The state's highway department will follow existing roads, mostly, for I-69, and will try to do that on other pieces of the governor's Trans Texas Corridor.The official announcement is set for tomorrow, but the agency briefed some lawmakers and others in the Capitol about the plans for I-69, saying it'll follow highways 77 and 281 in the Valley, 44 and 59 through the Coastal Bend and 59 and 84 in East Texas. That's assuming federal officials approve the plans submitted by the Texas Department of Transportation. This is a new tack for TXDOT, which has raised its profile and not a little ire with its highway planning and construction in the last few years. The Transportation Commission now wants to build roads, when possible, where roads already exist, and this is the first big project out of the chute. And they're apparently promising not to put tolls on lanes that now exist — just on new ones (it's not clear just how that would work). They told legislative folks that they'll announce the new plans in Lufkin, Victoria and Austin on Thursday.

The blogs are full of fire and Democratic politics, with news from the smoldering Governor's Mansion and the Texas Democratic convention, where delegates for Obama and Clinton started trying to stitch things back together for the fall fight against the GOP.

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Fire!

The fire that baked the Governor's Mansion overtook news from the Democrats. The Austinist has this report, relying on news from KXAN-TV. They've got video of the fire and related stuff at KVUE-TV's Political Junkie. The Burnt Orange folk have a posting on the fire, and the best pictures are on the Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau's blog (yeah, Washington) Texas on the Potomac. Look here and here.

You'll find speculation around the fire news, too. Look at this from Another War on Terror Blog. And browse through the comments on the Prison Planet Forum. Be careful out there.

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Making Up is Hard to Do

Former Land Commissioner Garry Mauro — head of Hillary Clinton's campaign in Texas — got himself interviewed by Texas Monthly's Evan Smith, posted on Smith's State of Mine blog. Mauro's reconciled himself to Clinton's loss, or is at least working on it: "I haven't voted for a Republican in my life and I'm not going to start now." But he also says if he was advising Barack Obama, he'd tell the candidate "he had no choice but to put Hillary Clinton on the ticket."

The Texas Observer Blog surveyed the scene and found some hurt feelings out there, waiting to be patched. That same piece offers a good rundown of the convention. McBlogger is ready to concede to the Obama folk, but wants some props, too. Half Empty has some words about the grumbling that's still under way. And South Texas Chisme wonders whether and how Obama will win the hearts of Latino voters.

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The Floor Show

The most comprehensive coverage of the Democrats — the blog that got down in the weeds and reported on the critters and bugs ignored elsewhere — probably can be found in the Burnt Orange Report. The ardent Democrats there posted and posted and posted and posted and posted and posted and... Heck, just go to the home page and start fishing. Chronic, the blog of the Austin Chronicle, also went nuts, nuts, nutz, nutss, nuts, etc., etc. And Texas Kaos had multiple posts; it's easier to hit their front page and start reading.

The blogs from the papers were busy too, with multiple post at Postcards (the Austin American-Statesman), Texas Politics (the blended San Antonio Houston Express News Chronicle), Vaqueros & Wonkeros (the El Paso Times), Politex (the Fort Worth Star-Telegram), and the Trail Blazers Blog (The Dallas Morning News).

Feel the need to see and hear convention stuff? The Democrats have a channel (we're confident the Republicans will do something like this a week from now) on YouTube. Knock yourself out.

While the Democrats were in mid-session, Hillary Clinton ended her run in Washington. Houtopia thought it was classy.

Dos Centavos, glad the damn thing is over, is ready to get on with the general election.

Late adds: We missed a mess of photos of things and people taken by meanrachel at the convention. Lookit here and here and here and here.

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Off the Main Floor

Over at Talk to Action, they've got a rundown of some of the religious talk from the state Democratic convention, and a shot at the media for its depictions of the "Texas Two-Step" used to pick national delegates for that party.

Rep. Aaron Peña, in A Capitol Blog, reports on the doings at the convention and reminds us that there are people out there who actually like to listen to fights over resolutions. So we don't have to, maybe.

Caucuses were packed this year, compared with previous Democratic conventions. Eye on Williamson has some caucus coverage here and here. The Panhandle Truth Squad had trouble finding its caucus, but saves the day with a new and useful rhyme for Amarillo. Go See For Yourself.

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Not Yet Committed

At the convention, former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell was auto-responding to the question of whether he'll run for Kyle Janek's seat in the state Senate: "I haven't decided, I haven't decided..." [Just landed? Bell's a Democrat. Janek's a Republican.] But the weekend ended with fresh speculation — you'll find an example in the Austin Political Report — that Bell's made up his mind and will get into that contest.

Burkablog takes David Van Os to task, saying the perennial candidate's attack on the Texas Democratic Party was off base. Van Os ran unsuccessfully — the only way he's ever run — against party Chairman Boyd Richie. Van Os' tack: The party shouldn't target it's money at competitive races but should spread it around and in particular should spend some of it on statewide races. That same blog came back a few days later with money on its mind, wondering if the Obama campaign will be active in Texas or will stick with more competitive turf.

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Random Acts of Bloggery

GregsOpinion takes on demographic sorting, tipping a hat to a new book — The Big Sort — and spinning a California tale into a Texas post.

South Texas Chisme is talking about prosecutions and freedom of the press in Victoria.

Tex Parte went to the parties. There's a joke there, but we can't find it.

Trail Blazers went shopping at the Texas Democratic convention. What a t-shirt!

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We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey.

Remember that challenge to the way the state GOP operates it conventions? A Harris County judge spiked it.Last week, a group of Republicans sued the state GOP, saying its conventions operate illegally and in a way that undercuts the power of political minorities. A judge issued a temporary restraining order, essentially telling the party to change its procedures. But the party didn't really get its say last week, and when they came back for a hearing, party officials prevailed. The judge ruled that the case wasn't filed in the right court, dumped the injunction, and set things back the way they were (and have been, for the last few conventions). The prelims of the convention are already underway; the full affair starts Thursday in Houston.

