So, give me a second chance, eh? I’ll try to do this one better. Here goes:
One of the very nice bloggers o’ the left, Greg Wythe, who in addition to being nice is very humble and never, ever takes shots at other people, kinda, sorta, well, almost, “chided” (I hope that word isn’t too harsh!) Dr. Mark P. Jones, Chair of Rice University’s Department of Political Science for daring to think that Republicans care about crony-capitalism and corporate welfare. (I sure hope that was polite enough)
Seriously, I didn’t go looking for a a reason to crack on Rice’s Mark Jones (again). But … well … this …
Rice University political scientist Mark P. Jones said Abbott is “on very safe ground” criticizing the incentives, as many Texas Republicans and Democrats view the incentive funds “as a type of corporate welfare.”
“It’s something that plays very well with Republican primary voters,” he said. “And the general electorate.”
Maybe it’s just a very different kind of few weeks that Mark Jones is being quoted on. I dunno. But is there any factual basis for the words said by him here? By way of laying down some fact on my own side (that being that GOP voters may like the argument in the abstract, but they are wildly indifferent to it in practice), here’s a bit of linkage:
Jan. 29, 2010 – Hutchison raps Perry on Enterprise Fund
This is a standard AP story following the GOP debate between Hutchison, Medina, and Perry. Perry was attacked for his support of TEF. Guess which candidate won without a runoff.March 13, 2010 – Bill White Demands Audit of Texas Enterprise Fund
Hey, we tried. Didn’t seem to move the needle, did it?So … at what point in any of these criticisms of Perry’s administration of the Enterprise Fund did his support plummet? I mean, I get that there’s a cognitive dissonance between conservative orthodoxy and what one-party statewide electeds want to carry around for spending money.
I’m walking on eggshells here, folks. How do I criticize the words of that nice blogger o’ the left, Greg Wythe, without hurting his feelings? Pray for me.
Hmm. Okay, here goes. Mr. Wythe, nice blogger o’ the left, your criticism of Dr. Jones’ statement comes from a lack of knowledge about Republicans, Republican primary voters, and ranking of issues.
Was that too harsh? Forgive me, Mr. Wythe, nice blogger o’ the left, if it was. I’m trying not to upset you. Promise!
You see, Mr. Wythe, nice blogger o’ the left, I’m a Republican, a Republican primary voter, and know a lot of Republican primary voters. And we don’t like crony capitalism or corporate welfare. So Dr. Jones is entirely correct when he said that Abbott distancing himself from Perry on that issue would play well with us. Because it does. And it will play well with the general electorate.
Perhaps Mr. Wythe, nice blogger o’ the left, you confuse playing well with winning. What do you think? Let’s take a look at your two examples.
First, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Or Kay Bailout, as she became known during that primary. See, she had a LOT of problems trying to win that primary, not the least of which was her campaign strategy of trying to get to the right of Rick Perry. Crony capitalism played well but it wasn’t even close to being the at the top of the list of issues for Republican primary voters that year.
Second, Mayor Bill White. That dude was one of the worst campaigners in a big money statewide race ever. No charisma, no charm, no issues. To think that his demanding an audit of the TEF when he wouldn’t even produce his own tax returns should have been a winning issue is..wait, can’t criticize…not very…insightful. Was that okay?
Now, let’s get to the part of that article in the Houston Chronicle written by Kiah Collier that Mr. Wythe, nice blogger o’ the left, omitted, even though it was the next quote from Dr. Jones:
The only faction of the GOP that Abbott may offend with the position, Jones said, are establishment Republicans, “lobbyist and chamber-of-commerce types,” and donors.
Again, Mr. Wythe, nice blogger o’ the left, Dr. Jones is EXACTLY correct. Perhaps Abbott got special dispensation from that group before issuing his remarks, because by and large, his supporters from that group are the same as Perry’s. I suspect that Abbott did because you also didn’t quote Abbott’s challenger, Tom Pauken:
Former state GOP Chairman Tom Pauken, Abbott’s only competitor in next year’s Republican primary so far, has been critical of the incentive funds and called the front-runner’s comment “disingenuous” because he has “rubber stamped” all the incentive deals as attorney general.
“It’s nice that suddenly Greg Abbott is completely reversing himself and agreeing with me on some of these issues now that he’s a candidate for governor,” Pauken said.
So while the issue does play well with us, one of the things we are going to have to consider is whether or not Abbott is sincere in his statement. That remains to be seen and remains to be exploited by Pauken if he can get enough energy in his campaign to make it ONE of many issues.
I hope that I wasn’t too hard on you, Mr. Wythe, nice blogger o’ the left. I would like to ask a simple question: why is it that you and other bloggers o’ the left continually attack people, calling them names, anti-intellectual, making fun of physical attributes (hey, I thought the left was supposed to be sensitive), etc., but when someone pushes mildly back, such as pointing out arrogance and rush to judgement, you get all upset and personal?
As for you Brainiac, don’t even go there. I’m not defending Dr. Jones because I haven’t the intellect to either attack or defend him – the difference between me and you is that I admit it. I’m simply helping that nice blogger o’ the left, Greg Wythe, understand this issue. That way, the next time he takes a year off to support a candidate, he will have better advice to give him.