Burnt Orange Report

It doesn't get any clearer than this. From the Dallas Morning News, "Gov. Rick Perry approved $4.5 million for donor's start-up firm without regional board's OK":

Gov. Rick Perry approved a $4.5 million award from the state's technology fund to a company founded by a major campaign donor despite the company's failure to win the endorsement of a regional screening board, The Dallas Morning News has learned.

The money was awarded in August to Convergen Lifesciences Inc., founded by Perry contributor David G. Nance. Convergen was allowed to bypass a key part of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund's extensive process for vetting applications, and to proceed for approval to a statewide advisory board appointed by Perry.

A spokeswoman for Perry said Tuesday that the money was properly awarded to Convergen because the law establishing the tech fund allows applicants to appeal decisions by regional reviewers.

However, the law makes no mention of such appeals.

The chairman of the regional board in Houston, one of the state's largest, told The News he had never heard of an appeals process. Walter Ulrich, also a former member of the tech fund's statewide advisory committee, said approval by regional boards is mandatory.

"It cannot go to the state without our board's approval," he said. "I've never seen that happen."

Walt Trybula, a nanotechnology expert at Texas State University who reviews tech fund applications for the Austin regional board, said the ability to appeal would undermine the process.

"If you've got a way to go around a review committee," he said, "why do you have a review committee?"

And the chairman of the state House committee that oversees the tech fund said the "extraordinary" process that awarded the money to Nance's firm shows that reforms are needed. "This is the most troubling case that I've seen come through" on the fund, said Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin.

Bill White, taking the gloves off, is hitting back extremely hard. From his statement:

"Rick Perry uses the governor's office to benefit his friends, his contributors and himself. The only way to end Perry's abuses is to elect a new governor. In the meantime the appropriate authorities need to investigate the corruption in the governor's office right away," said Bill White. 

"I demanded last week that Perry disclose all personal and state financial ties with Mr. Nance and Perry refused. Now we see why. This is a bombshell," said White.

The campaign released the following video to highlight the corrpution of Perry's political machine:

Previously on BOR:

• "Rick Perry Admits He Hides Secret Schedule, Which Is Illegal Under Texas Law"
• "Part-Time Perry's Secret Schedule Shrouds His "Work" in Privacy"
• "Rick Perry's History of Cover-Up at the Texas Youth Commission"
• "What is Part-Time Perry Hiding? Light Schedule, Lack of Transparency is Troublesome"
• "Bill White's Speech at the Texas Democratic Party Convention: Rick Perry Is In It For Himself"

Two separate actions show the same pattern: Bill Zedler is hiding from voters, running from his record, and flagrantly abusing the public's trust.

First, we learn last night from Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter and columnist Bud Kennedy that Bill Zedler skipped out on the debate he was scheduled to have with State Rep. Chris Turner no more than an hour before it was supposed to start. From Kennedy's Tweets:

1. Arlington R @Bill_Zedler, the anti-Hooters guy, canceled an hour before his only debate with D @RepChrisTurner. All R's no-shows at LWV
   
   
2. Found Zedler in parking lot at FtW Tea Party event. Says his surrogate coming here had a death in the family and he decided to come here.
   
   
3. Arlington R @Bill_Zedler at Fort Worth 912 meeting. He canceled late on debating @RepChrisTurner at Arlington LWV http://twitpic.com/2wv5au
   
   
4. Recap: R @Bill_Zedler canceled on debate vs. @RepChrisTurner at Arlington LWV, went to this FtWorth 912/TeaParty http://tinyurl.com/zed-tea

Now we may know why Zedler was running from the public It turns out that Bill Zedler has failed to disclose up to $13,000 in contributions. From a press release sent out from the Lone Star Project:

Texas Ethics Commission reports reviewed by the Lone Star Project show that Bill Zedler failed to report at least three major contributions – worth over $13,000 – made during the latest filing period.

[...]

Zedler failed to disclose at least three large contributions from extreme right wing organizations totaling at least $13,350:

• Associated Republicans of Texas (ART) – Gave Zedler at least $10,000.
  ART is heavily funded by Republican mega-donors including anti-homeowner activist Bob Perry. Perry has lobbied aggressively to limit the ability of homeowners to protect themselves from shoddy and dangerous home construction (Dallas Morning News, January 21, 2007)
  
  
• Metroplex Republican Women – Gave Zedler at least $2,350.
  This extreme right-wing organization has endorsed the Republican Party of Texas state party platform, including raising the states sales tax forcing Texans to pay the highest sales tax in the nation. Zedler is a champion of the massive sales tax increase.
  
  
• GOPAC-TX – Gave Zedler at least $1,000
  GOPAC is an infamous right-wing organization founded by controversial and divisive conservative leader Newt Gingrich.

Bill Zedler is running from voters and breaking the law by hiding his political contributions. Zedler, like Republicans up and down the ballot this cycle, simply cannot be trusted to tell the truth.

The hits just keep on coming:

Happy Columbus Day, everyone. The Texas Progressive Alliance is imagining a world in which John Lennon lived to see his 70th birthday as it brings you this week's roundup.

• Off the Kuff published interviews with Democratic candidates Jeff Weems, Hector Uribe, and Hank Gilbert.
  
