutchison says she'll deal with illegal immigration, improve education and fix transportation policy that has been "grossly mismanaged" under Perry.' [...]
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has been going around the country backing conservative Senate candidates - sometimes in defiance of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, chaired by Texas Sen. John Cornyn.
Conservatives and even [...]
For a generation of Democrats, George McGovern represented the epitome of a politician willing to take a stand for principles -- and of the sometimes disastrous political price to be paid when that stand is rejected by voters.
His opposition to the Vietnam War began just [...]
So far, half of Texas' 20 GOP congressmen have filed for reelection, including Rep. Ralph Hall of Rockwall who, at age 86 years and 7 months, is the oldest member of the U.S. House.
Hall was elected in 1980, and' [...]
Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, filed for re-election Friday, citing his past work as a budget writer on the Senate Finance Committee and his passage of bills to reduce property taxes and promote economic development in Texas. "I look forward to seeing everyone on the campaign trail" [...]
This has nothing to do with politics, but it's such great video it's a good way to go into the weekend. 100 bottles of Shiner. Plenty of fireworks. Is this a great country, or what? (tip o' the hat to the kids over at Burnt Orange Report)
' [...]In politics, being boring is not exactly an asset. So how to pitch Bill White, the Houston mayor who's a bit on the, well, dull side? On the day of White's announcement as a nominee for the Democratic nomination for governor, party loyalists were out in force spinning the idea [...]
In what is becoming a near-daily ritual, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, hammered away this morning at Democratic plans for health care reform on the Senate floor, calling proposed cuts to Medicare "astounding."
Hutchison and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, led a Republican discussion to highlight concerns about $384 billion in proposed [...]
The pundits say Houston Mayor Bill White has an uphill battle to win the governorship. Texas hasn't elected a Democrat statewide in what, 15 years? But now that he's officially running, he's willing to play pundit himself, at least when it comes to the GOP field.
In his view,' [...]
Democrat Hank Gilbert says he's quitting the race for governor and will run again for Texas agriculture commissioner. He made the announcement as Houston Mayor Bill White was telling a Houston crowd he's getting into the governor's race. But Gilbert says he's not backing White -- who's seen by some' [...]
Straightforward. Stuffed shirt. Serious. Wonkish. Back in 2006, when she ran for the U.S. Senate, you could tell Barbara Ann Radnofsky was a lawyer. And a real serious lawyer. After two decades in the galleys at monster Houston corporate law firm Vinson & Elkins, she had the credentials -- [...]
Former first lady Laura Bush was in Austin Thursday to help dedicate the newly remodeled Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building as a National Literary Landmark. The archives and library building is the fourth structure in Texas to receive receive the designation. Others are [...]
Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, reversed course Thursday and announced he will run for another term in the Senate. Just a few months ago, Ogden said he was stepping down from his senate seat after accomplishing much of what he [...]
Young Americans who helped catapult Barack Obama to the White House continue to approve of the president's job performance, according to a poll by Harvard's Institute of Politics.
Except that they don't.
A majority of young voters polled found fault with Obama on every major issue - from Afghanistan to' [...]
John Cornyn clearly isn't a fan of Gov. Rick Perry's opportunistic rhetoric bashing Washington Republicans. The Perry campaign against Kay Bailey Hutchison has taken aim at all things Washington, with his party as collateral damage. For one thing, the Republican governor has criticized the initial federal bailout urged by a' [...]
The state's top education official thinks so. And he's warning Congress about it. Read more on our Education Front blog.
[...]
Gov. Rick Perry will officially file for reelection Thursday, he told a crowd of cheering supporters in Dallas Wednesday.
"Tomorrow, I will stop by the Republican Party headquarters in Austin and sign my name on the dotted line for" [...]
Kay Bailey Hutchison might have learned a little from the lukewarm reception her first TV ad got. Her initial ad had her sitting on a couch, looking nearly catatonic as she solemnly promises to fight for Texas in Washington. The new spot tries to shake off some of the weary [...]
Houston Mayor Bill White hasn't even announced that he'll join the Democratic race for governor, but the Texas Republican Party isn't waiting.
The state party has launched the first negative solvo against a Democrat. The GOP hardly even bothered with Tom Schieffer when he was in the race, but it' [...]
More Texas Democrats are coming forward today in praise of Obama's Afghanistan policy.
Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco's stance isn't far from that of many Republicans: a troop surge is good, an arbitrary deadline for withdrawal is not. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez of San Antonio, called the Obama plan a "strong, well-reasoned'" [...]
The Dallas Morning News and the state's four other major newspapers have joined to conduct a series of polls for the 2010 statewide political races in Texas. It's the first time the state's top five newspapers have cooperated in such an effort. The joint polls will begin before the March [...]
Lots of Republicans offered backhanded praised to Obama tonight -- lauding the troop surge but poking at the president for taking so long and for not going far enough. If he was looking for unvarnished approval, he'd be disappointed.
Here's what Rep. Pete Sessions of Dallas, chairman of the National Republican' [...]
More reaction to the president's Afghanistan strategy...
Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, who represents Fort Hood:
"I support the President's surge proposal. I would prefer it to be with more troops, and that we were not announcing an arbitrary withdrawal date. However, I will back the President's decision as Commander-in-Chief, and will" [...]Reactions are coming in to President Barack Obama's speech at West Point, laying out his new strategy in Afghanistan.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas
"It is encouraging that President Obama has finally concluded his re-analysis of his previous Afghanistan strategy and granted the request of his own generals for reinforcements. Success remains within" [...]
Former Congressman Nick Lampson, a moderate Democrat from southeast Texas, is considering a race for state comptroller, he confirmed this afternoon.
"It's something that I've been asked to look at," he said. "I don't know that I will but I don't want to close'" [...]
Remember this ad?
If Mike Huckabee runs for president again, is there any doubt that Maurice Clemmons -- the ex-con shot to death last night by police in Washington state after killing four police officers in a coffee shop ambush (we'll drop the "allegedly," given that Clemmons had one of the' [...]
Former House Speaker Tom Craddick, though dumped by his Texas colleagues last January, still gets some respect in national conservative circles.
Craddick, R-Midland, will take office as 2010 national chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council's board of directors when the group convenes in [...]
While Rick Perry is bashing rival Kay Bailey Hutchison for palling around with special interests in Washington, he's doing just fine collecting big bucks from special interests back here at home. it'll be a couple of months before Perry and Hutchison file their next campaign reports covering the second half [...]
Authorities in Washington state have been on a manhunt for Maurice Clemmons, an ex-con suspected of shooting four police officers at a coffee shop the other day. There's a $125,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Why is [...]
Rep. Kay Granger joined a growing list of legislators Monday who are lining up against President Barack Obama's Afghanistan war strategy.
But the Fort Worth Republican has a timelier perspective on the issue than most.
Granger just returned from a trip to the war-torn country, where she met with Gen. Stanley [...]
It's a rule of politics that when a campaign is outdistancing an opponent and on a roll, it tends to overreach. Kay Bailey Hutchison's campaign did it when she faced Democrat Richard Fisher in the 1994 Senate race. Hutchison was comfortably ahead, but her political operatives piled on with some [...]
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison continues her gun rights push - probably her strongest claim to the affections of conservative voters.
Today, she and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., filed a friend of the court brief at the Supreme Court in McDonald v. City of Chicago - the next big gun rights case [...]
Houston businessman Farouk Shami has launched the first ad of his campaign for governor. The 60-second introductory spot began airing statewide on Friday. It ran in Dallas during expensive pro-football time slots Sunday. Two things about it stand out:
Shami doesn't let anyone know he's seeking the Democratic nomination.
And he' [...]
The Texas Medical Association said over the weekend that it opposes the Senate health bill that cleared a key procedural vote on Saturday evening. Despite numerous reservations about other versions of the legislation, this is the first time (during this Congress) that TMA has stated outright opposition to health [...]
Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth is quitting his bid for governor of Texas and will endorse Houston Mayor Bill White, who's expected to get in the race on the Democratic side very soon. Some Texas Democrats have never warmed to Schieffer because of his long-time ties to George W. Bush.' [...]
Reps. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, and Alan Grayson, D-Fla., may not agree on a whole lot politically. But they seem to share a formidable distaste for the Federal Reserve.
The two teamed up to write a proposal that would increase oversight of the Fed and possibly force an audit of [...]
Gov. Rick Perry's campaign, not too surprisingly, pounced on Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's comment on Meet the Press that if Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner deserves to be fired, members of Congress do, too.
"Senator Hutchison finally admitted that she is part of the problem with the out-of-control spending in Washington," said [...]
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, on NBC's Meet the Press, defended Rep. Kevin Brady for demanding the resignation of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner at a hearing last week - though she didn't exactly endorse his sentiment.
The Brady/Geithner confrontation has been replayed repeatedly on cable news shows.
"I think what Kevin Brady'" [...]
The Dallas-based law firm of Haynes and Boone saw two of its partners tapped by Speaker Joe Straus recently to serve on the Sunset Advisory Commission: Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas; and Lamont Jefferson of San Antonio (right), the brother of Texas Supreme Court [...]
Dallas public television station KERA reports that Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison have agreed to debate on Jan. 14 -- statewide, televised, one hour, questions from journalists.
Do not touch that dial. Those flames and sparks flying from your set are entirely to be expected.
Sen. Florence Shapiro of Plano said Friday she will file for re-election for her senate seat next month, while she keeps her long-range sights set on the U.S. Senate seat now held by incumbent Kay Bailey Hutchison. The Republican state senator said she will file for [...]
The Rick Perry campaign is airing its first radio ad of the campaign - a lively takeoff on the popular game show Jeopardy with questions about runaway federal spending and the answer always the same: Kay Bailey Hutchison. It's the first real attack of the campaign, but uses humor to' [...]
Sen. John Cornyn, still a bit hoarse, is vocalizing again. The briefly speechless junior senator recalled something Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, quipped after vocal cord surgery three years ago to address recurring problems. Doctors ordered him to remain mute during his recovery.
