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American Thinker readers are invited to poll their U.S. Senators concerning their reactions to Climategate. Recently, AT contacted the press offices of GOP Senators DeMint, Graham, McConnell, Hutchison, and McCain and posted their statements, or more accurately their absence of statements, on Climategate.

Kay Bailey Hutchison votes with Democrats to speed up process to healthcare vote.

Kay Bailey Hutchison, much maligned for campaigning in Texas during the health care debate, boldly announced that she would go to Washington and stay there to fight health care and kill it dead. Instead, today she accelerated it getting to the Senate floor in a bit of Senate gamesmanship.

RINOs Hutchison, Collins and Snowe voted with the Dems to cut off debate on the Military Defense Bill which was being filibustered by Repubs to slow down the health care bill. Hutchison is vying with Perry for Texas governor. I saw both their names on an older list of CFR members. Are they still members?

In protest of being booted off of the KERA TV debate for Gubernatorial candidates, Debra Medina has launched a new TV spot taking Rick Perry to task for refusing to debate if Medina were allowed to participate.

AUSTIN — Both Kay Bailey Hutchisons showed up to file for governor Monday — Primary Kay and General Election Kay. Like hyperkinetic twins, they tended to talk over each other. Primary Kay is very conservative. She talks about property rights, illegal immigrants and state-mandated vaccinations of teenage girls (a particular bugaboo of the Christian right). General Election Kay promises to expand the party — save it, she says — by appealing to the broad Texas electorate in November.

Each campaign, expecting turnout surge among casual Republican voters, hammers away at conservative credentials. By Jason EmbryAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, December 13, 2009 Recent statements and strategy decisions have made clear that U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison believes it is Republicans — and not independents or Democrats, as some others have suggested — who can lift her to victory over Gov. Rick Perry in the March GOP primary.Hutchison's campaign expects a surge of voters who support Republicans but do not regularly vote in Republican primaries. And to appeal to those voters, she has in recent weeks stressed her support from...

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has secured $4.85 million in funding to be used by border sheriffs to stop drug and human trafficking. The money is coming from the fiscal year 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill. It will help border sheriffs pay for overtime, hire additional deputies, and purchase equipment. This project supports Operation Linebacker, an initiative of the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition. "Our law enforcement personnel along the border are regularly under assault, and drug and human traffickers continue to threaten the safety of our communities," Hutchison said in a news release. "Sheriffs patrolling the border need additional reinforcements to...

Conservative South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint (R) will endorse Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams' Senate candidacy later today, a move designed to thin the GOP field running to replace Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R). "Democrats are trying to catch Republicans flat-footed and pick off the Texas Senate seat," said a source close to DeMint who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about strategic matters. "This endorsement will signal its time for conservatives and independents to rally behind Michael." The seat is not formally vacant yet as Hutchison has delayed her planned resignation until after her March 2 primary fight against...

Governor Rick Perry is turning up the heat on Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's record as one of Washington's biggest spending Republicans. Fiscal and economic issues is, after all, Rick Perry's strong suit heading into this primary election, which should prove to be a tough and bloody one. I'm supporting Rick Perry, but will obviously vote for Kay Baby in the general election should she win the primary. The following ads sure do hurt, though. Don't they, Kay? *-*Video @ site*-* Frankly, Kay Bailey Hutchison has really picked a bad time to challenge Rick Perry for governor. While she isn't getting...

There have been many invitations to participate in debates and forums coming through our (Debra Medina's) office. The public certainly deserves to hear from each of the candidates. Unfortunately, we’re receiving multiple reports that each time we confirm, the governor cancels. It seems that Rick Perry has learned, over the years, that in order to protect his incumbent status he must be in total control of who he is on stage with and holds the media hostage to his demands.

