FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2010
KLMNO
EZ SU POLITICS & THE NATION Democrats hope for big upset in Texas
GOVERNOR’S SPOT SOUGHT
White has kept race closer than expected
BY DAN BALZ
austin— Democrats have a dream this year and it goes like this: It is election night. As the cable news networks’ electronic maps run red with Republican victories, three of the nation’s most populous states — Califor- nia, Florida and Texas — turn instead to blue. Gubernatorial pickups in those
Sunbelt states would bring a measure of satisfaction on what otherwise could be a bleak eve- ning for Democrats. And heading into the final weeks of the cam- paign, the party has a chance of winning some or all of these races.Democratsknowthat heav- ily Republican Texas is the most difficult of the three. Long a Democratic wasteland, Texas is all the more challenging because of the national climate The state’s Republican gover-
nor, Rick Perry, is a career politi- cian in the year of the outsider, and the longest-serving governor in Texas history in the year of anti-incumbency. His Democrat- ic opponent, Bill White, served three terms as mayor of Houston and was popular enough to win reelection twice with about 90 percent of the vote. He is a Texas native, a businessman, a former deputy energy secretary in the Clinton administration and a for- mer chairman of theTexas Demo- cratic Party. A soft-spoken, balding and un- charismatic politician, he is the antithesis ofPerry. White is pitted against a governor noted for his good looks and having the per- sonality of a yell leader at Texas A&M University, which he once was. Many Democrats regard White
as one of the strongest guberna- torial candidates they have field- ed in many years.He has kept the race closer than many people, including those in his own party, had expected. But Perry, who ascended to the
governor’s office when GeorgeW. Bush became president and has been reelected twice, expresses little regard for his challenger. “By and large, I ignore Bill White,” he said in an interview.
No to big government Perry’s focus is Washington,
and he presents himself as a bulwark against encroaching big government. “Somebody needs to stand up and say no to this activist government,” he told the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association recently. To applause he added, “I hope on November the second we send a real powerful message to Wash- ington, D.C.: We don’t want you spending any more money.” Perry has sometimes struggled
to gain respect in Texas, even among Republicans. He has long been at odds with many of those around Bush. David Hill, a Re- publican pollster, said Perry has not made much of a mark during his decade in office. “He’s a guy who’s really exploiting the gener- ic Republican ballot,” Hill said. “He doesn’t bring too much unique and distinctive to the brand himself.” If underappreciated, Perry nonetheless has always managed
DIGEST NEWYORK
FormerN.Y. official admits pay-to-play Former New York comptroller
Alan Hevesi (D) admitted Thurs- day that he accepted free travel and campaign contributions from a financier in exchange for invest- inghundredsofmillionsofdollars of state pension money with the businessman’s firm. Hevesi, who resigned after
pleading guilty in another case involving misuse of his office, be- came the highest-ranking official to admit playing a role in the sweeping pay-to-play scandal that has wracked one of the largest governmentpensionfunds. StateAttorneyGeneralAndrew
M. Cuomo’s investigation into the fund has swept up a firm run by former Obama administration auto czar StevenRattner, a former politicalpartybosswhooncerana popular military museum. It has also recovered $138million so far, Cuomo’s office said. Hevesi apologized as he plead-
ed guilty to a felony corruption charge, receiving reward for offi- cial misconduct. He acknowl- edged getting about $1 million worthof gifts andfavors. Hevesi admitted allowing El-
liott Broidy to pay for family trips to Israel and Italy, worth about $75,000.Thebusinessmanalsoar- ranged for $500,000 in campaign contributions. Hevesi also autho- rized the fund to invest $250mil- lion in Broidy’s company, Mark- stoneCapitalPartners. Hevesi, 70, was released with-
ERIC GAY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Democrat Bill White served three terms asmayor ofHouston and won reelection twice with about 90 percent of the vote.
