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Subscribe to RSSThe Dallas Morning News is reporting that Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) won't run for re-election in 2012. Kay Bailey Hutchison will not run for re-election to the U.S. Senate.
In a letter to supporters, Hutchison said she enjoyed serving Texas.
"I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for re-election in 2012," she wrote to supporters. "That should give the people of Texas ample time to consider who my successor will be."
Hutchison challenged incumbent Rick Perry in the 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary, but she lost. It was thought at time that she would depart the U.S. Senate then, but she held on to her seat.
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I hope the violence didn't deter her.
An AZ GOP Leader Resigns After Tea Party Attacks: 'I Don't Want To Take A Bullet For Anyone'
An Arizona GOP leader, a former campaign worker for John McCain, steps down after his wife asks him if his precinct leaders will shoot at their house. It seems Anthony Miller just isn't conservative enough to please the local GOP's Tea Party fringe.
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/politics/state_politics/lawmakers-arizona-security-01122011
Several of his allies also resigned.
I believe with all the violence, hate, lies, smears and fear being advocated instead of a renunciation; many others will flee the right too.
And this has what to do with Kay Bailey Hutchinson?
STTS
No Value
Unfortnately, the gun totin' extremist faction of the right "win" everytime a sane person, Republican, Democrat, or any third party, steps down from political life. The "Palinists", the people who want to "take back the government" and make our democracy into a paranoid, isolationist, very undemocratatic oligarchy, celebrate the departure of any of their "enemies".
I don't agree with most of her politics, but as a past resident of TX, she served her state with distinction and class...two things that will never be said of Rick Perry.
If you think that it is "classy" to lie in public, constantly. Then yeah, she did fine for Texas.
Fffffffffffft good riddance. I'm glad she didn't make it into the governor's mansion (like they'll ever finish remodeling it/not-setting-it-on-fire); I can tolerate moar Rick Perry a lot easier than Kay.
Prefer Mr. Secessionist over a rational and intelligent human being? Typical Texas.
Being a conservative Texan, all I can say is bye bye. She was crowned "Queen of Pork" by Citizens Against Government Waste on more than one occasion. I hoped to help retire her on the next election anyway. Cornyn, stop screwing around with the party money or your next!
Oh, that's adorable! You think I care about the opinion of someone from the Lesser 49~
In all seriousness, though, weighing Kay against Rick is akin to being asked whether you want the bamboo shoots in your fingers or your toes.
BigB: Today's "Texas conservatives" wouldn't know a real conservative if one fell from the sky and landed on their heads.
We can only hope that would happen.
Grand Moff, are you kidding me? When was the last time you went to West Texas? I mean real West Texas, further west than Abilene. People decided they better get back to their conservative roots after trying the Ann Richards experiment.
Paul, would that be considered violent rhetoric? I hope not because left wingers are peaceful and passive. Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya.
The Tea Party was going to go after her in a big way if she ran for re-election.
Example of One Tea Party Leader's Tacticts released today
We wonder why some in congress are bowing out?
Tucson Tea Party Founder Blames Giffords For Getting Shot: ‘The Real Case Is That She Had No Security’
In March 2010, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) warned that the rhetoric from the tea parties and Sarah Palin was potentially dangerous. “I can say that in the years that some of my colleagues have served — 20, 30 years — they’ve never seen it like this…when people do that, they’ve gotta realize there’s consequences to that action,” she said on MSNBC.
Tuscon Tea Party co-founder Trent Humphries called Giffords’ previous concerns about violent rhetoric “political gamesmenship,” claiming that if Giffords was so concerned, then she is to blame for Saturday’s shootings because she “had no security whatsoever”:
“It’s political gamesmanship. "
"The real case is that she [Giffords] had no security whatsoever at this event. So if she lived under a constant fear of being targeted, if she lived under this constant fear of this rhetoric and hatred that was seething, why would she attend an event in full view of the public with no security whatsoever?” he said. “For all the stuff they accuse her [Palin] of, that gun poster has not done a tenth of the damage to the political discourse as what we’re hearing right now.”
Humphries also told the Guardian that Saturday’s shootings in Tuscon are “evolving into a conspiracy to destroy his organisation and silence criticism of the government
Incidentally, the same Tea Party rhetoric Humphries is so quick to defend is keeping him from attending the memorial service with President Obama tonight. Humphries told TPM that he received an anonymous phone call saying, “we’re going to stand against you and we’re going to use our First and Second Amendment rights to stop you” will keep him “out of public view for a while.”
The hell does this have to do with Kay's re-election decision?
She's a zombie......
I would ask if you needed a 30 rounder,......
but it would probably create national shortage on Depends.
Hard to believe, June. I understand republican Louie Gohmert (sp) wants to allow guns into Congress. That's just idiotic logic, let me bring my gun and that way if anyone tries to shoot me, I can shoot first--never mind the thought that it means some other Congress person might bring gun, get mad at me and shoot me when I'm busy talking. The answer to gun violence is not more guns.
These TP folks and others who claim Giffords was playing politics would sing a different tune if it had been one of them who was shot.
Well .......... yea it kinda is.
Where is the safest place for a bad guy with a gun? A place where they are banned and no one has one, or a place where half the people have a CHL.
When the assault weapon ban expired in 2004, all the liberals talked about crime exploding. In the 6 years since the ban sunset, crime has fallen in every category - 15% for the murder rate.
Most of the time incidents like what happened on Saturday don't end when the crazy guy gets hit over the head with a folding chair - they end when another gun arrives, be it a police officer, security guard, a bailiff, CHL ......
Hutchison is not running again a) because she is older and b) because she lost in her last 'state-wide' election.
c) none of the above
I'm sure she was personally a nice lady, but I disagreed with Sen. Hutchinson on almost every single position she took on policy matters and, therefore, welcome her retirement, while also giving a nod to her long standing public service. Here's hoping that TX and the rest of the Senate will benefit from some new blood in 2012.
^this
On a side note...what a shame for all of us who posted on First Thoughts this morning and tried our best to be civil towards one another. Sadly, a large herd of TROLLS invaded early this afternoon.
I would advise all not to check back on that topic until it has been properly disinfected.
I'm too terrified to read past the first page.
You mean like Feisty and Bev?
And there you go again, thetotas, you are what you decry.
@thetotas: Truth be told, one of the disadvantages to my class selection in this MMO is that I suffer greater HP loss from DoT attacks caused by massed concentrations of stupid.
Kay Bailey Hutchinson is living proof that democrats don't dislike Sarah Palin just because she is a woman or a republican. Hutchinson is many things that Palin is not, including qualified to hold national office.
@ June ~ It was bound to happen. I'm just surprised it took so long. Imagine accusing someone of political gamesmanship because they had no security, thereby allowing someone else to injure them, or even kill them. The ultimate in blame-shifting. Only reckless fanatics talk like that. Not, "hmmm, maybe I should put down MY weapon before someone gets hurt" but instead, "you'd better get one, too, otherwise, I can't be held responsible if I kill you."
I've heard liberals accused of warped thinking these past few days because we see a possible connection between this kind of rhetoric and crime. What's really warped is NOT seeing the connection.
That's too bad. She was a reasonable, find common-ground voice from the republican party who voted as she felt her constituents wished. That's what is missing too often today, a republican or democrat is expected to vote with the party even when their district or state is of a different view. We elect them to represent us, to listen to us, to vote mostly with a party's ideology but we also expect them to compromise to solve problems.
I failed to add that I disagreed with her on most issues but she was reasonable in discussing things.