Here is video of Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison reacting to Sen. Harry Reid's outrageous statement today in which he compared opponents to President Obama's Government Health Care Plan to those who supported slavery. Hutchison said Reid's comments were "so over the top" it is unbelievable, and she said that kind of rhetoric has no place in the Senate. She believes it is a sign of desperation on the part of the Democrats. . . . . (VIDEO)

Hutchison officially in the race By Jason Embry | Monday, December 7, 2009, 09:29 AM U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison filed to run for governor this morning at state Republican Party headquarters. So for any doubters out there, we now know that we really are going to see the long-awaited showdown between the two biggest names in Texas politics: Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry, her fellow Republican. Hutchison rattled off a familiar list of issues she’s stressing in her campaign: protecting private-property rights, reforming the Texas Department of Transportation, protecting the borders, improving schools. She again criticized Perry for...

Mayor Bill White will formally enter the race for governor today, instantly becoming the Democrats' best hope of winning a statewide office in seven years. White, a three-term mayor who is balding and known for something of a bland personality, is expected use self-deprecating humor to tell a Hilton Americas crowd of supporters that he knows he is not a “perfect candidate” but is someone who can get things done. White has said he wants to end “strident partisanship” in Austin. He will tell supporters he wants to improve high school graduation rates and slow the rising costs of...

Perry makes it official, files for third full term Gov. Rick Perry already holds the record for the longest serving governor in state history, but today he filed to paperwork to officially become a Republican candidate for an unprecedented third term in office. Of course, Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and activist Debra Medina hope to stop Perry in his tracks in the March 2 GOP primary. Hutchison is expected to formally file for the race Friday shortly before Houston Mayor Bill White jumps into the Democratic gubernatorial contest. Perry became governor in December 2000 when then-Gov. George...

By Jason Embry | Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 04:14 PM The high command of Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election campaign is encouraging supporters to participate in something called Operation Intervention, which is an effort to convert supporters of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison before the filing period begins Dec. 3. The goal of this operation seems to be convincing Hutchison not to run. In a Saturday memo to “interested parties,” Perry consultant Dave Carney wrote, “Between now and the filing period December 3rd, I would like to ask you to engage in Operation Intervention by reaching out to Hutchison supporters...

Republican women convening at the Galveston Island Convention Center this weekend said they are “energized” about the 2010 and 2012 elections and view them as a turning point for the state and nation. Women from across the state, many of whom donned Republican red, gathered Saturday for the third of a four-day convention hosted biennially by the Texas Federation of Republican Women. Highlighting the convention’s agenda during the last few days were keynote addresses by party front-runners Gov. Rick Perry and gubernatorial challenger Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison Hutchison addressed the delegation Saturday morning announcing, as expected, she won’t resign her...

WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry has been campaigning against Washington, and Washington is returning the favor — no endorsements here. In the back and forth between Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Perry over gubernatorial endorsements, it’s no contest when it comes to the Texas congressional delegation: It’s Hutchison 10 and Perry 0.Ten of the 20 U.S. House Republicans have publicly endorsed Hutchison, and insiders say it is unlikely that any of the remaining 10 will endorse Perry, preferring to remain neutral.Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, who until now has not said what he would do, told the Star-Telegram that...

Washington (CNN) -- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who had said she would resign her seat to run for governor of Texas, plans to announce Saturday she will remain in the Senate as she seeks the Republican Party's gubernatorial nomination, a Hutchison aide tells CNN. "She will announce tomorrow at the Texas Federation of Republican Women's Convention in Galveston that she will not be resigning her seat before the primary," said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "She is running for governor because she feels it is important to fight on two fronts, for the race for governor...

This was broadcast as breaking news on WOAI at about 12:07 pm 10/28/2009. There's not yet a link to this story at their site.

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison went to a shooting range Friday to remind voters of her support for gun rights by pointing out her plans to weigh in on an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case. With gunfire popping in the background, Hutchison said she will help lead a bipartisan group from Congress in filing a legal brief urging the court to rule gun ownership is an individual right that applies at the state and local levels, in addition to the federal level. Both Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry, who are squaring off in the March Republican primary, say...