  
• BossKitty at TruthHugger is disgusted again. This is a very serious election. America is the deer in the headlights and appears to be frozen. So, the last thing I want to hear is "its a TRUCK"! This election is all spin and conspiracy, not that previous elections haven't been. But this one is critical because even hinting at rolling back what forward motion has been achieved. Israel is sliding, America is sliding and the radicals are ready. This is NOT the choice American's should face.
  
  
• Bay Area Houston says during Breast Cancer Awareness Month Americans are truly a sick bunch of people.

• Mathew Dowd, a Bushbot, longs for the glory days of the Bush presidency and envisions Rick Perry as president. That sound you hear is CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme retching uncontrollably.

• nytexan at BlueBloggin is beyond irritation at the continual hypocrisy of Congress and Republican policy of NO. Coburn and Brown Take Pay Raise and Say No To Federal Employees. It’s stunning that the US Congress can continue to give themselves pay raises every years and then claim that federal employees are overpaid. Tom Coburn believes “We need to expect more, and we need to pay less.”
  
  
• The Texas governor is apparently going to finish the 2010 campaign much the way he started it: remaining cowardly, and trying to get re-elected based solely on his good looks. WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts (again) on the failure of our states leadership, Public school finance continues to be a problem.
  
  
• WhosPlayin writes about why it is so important for Texans to log on to www.donatelifetexas.com and check the status of their organ donor registration, and sign up if they are not already.
  
  
• Neil at Texas Liberal attended the Governor's race debate on the topic of education that was held in Houston

KT concluded his excellent post about Rick Perry's Natural Advantage by saying:

Overcoming it in the next 25 days will be nothing short of a miracle, but overcoming it, eventually, is nothing short of mandatory for the sake of our state, our system, and our sanity.

I fully endorse KT's post, with the one important caveat that I don't think it will take a miracle to win. I think it will take an extraordinary, unparalleled amount of hard work, but I think his message -- public service vs. political machine -- is compelling enough and versatile enough to adapt to any environment.

And with that, I wanted to officially invite everyone to the Rally to Restore Competence with Bill White on October 19, 2010 on the UT West Mall at 4:30pm. Almost 300 have already RSVP'ed on Facebook -- come join all of us as we try to restore a little bit of competence and a little bit of sanity back to Texas.

In any other state, in any other year, you'd think it would be a sure bet that a politician like Rick Perry would be headed for defeat - he's the perfect example of the type of incumbent that should. Consider the following -

1. Rick Perry had serious primary challengers from the right and left who spent millions attacking him and forced him to drain his entire bank account.


2. Rick Perry has a serious Democratic opponent - the former Mayor of America's 4th largest city, who's done the impossible in matching the GOP's typical money advantage. 


3. Rick Perry is the epitome of incumbent - having been in one office or another for a quarter century and having been Governor for a whole decade. This weekend he refused to rule out a bid for a fourth term should be be re-elected. 


4. Rick Perry doesn't have just one legitimate scandal, but multiple ones - shades of bribery, payola, land deals, hidden schedules, and countless cases of using his public office for personal or political desires. It's not like there is a debate on the question of whether Rick Perry has skeletons in the closet - we're just unsure of how many and what size.


5. Rick Perry goes full steam ahead, opponents be damned. That includes casting the media as opponents - refusing to meet with editorial boards, answering reporters' questions, or engaging in any debate with anyone.

How Rick Perry campaigns is the very definition of arrogance. He's willing to ignore the Press, bypass direct mail & yard signs, and stake his campaign on Tweeter as if openly tempting fate - just to prove that he can do it. It's the most frustrating thing in the world - both for the media who want an honest account of how government is run, and for many a Democratic activist. And at the end of the day, there's little that we can do about it - at least, in the next 30 days.

I think this all boils down to Rick Perry's Natural Advantage. I define this in two simple parts.

1. The Shrinking Media


2. Blissful Ignorance

I'll start with the Shrinking Media: Multiple writers on this site including Glenn Smith, Matt Glazer, and Phillip Martin have all opined on the decline of the Texas Press - from the decreasing number of political writers, the closing of reporting bureaus, and the sideways to downward trend in circulation. With a state growing as fast as Texas, enough so to receive a whopping 4 new members of Congress in redistricting, even sideways reader growth is not enough to keep our citizenry informed.

We live in a state of just under 25 million people. The top 5 major daily newspapers have a combined daily circulation of 1.2 million according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations. A rough estimate of the top 50 Texas newspapers by circulation still only gives newspapers a reach of 3.6 million; and many of those don't have dedicated political writers or the depth of coverage the major dailies are still able to produce for the time being. And while Texas has one of the largest political blogospheres of any state, the Texas Tribune is the only entity that appears to have captured any energy onine, with an aurience of 220,000 in July. Otherwise, upstart ventures like Newspaper Tree, the Texas Independent, Texas Watchdog, & The Austin Post, would be lucky if their readership broke 100,000 combined.

I focus on print media because it is the one place where we can have long form articles, multiple part series, and the time to truly inform the public when it comes to political stories which we know are full of nuance, background, and angles. TV reporting is an important part of communicating to the public, but we still use it as a crutch, relied upon to amplify traditional political reporting. Even if you take TV and Print together, we're still talking about a depressingly weak saturation of the public with politically tinged news.

