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Uh, ok.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison ended months of speculation about her political future by announcing Wednesday in San Antonio that she will remain in the Senate for the remainder of her term.
Flanked by two of her staunchest Republican Senate allies, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and John Cornyn of Texas, Hutchison made the announcement at a five-minute media gathering at Landmark Aviation, and left quickly without taking questions.
Over the past year, as she focused her energies on a bitter, ultimately unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial primary challenge to Gov. Rick Perry, Hutchison repeatedly promised to resign her seat. Most recently, she said she'd leave the Senate immediately after the March 2 primary — win or lose.
On Wednesday, however, Hutchison described her decision to stay in the Senate as an example of putting national interests ahead of her own.
“Something has happened in our country that maybe none of us could have anticipated. There has been an intense concern about the direction of our federal government,” she said, citing the debt, the recently enacted health care reform legislation and stubbornly high unemployment as factors that “caused me to look at my resignation in a different way.”
Hutchison also said the policies of President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress are “taking away the essence of America.”
Hutchison, who has two young adopted children, added that her decision had been difficult on a personal level.
“I really did intend to leave, and for my family it would really be better for me to come home. But the stakes are so high,” Hutchison said.
She thanked McConnell and Cornyn for encouraging her to keep her seat, without pressuring her to make a quick decision.
McConnell called Hutchison “one of our invaluable members” of the Senate, and said that Senate Republicans are breathing “an audible sigh of relief” at the news.
Invoking a famous Revolutionary War-era passage from Thomas Paine, Cornyn said: “This is no time for summer soldiers and sunshine patriots. This is a time when we need all of our most dedicated public servants on hand to fight the good fight in Washington, D.C.”
Hutchison, who was first elected to the Senate in a special election in 1993, won re-election to a third full term in 2006. It runs through 2012.
Initially viewed by many as a frontrunner in her race against Perry, she struggled to counter Perry's depictions of her as a product of Washington politics, and was soundly defeated in the primary.
Since then, there has been increasing pressure on Hutchison by Republicans to remain in the Senate, and Texas' 20 Republican U.S. Representatives signed a letter last week pleading with her to finish her term.
Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie said Hutchison's changes in position on the resignation issue have damaged her credibility.
“We never believed she would leave the Senate, and it's disappointing that she refused to shoot straight with Texas voters,” Richie said.
Hutchison's conflicting signals on her future over the past year have complicated the state's political landscape.
Former Houston Mayor Bill White had been planning to run for Hutchison's seat as a Democrat, but he switched to the governor's race when she made her announcement last year. White is now the Democratic gubernatorial nominee.
State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, an early Republican candidate in the race to replace Hutchison, announced early Wednesday that she would stay in the state Senate.
Other Republicans in the contest include Railroad Commissioners Elizabeth Ames Jones and Michael Williams and former Secretary of State Roger Williams.
Democratic former Comptroller John Sharp also has been running for the seat. Sharp has said he's in the contest even if it does not occur until 2012.
A Hutchison resignation would have presented both parties with political opportunities.
Perry would have appointed an interim replacement, with a special election later this year. The interim appointment could have enabled the GOP to put a new in bent in place, rather than searching for a successor to Hutchison in 2012.
At the same time, the Democrats could have benefited from the wild-card nature of the special-election format, which generally features multiple candidates from both major parties.
“Special elections tend to be a bit like billiards. You take your shot and things bounce around in unpredictable ways,” said Bryan Preston, communications director for the Republican Party of Texas. “Fortunately, Kay Bailey Hutchison foreclosed that possibility by staying in the Senate.”
Uh, ok.
She broke a campaign promise. According to the resident dead enders she's a liar becasue she didn't keep it. Mitch McConnell complained about Obama breaking campaign promises and now he praises someone for doing the same thing. I didn't think you would catch that..
Last edited by George Gervin's Afro; 04-01-2010 at 08:51 AM.
This is why I just couldn't get behind KBH, as much as I hate Perry. She's every bit as disingenuous as Perry and a whole lot snakier.
Not surprising. KBH has a pretty good thing going for herself in the senate.
I hate when people break campaign promises.
Mmmm mmmm mmm.
wonder what cornyn bribed her with?
Is that even necessary? I'm sure she gets all sorts of perks from being a member of the washington party.