Kay Bailey Hutchison is running for governor here in Texas. Face it, she has not been a part of the solution in Washington, she has been a part of the problem. She has done nothing to control run away spending. She has supported and even offered bills that added to the deficit. Hutchison is no conservative. She is part of the problem here in America.

State GOP chair resigns to work for Perry By Jason Embry | Saturday, September 26, 2009, 01:35 PM Tina Benkiser will leave her post as chairwoman of the Texas Republican Party next month so she can join Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign as a senior adviser. In announcing her move, Benkiser called Perry the “only true conservative” in the race — a clear shot at U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is challenging Perry for the Republican nomination. While the move was unexpected, it makes sense that Benkiser would back Perry. She comes straight from the social conservative base that...

Weekend highlights and the day ahead Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison aren’t doing a very good job of hiding their personal displeasure that the other is running for governor. A race between two well-funded — I mean, really well-funded — politicians for an office this big would be heated no matter the personal relationship of the candidates. And yet it can’t help matters that, if you listen closely, it’s clear that Perry and Hutchison each feel that the other has no business running. You could say that each has expressed a certain entitlement to the...

The volatile 2010 Republican Primary race for governor in Texas has become a toss-up, with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison currently inching ahead of incumbent Rick Perry by two points – 40% to 38%. A new Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 telephone survey of Texas GOP Primary voters finds just three percent (3%) support Debra Medina, a tea party activist who joined the GOP race this month. But 19% are not sure who they favor.

There seems to be some confusion in the Debra Medina for governor campaign on the definition of "support." An earlier version of this story reported that Medina's campaign announced Wednesday that Rep. Ron Paul is backing her. The campaign plugged a letter written by Paul in which he calls Medina a "real defender of liberty." But I just got a call from Jesse Benton, who said he's media director for Paul's congressional reelection campaign and the political director to Paul's political action committee, Liberty PAC. He said the letter is not an endorsement for Medina's campaign at all. Paul has...

· Yes · No · Both will loose Currently 42% Yes 45% No and 11% Both will loose.

A sign hangs outside the gate of the scorched Texas Governor’s Mansion, “Wanted… Conservative Texas Governor”. The 2010 Republican Primary Election is just around the corner and Texas needs a strong Conservative to lead her and our nation in the fight against sweeping waves of the socialism that are rolling in from Washington DC. Where do we find this Conservative candidate for Governor? Currently two political powerhouses are slugging it out to try and win your vote; incumbent Governor Rick Perry and US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Both have statewide name recognition and well funded campaign juggernauts. But are they...

LA MARQUE — U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will return to her hometown of La Marque next week to formally announce she will run for governor. The announcement is not a surprise but will set in motion what promises to be battle royale in the Republican primary as Hutchison challenges incumbent Gov. Rick Perry........... WHAT: Kay Bailey Hutchison gubernatorial campaign kickoff. WHEN: 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17; Doors open at 7:30 a.m. WHERE: La Marque High School competition gym, 397 Duroux in La Marque. INFO: Open to the public, but RSVPs requested at ryan(at)texansforkay.com or 713-471-3336. End snips from...

Perry has reversed her early lead in the polls By R.G. RATCLIFFE AUSTIN BUREAU Aug. 2, 2009, 9:29PM AUSTIN — U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison began this year as “Kay the Invincible.” But as she prepares to officially launch her bid for governor later this month, that aura is gone. Hutchison entered the year with the ability to make other politicians quake. She had two re-election victories under her belt with more than 60 percent of the vote in each. Her popularity ratings in polls put her at the top among Texas politicians. And public polls showed her leading...

AUSTIN, TX (AP) - A website for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison contained hidden phrases including "rick perry gay." Hutchison's campaign officials said they bought a tool that generates phrases to find out the most frequent web searches using Hutchison's and Gov. Rick Perry's names. Hutchison spokesman Jeff Sadosky said Hutchison's campaign was not condoning those words and did not know thousands of people would be searching for them. He said they would be removed from the site. Perry's campaign is accusing the Hutchison team of being slanderous and of setting a negative and divisive tone. The two Republicans are...