A new poll has U.S. Sen. John Cornyn up by 17 points on challenger Rick Noriega.The Rasmussen Reports survey has the incumbent Republican at 52 percent and the Democratic challenger at 35 percent. The takeaway for Cornyn: It's the first public poll that gives him a reelect number above 50 percent. And the takeaway for Noriega: He's never run statewide but has 35 percent of Texas with him, while Cornyn, who's run statewide several times (Texas Supreme Court, attorney general, Senate) is hovering around 50 percent. The same pollster had the two four points apart a month ago. Neither has done any advertising or generated much in the way of headlines, so it's hard to say what moved the needle. In their write-up, the Rasmussen folks say Cornyn is viewed unfavorably by 31 percent of Texans; Noriega by 39 percent. Cornyn is viewed positively by 56 percent; Noriega by 43 percent. The pollster says voters don't have firm opinions about either candidate. What do they think about other incumbents? According to Rasmussen, Gov. Rick Perry is viewed favorably by 34 percent and unfavorably by 27 percent; President George W. Bush favorably by 40 percent and unfavorably by 40 percent. The company surveyed 500 votes by phone on June 2. The margin of error is +/- 4 percent.

Photos from inside the Governor's Mansion, ravaged by fire early Sunday morning.Gov. Rick Perry's press staff went inside the burnt Mansion to see what damage was done and they posted this thoroughly depressing online photo album.

Six years after he killed it as an unnecessary piece of bureaucracy and a legislative bottleneck, House Speaker Tom Craddick is recreating the House Office of Bill Analysis. Details are scarce, but that outfit was set up by former Speaker Pete Laney to scrub bills and bill analyses so there'd be fewer procedural killings on the House floor. Mistakes in those documents enable enemies of a bill to knock it out of contention for hours, days, weeks, or — at the ends of sessions — for a couple of years. A couple of House committees got famous in the last few years — Regulated Industries probably got the most attention — for stumbling on those sorts of errors. With the new office, blame for any mistakes would move back to the leadership.

Polls, endorsements, and a lawsuit• The Republicans suing the state GOP over how things work at the biennial convention filed an appeal to try to turn things their way before that convention starts on Thursday. They got an injuction. A judge tossed that out and put things back the way they were. And now there's an appeal. If Houston's First Court of Appeals hears it before the convention begins, we'll write it right here. • We recently cited part of a poll that offers hope to Democrat Chris Bell should he decide to run for state Senate in SD-17. And we've got our dirty little mitts on the rest of it. The survey, done by Austin-based Opinion Analysts for Texans for Insurance Reform (that's a Democratic pollster working a satellite group of the Texas trial lawyers, so you know the codes), says the district leans Republican. It says Bell has higher favorable rankings than state Sen. Kyle Janek, who resigned from the seat last week. And it says Bell is ahead in an initial horse-race matchup with one of the Republicans in the race (a second wasn't tested, apparently). Meanwhile, that Republican — Austen Furse — now has endorsements from former RNC member Tim Lambert of Lubbock and from Steve Hotze, a conservative activist in Houston. Bell, who ran for governor and lost two years ago, got 40 percent to Furse's 26.5 percent in that initial poll. That's largely name ID at this point; Furse has never run for office. But it's giving the Democrats the idea that Bell would be competitive, if he decides to run. He told us at the Democratic convention this weekend that he's "still thinking about it." • Brian Walker, the Republican challenging state Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, in HD-11, picked up an endorsement from former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese.

Gov. Rick Perry opened the GOP's state convention with a call to battle against Democrats who he said have roused themselves for a fight."Like it or not, the Democrats are awake now, more unified than ever, and singing a seductive siren song of change," he said. "...they're really talking about change they'll be sucking out of your pocket along with dollar bills." Perry started with a promise to rebuild the Governor's Mansion that burned to a ruin at the beginning of the week, apparently a work of arson. He bragged on the state's prosperity and said the credit belongs to government restraint while he's been in office. He said the state has a budget surplus "on the north side of $10 billion" and said that should go back to taxpayers in the form of rebates, or property tax cuts, or business or sales tax cuts. And he renewed his call for a cap on state spending that's indexed to the state's growth. Perry said the state should require voters to show photo identification before they can vote, an idea generally favored by Republicans and generally opposed by Democrats. "... If you were at the Democratic convention last week, you would have had to present your ID to get your credentials," he said, to rising applause. Perry called for border security without talking directly about immigration — that's been his tack for some time. And then he told the crowd the national GOP has "lost its way", a line that prompted some delegates to stand and clap. "I must admit that I am troubled by the divisiveness that is damaging our national party from the ground up and the top down," he said. "I won't sugarcoat it: at the national level, our party has lost its way. The lack of fiscal discipline has been disheartening to all of us who know that it is the bedrock of the Republican Party. But we need to stick together and remember who our opponent is." That's where he took into the Democrats, without naming them. He closed that section with an endorsement of the presumptive nominee: "We need to make sure to send a genuine warrior to the White House by electing John McCain to be the next president of the United States."

The state's newest revenue generator — the business margins tax — is due on Monday and the state's officeholders will find out then how people really feel about it and whether the new creation is a fiscal and political win or loss.

It got barely a whimper when Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst mentioned it in his talk at the state GOP convention, but Comptroller Susan Combs has logged 90,500 calls on the new levy. And they had responded to 4,391 pieces of mail when we asked earlier in the week.

Some of the mail was addressed directly to Combs and we asked to see it. Some excerpts, with punctuation intact:

• "I hope you and all of your Texas Attorneys that profit from this satanic act sleep well at night!"

• "I wish to express my opinion that the Comptroller's implementation of the new franchise tax system has been abysmal at best. I see no reason why the forms were issued so late."

• "You have made a May 15th due date impossible for tax practitioners by not releasing your franchise forms on time." [Combs postponed the due date to June 15.]

• "I go to the download section, either to file online or print the forms and file, and the screen changes and then goes blank, yet it says done. No forms, nothing. How in the _____ are we supposed to file these _____ reports." [The blanks are in the original email.]

• "A $10.7 or $15 billion surplus is entirely sufficient reason to postpone collection of the business tax until that monster can be killed."

• "I have been preparing tax returns for forty plus years. I have been a C.P.A. in public practice for thirty six plus years. The legislation which resulted in what we have come to know as the Texas Margin Tax is disastrous... Because of the complacency of Texas taxpayes I can only fantasize about a taxpayer's revolt as a result of such Legislative and Administrative lunacy."

A Houston appeals court tossed out the lawsuit challenging the way the state's GOP convention is run, and ordered the filers "to pay all costs incurred by reason of this appeal."The court didn't get to the merits of the lawsuit, but agreed with a lower court that said "the trial court had no jurisdiction to issue the requested injunctive relief." They can still sue, but they'll have to go to a different court. The misfire unhinges this year's challenge, as far as the convention is concerned: The suit was filed last week and went through three courts on the way to this result. If any changes ultimately come out of any of the legal wrangle, they'll affect the 2010 convention and not the one that's going on right now in Houston. Gary Polland, the lawyer for the challengers, said the fight isn't over. "My clients want me to pursue this and that is what we're going to do," he said. There's a copy of the ruling below.

