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Austin, Texas I watched the Republican debate on Monday with the Webb County Republicans, down in Laredo (where there aren’t very many Republicans) and you can find my report here, if you pay your money and subscribe to TIME. There was some interesting stuff I couldn’t fit into the column, so I’ll let ‘er rip:
Yet to be introduced, Obama’s jobs bill faces a number of defections from Senate Democrats. Obama allies worry about 2012. The Times senses Jewish democratic flight.
The hard-charging governor commands a Texas-sized lead in the polls. In an interview with TIME’s Richard Stengel and Mark Halperin, Perry defends his controversial résumé and explains why Americans aren't looking for "political correctness" in 2012. Lightly edited excerpts follow.
It will not surprise my loyal fans—Hey, Dad!—that I like President Obama’s jobs bill. It’s a second stimulus, and when I haven’t been flacking the first, I’ve been kvetching for more. When unemployment is 9% and federal borrowing is practically free, it’s time to pay construction workers who need jobs to fix schools that need [...]
Nobody’s going to care that all successful loan programs have failures, that the Solyndra venture was barely 1% of the Energy Department’s $40 billion clean-energy portfolio, that there will still be over $2 billion in reserves for busted loans no matter how Solyndra shakes out. That’s politics.
Austin, Texas The Folktales’ Black Women’s Literary Society has been meeting and reading for 17 years. Time reader Peggy Terry invited me to join the group for some barbecue and talk at the George Washington Carver museum in East Austin last night.
Austin, Texas We hit a hellacious and inexplicable traffic jam–no construction, no apparent accidents–halfway between San Antonio and Austin yesterday, which gave Turk Pipkin and me time to listen to some music. Turk, you should know, is a Willie Nelson pal and occasional amanuensis, the author of The Tao of Willie. He is also as [...]
Republicans win special House elections in New York and Nevada. With all the usual caveats, the political environment appears similar to last year’s. Elizabeth Warren turns the populism up to 11 in Senate announcement:
At some point in every major national politician’s life, their history becomes mythology and their persona becomes fixed in the public imagination. Rick Perry, his opponents and many pundits like to say, is a fortunate fellow, a handsome, photogenic cowboy whose charm exceeds his intellectual ability; a man who’s been lucky in his alliances and [...]
Republicans on Tuesday night captured the New York City House seat vacated by scandal-scarred Congressman Anthony Weiner, winning a special election in a Democratic district that has grown disillusioned with President Obama and weary of the stagnant economy.