A day after defending hidden phrases placed on a campaign Web site, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's gubernatorial campaign severed ties Friday to the consulting firm credited with the "hidden phrases" strategy and removed the 2,200-plus phrases.

“We’ve got to be better at judging people by the fruit of their lives, rather than the rhetoric of their words.” - Debra Medina, Republican candidate for Governor of Texas. The political landscape is currently inhabited by a strong-willed female conservative who is ready to buck the system, dropkick conventional wisdom, and stand up against the tired old status quo in politics even if that means taking on her own Republican Party. No, it’s not “Sarah Barracuda”. That candidate is Texan Debra Medina whose "take no prisoners" attitude in wanting to serve the people of Texas just might earn her...

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison sent out this transcript of her interview with WBAP talk show host Mark Davis. Hutchison said she will give up her Senate seat in October or November. That would set off the special election for May 2010, unless Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency and set it for an earlier date. The transcript: (snip) Mark Davis: "So you'll be coming out at some point. When do you think its decision time for you? When would you like, when might we know?" Kay Bailey Hutchison: "Well I'm going to announce in August. Formal announcement: I am...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today during a Commerce Committee hearing pushed to allow prisons to block calls from smuggled inmate cellular phones. Senator Hutchison earlier this year introduced bipartisan legislation, the Safe Prisons Communications Act of 2009 (S. 251), that would prevent prison inmates from using smuggled cellular phones by allowing states to petition to operate wireless jamming devices in particular correctional facilities. "We are seeing a dramatic rise in the number of ongoing criminal enterprises orchestrated from prison via cell phones including drug trafficking, credit...

I am starting some ping lists for the 2010 Texas Governor's Race. The ping lists will expire when the election is over. Freepmail me to get on/off the lists. keyword: txgov2010 This ping list will cover all articles related to the governor's race regardless of candidate. keyword: rickperry This list will cover articles related to Governor Rick Perry, positive or negative. keyword: kbh This list will cover articles related to Senator Hutchison, positive or negative. I'll do my best not to send duplicate pings. Regards, BuckeyeTexan

Incumbent Governor Rick Perry has jumped to a 10-point lead over Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in an early look at next year’s Republican Primary gubernatorial contest in Texas. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely GOP Primary voters in the state finds Perry ahead of Hutchison 46% to 36%. Five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate, and 14% remain undecided.

AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Rick Perry holds a 12-point lead over probable challenger Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in next year's Republican primary, though more than one-third of likely voters are still undecided or would choose someone else, according to a poll conducted last month by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. The statewide poll, coordinated by members of the Department of Government and the Texas Politics Project, also found that Perry and President Barack Obama have nearly identical statewide approval ratings—42 and 43 percent, respectively. Obama's disapproval ratings (46 percent), however, are much higher than Perry's (32 percent)....

posted by paulburka at 9:52 AM Perry’s twelve-point lead is the same as his advantage in last month’s Texas Lyceum poll, which was conducted by the same pollsters — Perry 33, Hutchison 21. Both that poll and this one showed that a large number of voters were undecided or preferred someone else. The Democratic primary results, which show Kinky Friedman ahead of Tom Schieffer, are irrelevant until the field grows. Favorability Perry 42% favorable, 32% unfavorable Obama 43% favorable, 46% unfavorable The Lyceum poll had Obama’s favorability rating in the state as a hard-to-believe 68%, and Perry’s favorable/unfavorable was 57/30....

...Palin's nod is indeed an asset for Perry, helping him cement his appeal to social conservatives in the Lone Star State. But his boast also may be intended as a dig at his Republican opponent, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison -- who herself was a potential 2008 veep choice before Palin got the job. Hutchison is said by some to still be miffed at having been eclipsed by a female governor with much less experience.....

One of the best Governors in America-- Sarah Palin of Alaska-- has officially endorsed another of America's best Governors-- Rick Perry-- in Texas' 2010 primary race. The news underscores the appeal Governor Perry has among both social and fiscal conservatives in the GOP. Sarah Palin is a true rock star of the Republican Party and has earned high praise for her fiscal discipline and her commitment to transparency and government reform.