Ron Paul officially quit the race for president to start up a new thing called the "Campaign for Liberty."He also unveiled a website where followers can sign up and read his letter leaving the presidential race and starting the new gig. The new group's mission? "The mission of the Campaign for Liberty is to promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy, by means of educational and political activity."

Newt Gingrich concentrated on gasoline prices and asked the delegates to go to his website and sign a petition urging Congress to unfetter domestic oil exploration.

He's going for a million signatures through that website, AmericanSolutions.com, using the slogan (he got the conventioneers to repeat it several times) "Drill here, drill now, pay less."

Gingrich contended the Republican Party would be the natural landing spot for people who want to cut gasoline prices, and said that would happen only if drilling in the U.S. is increased. The Democrats, he said, want to "smile pleasantly while letting the country strangle without any energy."

He blasted Barack Obama's position on domestic drilling and said it was out of touch with the parts of America where people don't rely on mass transit: "If you're not going to use any energy, then you're going to have a good candidate. And you can sit in the dark and chant, 'No, we can't.'"

He got crowd charged up — more than any speaker before him Thursday or Friday — with the populist lines about gas prices. "You want to pump more. Let's pump it in the United States."

And he brought them to their feet with this one, though it looks milder on paper than it seemed in the hall: "We should release a significant part of Strategic Oil Reserve to lower prices and punish the speculators who have been betting against the United States.... if we can bankrupt the speculators, I'm personally relatively happy."

Kay Bailey Hutchison didn't mention 2010 in her speech to Republican delegates gathered in Houston, or in shorter talks earlier in the day at smaller functions.

With delegates whispering about the possibility she'll run for governor two years from now, Hutchison kept her talk on 2008.

She served political red meat, talking to the Republicans about guns, war, defeatist Democrats, gas prices, immigration, toll roads and the unpopular — with this crowd, certainly — Trans-Texas Corridor. Not included this time: Her criticism of the new business margins tax that's due for the first time next week.

Most of those are issues you'd hear about in a gubernatorial campaign, and the road issues in particular have more to do with state than with federal policy.

Hutchison praised President George W. Bush in her speech — mentions of Bush have been noticeably scarce compared to years past.

And she went on offense, touting John McCain's experience and military record and saying Barack Obama sounded like he was running for a second term for Jimmy Carter. That morphed into an attack on congressional Democrats for their proposals to end Bush's tax cuts and for "bills that would lead to defeat in Iraq."

She encouraged them to help U.S. Sen. John Cornyn win a second term.

She blamed high gasoline prices for dragging down the economy, the job market, and the stock market and said congressional Republicans have set a goal of energy independence in ten years. They'd get there by allowing drilling in ANWR, in the Outer Continental Shelf and in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah — plans she says have been blocked by Democrats in Congress.

Hutchison, like Perry the day before, stressed the crime and security line on immigration, saying the U.S. needs to stop criminals and drugs from crossing, and needs to welcome immigrants while stopping illegal immigration.

She touted an amicus brief against Washington, D.C.'s gun laws that was signed by her and more than 300 other members of Congress; they seek to end the ban on guns there.

The biggest reaction from the conservative audience came when Hutchison said she's against adding tolls on existing highways and that she "strongly oppose[s] the Trans-Texas Corridor."

She said she continues to support the war in Iraq and said Democrats "often keep calling for surrender."

She closed with a counter to Texas Democrats who have said they hope to extend their advantage in Dallas County and to take Harris County from the Republicans who dominate there. "I'm going to tell you what my goal is. It is to take back Dallas County, to keep Harris County, to make sure that we lead our charge for the United States of America."

Texas Republicans reelected Tina Benkiser to a third term as chair of their party.Benkiser fended off a challenge from Paul Perry of Ellis County. Perry was a Ron Paul supporter who said before the convention that he'd support John McCain, the party's presumptive nominee, in November. He said the party had drifted away from the GOP that elected Ronald Reagan and that the people at the top had taken control of an organization he thinks should be more answerable to its members. But the delegates didn't buy it. Unofficially, Benkiser got 68.5 percent of the vote to Perry's 31.5 percent. Like her Democratic counterpart a week before, she held onto her job. Robin Armstrong was reelected vice chairman right after that, by acclimation.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's speech at the Texas Republican convention.This transcript was provided by the Hutchison campaign.