Hey, if I was her, I would milk it for all it can give me too...
true, if i had a choice between being unemployed or having a safe job for at least two years, then a done deal as a lobbyist, then i would probably take the second one too.
Why would Cornyn need to bribe her? This isn't any more complicated than Kay deciding that having a job > not having a job.
Meh. It's what politicians do.
Except when you don't.
KBH's staying is no surprise.
I think Hutch's seat is very vulnerable in Nov 2012, especially to a candidate like John Sharp...looks like Ames-Jones is positioning herself to run for the GOP nomination....
Uh, I may be wrong, but didn't Hillary Clinton do the same thing? Promised if elected to the Senate, nothing else would matter. Then taking off and running for President? And then accepting her current post?
, politicians do this all the time.
I agree..Many people on this board claim that obama is a liar because he hasn't lived up to all of his campaign promises...as if he was the first..jacksommerset was born on 1/20/09 ..he has never seen a liar as bad as obama..
People love pointing out Obama's campaign broken promises because so many chodes ate them up like never before.
Martha Stewart breaking her senate seat promise was obvious.
Since she is not running again, it's all moot. Unless she runs again. Then it's all re-mooted. It's moot on moot.
Can someone show me where she said she would resign, win or lose?
Transcript or youtube please.
not a quote, but i'm working on it: http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/capit...n-resigns.html
got it.
http://mobile.politico.com/story.cfm...37&cat=topnews"Let me also be crystal clear about one thing: I will be resigning this Senate seat,” Hutchison said in November. “For all of the good Republicans out there who plan on running for my seat next year, make no mistake. This is going to happen. It just isn't going to happen until after health care reform and cap and trade are finished. And that will be after the primary.”
Transcript from interview with WBAP's Mark Davis:
http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics...on_says_5.htmlMark Davis: "What are your thoughts on when and whether to step down from the Senate and devote 100% to the Texas Governor's race?"
Kay Bailey Hutchison: "Well I am trying to do everything that I can while I am in office to responsibly serve as a Senator. But it is hard because my heart is in Texas. There are so many things that I think we have not done in Texas that we need to do. I think we need new leadership in Texas. So I am trying to determine when is the time when I have done everything I can do to stop this healthcare takeover, cap and trade which is the next thing coming down that I think is going to be so bad for Texas. I am trying to finish those things in a responsible way and then I am coming home to try to give leadership to Texas."
Mark Davis: "Is there no possibility because you don't have to step down to run, but you surely will at some point. There no possibility that you will remain a Senator while running for Governor throughout?"
Kay Bailey Hutchison: "I just can't - as long as Governor Perry stays in the race...
Mark Davis: (laughter)
Kay Bailey Hutchison: "I had hoped that he wouldn't. You know, no one expected him to run again. And I thought, you know I stepped back last time, Mark. I tried to give him a, really a free ride with no primary because I thought it was right for Texas. But, for him to try to stay on for 15 years is too long."
Mark Davis: "So you'll be coming out at some point. When do you think its decision time for you? When would you like, when might we know?"
Kay Bailey Hutchison: "Well I'm going to announce in August. Formal announcement: I am in. Then the actual leaving of the Senate will be sometime - October, November - that, in that time frame."
She was elected for a full term...let her fill it. Otherwise, she could be accused of taking a Sarah Palin playbook move, and surely KBH is more intelligent than that!
Of more immediate concern, I think...who among the readers herein thinks for one second that Perry intends to fill out his term as governor, if elected again. Doesn't everyone assume that he will either run to replace KBH, or more likely, become a VP candidate in 2010...maybe even a candidate for Pres. You KNOW he's gonna try it...I can't believe that the democratic candidate, White, hasn't started in on this already.
So it's worthless. What if someone misunderstood, or is lying?
Surely someone has that on tape if true.
Trust but verify. Repeating something without verifying is worse than school girl gossip.
That still doesn't fit the win or lose as you guys seem to think. From what I have searched so far, her resignation was a given had she won the primary. As for leaving the senate win or lose, that's why she's not running for the senate again. Isn't it silly to resign from the senate when not focusing on a general election for governor?
I think it's just a misunderstanding, or liberals slandering a republican again.
OK, I see where you're going with that, but the Health Care was still lingering in the way. She said she wanted to stay responsible. Things change, and in this case, I don't see it as a flip-flop, but thinking the HC debate would have already been finished then.
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