Earlier today, I had the chance to do a quick phone interview with Texas governor Rick Perry. During the call, Perry had harsh words for Republicans in Washington, projected confidence that Republicans can make a comeback in 2010, questioned why Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison would challenge him in the primary race for governor, and talked about Sarah Palin's endorsement of his campaign. Clearly, Governor Perry is proud of his record as governor, and his talking points reflect that. [....] As Perry noted, ... Washington, DC has been an abject failure -- even back under Republican leadership. They spent too much...

"But after that, certainly I was very pro-Reagan," Hutchison said last week. "Loved Ronald Reagan. Supported him, was chairman of his Women for Reagan committee in Texas [in 1980]. I've got a lot of Reagan supporters supporting me for governor right now.

"Because I speak in civil tones, some want to try to label me a moderate," she said. "My voting record is one of the most conservative in the U.S. Senate. ... We can't expect to remain the majority party in Texas if we drive out voters that support Republican principles but might not agree on every single issue."

This week GOP leaders in Congress, including Texas' Sen. John Cornyn, launched a rebuilding effort this week, called the National Council for a New America. It's supposed be a grassroots conversation with citizens, including non-Republicans. Texas' senior Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison joined the effort Friday. "We as Republicans need to show the nation that we have better alternatives to Democratic proposals, and that we understand the very real challenges families are facing during these tough economic times," Hutchison said in a statement. Her joining also reaffirms her GOP credentials.

Gov. Rick Perry is playing politics behind closed doors this week but the message is clear: He's doing all he can to wrap up religious, conservative voters in his face-off with Kay Bailey Hutchison, the senator who plans to come back and run for governor. On Wednesday, Perry attended a fundraiser for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in Austin, strengthening ties with one of the Republican Party's conservative stars. The event, closed to the public, was designed to give Republican money-types a chance to spend private time with Jindal and Perry. The Louisiana governor is a favorite of the party's social...

Texas Secession - Washington continues to ignore the 10th amendment. Until Texas independence, Washington's mandates on transportation, education, housing, health care and family issues will continue. Texas GOP Platform page 8 and 20:"We support state sovereignty reserved under the Tenth Amendment and oppose mandates beyond the scope of federal authority. We support downsizing of the federal government in order to re-establish states’ rights." Economy - Washington requires Texans to pay for their corporate welfare bailout schemes. The debt is equal to $175,000 per person. For every dollar sent to Washington from Texans, we get back 94%; while New Mexico gets...

I don't know why this came as a surprise, just one more turn of the knife from our pathetic and paranoid president. For the last decade, Senators Cornyn and Hutchison have nominated and screened potential candidates for lifetime spots on the Federal Bench in Texas and U.S. Attorney positions. Over the last two months, however, Liberal Democratic Congressmen, such as Lloyd Doggett, have been meeting with Obama’s top lawyer, Greg Craig, to urge the President to write out our Texas Senators from the process of selecting Texas judges. To Texans’ dismay, the White House granted the Democrats’ request this week....

Perry, Hutchison spar early and often in '10 matchup As campaign for governor gets going, GOP worried that rivals may hurt party in Texas, beyond. By W. Gardner SelbyAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, March 29, 2009 U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison was already chatting up guests at a Round Rock reception when professional fundraiser Susan Lilly arrived.Still, it was Lilly's appearance at the March 20 gathering that underscored how the expected showdown for governor between Hutchison and Republican Gov. Rick Perry has quickly taken shape more than 11 months out from the March 2010 GOP primary. Harry Cabluck/ASSOCIATED PRESS (enlarge photo) Rick...

During an emotional moment at the Dallas Women's Museum, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison praised Hillary Rodham Clinton for "keeping a confident face" during the 2008 presidential campaign when "you were getting so many disappointments." "You were completely devastated and you never let it show on your face," Hutchison said during the forum. "That character is why you are secretary of state today."