Rats fleeing the sinking ship

[sonias]

I've started to notice that there are many republican elected officials deciding not to run for re-election in Texas. I don't mean people switching seats or running for a higher office necessarily. My opinion is that they created a huge mess with the budget fiasco and that Perry's national run is exposing all the cracks in their plan. They can not stand the scrutiny. So they're running away basically.

Here's 4 just from the last couple of weeks.

Texas Tribune 9/29/11

Hartnett Confirms He Won't Seek Reelection

State Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, said this afternoon that he won't seek another term in the Texas House. The lawmaker, who's in his 11th term, has been either a chairman or a vice chairman in nine of those, and says he's ready to spend more time with his family. He noted that he was the only member who voted in 2001 against passage of the bill that provides in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants.

Texas Tribune 9/26/11
Harris Won't Run Again; Vandergriff's In

State Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, won't seek another term in the Texas Legislature, he said Monday, and he encouraged Victor Vandergriff — son of the former Arlington mayor, congressman and Tarrant County Judge Tom Vandergriff — to get into the race.

Less than two hours later, Vandergriff announced that he intends to run for the seat.

Texas Tribune 9/20/11
Ogden Won't Seek Another Term

The Texas Senate's chief budget writer — Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan — won't seek re-election, he announced this morning.

The prospect has been in the wind for several weeks. Ogden said during the summer that he wouldn't announce his plans until this month, but has been talking like a guy at the end of his tenure for a while.

It took a weird bounce to get Ogden, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and served as president pro tempore during the legislative session that just ended, back for another session. He announced plans not to seek another term before the 2010 election cycle, then changed his mind when state Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, decided not to run in his place.

Texas Tribune 9/19/11
Florence Shapiro Won't Run Again

After two decades in the Texas Senate, Plano Republican Florence Shapiro said this afternoon that she won't seek re-election.

"I'm just ready for a new challenge," she said in an interview. Shapiro, 63, has been in public office at the city or state level since 1979. "I have an old friend — a former mayor of Fort Worth — who always asks me, 'When are you going to grow up?' I guess I'm ready to grow up." She said she's in final negotiations for a job with an education company; she won't name the firm but said she won't be working on its Texas business.

Chickens... running away from the kitchen once they set it on fire.. :puke:

[sonias]

1. One more mentioned on another DU thread - Jose Aliseda

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=180&topic_id=70443&mesg_id=70454">TexasTowelie post 9/29/11
FYI, Rep. Aliseda announced that he will not be running in 2012 to run for DA. The district attorney for the area, Martha Warner (a Democrat), is going to retire because she was diagnosed with lupus. She more or less sold out the Dems by endorsing Aliseda.

:kick:

[sonias]

2. An article on the budget trickery part

AAS 9/28/11
Budget trickery worsens in shortfall year

Less than a year ago, we learned a revenue shortfall would leave Texas $27 billion short of the money it would need to continue then-current services and programs. About six months later, the Legislature left Austin with lawmakers able to claim that they had balanced the state budget without raising taxes.

In a report released this week, Comptroller Susan Combs illustrates the trickery that legislators and Gov. Rick Perry used to get there. That's because lawmakers assess fees under the guise that they will be used for a specific purpose — to help low-income residents pay electric bills, for instance — but then leave much of that money unspent to balance the state budget.

Combs' report shows the problem is getting worse. The state will leave $4.9 billion unspent in its dedicated accounts over the next two years, up from about $4.1 billion in the previous budget.

The unspent balances include $851 million that comes from fees on electric customers and is supposed to help low-income Texans defray their utility costs, $654 million meant to improve air quality and $388 million in an account for improving trauma facilities and emergency medical services. Technically, these dollars don't get spent on other programs. But by sitting there unspent, they allow the state to show on paper that it has enough money to pay for the amount it budgets for education, health care and other high-cost programs.

Passing the hot check further on down the road. :eyes:

And shafting the programs those funds were meant to address. :mad:

[efhmc]

3. We NEED some candidates. Anyone have any ideas in this

area? How about you Sonias?

[sonias]

4. I'm the last person you should ask about this

I've seen the destruction of candidates up close and personal and honestly have no idea what it would take for a good candidate to run, be supported and win in Texas. I'm very jaded now.

Sorry.

[efhmc]

5. Sad that one has to be rich, male, mean and right wing

to gain office in our state. Do we have any tough Ann Richards ladies or men out there? It does us no good to have opportunities for candidates if no one will run.

[hobbit709]

6. Every one that wanted to run either sold out or got no support from the good old boys.

the ones with principles got nada from the party-neither at state nor national levels and the others fell victim to Truman's statement.

[sonias]

7. Texas Senate turnover comes at crucial time

AAS 10/10/11
Texas Senate turnover comes at crucial time

With four veteran committee chairs announcing they won't seek re-election, the Texas Senate is poised for significant turnover after next year's elections.

And while the election is more than a year away, some senators say they expect a political shift to the right in a chamber where members of the majority all consider themselves conservative Republicans.

The shift comes at a time when the Senate, rather than Texas voters, could be called upon to choose the state's next lieutenant governor and possibly governor — if Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is elected to the U.S. Senate and if Gov. Rick Perry wins his bid for the presidency.

"A seat in the Texas Senate does not come open very often, and all of a sudden now there are four," said Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, one of the four who have announced their retirements.

(snip)

Retiring with Shapiro, the longtime chair of the Education Committee, are Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan; Jurisprudence Committee Chairman Chris Harris, R-Arlington; and Economic Development Committee Chairman Mike Jackson, R-LaPorte.

It's hard to imagine the Texas legislature swinging right wing even more. Frankly they're about as far right crazy as they get in this country already.

:puke:

[sonias]

8. Solomons Won't Seek Re-election to Texas House

Texas Tribune 11/29/11
Solomons Won't Seek Re-election to Texas House
State Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, won't seek a 10th term in the Texas House. Solomons, chairman of the House Redistricting Committee and one of a small band of House Republicans who helped Joe Straus topple Speaker Tom Craddick in 2009, says he wants to "see what new adventures, opportunities, and challenges life may have in store."

He's the 24th incumbent to either quit or decide not to return to the House next year.

Another republican rat cutting and running - and he's the guy who helped steer the over reaching maps the courts are overturning. Nice, heh?

Chickenshits can't stand to clean up the filthy mess they left the state in. :puke: