11/06/2009

Conservatives step up fiery rhetoric at health care rally at Capitol in Washington
WASHINGTON – Thousands of conservatives from Texas and around the country converged on the Capitol on Thursday to denounce the Democratic health plan, accusing the president of a march toward socialism and demanding that Congress resist a government takeover of health care.

11/04/2009

GOP schism exposed in New York election adds pressure to Pete Sessions' campaign chief role
It was a big election night for Republicans overall. But their lone disappointment – the loss of a New York congressional seat in a crossfire between moderates and conservatives – could portend struggles next year for GOP leaders.

10/22/2009

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison unveils study showing cap and trade will be bad for Texas
WASHINGTON – Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison warned Wednesday that climate-change legislation working its way through Congress would push fuel prices up by $1 per gallon.

10/17/2009

Obama praises elder Bush at A&M
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – President Barack Obama offered a powerful homage Friday to George H.W. Bush at a forum on public service, crediting his GOP predecessor with inspiring legions of Americans to improve their communities.

10/16/2009

Obama visiting A&M; conservative critics organizing protest
President Barack Obama, on his first foray into Texas as president today, will face a unique mixture of warm, fuzzy bipartisanship and bitter protest at Texas A&M University.

10/14/2009

Hutchison unclear about Senate resignation date
WASHINGTON – Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who said in July that she would resign by December, said Tuesday that she's no longer sure when she'll leave the Senate.

10/07/2009

Fort Worth Rep. Kay Granger says it's time for Obama to decide on Afghan troops
WASHINGTON – Fort Worth Rep. Kay Granger, part of a congressional group that met with President Barack Obama to discuss Afghanistan, said she was growing impatient as the president weighs whether to send more troops or find an alternative.

10/04/2009

Liberty Legal takes up cross for religion
WASHINGTON – In a remote corner of the Mojave Desert, there's a war memorial dating to the 1930s. On top, there's an 8-foot cross that is, for now, obscured by a plywood box lest anyone driving 900 miles out of their way happen upon it and take offense at the endorsement of religiosity on public land.

09/30/2009

Dallas bomb plot suspect stayed on expired visa
Officials say Hosam Smadi, 19, arrived on a visitor visa, not a student visa as initially believed, in spring 2007. Smadi's status as a visitor, not a student, helped keep him under the radar.
Archive: More on Smadi's case
Monitoring issues raised | Wife says she's shocked

09/27/2009

Alleged skyscraper plot highlights problems of keeping tabs on immigrants
The tension between security and civil liberties, between surveillance and privacy, has simmered for eight years. The plot exposed last week in Dallas by the FBI – a Jordanian teenager allegedly hoping to level a skyscraper – provides the latest fodder.

09/20/2009

Hutchison gains support in Congress for governor's bid
WASHINGTON – Nearly half the Texas Republicans in Congress support Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in her bid to oust Gov. Rick Perry.

09/18/2009

Barton may seek appointment to Senate
WASHINGTON – Add Rep. Joe Barton to the list of Republicans lobbying for an appointment to the Senate when Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns.

09/15/2009

Quick Take: Fight over missed votes makes it harder for Hutchison to stay in the Senate
WASHINGTON — If it wasn’t ACORN, it would have been something else. The fact that the first Senate vote Kay Bailey Hutchison missed since entering the governor’s race happened to be on ACORN — a group Republicans love to hate — was just a bonus.

09/13/2009

Friction between Perry, Hutchison is nothing new
WASHINGTON – Sometimes you have to wonder how much Texas' governor and its senior senator could have accomplished if they'd managed to set aside rivalry and actually, you know, cooperated.

09/03/2009

Analysis: Why the fuss over Obama's speech to students?

AP

President Barack Obama's planned telecast has stirred an uproar.
More area schools say no to speech
Ragland: Twisting the truth
Opinion: The speech controversy

08/27/2009

After JFK assassination, Edward Kennedy never visited Dallas
WASHINGTON – Sen. Edward Kennedy never set foot in Dallas after his brother's assassination. But he spent plenty of time in Texas through the years, stumping for himself and others, courting donors, accepting awards.

08/23/2009

Hutchison holding on to Senate seat
WASHINGTON – Out on the stump last week, Kay Bailey Hutchison kept the focus on how much better Texas would be if voters replace Gov. Rick Perry with her, while remaining coy about how much longer she'll stay in the Senate.

08/20/2009

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison puts Virginia house on the market

TODD J. GILLMAN/DMN File

The online listing describes a "motivated seller" seeking "all offers."
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08/15/2009

In Israel, Perry compares Mexico to Gaza strip
TEL AVIV, Israel – Gov. Rick Perry compared Mexico to the Gaza Strip this week, saying Texas can learn from Israeli security efforts after touring a town that has been hit by Palestinian rockets.

