Have you wandered over to one of those librul dimocrat blogs lately?  Most of ‘em have a countdown clock until W leaves office.  If you happen to be able to tell time, you will note the countdown clock is a bit off, and one is about 12 hours off. 

Evidently on Planet Dimocrat, W leaves office at Midnight.  The rest of us realize that W leaves office at noon, when #44 takes the oath of office.  Evidently, between the midnight witching hour and high noon there’s no one in charge of Planet Dimocrat.

We always say, there’s a reason we call them DIMocrats….

McCain has just conceded to Obama. 

Be that as it may, the fat ladies ain’t sung yet.

There was a fire at the derelict abandoned governor’s mansion last night.  See the Statesman report and the KXAN report.   Not to worry, the guv is quite safe, enjoying a European vacation.  Even if he weren’t galavanting around the continent, it’s still no biggie because the guv don’t live there no more.  While the rickety crib is in midst of a $10 million renovation, Ricky’s been hanging at a real mansion to the tune of $10K a month rent - courtesy of your tax dollars.

The really sad part is that for $10 million smackaroos, you could have razed that monstrosity and built a real mansion.  Heck, for $10 million large, I’ll bet we could find someone who could build a house that would meet modern building codes and say, maybe even have a fire suppression system…. 

Better yet, why don’t just we evict the speaker from his crib in the capitol and let the governor stay there?  It would save us at least $10K a month - which would be a couple of tanks of gas for us regular folk.  At least we’d have an elected official - well, a 39% elected official - living large on the taxpayer/lobby dole instead of a selected official. 

We could build yet another ginormous highrise of ugly ass condos there for the rest of our elected officials to live in during the session.  That way, the Texas Toothless Ethics Commission wouldn’t have to keep investigating all those state reps and senators who use campaign funds to pay *rent* to their spouses.  We could close it down after sine die and make them all go back home to their districts where the voters could actually see them every once in a while.

What a concept.

UPDATE   UPDATE   UPDATE:  The State Fire Marshal’s office has found evidence the fire was intentionally set.  Uhm…. that would be arson.  Looks like Little Ricky will just have to tough it out in West Lake a little longer.

Lovestruck Chuck Rosenthal (See Chuck is in Love) released this statement today:

“Recently some Harris County District Attorney inner office emails have been released in the media.

I understand that I have said some things that have caused pain and difficulty for my family, my coworkers and friends.  I deeply regret having said those things.  Moreover, I am sorry for the problems I have caused anyone.

I also understand that sometimes things happen for a purpose.  This event has served as a wake-up call to me to get my house in order both literally and figuratively.”

Ya think?  Romeo, you’d best take your pants to the tailors and get those faulty zippers replaced.  Again.

One of our usually reliable sources in Houston said to watch for Chuck’s resignation announcement.  While we agree wholeheartedly that he needs to resign because his actions reflect his lack of personal integrity which; therefore, reflects poorly upon the integrity of his DA’s office, we’ll wait and see.  We’re five days away from the filing deadline. 

Five days can be an awfully loooong time in Texas politics.  

UPDATE  UPDATE   UPDATE:  Now you’ve gone and done it Chuck.  You’ve made the New York Times.  But not in a good way.  Thanks for the black eye.  WTF is the “zone of privacy” anyway?  Is that like the “cone of silence”?  And, to add another layer of stoopid to all this, for your defense, you had to pull out a legal decision that you LOST before the freakin’ Supreme Court - Lawrence v Texas.  Did you go to the Alberto Gonzales School of Law Stoopid? 

UPDATE   UPDATE   UPDATE:  Today’s Houston Chronicle reported that the Harris County GOP Chairman, Jared Woodfill, is meeting with party leaders to discuss Lovestruck Chuck’s political future.  Uh oh.

“He’s done a good job as district attorney, but this is a serious mistake that we are dealing with right now,” he said.  We’re taking it very seriously.”

Time to cue the theme from Jaws…

(Woodfill) declined to say whether the party would draft a primary election opponent for Rosenthal, who is running for reelection, call on him to resign, or support him despite the concern about his conduct.

We think this should be a no-brainer for any republican, but we know politics can make for some very strange bedfellows.  Which, in this case, could be very kinky indeed. 

Whatever would we do without people from Arkansas running for President?  We’d just be stuck making fun of those damn yankees and those bi-coastal pointy-headed liberals. 

While we enjoy the rough and tumble of hard-fought campaigns, fisticuffs, and maybe even an out and out brawl, there comes a point at which your mouth seriously overloads your a$$ and you cross that line.

