U.S. Senate Race In Texas Gets Stranger

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (pictured) has not been a great senator for the state of Texas. She has not been an innovator and has proposed very little legislation, but she has been a reliable vote for the Senate's Republican leaders. She always votes the party line. I guess the best thing I could say about her is that although very right-wing, she is not a teabagger.

Senator Hutchison has announced that she will not seek re-election in 2012. That has produced a scramble among a large number of Republicans who hope to be her replacement -- including current Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, former Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, former Solicitor General Ted Cruz, former Secretary of State Roger Williams, Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, and several others. It's starting to look like the nutty collection of characters running for the Republican presidential nomination.

And now word comes that the race could get even stranger. Dr. Robert Paul (a family doctor from Benbrook, near Fort Worth) says he is considering entering the race. You may recognize that last name -- and yes, he is the son of Rep. Ron Paul and brother of Sen. Rand Paul. Robert Paul, who is just as nutty as his father and brother, caught the political bug after campaigning for his father in the 2008 presidential campaign.

My first thought upon hearing of this was "surely not"! But this is Texas -- the same state that sent John Cornyn to the Senate (and the same state that foisted George W. Bush on the nation), so it is definitely within the realm of possibility. Texas is home to one of the largest contingents of teabaggers in the nation, and they just love nuts like the Pauls. So watch out America, Texas just might send Rand Paul's brother to the Senate!

But all may not be lost. The chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Senator Patty Murray of Washington, has announced that the DSCC is targeting six Republican senate seats in the 2012 election -- and one of those seats is in Texas (the other targeted states are Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Arizona and Indiana). She says the national organization is planning to pump a lot of money into Texas in an effort to elect a Democrat to the seat being vacated by Hutchison.

That's great. I would love to see some help from the national party in the senate race. There's only one problem. Who's the candidate? The Democratic Party in Texas hasn't held a statewide office for twenty years, and this has left them with a dearth of well-known candidates.

There has been some talk of people like Nick Lampson, Chet Edwards, Bill White, Chris Bell, or John Sharp -- all "blue dog" conservatives who have been beaten by second-rate Republicans. If this is the kind of candidate the DSCC is considering, then they might as well save their money. If voters want another conservative they have plenty to choose from in the Republican Party.

When asked about a candidate Murray said, "Yes, we're talking to someone. I expect to see something very soon." I have my doubts, but I hope the candidate they find is a progressive willing to fight -- like David Van Os. He's not widely known, but he's a fighter and a demon at campaigning and with some real money behind him he could run a good race -- and he would give the voters a real choice over the right-wingers the Republicans are offering.

Another interesting suggestion is actor Tommy Lee Jones, who lives here in Texas. There is a small movement to draft Mr. Jones as a candidate (and he would instantly leap to the top of the heap in name recognition). I doubt he would want to do it, but maybe the powers-that-be in Washington could talk him into it.

But I'm just dreaming with Jones or Van Os. If recent history is any guide, a "blue dog" will be chosen, a poor campaign will be run, and a Republican will be elected. But until the choice is made, I'll continue to hope and dream.