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Thank you! What a great day to be in Texas! Earlier this year, I was at the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, D.C. with our great President, George Bush, and we talked about his coming back home to Texas. I said to President Bush…Sir, you’ve been gone from Texas a while, so I want to remind you about a few things to make your transition home a little easier. In Washington, when you plan your daughter’s wedding, you check the schedules of State Dinners. In Texas, you better check the high school football schedule. At the zoo in Washington, the cage has the name of the animal, and then it’s followed by the Latin name. When you come to a Texas Zoo, we have the name of the animal, and then the recipe! President Bush is a great Texan and a great American. His resolve has kept America from another terrorist attack and we should thank him before his term ends in Washington, DC for his service! And next year, we will have a new Commander-in-Chief and it will be President John McCain! John McCain is a leader Americans can trust. He has the wisdom that comes from experience, and the courage that comes from wearing the uniform of the United States military. The question of this election year is: “Who has the understanding of history and a vision for the future to lead America in a dangerous world?” The answer is clear: Our next President needs to be John McCain! The Democrats say this election is about ‘change,’ but it is John McCain who has spent 25 years trying to make sure Washington works for us, not against us. Senator Obama says that John McCain is running for the third term of President Bush. But when I listen to Barack Obama, it sounds like he’s running for the second term of Jimmy Carter. Democrats are going back to their roots. They believe we can grow our economy. They want to do it with more government programs, and higher taxes to pay for them. Same old Tax-and-Spend Democrats. While President Bush has been in office, Republicans have passed 2 rounds of tax cuts and have created 8 million jobs. Now the Democrats want to take those tax cuts back! What does that mean for the average American family? $2,300 a year more in taxes! What does that mean for Small businesses in Texas? $4,000 in new taxes! Is raising taxes the change America wants? President Reagan used to say: ‘for Republicans, every day is the Fourth of July; for Democrats, every day is April 15th.’ We’ve seen the Democrats are mismanaging Congress. Do we want to give them the White House too? Only Democrats in Washington could do the following: allow you to work 40 hours a week, take 40% of your money in taxes, give back 1% in a rebate, then have a press conference and say “We’re helping the American Taxpayer.” Well, they’ve also has tried 40 times to pass bills that would lead to defeat in Iraq. But Republicans know that Congress can’t micromanage a war 6,000 miles away. In the fight for victory, one of the most reliable members of the United States Senate has been Senator John Cornyn. Senator Cornyn has stood strong for our military. He has championed tax cuts, and he has voted for judges who respect and interpret the Constitution. They don’t make laws, the John Cornyn judges. He’s doing a great job for Texas and all of us need to do everything we can to make sure John Cornyn is re-elected to the United States Senate. Right now the major domestic issue facing our country is energy. Rising energy prices are causing a lagging stock market, a sagging job market, and dragging down the entire economy. The average Texas family is paying almost $100 to fill up their trucks with gasoline. That money should be going to put food on the table, pay medical bills, save money for college, and it shouldn’t be going to dictators in the Middle East, thousands of miles away! The Republicans in Congress have set a goal… We want energy independence for America in 10 years. We can do it! We can do it the same way we’ve overcome obstacles that our nation has faced for over 200 years: by coming together, by using our own creativity, our own natural resources, and common sense - instead of nonsense. We in Congress have proposed a bold, comprehensive plan that will increase American oil and gas production. We want to drill for oil in ANWR.” There’s enough oil in ANWR to replace everything we import from Saudi Arabia. We want to drill in the Outer Continental Shelf. That’s enough oil to replace everything we import from Venezuela. We want to extract oil from shale in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. These reserves are 3 times larger than Saudi Arabia’s. Our plan went to the floor of the United States Senate. But what did the Democrats do? They defeated it. They proposed their own plan. You want to hear it? Number One: Put a ‘windfall profits tax’ on oil companies. Number two: investigate ‘price gouging.’ Number three: sue OPEC. I’m not even kidding. That’s what their plan is. What does that do for Texas families spending $100 on gas? Not one thing. What does that do for our national security? Not one thing. What does it do to generate more energy? Not... One…Thing. The Democrats are preventing us from increasing our own supply. We need energy for Americans, by Americans, and we need it now. Border security is another challenge facing our nation. We need to stop the spread of crime and drugs coming across our Border. I’ve been to El Paso, Brownsville, Laredo - all along the Texas border. I have worked with local officials to address this growing problem. We must secure our border, welcome legal immigrants, and stop illegal immigration into our country. This is a federal issue and I will work on immigration as long as it takes to do it right for our country. Another federal issue that I care a lot about is preserving the Second Amendment. The gun control crowd has been trying to chip away at our Constitutional rights all around the nation. The poster child for this is Washington, D.C. You may not know this, but in our nation’s capital, you cannot own a handgun under any circumstances, and if you own a shotgun in your home, it has to be disassembled or locked and unloaded. That is the truth. Just last week the Washington Post had an editorial in which they said the District of Columbia ended last year with more people killed than in the previous year, and the number of murders so far this year is higher, yet. The DC gun ban has been challenged in court…and that case is pending before the United States Supreme Court. I circulated a brief ‘friend of the court’ brief to my colleagues in congress. For the first time in history, 55 members of the United States Senate and 250 members of the House of Representatives signed the petition. It even included Dick Cheney as the President of the Senate. As an aside, I said – I know Dick agrees with me that…it is every American’s right to be shot by the vice president. In the next month, we expect the decision on this case - if we overturn the D.C. gun ban, it will be the greatest victory for gun owners in decades in our country. As Texans, and as Americans, we must be vigilant – we must be vigilant against overbearing government measures such as gun control that undermine our freedoms. That’s why I am also fighting against tolls on highways that have already been paid for by Texas taxpayers. These initiatives are a violation of the public trust, and that’s why I strongly oppose the Trans-Texas Corridor. Earlier this week the Texas Department of Transportation agreed with me and over 28,000 other Texans that the expansion of I-69 will utilize existing rights-of-way. Thank Goodness! We must continue to work together to solve our transportation problems in a way that is fair and honorable to the people of Texas. I’d like to close by talking about our greatest challenge of all: fighting the War on Terror. In February this year, I traveled to Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. I wanted to evaluate progress myself and especially what we can do for our brave troops. And I want to take a moment here to ask everyone in this room who has a loved one who is serving in our military including our guards and reserves, or if you are one of the people serve, please stand and let us thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you. We are making dramatic progress in all those countries. While I was in Baghdad, I visited with Texas troops from Dyess Air Force Base, from Fort Hood, from Red River Army Depot, and from the Texas State National Guard. As a Texan, I am so proud of our state’s heroes. Their grandparents were members of ‘The Greatest Generation.’ But I can tell you from first-hand experience they are members of the “Next Great Generation.” America needs leaders who are committed to victory as much our young men and women in uniform are. But the Democrats often keep calling for surrender. Do you remember when Harry Reid – the leader of the Democrats in the U.S. Senate – said, ‘This war is lost?’ Can you imagine being a Texas soldier – stationed in Baghdad or Fallujah – and hearing that back in Washington, the leader of the senate Democrats say, ‘This war is lost?’ What does that do to morale? What does that do to the reputation of America? America must always be a reliable ally and a formidable enemy. Right now, our commitment and our determination is being tested, is being tested in Iraq and Afghanistan and throughout the world. This struggle against Islamic terrorism is just as important as any war we have ever fought. In this war…in this war we are fighting for our principles, for our values, fighting for what’s right … fight for the purpose of America. I want you to know that between now and Election Day, I will work my heart out for our Republican Party, for the hard-working taxpayers of Texas, and for our brave men and women who are overseas right now risking their lives to keep us safe and free. I want to tell you this I saw the report from the Democratic State Convention last weekend, their whole purpose is to do what they did in Dallas County two years ago and in Harris County. I’m going to tell you what my goal is. It is to take back Dallas County, to keep Harris County, to make sure that we lead our charge for the United States of America. Campaigns – for President of the United States or for city council– are won and lost at the precinct level. You and I know that if we walk our precincts, if we register our neighbors, if we get every republican voter to the polls, we will be doing our part to keep America strong. God bless you, God bless Texas, and God bless America!

With the GOP convention just a couple of days off, former RNC member Tim Lambert endorsed a challenger to Texas GOP Chair Tina Benkiser.Lambert said in an email to supporters that he'll back Paul Perry of Ellis County.

