Sullivan, Van de Putte, Perry, Chisum, Pauken, and Underwood

GOP consultant Ray Sullivan, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on the developing contest for U.S. Senate: "If there is a vacancy, the governor will appoint someone to fill that position. I would expect a lot of the statewide officeholders and other would-be candidates will be especially nice [to the governor] in the coming months."

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, asked by the San Antonio Express-News if she'll run for the U.S. Senate and how she'd be different from John Sharp and Bill White, the two Democrats already in the race: "The U.S. Senate is full of people who look just like that."

Gov. Rick Perry in the Austin American-Statesman: "We have a built-in obstacle to dealing with restructuring of higher education. It's called the Legislature."

House Appropriations Chairman Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, telling the Houston Chronicle what should be done with a state report on the costs of services for illegal immigrants: "Show it to our congressman, I guess. Tell him, 'Merry Christmas.' This is something we can look at the federal government and say, 'You guys ought to do a better job of guarding your borders or at least pay for 'em if you're going to allow them to come over here.'"

Texas Workforce Commissioner and former Texas GOP Chair Tom Pauken, talking in The Dallas Morning News about a conference on the health of the party hosted by members of the Texas congressional delegation: "They've made a mess of things in Washington in the last eight years. Now they're going to come home to Texas and tell us how to fix the Republican Party in our state?"

Texas Transportation Commission Fred Underwood, quoted in the Houston Chronicle after the agency got hammered in a legislative hearing: "I feel like I've done more for TxDOT than the Titanic did for the cruise business."