This Week’s 5 Big Questions; Wendy Announcement Thursday;
How Does Shutdown Impact Ted Cruz?; Biden DMN Op Ed
****
Good morning from the Pacific Northwest.
The Texas Rangers had to win 7 straight games to earn a spot in tonight’s one-game playoff tiebreaker.
Here’s the brief:
THIS WEEK’S FIVE BIG QUESTIONS
1) What is the percentage chance that State Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) announces for anything other than Governor on Thursday?
2) Are the two Republican candidates for Governor able to step on Davis’ announcement?
3) Do we see any other Democratic statewide candidates announce this week?
4) Is the Republican field for Attorney General set?
5) How likely is it that Debra Median will run for Governor as an independent?
WENDY ANNOUNCEMENT THURSDAY
State Sen. Davis is set to make her big announcement in Fort Worth at 3pm Thursday.
The event will be at the W.G. Thomas Coliseum at 6108 Broadway Ave in Haltom City, TX.
They have an RSVP page here.
I’m interested in little things:
> Who introduces her?
> Are the Castro twins there?
> How large is the crowd?
> Are they able to live stream it clearly to a national audience?
> Does the event look professional?
> How do they tell her personal story?
HOW DOES SHUTDOWN IMPACT TED CRUZ?
My view: I’ve said to a few reporters that the only scenario in which I see the tactical effort led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) hurting him politically is if the shutdown lasts a long time, hurts Republicans badly and leads to the GOP losing control of the House in 2014 and not winning the U.S. Senate either. I simply think this is a highly unlikely scenario. What many found refreshing in Sen. Cruz’s ‘filibuster’ is seeing a smart conservative stand up and fight. We have seen so many Republicans verbally oppose Obamacare with no real way to impact its implementation. The Cruz strategy was direct — use the leverage of a shutdown to change the dynamic. All of this is a small issue compared to the coming debt limit fight over the next three weeks. That’s the big fight. President Obama cannot allow the debt limit not to be raised. He knows that. It’s a question of what the GOP is willing to accept. Meanwhile, the end game on Obamcare is unclear. The Vitter amendment, which removes the exemption for members of Congress and their staff, may be the final bargaining chip. You will also hear a lot about repealing the Medical Device tax. Ultimately, the GOP wants a one year delay of the individual mandate. But all eyes turn to the U.S. Senate today, now that the U.S. House has acted — and the clock ticks.
BIDEN DMN OP ED
Vice President of the United State Joe Biden has an op ed (behind paywall) in this morning’s DMN.
Want to read it? Type the headline into google like this and you’ll get a free view.
#txlege:
– Chron’s Matthew Tresague reports (behind paywall) on how pivotal Houston will be the Prop. 6, the water infrastructure issue on the ballot this November.
2013 / 2014 / 2016:
– Peggy Fikac’s Monday SAEN / Chron column (behind paywall) looks at whether the GOP in Texas will go to the right (Cruz) or to the middle (Straus).
Other stories of interest:
– Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban heads to civil trial today in Dallas facing insider trading charges.
– Congrats to Texas State University football coach for reaching 200 wins, which he did faster than just about anyone.
Lighter clicks:
– A stolen barbecue pit that had been reserved for a charity raffle in central Texas has been recovered.
– One report that USC may try to hire Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin.
Your Daily Source of Inspiration:
– A sports hero who has been quietly heroic in a private way in life.
