George W. Bush's successor learned from a master, as Ron Kirk is finding out. Plus: Al Gore lite.
p>
SMART MISCHIEF
br>
While Democratic Texas Senate candidate
Ron Kirk
is away, Republican Gov.
Rick Perry
is creating
mischief, and helping his state attorney general,
John
Cornyn
, at the same time. On Tuesday, Perry appointed
former Democratic state attorney general
Dan
Morales
to the state anti-crime commission, a post that
will give Morales, who hoped to challenge Perry for the
governorship, but who lost in the Democratic primary, a public
platform to speak from on an issue Morales claimed to care a lot
about.
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More troubling to Democrats in the state, however, is that
Morales no longer appears interested in criticizing Perry or his
administration.
"This is the kin of crap Karl Rove pulled all
the time down here with Bush," says a Democratic state party
official in Austin. "Co-opt the opposition. Morales is a turncoat;
now he sees why no one supported him for the Democratic
gubernatorial slot."
Sounds like sour taquitos to us. But why such anger?