Tim Lambert, Republican National Committeeman for Texas from 1996 through 2004 and President of the Texas Home School Coalition has announced his endorsement of long time Republican party activist Paul Perry in his bid for Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. "I have known Paul Perry, a fellow home schooler, since we both became involved in the Republican Party of Texas in the 1980s and he is a Reagan conservative who fought with me to move the Republican Party of Texas to a pro-life, conservative position in the 1980s and 1990s. Paul has been a party activist for over 20 years as well as a Republican office holder and he is committed to the conservative grass roots of our party. He will not only lead our party, he will do so with fairness and grace and will comply with the Texas Election Code and Republican Party Rules and make sure that all party leaders do so as well. I whole-heartedly support his candidacy."

Comptroller Susan Combs' speech to the Texas Republican Party convention. (Verbatim, with apologies for the uppercase; it's how they sent it to us.)

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GREAT TO BE HERE IN HOUSTON WITH SUCH A GREAT CROWD

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY - ONE REPUBLICAN TO ANOTHER, ONE TEXAN TO ANOTHER

SUMMER AND FALL OF 2008 ARE GOING TO BE MONTHS WE WILL REMEMBER FOR A LONG TIME

WE IN TEXAS ARE FACING ENERGIZED VOTERS AND WE NEED TO TELL THEM WHAT WE STAND FOR AS REPUBLICANS – OUR MESSAGE NEEDS TO BE CLEAR AND OUR ACTIONS EQUALLY CLEAR AND CONSISTENT

THIS IS A WATERSHED ELECTION – AND OUR CORE PRINCIPLES DEFINE WHO WE ARE. WE MUST COMMUNICATE THOSE IF WE ARE TO PREVAIL IN NOVEMBER.

JOHN MCCAIN AND EVERY REPUBLICAN ON THE TICKET, FROM THE VERY TOP TO THE BOTTOM, FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO EVERY COURTHOUSE – THEY ALL NEED OUR HELP.

AND AS REPUBLICANS – LET US STAND UP FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN.

AND WHAT IS MY FIRST PRINCIPLE?

IT IS ALWAYS YOUR MONEY! AND YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY ENTITLED TO KNOW WHERE YOUR TAX DOLLARS ARE GOING.

KNOW THAT I WILL BE THE CHAMPION OF THE TAXPAYER

YOU PAY TAXES OUT OF YOUR HARD EARNED DOLLARS AS YOU WORK TO LOOK AFTER YOUR FAMILIES AND SEE TO THEIR FUTURE.

RIGHT NOW PRICES ARE RISING AND EVERY FAMILY IS TIGHTENING ITS BELT. JOE AND I ARE DOING THE SAME WITH OUR BUDGET. THE STICKER SHOCK WE ALL FEEL AS WE FILL OUR GAS TANKS AND OUR GROCERY CARTS – MEANS THAT WE MUST WATCH OUR PENNIES

AND GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO BE TIGHTENING ITS BELT AS WELL.

YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE THAT WE ARE DOING IT – CLEARLY AND TRANSPARENTLY.

THE FIRST WEEK I WAS ON THE JOB JUST 18 MONTHS AGO

-- I POSTED ON THE WEB EVERY EXPENSE ITEM AT MY NEW AGENCY – EVEN DOWN TO PENCILS. AND I PERSUADED THE OTHER STATE AGENCIES TO DO THE SAME WITH THEIR EXPENSES.

EACH OF US NEEDS TO KNOW WHERE OUR MONEY IS GOING AND HOW IT IS BEING SPENT.

MY SECOND PRINCIPLE IS THAT GOVERNMENT MUST ALWAYS LOOK FOR WAYS TO REDUCE SPENDING….JUST LIKE TEXAS FAMILIES DO.

WE ARE DOING IT AT MY AGENCY.

SO FAR WE’VE SCRUBBED OUR BUDGET AND SAVED $4.3 MILLION DOLLARS– IN SIMPLE, COMMONSENSE WAYS…JUST LIKE YOU DO.

WE’VE SAVED $73,000 FROM BUYING PRINTER TONER CARTRIDGES ON JUST ONE CONTRACT… INSTEAD OF FIVE.

WE’VE SAVED ANOTHER $200,000 BY DOING OUR DATA ENTRY AND TYPING IN HOUSE…. INSTEAD OF PAYING SOMEONE ELSE OUTSIDE

WE’VE SAVED ANOTHER $500,000 BY ELIMINATING UNNECESSARY AND DUPLICATE PRINTINGS---AND GOING TO THE INTERNET---JUST LIKE YOU DO.

AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON – TO THE TUNE OF $ 4.3 MILLION. WITH MORE AHEAD IN THE COMING YEAR.

THIS IS YOUR MONEY AND YOU HAVE ENTRUSTED IT TO US TO SPEND IT WISELY.

WHICH BRINGS US TO OUR THIRD PRINCIPLE .

ALL OF GOVERNMENT SHOULD BUY FOR BEST VALUE, JUST LIKE YOU DO – WE SHOULD BE SHOPPING FOR THE BEST DISCOUNTS AND WE ARE.

WHETHER IT IS PENNIES FOR EARTHWORMS OR BILLIONS FOR OUR KIDS’ EDUCATION – WE ALL WANT OUR MONEY SPENT PRUDENTLY.

WE HAVE TO BUY SMART BECAUSE, AFTER ALL, IT IS YOUR MONEY.

SO I AM HAVING MY AGENCY LOOK AT ALL STATEWIDE PURCHASING CONTRACTS AND WE ARE FINDING OPPORTUNITIES TO SAVE MONEY AND BUY SMART AT EVERY TURN AND IN EVERY AREA.

WE NEED MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCKS. YOU SHOP CAREFULLY LOOKING AT PRICE COMPARISONS AND DISCOUNTS. SO MUST THE STATE.

SAVING DOLLARS ON SMALL ITEMS ADDS UP TO MILLIONS IN THE LONG TERM THAT CAN BE AVAILABLE FOR THINGS SUCH AS HEALTH CARE OR FOR OUR CHILDREN.

AND OUR YOUNG TEXANS PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR THE FOURTH PRINCIPLE---

THAT OUR TEXAS FAMILIES HAVE A RIGHT TO LOOK TO THE FUTURE TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING EVERY TEXAS CHILD A CHANCE FOR A GOOD JOB AND A GREAT TOMORROW.