08/14/2009

Gov. Rick Perry says Texas can learn from Israeli security efforts
Gov. Rick Perry, who has demanded a heightened U.S. troop presence along the Rio Grande, went to Israel’s border with Gaza earlier with week and was briefed by Israeli Army officials.

07/22/2009

Quick Take: Obama becomes salesman in chief with pitch for health care reform
President Barack Obama was in full salesman mode Wednesday night as he tried to soothe the public and keep the heat on Congress.

07/20/2009

Testimony by ABA official from Dallas counters Sotomayor's critics
WASHINGTON – On Day 4 of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, one of Dallas' top lawyers took the stand to explain how the would-be Supreme Court justice unanimously earned the American Bar Association's top rating – and in the process, to deflate some of the judge's toughest critics.

07/16/2009

Prison officials seek power to jam cellphones
WASHINGTON – Prison officials from several states, including Texas, urged the Senate on Wednesday to let them jam cellphones, the hottest form of contraband behind bars.

07/14/2009

Cornyn expresses skepticism at opening of Sotomayor hearings
WASHINGTON – Texas Sen. John Cornyn added his voice to a chorus of tough-talking Republicans at Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing Monday.

07/12/2009

Republicans vow to keep open minds during Sotomayor hearings
WASHINGTON – When senators convene on Monday for Judge Sonya Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, Republicans alone will start with open minds.

07/01/2009

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison visits Texas troops in Iraq
Her visit to greet troops and receive an update on the security situation comes one day after the U.S. pulled remaining combat troops from cities and turned security over to Iraqis.
Transportation blog: Lawmakers file bills ahead of special session
Shiite cleric hopeful about U.S. pullback

06/28/2009

Texas legislators join Obama in immigration talks
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has hosted high-level brainstorming sessions on health care, fiscal policy and government transparency in his first five months. Last week, after several delays, he got around to hosting a summit on immigration.

06/18/2009

Texas Democrats try to block Perry's use of stimulus funds
WASHINGTON – Texas Democrats in Congress vowed Wednesday to keep pushing the White House to help them block what they see as Gov. Rick Perry's misuse of $3 billion in federal aid for public schools.

06/14/2009

Kay Bailey Hutchison tries clearing up doubts over her loyalty to Ronald Reagan
WASHINGTON – Ronald Reagan isn't on Mount Rushmore. But lots of Republicans think he should be. Thus, it is no small matter for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison when doubts are raised about her commitment to the party's hero.

06/10/2009

Kay Bailey Hutchison: No special session if I'd been Texas governor

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U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison took a shot at Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday, saying she could have averted a special session of the Texas Legislature.

The senator had previously accused Perry of showing poor leadership, but she hadn't directly asserted that she could have averted the failures of the session that recently adjourned.
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06/09/2009

Gingrich-Palin power tiff fails to dampen GOP fundraiser
WASHINGTON – Led by two Texans, Republicans raised $14.5 million for next year's House and Senate contests at a dinner that came with extra helpings of melodrama thanks to party stars Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.

06/07/2009

Hutchison seeks to reframe conservatism issue as style, not substance
WASHINGTON – The fight is on for the hearts and minds of Texas conservatives, whose affections could decide the Republican primary for governor. Many remain skeptical about Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

06/02/2009

Republican Rep. John McHugh to be named civilian Army chief
The president will name a Republican congressman this morning to replace Army Secretary Pete Geren, who represented Fort Worth as a Democrat in Congress before joining the Bush team at the Pentagon.

06/01/2009

Cornyn doesn't rule out filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor
WASHINGTON – Texas Sen. John Cornyn declined Sunday to rule out a Republican filibuster of President Barack Obama's first Supreme Court nominee, but he urged the Senate and public to "calm down" long enough to evaluate whether Judge Sonia Sotomayor is capable of meting out colorblind justice.

05/31/2009

Cornyn not ruling out filibuster over Supreme Court nominee

The Texas Republican urged the Senate and public to “calm down” long enough to evaluate whether Judge Sonia Sotomayor is capable of meting out colorblind justice.
Hutchison cautions GOP to take a respectful tone on Sotomayor
Q&A with Cornyn

05/28/2009

Former Yale classmates proud of Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination
WASHINGTON – There will be at least one Dallas lawyer at Sonia Sotomayor's 30th law school reunion this fall, and like others who attended Yale with her, he was extra proud Wednesday that she might join the Supreme Court.

05/27/2009

Republicans face tricky struggle in dissecting court nominee
WASHINGTON – No nomination is bulletproof, but the White House has put Republicans in a pinch by picking the first Hispanic nominee for the Supreme Court.