Texas is a big state with dozens of media markets and major cities, the 4th highest illiteracy rate among US States, a younger than average population, and multiple widely spoken languages. We are not a state dominated by one city, one newspaper, or one TV station. Other than "Texan" we are not culturally unified. As a result, we rarely see the "Media" in any of its forms talking about the same story at the same time for a sustained duration, other than maybe faux news like the Governor shooting a coyote. Even major devastating hurricanes don't rise to this level as what's happening to Houston may not be the top story in El Paso or Midland.

So how is this part of Rick Perry's Natural Advantage? When you take all of the components above as they relate to the Shrinking Media you are left with this- Texas has an electorate that is under-informed and near impossible to inform with even the most basic narratives. It's a simple statement, and seemingly obvious I know, but relates to the second component of my argument.

The other factor is Blissful Ignorance: I'll illustrate this with Jason Embry's commentary in the Austin American-Statesman just a few days ago.

Texas leads in job creation, but it faces a massive budget shortfall. Is anybody else confused? Gov. Rick Perry is ahead of Democratic challenger Bill White in large part because Texans see the state doing better than most others during a national economic nosedive. And yet this newspaper and others frequently print stories that detail the layoffs, spending cuts and accounting tricks that lawmakers will consider next year when they confront a state budget shortfall estimated to be as high as $21 billion. Multiple polls have shown that Texans who believe the state/economy is on the right track or getting better are overwhelmingly for Rick Perry. Conversely, Texans who believe the state/economy are on the wrong track or getting worse are breaking for Bill White. It's one of the strongest indicators other than political affiliation for predicting which candidate a voter will prefer. It's clear that voters are living in two different realities.

• In one reality, Rick Perry's leadership has resulted in Texas doing less worse than most states and day to day life is about the same as it has always been- other than the loss of your BP stock's dividend in your 401k. You acknowledge that there will be a budget shortfall, but every state has one and it will be fixed just like Perry did last time without much fuss. And if the budget has to be cut, all the better, because government is bloated with services that you don't use anyways.


• In the other reality, the one that most reporters live in and are tired of writing about, the Texas economy is now feeling the pains of the rest of the nation. The foundation upon which the future economy is based has major cracks. This is due to an education system led by a state board that quibbles about facts, a health care system that leaves 1 out of ever 4 Texans uninsured, and a government that is prepared to cut deep into a social safety net which is threadbare to begin with. The fundamental basics of life for millions of people are just numbers on paper for a Governor who's too busy being a badass to engage in an honest conversation about the reality of his current 'economic success'.

This is Bill White's real challenge: It's not about convincing voters to choose between him and Rick Perry; it's convincing voters to choose between these two realities. He has to educate voters about the truth, the sad truth, and the whole truth that we live in the second depressing reality. The Shrinking Media gets it - they've been writing about reality for a decade. But they are tired, bored, and even as an ally in truth, talking to relatively fewer and fewer voters- voters who don't want to know or believe the truth because it is upsetting, unpleasant, and frankly repetitive. After all, it's far easier, not to mention human nature, to remain Blissfully Ignorant. And that's the terrible truth that I see as Rick Perry's Natural Advantage.

Overcoming it in the next 25 days will be nothing short of a miracle, but overcoming it, eventually, is nothing short of mandatory for the sake of our state, our system, and our sanity.

The Democratic Governors Association announced today that the committee brought in another record amount in the third quarter, fueled by explosive growth in contributions from grassroots donors. Joining impressive fundraising by other Democratic committees, the DGA raised $10 million in the third quarter, its third consecutive record-breaking quarter.

The DGA is now on pace to spend triple what it spent in the last equivalent election cycle. With less than five weeks to go, the DGA has a record $13 million on hand. Just as importantly, independent groups that the DGA supports - such as Lone Star First in Texas, Building a Stronger Ohio and Bay State Future in Massachusetts- have an additional $3 million on hand. The DGA spent just shy of $14 million on all the races in 2006.

Why is this important for Texas?

The DGA has already invested tens of millions of dollars in the most important states up for grabs in 2010 and will make sure states such as Florida, Georgia, Minnesota and Texas - to name just a few pickup opportunities - have the necessary resources to compete to the end.

It's nice to be on the receiving end of our national committees for once.  

The 23rd annual AIDS Walk Austin is a little over a week away - Sunday, October 17. If you are in the Austin area, you really should come down to City Hall. Registration opens at 12:30, step-off is at 2. As I write this, I am the 3rd-highest fundraiser for the Walk - I've raised 54% of my goal, and the Walk as a whole has raised 52% of their goal amount.

AIDS Services of Austin provides numerous vital services, both in HIV prevention and services for persons with HIV & AIDS.
There is a page on the website where they asked people why they walk. Here are some of the responses (warning some of them, especially the first one, may make you cry):

Why Christine walks:

I have lost two little brothers to AIDS. My youngest died in April of 1992. I lost the second on the morning of last years' AIDS Walk, 10/18/09. Myself and my team did the walk in his memory. I walk for them and anyone who may have AIDS. I walk because I can and to raise money for education about this disease. Join me.