to win elections since entering politics as a Democrat 25 years ago. Four years ago, he captured just 39 percent of the vote in a four-way race. But last spring, he trounced Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in a three-way GOP primary after starting the race as the underdog. Perry defeated Hutchison by
linking her to the nation’s capital. He was shrewd enough to give voice to the anti-Washington sen- timents of tea party activists just as the movement was forming, staking out his strong opposition to President Obama and the Democrats’ agenda in early 2009. That helps insulate him from the anti-incumbent sentiments that have taken hold nationwide this year. “Is there an anti-incumbent
mood in the country?” he said. “Yes, if you have been a Republi- can that went to Washington, D.C., and spent money like a Democrat.” White, in turn, has been forced
to run away from Obama and the national Democratic Party. Most Texans, he said, were turned off by the deficit spending in the Bush administration and are even more concerned about the rising deficits under Obama. “Including me,” he said.
Focus on economy White hopes to ward off the
governor’s anti-Washington mes- sage by raising doubts about Perry’s economic record. He
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thinks the recession has finally caught up with Texas and notes that 1 million Texans are unem- ployed. The state unemployment rate is 8.4 percent, which is worse than that of many surrounding states. Texas faces a budget short- fall that could hit $18 billion next year.
“Rick Perry and his handlers
thought they would create this illusion that Texas would be ex- empt from the global recession,” White says. “They thought they would create an illusion that state government had avoided the downturn. . . . Now, unfortu- nately for him, reality is setting in.”
Perry argues that under his
business-friendly administra- tion, Texas is doing better than any of the big states, which he said is the real measure of eco- nomic success or failure. “I think inarguably anyone who is not a political hack or just trying to tear Texas down is going to say [we] have been good stewards of
ERIC GAY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Republican Rick Perry is a career politician and the longest-serving governor in Texas history.
our state,” he said. Democrats see Perry as most
vulnerable on claims that he en- gages in cronyism and that he rewards friends and punishes enemies — in short, that he overstayed his time as governor. In the past week, White has attacked Perry repeatedly on eth- ics issues. The DemocraticGover- nors Association, meanwhile, has criticized Perry, saying that he tried to infringe on the rights of private property owners, that he sought to require young girls to be vaccinated against sexually transmitted diseases and that he spent $10,000 a month on a house while the governor’s man- sion was being rebuilt after a fire. Perry advisers say the charges
are old and no longer make an impression with voters. “Those issues have been tested over and over and over,” saidDavid Carney, the governor’s chief campaign strategist. Voters, he added, are concerned about bigger issues this fall.
Perry’s focus on Washington
has sparked speculation that he has his eyesona WhiteHouse run in 2012.He has repeatedly denied that he wants to seek the presi- dency. “I don’t know how many times you’ve got to say no,” he said. “I have no passion to go to Washington, D.C.” But he hopes to raise his na-
tional profile by becoming a lead- ing voice among Republican gov- ernors in challenging the Obama administration on spending, tax- es, mandates, regulations and state sovereignty. Perry leads in all the most
recent polls, though most show the margin in single digits. Dem- ocrats say the fact that Perry has not already closed out the race suggests that victory is still possi- ble.
But given the Republican lean-
ings of the Lone Star State and the mood of the electorate, a victory by White would rank as one of the major upsets of 2010.
balzd@washpost.com
out bail until his sentencing, set forDec. 16.His punishment could range from no jail time to up to four years inprison. —AssociatedPress
MISSISSIPPI
Refusal to recite oath lands lawyer in jail AMississippi judge jailedalaw-
yer for several hours for refusing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, ordering the attorney to “purge himself” of contempt by standing and repeating the oath alongwith the rest intheTupelo,Miss., court- room. After Oxford, Miss., lawyer
Danny Lampley spent about five hours in the county jail Wednes- day, Chancery Judge Talmadge Littlejohnreleasedhim.Thejudge said he let Lampley go so he could represent another client. Lampley said he respected the
judge butwouldn’t backdown. “I don’t have to say it because
I’m an American,” Lampley told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. NeitherLittlejohn,who is inhis
mid-70s, nor Lampley, 49, re- spondedto telephone calls. —AssociatedPress
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