"He said his approval ratings shot through the" [...]
A congressional hearing turned ugly Thursday, thanks in large part to Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, who called for the resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
"Conservatives agree that as point person, you failed," Brady said. "Liberals are growing in that consensus as well. For the sake of our jobs," [...]
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has been booked as a guest Sunday on Meet the Press, along with two Democratic senators, Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois and California Sen. Diane Feinstein, and with Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman, who chaired the first open hearing regarding the Fort Hood shootings, on Thursday.
[...]You got your first look at the gubernatorial air war here on TrailBlazers. We were the first yesterday afternoon to post Kay Bailey Hutchison's new ad and to report that Rick Perry was following suit with a spot of his own. Perry put his new spot on his campaign [...]
Kay Bailey Hutchison voted with her fellow Republicans yesterday against the confirmation of a federal judge that conservatives have labeled a liberal activist. But Gov. Rick Perry told me that's not good enough because she missed an earlier vote on the nomination. Clearly, Perry's going to keep up the "she's'" [...]
Dallas Cowboy DeMarcus Ware is one of three NFL stars appearing with President Barack Obama in a public service announcement that will air during Thanksgiving games. Ware was on the South Lawn of the White House last month tossing a ball around with Obama and a bunch of DC-area kids. [...]
The Kay Bailey Hutchison campaign has launched a statewide television campaign against Rick Perry with a TV commercial set to begin airing tomorrow across Texas. The ad will play in Dallas-Fort Worth and the state's other major markets. It features Hutchison sitting in a living-room setting, explaining that she decided' [...]
The chairman of the Republican Governors Association says a fractious primary fight for governor in Texas will make it more difficult for the GOP to win next November. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said "there's a strong likelihood" that red-state Texas will hold on to the governorship in next year's general [...]
In less than an hour, Houston hair-care magnate Farouk Shami will formally announce he's running as a Democrat for governor. Already, though, the Shami campaign has put out a release that tackles what political insiders say could be the biggest [...]
Sen. John Cornyn croaked through his Q&A with Attorney General Eric Holder at a Senate hearing yesterday. Today, that would be an improvement.
"The senator has no voice," his office declared in postponing his weekly conference call with reporters.
Tough spot for a senator. Talking is pretty much their livelihood. Good [...]
THE CLAIM: Endorsing Kay Bailey Hutchison for governor in Houston on Wednesday, former Vice President Dick Cheney said: "When Texas was faced with a budget shortfall and some legislators were proposing an income tax, Kay stood with the taxpayers and led the fight to kill the" [...]
It's being described as a debate by some folks, but can you call a program where the candidates get the questions in advance a real debate? Probably not, but that's the type of forum we're watching here at the fantastic student center at TCU.
Democratic hopefuls for governor Tom Schieffer, Hank' [...]
A new study ranks Texas' tax structure the fifth most "regressive" among the states. That means state and local tax collectors take a much greater share of income from low- and middle-income families than from the wealthy.
The report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy puts only Washington' [...]
Kay Bailey Hutchison is going up first with commercial of the governor's race. Radio spots are to start tomorrow statewide. Can television be far behind? The campaign calls it a "significant buy." And you'll hear it on your local radio station through November.
The decision to go up on radio comes [...]
Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice presidential nominee and former Alasa governor, tells Fox News' Sean Hannity that she views the Fort Hood attack as an act of terrorism.
"I certainly do," she told the conservative talker in an interview' [...]
Kay Bailey Hutchison stayed in Washington yesterday to vote on a military appropriations bill before heading to Texas for a campaign fundraiser. Rick Perry says she should have stayed little longer - long enough to vote against an Obama appointee as a federal appeals judge. The Senate voted 70 to [...]
Over at the transportation blog, we have an updated analysis of Perry and the gas tax question. You can read it here.
[...]Dick Cheney told a crowd of Kay Bailey Hutchison supporters tonight that Texans know "the difference between a real talker and the real deal." And he said Hutchison "is the real deal." The former vice president traveled to Houston for a rally and fundraiser for Hutchison. About 200 sign-waving supporters [...]
Sarah Palin is coming, Sarah Palin is coming.
Gov. Rick Perry was asked during a conference call this afternoon when we'll see the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate stumping for his re-election bid' [...]
Democrat Carol Kent won an upset victory last year against Tony Goolsby in the District 102 race.
Now she'll have to fend off one of at least two candidates running in the March Republican Primary.
Dallas lawyer Stefani Carter has been raising money and is expected to announce her candidacy in the' [...]
Texas Sen. John Cornyn has just released a letter to President Barack Obama, urging him to come right out and acknowledge that Maj. Nidal Hasan was likely "compelled by a fanatical religious ideology.
"If Islamist terrorism was the driving force behind the senseless violence at Fort Hood, as it seems to [...]
It was touch-and-go, but word now is that Kay Bailey Hutchison will attend tonight's rally and fundraiser in Houston with Dick Cheney. There was a possiblity that the Senate would take a preliminary vote today on health care -- something Hutchison didn't want to miss. We wrote today that' [...]