Why Stephanie walks:

Living in the world with no purpose or cause is a devastating way to exist in this world. There are so many people whose lives can be transformed, renewed, and rejuvenated by a simple act. Making a lifestyle out of helping others is a duty that we all can do in our own way... I am at a point in my life that I realize that I need to give more than I receive, that there are so many things that I as an individual can do to help someone, and that by optimizing my potential as a person, others will see the light within my life and be motivated to maximize their potential as well. People helping people--this is what life should be about!! So I walk to support my community, I walk because I can help, and I walk because want my life to be a catalyst for positive change. I am so excited! Join the walk and tell a friend!!---Team SOLE Train

Why Brandi walks:

This reason I do the AIDS Walk is for me, for my son who was born with the disease, for everyone else who has it, and also to show everyone that you don't have to be afraid. Come out and walk for everyone who lives with this in silence. That is why I walk!

Why Stephanie walks:

"I walk because my life has been impacted by addictions from birth. Addictions causing hurt, pain, and turmoil that have lasting impressions.  I have lost many friends to AIDS, know many people living with HIV/AIDS, and AIDS has even reached my family. Although my life was spared, and the chains that bound my family to chemical depenancy that altered behavior and dismissed the ability to think straight have been broken; our lives are still affected forever. In my new life as an HIV/AIDS Pevention Specialist and Counselor, I will give my all to fight/educate/mediate and be passionate to the needs of others impacted by this epedemic 'till the end. 'Till there is a cure. Walk with me.

Why Terri walks:

"My first AIDS Walk Austin was done on a whim that changed my life. I met people there who had been affected by HIV/AIDS and have been involved in the volunteer community ever since. I walk today because I have seen the faces of AIDS, they are many and they are varied, it is something I can do to help."

Why Jerrol walks:

"I will walk again for my old friend Victor who has gone down the path to the clearing.  I'll walk for my (former) colleagues, Jackie, Michael, Becky, Stewart, John, Susan, Sue, Ben, Joette, Karen, Rindy, Rose, Michelle, and others I have worked with in the past and some I continue to work with.  I love all of you and I want you to know how important I still feel it is to walk for AIDS.  I'll walk for the absolute fun of it - a much needed and welcome emotion at any point in time - but especially now.  I'll walk because I believe in the fight against HIV/AIDS; and I always will!"

Why Meghan walks:

"I walk so people do not forget those who have died from HIV and those who are living with HIV. We still have a great deal of work to do. People are still suffering a great deal from the stigma associated with HIV and we need to continue to raise awareness and educate the community to keep this issue from fading into the background."

Why Renee M walks:

"I walk for my mom, Vickie, who died 15 years ago, when I was 12 years old. I walk because I am not ashamed. I walk to give and receive support. I walk to raise awareness. I walk for those who can not."

Why an ASA client walks:

"I walk the AIDS Walk for my life living with AIDS but most of all for my friends who lost their lives to AIDS. We need to find a cure so we can save many lives. Please come walk..."

Why La'Toya walks:

"I walk because I want to help end the stigma of HIV and AIDS. I walk because I am a part of a community being highly affected and infected by this disease. I walk because the community is where education about HIV and AIDS begins. I walk because I have the power to give and meet others who can share their story. I walk because I want to help promote and provide positive outcomes for a disease many see as a negative. I walk because I can.

"I walk because I believe when people come together in huge numbers we make a huge difference. When there is a difference it's because people listened, and when people listen, change happens."
La'Toya is a Case Manager at AIDS Services of Austin

Why Laura Morrison walks:

"I know personally the importance of AIDS treatment, because it came too late for my brother, Bill. In 1995 Bill was the 26th person from his group of friends to pass away as a result of the AIDS virus.  That same year, the "cocktail" was introduced.  As a result, his good friend John, who had been extremely ill at the time of Bill's death, is thriving today.

"For over 25 years, AIDS Services of Austin has been the heart and soul for those living with HIV and AIDS in Central Texas. By providing ASA funding for services and support, we can help sustain the health and enhance the quality of life for thousands in our community. Please join me and the Laura's Angels team in support of AIDS Services Austin in the 2009 AIDS Walk Austin."
Laura Morrison is an Austin City Council Member

Why Alisa and Oliver walk:

"Giving back is a core mission of L Style G Style. Building community and creating inclusivity for all generates a more conscious and compassionate city. With so many opportunities to support wonderful organizations, it is events like the AIDS Walk that are near and dear to our hearts.

"The gay and lesbian community has been impacted by friends, family and loved ones who have HIV and AIDS. In honor and support of those we know, we walk proudly for them and invite you to walk alongside us and make the 2009 AIDS Walk a huge success!"
Alisa Weldon and Oliver Everette produce L Style G Style

And why do _I_ walk? I walk because I would have trouble counting the number of people I know who are affected by HIV/AIDS. There are people I love dearly who are HIV+ and I want them to have the care and assistance they need. I can't help them all, but AIDS Services of Austin can, so I help ASA.

Please - can you do the same? Here's my AIDS Walk Austin page. Also, for the second year in a row, my friend Lisa made a gorgeous quilt. You can be entered in a drawing for it by donating here Thanks!

With the only polling in the 17th Congressional district coming from the Republican candidate Bill Flores, it's not entirely surprising that Democratic incumbent Chet Edwards would share his numbers as well.

Yesterday the Edwards campaign released internal polling showing he's trailing Flores by 4 points, as compared to the 12 point deficit Flores's poll showed three weeks ago. Edwards' longtime pollster Bennett, Petts & Normington released a memo outlining their findings.