Arkansas’ Goobernor Mike Huckabee, a fifth-tier presidential candidate if there ever was one, is leaving no stone unthrown in his scramble for the White House.  His current target?  Fellow Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, who in Huckabee’s reckoning, is the next best thing to a devil worshipper.  In addition to being from Bill & Hillary’s home state, Huckabee’s an ordained Baptist minister.  Therefore, he surely knows a thing or two about organized religion.

Too bad he stops at just knowing a thing or two. 

Huckabee’s hate rant against Romney’s religion leaves little doubt in our minds about the narrowness of his.  Just what we need, a wannabe kkklansman on the red ticket next November.   And Huckkkabee just might get there, judging from the silence from our side of the aisle.

Huckkkabee’s an absolute disgrace to his party, to his church, and to his State - even if it is Arkansas. 

Those who remain silent are just as disgraceful as Huckkkabee.  And deserving of the same censure.  A pointy head covered by a set of 500 thread count sheets is still a pointy head. 

We’ve told you that Texas politics is a full contact sport, but it looks like you didn’t take us seriously.  Now it looks like Mike Krusee might have been gut shot by his former BFF.   A big-mouthed birdie let us in on some local push polling that seems to have pushed the squeaker right out of the race.

Seems the push poll included some questions about the long-standing rumors about Krusee’s personal life.  Given the nature of the rumors, apparently most respondents indicated Krusee was toast as far as they were concerned. 

We don’t know the rest of the questions.  We don’t know if his ”Let Them Pay Tolls” fervor or his on-again off-again romance as mistress to speaker Craddick affected responses either.  All we were told was that the responses were not the least bit favorable.  Gazing into his Magic 8 Ball and seeing life as he knows it going down the toilet, Krusee decided to retire.  In an interesting twist, he didn’t pull out the usual “to spend more time with my family” excuse.  Instead, he said it was to pursue other opportunities.  His new mistress?  Transportation organizations, of course.

Here’s where it gets juicy:  according to our anonymous tipster, the push poll was conducted at the behest of speaker Craddick.  No big surprise there.  Seems like Hell hath no fury like a speaker scorned. 

The devil is indeed in the details.  What puts this push poll in the top tier of political dirty tricks: the poll universe allegedly was local dimocrat voters.  If true, it was truly reprehensible act, but heck, we sure do love it when a good plan comes together.  If Krusee was too stoopid to ask about at the poll universe, well, he’s way too stoopid to reelect.

Lots of people have mumbled about running, but only two have filed on the right side of the ballot (we don’t count the dimocrat, ’cause that’s the left side). 

John Gordon, local republican honcho, former SREC member, and Krusee aide, tossed his fedora into the ring last week and already has the district littered with his campaign signs.  Chalk up another crony pledge for Craddick for speaker. 

Dee Hobbs, scion of JP Judy Hobbs, and an Assistant County Attorney, also filed.  The mud machine has already started up on this one.  He’s a bit behind coming out of the starting gate and currently playing coy about his choice for speaker.  We see this as a major mistake as this race is gonna be ALL about the speaker. 

Over on the other side of the county, Craddick doesn’t have to worry about bed-mate little Danny Gattis. He’s got that member’s member vote solidly in his grasp and nobody has started sniffing around for that seat.

Yet.

Didn’t we tell you it was gonna be a fun election cycle?

My, my, my….the dimocrat bloggers have got their knickers in a twist speculating about Mike Krusee.  The blue bloggers are convinced that Squeaker Krusee is sooo afraid of his dimocrat opponent, RRISD school board trustee Diana Maldonado, that he just got himself an appointment to a cushy “state transportation job”.

The heck you say. 

What sort of “state transportation job” would he be qualified for?  Is there an office for selling pigs in a poke somewhere in TxDOT?  Well, uh, now that we think about it, there might possibly be one over in their toll road marketing section.  Fer sure, there must be a spot for Squeaker over in the Cintra - Zachry contract negotiation section.  What more could they possible want — we gave them the baby and the bathwater, with the horses and the barn thrown in for good measure. 

Most likely it was the Squeaker vs the speaker dust up at the end of the last session and his subsequent attempted suck kiss up to the speaker that may have left Krusee a little too vulnerable this election cycle.  However, HD 52 is a safely 60% red district - normally.  When Krusee ran last time, it was was an electrifying 50.44% red.

However fickle Krusee’s support of Craddick might be, the speaker’s supporters are bailing out of the House on the right and on the left faster than the UT athletic department is turning out felons.  It’s going to make for some verrrrrry interesting opening days of the next session.  

BTW:  Craddick is supposed to announce his interim charges tomorrow. 

*yawn*

Ever watch a lame duck try to keep a grip on a gavel?