WE NEED ALL TEXANS TO HAVE A SUPERB BUSINESS CLIMATE SO THEY CAN PROSPER

AND TEXAS IS A LEADER IN THAT EFFORT.

IN FACT, TEXAS LED THE NATION IN NEW JOBS ---BETWEEN APRIL OF 2007 AND APRIL OF 2008, WE CREATED 262,000 JOBS IN THIS STATE -- WHICH IS NEARLY 40% OF THE ENTIRE NATION’S NEW JOBS IN THAT SAME TIME PERIOD– AND GREATER THAN THE COMBINED TOTAL OF THE 6 NEXT BEST JOB GROWTH STATES.

AND WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?

BECAUSE WE’VE HAD REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP IN THIS STATE FOR 13 YEARS AND IT SHOWS.

LOW UNEMPLOYMENT,

HIGH JOB GROWTH

SOLID GROWTH IN THE ECONOMY AND OUR

BUSINESSMEN AND WOMEN AREN’T SPENDING THEIR WORKLIVES IN THE COURTHOUSE INSTEAD OF THE WORKPLACE HAVING TO DEFEND FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS

AND REPUBLICANS DID THIS …BECAUSE YOU ELECTED US ALL TO THESE POSITIONS. AND WITH YOUR HELP IN NOVEMBER, IT IS GOING TO BE EVEN BETTER FOR EACH OF YOU AND FOR OUR CHILDREN.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT AND OUR CHILDREN NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMY. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT EACH TEXAN HAS EVERY CHANCE FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE –

I AM WORKING TO LAY OUT A PATH ON WHICH EVERY CHILD CAN PLACE HIS OR HER FOOT…MULTIPLE PATHS AND MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES. WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING ARE THE ESSENTIAL LINKAGES FOR BOTH TODAY’S AND TOMORROW’S JOB MARKET – SO WHETHER WE ARE OFFERING TECHNICAL, PROFESSIONAL, OR ACADEMIC TRAINING - ALL MUST BE EXPLORED AND OFFERED.

OUR CHILDREN NEED THESE CHANCES FOR THEIR FUTURE AND FOR OUR 21^ST CENTURY TEXAS.

BUT IN LOOKING FORWARD, LET US ALSO REMEMBER WHERE WE CAME FROM AND THAT LEADS TO

OUR FIFTH PRINCIPLE WHICH IS – THAT

WE BELIEVE IN SMALLER AND MORE LIMITED GOVERNMENT.

THESE ARE NOT JUST WORDS.

THEY REPRESENT VALUES FROM OUR FOUNDING FATHERS. AND ARE DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THIS GREAT NATION.

IN 1995 AS A STATE LEGISLATOR, I WROTE AND PASSSED OUR STATE’S PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS BILL, ALONG WITH THE GREAT TEEL BIVINS OF AMARILLO.

I FOUGHT HARD FOR THIS BECAUSE YOUR GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO BE YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER IN BUILDING A BETTER TOMORROW AND NOT RUNNING ROUGHSHOD OVER CITIZENS

WE SETTLED THIS COUNTRY IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO OWN LAND AND RAISE OUR FAMILIES IN PEACE

I WILL CONTINUE TO STAND UP FOR EVERY TEXAN AGAINST GOVERNMENT IF IT BECOMES AN ADVERSARY INSTEAD OF A PARTNER.

BECAUSE ALL GOVERNMENT IS FUNDED ON YOUR MONEY.

AND WE NEVER FORGET THAT.

WE WHO REPRESENT YOU ARE THE STEWARDS OF YOUR TRUST AND YOUR DREAMS FOR A BETTER TEXAS.

WE’RE EXAMINING EVERYTHING WE DO AT MY AGENCY AND ACROSS THE STATE TO REALIZE MY MOTTO: SIMPLER SMARTER AND FASTER.

THOSE THREE WORDS SUM UP MY PHILOSOPHY FOR GOVERNMENT.

WE NEED TO MAKE GOVERNMENT DO ITS JOB BETTER

EVERY DAY

IN EVERY SINGLE WAY

AND NEVER FORGET THAT WE WORK FOR YOU AND NOT THE REVERSE

IT IS SUCH A PRIVILEGE TO WORK FOR YOU AND MY FELLOW TEXANS

THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME WIN THE ELECTION 18 MONTHS AGO SO THAT I CAN HOLD THIS GREAT POSITION –

IT IS WONDERFUL AND A REAL HONOR

AND I LOVE YOU AND I LOVE TEXAS.

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, talking to the Texas Republican Party convention.