Findings from our most recent survey conducted October 4-5 show Chet Edwards gaining ground and moving into a tight race with challenger Bill Flores. Over the lass 3 weeks Edwards has cut Flores' margin by more than half, with the race closing from ten points own to only four. Currently, Edwards received 42% of the vote while Flores receives 46% and 11% are still undecided in the race for Congress in TX-17. In a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats by a margin of two-to-one, Chet Edwards is in a neck-and-neck race with his opponent. 

The Edwards campaign stated their internal numbers had him down 10 points three weeks ago, which would track with the Flores campaign poll from that time showing a 12 point gap. That gives some credibility to Edwards's release, even with it being partisan internal numbers, because they appear to mirror Flores's partisan internal numbers.

While the DCCC has canceled a week's worth of airtime from October 19-25th, Chet Edwards has picked up the endorsement of the Dallas Morning News. But GOP 2008 Presidential nominee John McCain has cut an ad for Bill Floresin the midst of a multi-million dollar tv ad war which Texas writer Nate Nance has compiled at the Huffington Post.

If Chet were able to pull out a victory next month in the most Republican district held by a Democrat in the U.S. House- especially this cycle- it would be the upset of the year and a testament to the relationship he has built with voters in his district (as well as his field operation).

5:30pm Update: The Texas Tribune has updated their story -- the Governor's office is now trying to backtrack on their response. They have been caught in a blatant lie and now they are stuck lying even more.

UPDATE 4:19pm: Cesinger clarifies that "the governor, not the governor’s office, maintains two schedules. He maintains the political schedule through his campaign office, and the official schedule through the governor’s office." It's unclear, then, how the state office released a political schedule. We're awaiting the governor's office response.

Remember: Rick Perry has said, on television to WFAA, that "I consider everything I'm doing state business." Yet he keeps a private separate schedule that is somehow exempt from public records laws -- despite the fact that Perry has said, "I consider everything I'm doing state business."

Follow-up to this morning's story. Again, from the Texas Tribune: "Governor Responds To "Secret Schedule" Criticism":

Responding to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White's accusations that Gov. Rick Perry had hidden a "secret schedule" from the public, Perry's office said this afternoon that it mistakenly released a "political schedule" to the White campaign, which obtained a Sept. 15 schedule as part of a public information request.

Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said the office does keep separate schedules for the governor — "an official schedule and a political schedule" — and that the political calendar was "erroneously provided." The office maintains the political schedule is exempt from public records laws.

The Bill White campaign has already released the following video, slamming Perry for his secrecy and pointing out that it is against the law to keep a secret schedule:

Previously on BOR:

• "Part-Time Perry's Secret Schedule Shrouds His "Work" in Privacy"
• "Rick Perry's History of Cover-Up at the Texas Youth Commission"
• "What is Part-Time Perry Hiding? Light Schedule, Lack of Transparency is Troublesome"
• "Bill White's Speech at the Texas Democratic Party Convention: Rick Perry Is In It For Himself"
  

Ed. note: This post has been udpated to provide more context to the original press release.

This is pretty huge. From a press release the Bill White campaign sent out minutes ago:

Bill White called for an immediate state and federal investigation, and one of the nation's preeminent criminal defense lawyers weighed in today as Rick Perry stonewalls questions about the public corruption scandal. 

Perry handed out $16 million in taxpayer dollars from a high tech fund to companies tied to his top political contributors. 

"This is the kind of thing a Public Integrity Unit ought to investigate. If the fundraisers promised or suggested that grants would go to political donors and then that happened, that's criminal, plain and simple," said Dick DeGuerin. 

DeGuerin has defended Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Representative Tom DeLay and was recently named one of the 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter Century. 

"Perry's had 48 hours. He's stonewalling simple questions and refusing to release documents revealing the investors in companies getting taxpayer dollars. The Travis County DA and the Department of Justice should investigate," said White.

The scandal we're referring to is the major, breaking story from Sunday & Monday's Dallas Morning News.

• Sunday - "Perry's tech fund aided firms with ties to his donors"
• Monday - "Perry says innovator who's also donor deserved tech funds"
• Monday - "Gov. Rick Perry refuses to release documents from Texas Emerging Technology Fund"
  
• Monday - Editorial: It's time to fix the Emerging Technology Fund
  
• Tuesday - "Perry, White address issues around technology fund"

It is also making national headlines:

• CNN - "White hammers Perry over tech fund questions"
• The Hill - "Texas Tea Partiers Should Disown Rick Perry"
• Talking Points Memo - "Report: Rick Perry Gave $16M In State Money To Firms Backed By Donors"
  

The crux of the scandal is as follows:

An investigation by The Dallas Morning News found that more than $16 million from the Emerging Technology Fund has been awarded to companies with investors or officers who are large campaign donors to Perry.

[...]

The governor's office administers the tech fund, and the governor must approve each award – a system that most other states with tech funds avoid to guard against political influence.

The News found that tech fund money has been awarded to companies with which at least eight significant Perry donors are affiliated.

Read those DMN stories in full to understand the depth and breadth of the stories.

In August, we ran our now infamous "Coward" print ad in over twenty newspapers across the state of Texas, and it got the attention of millions of Texans. This time around, we're expanding our ad buy of our new "Face Us" print ad to 41 newspapers across Texas! We're calling Governor Perry out for his cowardly refusal to both face voters in an open debate and to acknowledge that Texas is facing the worst budget crisis in recent history.