Former Houston dimocrat State Representative Ron Wilson really knows the meaning of chutzpah. 

To recap his legislative legacy, he’s known for carrying the legislation that gave us the Texas Moron Tax - AKA: the Texas Lottery.  Then, there were his bills to turn the empty Astrodome into a casino, and to create “racinos” (slot machines at race tracks).  After being bounced from office, he stayed in Austin (surprise) and opened a law practice (surprise, surprise). 

Last week, according to the Ft Worth Star Telegram, Wilson has let it be known he wants the governor to appoint him to either the UT Board of Regents or the Public Safety Commission.   Why, pray tell, does Wilson believe the governor would entertain such a notion?  Last we saw him, Wilson had weaseled his way back into the spotlight when speaker Craddick appointed him and Terry Keel his Parliamentarians at the end of last session.  Yep, Craddick appointed a screamin’ meanie dimocrat to help his hang on to his speakership - and those thousand-dollar johns in his capitol crib.

Maybe his lawyerin’ bidness ain’t goin’ so well.  Maybe he misses the free UT football tickets and great parking spaces members of the lege get (see Friends in Low Places).  Whatever his reasoning, he’s sure got chutzpah.  

We’re sort of confused as to why Wilson went to the press with his plea.  And why Fort Worth?  Seeing as he’s sooo tight with speaker Craddick, we’re wondering why he just didn’t have his BFF, the speaker, give the governor a call and plead his case for him.  Or maybe he did.  Just sayin’ we’re wondering about all this.

Whatcha wanna bet on the outcome?

Senator “Wide Stance” Craig came out and announced that he would not give up his senate seat after all.  Big surprise there. 

His press release says it all.  In a convoluted sort of way…. 

Claiming he simply must stay in the senate to clear his name with the senate Ethics Committee, Craig also related that he will continue to explore his legal options to clear his name because he is innocent of the charges against him.  Yeah, buddy.  That’s why you pleaded guilty.

He goes on to say another reason that he must remain in office is because he has lots of seniority & has seats on the Appropriations, Energy & Natural Resources, and the Veteran’s Affairs Committees - and any replacement “would be highly unlikely to obtain these posts”.   He ends his release stating he will retire at the end of his term.  So much for the great benefits of keeping him in office.

After 17 years in the senate - that’s the best he can do?  If you want to see how really wonderful he’s been at bringing the bacon home for all those Idaho potatoes, check out the accomplishments page on his website.  

We’re especially interested in his 2007 award for protecting children online, the 2007 Internet Keep Safe Coalition Award.  That award was presented on June 20, 2007 by the reigning Miss America……a mere nine days after he was busted for soliciting sex - or as he puts it - his “wide stance” - in the john in the Minneapolis airport (see Hot Potato). 

Guess he forgot to tell the Coalition and Miss America all about his gay sexcapades in a public place.   Guess he thought it didn’t count since it was in person - not in cyberspace.

Guess ol’ Larry just might have a wide stance after all, cause his huevos gotta be the size of Australia.   Your kids are waaaaay safer now because of him.

UPDATE  UPDATE  UPDATE:   Good grief.  Ol’ wide stance just doesn’t get it, does he??  Somebody really ought to check his vital signs to make sure he hasn’t been taken over by those aliens from the movie Cocoon or something.  In an attempt to salvage what’s left of his political career, he sat for an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC.   That was another mistake.

Leave it to the Spud Stud to keep on digging in what is now a verrry deep hole.  After tapdancing (hee hee hee) around what he really mean by his “intent” to resign, he went off on presidential candidate Mitt Romney.  Apparently befuddled by Romney’s lack of sympathy for his plight, Craig ranted:

“I’d worked hard for him here in (Idaho).  I was a co-chair of his campaign on Capitol Hill.  And he not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again.” 

Well, d’uh.  We’re glad Mitt took the mitts off and bitchslapped the Spud Stud right out of his campaign.  You rock Romney!! We only wish some of our other republican officeholders had the cojones to what Romney did.   Here in Wilco World, we believe republican values should always trump political expediency. 

A rumor afoot has it that the high sheriff of that liberal county just to the south of us is planning on making some  changes soon.  Seems like the hand-wringers are getting all sorts of put out that Sheriff Hamilton and his deputies are not treating some of his jail inmates with the proper respect and deference they deserve. 

Imagine that.

In an effort to appease the thug huggers and whiners, and create a more positive atmosphere, Sheriff Hamilton is changing the inmate dress code.  Beginning October 1, selected inmates will no longer have to wear those nasty orange uniforms.

They will be burnt orange instead.