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I am honored to share a stage this week with Chairman Benkiser, Vice Chairman Armstrong and my 28 colleagues who hold statewide office, all of whom are proud Republicans. And I am especially honored to be in the midst of the many thousands of you who launched a Republican revolution in Texas… the greatest grassroots organization in the 50 states… the delegates and alternates of the Republican Convention of Texas. You are the heart and soul of our party…a people who have never stopped believing in conservative ideas, and who have never stopped living up to conservative ideals. Eight years ago you saw fit to elect a bald-headed guy who wears bow ties and cowboy boots to the Texas Railroad Commission. Two years later you did it a second time. And I thank you. If you did not support me in those previous races, that’s okay. You will have another chance in November. With the price of crude oil above $130 a barrel, and the price of gasoline nearing $4 a gallon, we need leadership that stands up for the economic interests of American families by demanding greater exploration of America’s energy sources. I have fought for energy exploration, the development of clean energy technologies, common sense water protection and pipeline safety measures and self-imposed spending caps at the Railroad Commission. I have advocated for fiscal conservatism even when it cost me money… such as when I turned down a pay raise from the Texas Legislature, not once, but twice. And if you re-elect me Railroad Commissioner in 2008, I will be that voice from middle America that Washington doesn’t want to hear… the one arguing with every fiber in his being that the “cap and trade” carbon tax is nothing more than a cap and spend redistribution scheme, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the creation of the modern welfare state. I know the liberals think Americans are finally coming their way… that suddenly working families are for higher taxes and bigger government. But the election of a Democrat Congress is not an endorsement of Democrat ideas. The fact is Democrats campaign as conservatives so they can govern as liberals. The problem is Republicans started doing the same thing, so the people chose the real thing. But the American people still believe in limited government, lower taxes and less regulation. And if our party returns to its Reagan roots, our majority will one day return to Washington as well. Like many of you, I cut my teeth in the Reagan Revolution. I later served in the first Bush Administration. And for 30 years I have been friends with a man from Midland I am proud to call my president… George W. Bush. As we choose a new president, I am keenly aware of the historic nature of this campaign. As an African-American from the South, I am proud of the fact that someone who looks like me will be a major party presidential nominee for the first time in our nation’s history. What Senator Obama has done is extraordinary. His nomination speaks well, not only of his own personal political skills, but of the America that exists today. But Americans will not fall for identity politics over good ideas or slogans in the absence of substance or for promises and platitudes that are the wrong policy prescriptions. Change is just a slogan when the ideas are the Democrat leftovers of the last 50 years. When it is the same menu as McGovern, Carter and Mondale: higher taxes, bigger government and a steady diet of class warfare and expanded welfare. We must remember what their message of hope and change is all about: their hope is in government, and the change they seek is in your pocket. My fellow Republicans, we are the party of change. We are the ones that brought reform to government, reducing regulation and lowering taxes. We brought down the Soviet wall. We are the ones that believe public education should be about the children and not the union leaders. Our faith resides in the power of the individual and not an all-pervasive federal government. And we believe in the simple but profound idea that human life is sacred, beginning with the unborn. Our message of hope is not dependent on bureaucracy but entrepreneurship. We do not settle for the proposition that a healthy environment has to come at the expense of a healthy economy. Our hope resides in unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit to address both challenges. We believe in tying incentives, not penalties, to fuel efficiency. We want to create an economic climate conducive to the further development of the electric, natural gas or plug-in hybrid market and the first 100 mile-per-gallon cars. We want to send our kids off in low emission natural gas or propane school buses. Not only will our kids breathe easier, but so will taxpayers who pay the fuel bills. We want to challenge innovators and entrepreneurs who develop new clean coal technology. Our answer isn’t to say “no to coal” with no alternative. It is to say how can we make the burning of coal cleaner, so we have a more diverse and affordable mix of energy and a cleaner environment? America is the Saudi Arabia of coal. Texas has a 200-year supply. Let’s not start with the proposition of “why we can’t,” but “how we can.” My friends, our message of hope and change built a political majority because it reflects the common sense of Middle America. If you ever doubt whether we have won the debate of ideas, consider the fact that conservatives still call themselves conservatives and liberals call themselves progressives. It is far easier to rebuild the brand of a party than revive a disproved philosophy. But to win this election cycle, we need to get our swagger back. We need to start acting with the confidence of a party that reflects the prevailing sentiment. And step one is to stop licking our wounds and start telling it like it is. The Democrat policy on Iraq is to withdraw regardless of the consequences. Whether you supported the war in Iraq or not, the next president will not decide the past but the future. We cannot base our policy in the Middle East on appeasing the political left. It must be about serving the American interest. I am so thankful Senator McCain knows that Democrat policies have empowered oil barons in the Middle East. He knows that an unconditional withdrawal will only shift the balance of power further toward the extremists. He is committed to defeating the jihadists who did not wait for the American invasion of Iraq to begin before killing innocent Americans on American soil. The energy challenge we face today is a direct result of the refusal of Democrats to consider new energy exploration. Democrat policies stand in the way of developing needed refinery capacity. Democrat policies have left Texans vulnerable to the rising price of natural gas. Democrat policies have stuck us with soaring electric rates. And it was the Democrat Leader in the Texas House who killed a ten percent rate reduction for millions of Texas consumers last year. Liberals have hijacked environmentalism and given us extremism. They say “no” to nuclear development, “no” to cleaner coal plants, and “no” to wind energy when it encroaches on their East Coast beach properties. They have fought energy exploration from the coast of Florida to the outer reaches of Alaska. Then they turn around and blame American energy companies for the high price of energy when their extremism and obstructionism makes us more dependent on foreign oil every day. What’s wrong with this picture? The French are harnessing nuclear power. The Chinese and Castro are producing natural gas 50 miles from our borders. And the Democrats just say no. They are reaching back into history for Jimmy Carter’s failed windfall profits tax. The same tax that drove down American oil production. Never mind that today Americans spend $600 billion a year for imported oil. If Saudi sheikhs are driving a new Rolls Royce, it was Democrat policies that gave them the extra riyals. Now, the Democrats want to place a $3 trillion tax on carbon output to combat global warming. Regardless of where you come down on the science of climate change, putting an extra $3 trillion in the hands of Washington politicians is a truly miserable proposition. Those that produce the most carbon will purchase allowances. The money generated from such a scheme will then allow Senator Boxer and her colleagues to dole out favors to all their friends. And what will be the benefit for the single mom trying to make ends meet? The office worker trying to put his kids through college? The farmer betting on the next crop? The young couple in south Dallas, east Austin, the Valley or third ward here in Houston? It will be even higher prices for electricity, gasoline at the pump and food at the grocery store. That single mom with two kids… that office worker with a college loan to go with the home loan… that farmer paying higher fertilizer and diesel costs … those inner city residents making their first house payments won’t breathe easier under cap and spend either. China and India will continue to increase their carbon output, negating any environmental benefits whatsoever. So this carbon tax will hurt Texans’ jobs, raise the cost of goods, thin our wallets and do little to reduce greenhouse gases. My friends, this is the fundamental difference about how we address great challenges: we want to insure economic growth and create incentives for entrepreneurial solutions; they want to punish job creators through new taxes and a massive redistribution scheme. When it comes to energy and the economy, we ought to focus on producing more, reliable energy sources here in America. Developing alternative energy for transportation and electricity, the new technology to make traditional sources cleaner and killing the Democrats’ cap and trade redistribution scheme. And then we ought to do everything in our power to attract more American students to the fields of math, science, engineering and technology. Both my parents earned college degrees in math. My dad was a high school math teacher and a coach. My wife Donna is a mechanical engineer. I understand the value of innovation and technology to the future of this country, which is why this summer I am co-sponsoring a camp called “Williams Innovators” to inspire students between the sixth and 12th grades to pursue proficiency in the fields of math, science, engineering and technology. We must end the mass exportation of the talent we educate by filling American classrooms with more American students ready to take advantage of the opportunities of the 21st Century. My friends, this is an historic time. We cannot win this election focused on internal struggles. We cannot protect jobs and working families if we are relegated to the sidelines of public discourse. We cannot build and sustain a culture that nurtures life from the comfort of our living rooms. Now is not the time to sow the seeds of indifference. We must remember why we joined this fight to begin with… why we entered the arena. Imagine with me the America that can be if we don’t lose hope, don’t lose our sense of idealism. Imagine an America where freedom and responsibility go hand-in-hand. Imagine an America where opportunity is available to all and the hope of all. Imagine an America where we exercise proper dominion over God’s creation while ushering in a wave of new prosperity. Imagine an America where schools compete for our kids instead of taking them for granted. Imagine an America where the values of Middle America are not looked down upon by the left, but embraced by all because they are right. Imagine communities free of drugs… neighborhoods free of crime… families free of violence. We can only achieve what we first imagine. We can only realize that which we are willing to do. I know no election more significant than the next one. My dad is in the Texas Football Coaches Hall of Honor. He says the first rule of winning is to show up. Will you roll up your sleeves with me, and answer the whistle? Will you join me on the game field? Will you fight for a brighter future for all Americans? I ask for your help… I ask for your prayers… and I ask for your vote. May the peace of the Lord be with you. May God bless you and may God bless Texas. Let’s get to work!

Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson announced he'll leave that job July 6 for unspecified work in the private sector.Wilson was a top aide to Gov. Rick Perry before he took the SOS job almost exactly a year ago. Just a bit after that announcement, Dallas-based Luminant said it had hired Wilson to take charge of public affairs. That company is one of the spinoffs from TXU; it's in the wholesale electricity business and is one of several companies talking seriously about building new nuclear plants in Texas.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's speech to the Texas Republican delegates.These are the prepared remarks; actual verbiage may vary.

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Thanks for that warm welcome. I hope you got a smile out of that video. My staff convinced me it was a good idea. Maybe I need a new staff. But it’s actually an attempt to bring a little humor to a subject I take very seriously. We're going to have to think differently this year, work smarter and harder, and bury the “same-ole, same-ole” politics of the past. I don’t have to tell you about the challenges Republicans face this year. Some of our problems are self inflicted. A number of officials forgot why they were elected in the first place. They particularly forgot who is in charge here. It’s not the bureaucracy, or government. It’s the people of the United States. The problem is not with our ideals. The problem is the American people do not see us faithfully pursuing the policies that follow from our principles. But we can learn from our mistakes. And we must work to keep, or regain, the confidence of the American people. We do need change -- the right kind of change. With your help, I want our party to return to our roots and our core values. If we do that, I’m convinced our candidates will win, from the courthouse to the White House. A lot has happened since you elected me to the U.S. Senate six years ago. I have supported our troops and military leaders as they have struggled against a determined and vicious enemy in an unstable region. My policy in the war on terror is similar to Ronald Reagan’s – We win, and they lose. I have protected American sovereignty and our right to chart our own future. I’ve opposed attempts to subjugate U.S. interests to international organizations. I have fought for confirmation of judges who respect our Constitution – including two fine new U.S. Supreme Court Justices. I have protected the sanctity of human life. I have opposed immoral experimentation done in the name of science. And I have supported the traditional American family. I have voted to keep taxes low. I have opposed wasteful Washington spending, including abusive, secret earmarks that are often little more than pork. I have sought to reform No Child Left Behind, to make certain our K-12 education decisions are made not in Washington – but in Texas, by parents and teachers. And I have insisted – as we addressed the long-overdue reform of our broken immigration system – that we enforce our laws – not ignore them. The law protects all of us, no matter where we come from or how we pronounce our last names. But we must commit to a legal immigration system that serves the best interests of our country. Fellow Texans, I am grateful for the trust and confidence you have placed in me. I have done my best to keep my word and keep faith with the people of Texas. Republicans are the party of freedom. We stand for independence and personal liberty. We treat people as individuals, and seek to empower them. Our opponents think of people as members of groups – and victims -- whose affections can be won by doling out government favors. This promotes dependence, not initiative. We see things differently. A Republican President once observed: “A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.” Instead of growing government bureaucracies, and the high taxes to pay for them, we believe progress is made through the genius and hard work of a free people. If we have the courage to hew fast to our principles, the best days for Texas and America are still ahead. It’s a little dismaying to see the Democratic presidential nominee trying to hijack our message of hope and change. I sometimes think our opponents HOPE for failure of the private sector as an excuse for bigger government. You've heard this before but it's worth repeating. The CHANGE they're after is what’s left in your pockets after they’ve raised your taxes. The Democratic candidate is a man whose voting record is more liberal than the only avowed socialist in the U.S. Senate. How can you get farther out of the mainstream than that? Political campaigns always produce revealing moments. Remember the one in San Francisco recently when Sen. Obama was speaking to some of his liberal backers? He said rural Americans were angry and frustrated, and so they tended to “cling” to guns and religion. I have news for Sen. Obama. We still have a First and Second Amendment to our Constitution. They are part of what has made our country exceptional... a nation Lincoln called “the last best hope on earth.” And we Texans are a positive, confident people. What makes us upset is when a politician tries to tear down our country instead of standing up for it. Unfortunately, this attitude seems to be widely shared inside the Washington beltway. Too often the established view in Washington becomes an elitism that says “we know better” than the American people what is good for them -- and hardens into out-and-out contempt for their hopes, dreams, and wishes. One of my colleagues calls these power brokers “masters of the universe.” They are a danger to our democracy. Here’s an example of that kind of thinking – on high energy prices. Republicans think the answer is simple – produce more energy. What’s the Democratic response? We can’t explore in Alaska. We can’t explore offshore. We can’t develop oil shale. We can’t push clean coal. We can’t build nuclear. We can’t build new refineries. We can’t drill. So what is the Democratic answer? They say, “Well, natural gas isn’t so bad.” Let me ask you – where do these people think natural gas comes from? The natural gas tree? I want to tell you what I intend to do if you honor me by re-electing me to the United States Senate. These are more than campaign promises. These are the principles that guide me. First, I will do my utmost to restore government to the people. I will insist on transparency, and openness, and honesty in government – and integrity from our public servants. Whether it is health care or education, freedom should mean that you have a choice. That choice must be an informed consent. Second, I will seek to limit the size and reach of government. I will reduce taxes and unnecessary regulations whenever possible. I will work to get government off your back and out of the way so that our free enterprise system can work – and all Americans can achieve their God-given potential. And I will do everything possible to protect our way of life in a dangerous world. I will continue to support winning the war against terrorists, and the troops and their families who make it possible, and the veterans who have given so much. Every day, when I go to work I ask myself – what can I do today to advance Texas values, and Texas solutions, in Washington. With your help, I will continue. Thank you for what you do for our party. And thank you for the opportunity to represent the greatest state in the greatest country in the history of the world.