As recently as Sunday, Perry was missing in action during a public gubernatorial debate. It's clear to many Texans that Governor Perry is scared to answer questions about his dismal and costly 10-year career as governor. This is pure cowardice on Perry's part.

Get the facts at www.PerryIsACoward.com!

No wonder why Perry's hiding from voters and editorial boards given the recent reports that he's accepted millions in campaign funds from political appointees to state agencies and that he's given sixteen million dollars of our taxpayer funds to these campaign donors. Texans are demanding that Governor Perry be held accountable on his "pay-to-play" scheme in selling out our state government to enrich his campaign, and the bank accounts of his campaign donors.

Rick Perry again proved what a coward he is by stiffing Texans and skipping out of Sunday's gubernatorial debate.  With a looming $21 billion budget deficit and the recent scandals showing Perry's willingness to sell out our state government to campaign donors, it's no wonder he's afraid to face the people of Texas in an open debate.

Texans are tired of long-time career politicians like Rick Perry, who hides from voters in his $10,000 per month, taxpayer-funded rental mansion, and refuses to be held accountable for his record.  We encourage voters to get the facts for themselves at www.PerryIsACoward.com.

Please help us spread the word about Perry's refusal to stand up and face Texans like a man on Facebook and on Twitter!

Also, if you live in one of the many Texas cities we're running our print ad in, please go out and grab a copy on Tuesday so you can post a picture about it on our Facebook fan page!

Disclosure: Donations will be used by the Back to Basics PAC to advocate on behalf of Texans against the hypocrisy of self-serving politicians.

written by Noelle Bell aka slinkerwink, Director of New Media

I love this new ad from the Bill White campaign:

Yesterday's money totals showed Rick Perry with a substantial cash-on-hand lead over Bill White -- which would mean something, if Bill White hadn't already put down at least $4 million worth in television advertising, according to the Statesman:

White spokeswoman Katy Bacon, explaining the spending difference, said White spent $4 million during the recent fundraising period to reserve television time for ads that would run in the future.

White's planned ahead for the campaign for months, and now Perry is stuck paying more for television advertising.

Now, I know the latest BELO poll looks terrible for White. I'd be concerned if the BELO poll didn't look so terrible itself:

All respondents were screened to ensure they are registered voters. To filter for likely voters, respondents were also screened to ensure they vote in most or all school, local and primary elections. 

That is an extremely unusual screen on a poll. The screen is basically only looking at voters who vote every single time in every single election. I'm not at all surprised Perry is leading this much with that group -- you're talking about predominantly looking at an extremely active voter population or, as one person told me today, "people who drive by the polls every day to see if there is an election."

Four weeks is not a lot of time left, and every day there will be something new so every day that something new will seem like something major. For what it's worth, I am very confident in White's chances at winning. White's upcoming television advertising campaign is very strong. Perry's campaign probably has at least two negative attack ads (sanctuary cities and White's business connections, are my guesses) coming up that will worry everyone at first blush, even though they are likely to be just as big a pile of lies as his first negative ad (the one White has effectively responded to above). It will be a strong race to the finish from both campaigns -- and for the first time in well over a decade, our Democratic candidate is still within striking distance to make it happen.

I'm doubling-down on my efforts, and I hope you will, too.

• Democrat Bill Moody is the only statewide judicial candidate to get the endorsement of the Houston Chronicle.


• Multiple BOR staff members quoted in this Statesman story on Social Media in the 2010 Texas elections.


• Will John Cornyn and Pete Sessions stay on as the campaign chairs for another cycle for the NRSC & NRCC?


• I'm hoping Democrats are smart enough to do this legally given that Texas Republican have proven they don't know how.


• Yes, another link to Rick Perry vs. The World. But it's still decent writing and worth a read if you want to peer into the polls.


• I suspect 538 is about to update their Gubernatorial rankings since the last run was a week ago. Still, Rick Perry has been stable at about an 85% favorite to win according to their models. They also show Chet Edwards losing, but Ciro Rodriguez holding on.


• Houston firefighters endorse Perry.


• The City of Austin finally takes apart the Tri-Party agreement that has underperformed expectations of redevelopment and revitalization of the 11th and 12th Street corridors in East Austin.
  

Bonus

• One of my favorite things back when I was a print newspaper editor in high school was headline writing, something that once took me to State in UIL competition. So read this- Twitter users: How to tweet better using the wisdom of newspaper copy editors.


• Why do intelligent people fail?


• This map from The Electoral Map Blog says a lot by itself.

Video

• President Barack Obama has appeared with one of the gubernatorial candidates in a TV ad- Rick Perry.

In addition to all the mid-term candidates on the ballot this November, Austin voters will have a chance to vote on Proposition 1, $90 million in transportation bonds supporting new roads, sidewalks, trails, and bikeways across the city. Support for Prop 1 is being lead by the Get Austin Moving PAC which has just reported $70,000 in donations and pledges.

"We've received donations from businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the city, representing broad-based support for this bond package," said Ted Siff, Treasurer of the Get Austin Moving PAC. "We are proud to report that after only a little more than a month of fundraising, we have received $59,580 in contributions and raised $11,900 in pledges to support our grassroots campaigning efforts," added Mr. Siff.

Proposition 1 has been endorsed by over 30 community, neighborhood, and political groups including the Travis County Democratic Party. Opposition isn't terribly organized but includes the Real Estate Council of Austin who's primary point of contention is that they wanted to vote on bond components separately. You can view all of the projects Proposition 1 will fund here and read the FAQ about this year's bond campaign. While Proposition 1 is only $90 million worth of projects, it will not increase the tax rate if passed as the total is currently within the city's bonding capacity.

For full disclosure, I am one of the over 50 steering committee members of Get Austin Moving and built the campaign website at www.GetAustinMoving.com.

On Twitter: @getaustinmoving
On Facebook: Get Austin Moving

WIth one month to go, candidates have only 2 major campaign finance reports of consequence- the 8 Day report and the 30 Day reports, the latter of which are now being released. While the full report is not yet available on the TEC (which doesn't post the PDFs until all candidats have filed) we have the following numbers via press release.

Bill White reported raising more than $4.68 million in the last fundraising period between July 1 and September 23. More than 80 percent of contributions that period were of $100 or less, and about 97 percent of individual contributions came from Texans.The campaign ended the period with $2.75 million on hand.

Online donations made up 65% of individual contributions for this reporting period.To date, the White campaign has raised over $21.3 million from over 25,000 donors since launching his gubernatorial campaign.

For comparison purposes, here are White's numbers from the mid-summer semi-annual report.

  Bill White ReportRaised Spent Cash on Hand  Semi-Annual$7,470,895 $3,276,607 $9,045,425  30 Day Out$4,680,000$10,975,425* $2,750,000

 *estimated spending based upon previous CoH+Raised to arrive at current CoH

Now, the drop in Cash on Hand is to be expected, especially if it includes media buys that have yet to run; we'll know more once the full reports are out. Otherwise Team White has spent nearly $11 million to move the polls about a point. 

Update 1: Libertarian Kathie Glass reported raising $61,000 of which $35,000 is self-made loans. She's spend $39,000 and has $22,000 on hand. 

Update 2: Republican Rick Perry reported raising $8.2 millin with $10 million cash on hand.  It appears from reports that White's cash on hand is lower because of TV time already reserved and paid for, which Perry's number may not fully include resulting in the seemingly lopsided numbers. Phil will have more later on this point. 

When Texas' newspapers released a poll last week on the then-current state of the race, one number caught the eyes of a couple reporters: the fact that Rick Perry had a 10-point lead among women in Texas. It made me scratch my head in disbelief. As Seth Myers and Amy Poehler love to say, "REALLY!?!?"

The Statesman was the first one to report on the numbers, in their story, "Perry's lead among women bucks trend":

"Perry is doing extraordinarily well among women," said Mickey Blum, whose firm, Blum & Weprin Associates Inc., conducted a poll on behalf of the American-Statesman and other newspapers. She said that in years of polling in Texas, this might be the first time she's seen more women than men backing the Republican.

The poll found that 50 percent of women who are likely voters prefer Perry, while 40 percent prefer White. Overall, 46 percent of likely voters picked Perry and 39 percent liked White, the poll said.

That one poll, absolutely, shows Perry with a lead. But an analysis of ten polls released since May suggest that the newspaper's findings, while not unique, do not fit the actual “trend” of women’s support in the Texas Governor’s race. Here is a look at whom women have supported in ten previous polls where crosstabs were available:

Poll
Date
% Women for Perry % Women for White
TX Tribune 5/2340
35
Rasmussen
6/1641
45
PPP
6/2238
46
Rasmussen
7/1348
40
Rasmussen8/2244
44
Zogby
8/24
41.5
41.4
Hill Research
8/253844
TX Tribune
9/3 - 9/8
34
34
PPP
9/8
46
42
Rasmussen
9/22
39
51
TOTAL
 40.95
42.24

Newspapers, by relying solely heavily on their poll and not making note of what all these other polls have reported, may be not providing the full context on this particular story. I would love to see their full crosstabs so I could better understand if they over-sampled or under-sampled any one population.

Peggy Fikac, writing in the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, discussed whether or not Perry's looks could be a factor:

No, really, women aren’t any more shallow than men.

When a poll by a group of newspapers including the San Antonio Express-News/Houston Chronicle showed that about 50 percent of women likely to vote favor GOP Gov. Rick Perry — compared to 40 percent for Democratic challenger Bill White - some called it a testament to Perry's looks.

Ladies -- are you voting for Rick Perry because he's super dreamy? (Rachel, I expect a weigh-in on this one!)

Fikac dismisses the looks argument, saying it is "a bit annoying." She also, though, pointed out how men seem to be showing a reverse trend this year:

The interesting part, in the face of all that GOP interest, is what's happening with the men.

Of likely voters in the poll by Blum & Weprin Associates Inc., men and women gave the GOP "an equal edge," noted pollster Mickey Blum: Women were 52 percent Republican or leaning Republican (compared to 34 percent Democratic) and the split among men was 48/31 GOP to Democratic.

I'll try to find the crosstabs for men later -- I had this chart together before Fikac's story ran. In the mean time, I hope this conversation adds more context to the stories we've seen pop up to date, and lets everyone see that in this crazy election year, it is best to look at a larger context if you're searching for trends.

Finally, I also wanted to emphasize one strong voice on this -- from Rachel Farris, who wasn't commenting on this poll, but on the larger national trend in her post, The Princess and the Poll:

Perhaps the reason independent and Democratic women aren’t "revved" up is because they actually have something known as “brains” in between their ears. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist -- or for that matter, a recent college graduate who can’t find a job -- to take a look around and see that while Sarah Palin’s daughter does the cha-cha and enchants the hearts of millions, Sarah Palin’s tea party is busy imprinting the minds of the remainder. And with the most prominent, popular female “leaders” splashed on TV in the neverending news cycle being Palin and O’Donnell, who in their right mind would be revved up by them?

[...]

So what will it take?  Well, here’s what keeps me up at night -- maybe it’ll give you nightmares, too: You never really know how much someone's willing to fight for something until it gets taken away from them.  Put that under your pillow and sleep on it.

As Jason Embry noted in the Austin American-Statesman this morning:

Very rare to see a newspaper put an editorial on the front page. (I can’t remember any paper I’ve worked for in my 12 years doing that). Even more rare to put it above the fold. But above the paper’s nameplate? That’s what the Tyler Morning Telegraph did on Sunday, lashing out at Perry with the all-caps headline, TIME FOR RESPECT. Here’s the photo of the front page, which was posted online by the White campaign.

The full editorial is very, very intense. Go to the Typer Morning Telegraph's website to read it in full.

Last week I wrote about the Filmmakers for Bill White event at the locally owned Alamo Drafthouse tomorrow night. The first film released has already had over 7,000 views and response for the event appears to be going well.

Ahead of tomorrow's event, the Bill White campaign has released another, more emotionally charged filmmaker short film.

Originally the event was slated for a smaller theatre, but the response has been overwhelming and the space has been upgraded to one of the larger theaters.

Because of the increased space, there are now student tickets for $25 that can be purchased online here. Not a student, there is still limited space for the event and after party. Get your tickets today.

The political advertisements from have become a regular feature on televisions across Texas Congressional District 17, as both Democrat Congressman Chet Edwards and Republican Bill Flores flood the airwaves with advertising. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, over $1.8 million has been spent already by both campaigns, and while Flores has already spent $1.2 million Edwards has over $2.1 million cash on hand that he will likely spend in the an advertising blitz during the last month of the campaign. However, there is not just money being spent by the two campaigns trying to influence the election in District 17. A conservative advocacy group, American Future Fund, is also spending money in the district. The AFF has released two advertisements attacking Edwards:

More Below the Fold...
So who is the American Future Fund and why are they trying to influence the election in District 17? According to their web site the AFF is a non-profit 501(c)(4) formed to promote a "conservative and free market viewpoint." The AFF is not located in District 17; in fact the AFF is not even located in Texas. The AFF is located in Des Moines, Iowa. The AFF is an outside influence on the District 17 election, and this district is not the only one that the AFF is attempting to influence. AFF commercials are also attacking Congressmen Baron Hill (D-IN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Denny Heck (D-WA), and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD), for supposedly deceiving voters on their voting records. The commercials are a cut and paste job which basically read like this:
Washington liberals like [candidate name] are trying to trick you. They'll spend a fortune to hide their liberal records. But [candidate surname] voted for Nancy Pelosi's agenda more than [x] percent of the time. For [his/her] trillion-dollar health plan that cuts $500 billion from Medicare. For raising the national debt. And for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker. Don't be tricked. Magic can't change [his/her] liberal record. But this November, your vote can make [candidate name] disappear. American Future Fund is responsible for the content of this advertising.I'll will address the substance of the advertisement in a moment, but first let's take a look at who's behind the American Future Fund. The Minnesota Independent reports that the people behind the AFF are two media consultants who played key roles in the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads in 2004 and the Willie Horton ad in 1988. The AFF's political advertisements have not been limited to criticizing Democratic incumbents on their voting records. According to an article in the Iowa Independent, an AFF advertisement targeted Iowa Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley for his support of Muslims "building a mosque at Ground Zero, where Islamic terrorists killed 3,000 Americans." The add goes on to claim that building an Islamic community center two blocks away from the September 11th terrorist attacks, where by the way several Muslims also died, would be like the Japanese building at Pearl Harbor. While the analogy if offensive and actually not equivalent, I wonder if the AFF realizes that there are several Japanese owned businesses within walking distance of Pearl Harbor Naval Base. It doesn't matter because the AFF does not let facts get in the way.

The AFF attack advertisements on Democratic Congress members voting records claim that the health care reform plan "cuts $500 billion from Medicare." Research by Media Matters shows that according to four different sources the Affordable Care Act does not cut $500 billion from Medicare, but strengthens the program. The AFF also attacks Democrats for voting "for raising the national debt," and cites HR 4314 which was a bill to permit continued financing of government operations which essentially raised the debt ceiling. However, Congress has little choice but to raise the debt ceiling or it could lead the nation to default, and the business community supports the raising of the debt ceiling as critical to the economy.

The AFF is using its status as a nonprofit to hide its donors and attempt to buy influence throughout the country. According to the Washington Post, the AFF has spent over $6.7 million across the country. In Texas Congressional District 17 $251,301 of outside influence has been spent in order to manipulate the voters of the district.

Political and Social Thought...
to the Left of College Station