Wealth May Not Be Enough for Watts in Senate Race
Finance reports filed Monday show San Antonio lawyer Mikal Watts is the wealthiest candidate in the race for the U.S. Senate, but in a heavily Hispanic Democratic primary that money may not give him a huge advantage over state Rep. Rick Noriega of Houston.

Libertarians Bring Statewide Tour to Abilene
They have never won an election for a state or federal seat in Texas, but the members of the Libertarian Party aren't giving up.

Perry Names Interim Chief Education Commissioner
Newly appointed Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott promised Tuesday to streamline and retool the state's 1,200-employee education division to "get the agency back in order."

State Had Short Deadline to Purchase Crockett Letter
The State of Texas' quest to buy Davy Crockett's last letter started with a phone call in mid-August, when a Houston antiques dealer called state Historical Commission board Chairman John Nau to say he was in possession of the 1836 document.

Battle Brews as Democrats Vie for the Texas House
As Texas Democrats try to rebuild a decimated party - and Republicans pull out all the stops to block them - all eyes are on the state House.

Gingerly, Romney Seeks Ties to Christian Right
He has invoked the Rev. Rick Warren, a popular evangelical author and megachurch pastor. He has quoted Scripture and alluded to the Gideon Bible as favorite late-night reading. And he has cited his belief in Jesus Christ as his personal "savior."

Thompson, Clinton Leading in Recent Texas Fundraising
Republican Fred Thompson and Democrat Hillary Clinton scooped up more presidential campaign cash from Texans in the last three months than Rudolph Giuliani, the GOP national front-runner who is a partner in a Houston law firm.

Still Thinking Third Party?
There has been much talk lately by major Christian conservative leaders of bolting the Republican Party in favor of a third party presidential candidate. These leaders are having a hard time supporting a nominee (i.e., Giuliani) who differs with them on social conservative issues.

Aides: Perry Picked Giuliani after 31 Weeks of Back and Forth
Texas Gov. Rick Perry's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani for president surprised many Wednesday, but advisers to both men say it had roots in a years-old political friendship warmed since spring by Giuliani's attentive courtship.

Evangelicals Lukewarm Toward GOP Field
For months, Republican presidential candidates such as Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and John McCain have courted evangelical Christians, meeting with religious leaders throughout the Midwest and the South.

Hutchison May Leave U.S. Senate in 2009
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, in a magazine interview, said she won't seek re-election in 2012 and may resign from the Senate as early as 2009.

Senate Deal on Immunity for Phone Companies
Leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee reached a tentative agreement on Wednesday with the Bush administration that would give telephone carriers legal immunity for any role they played in the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program approved by President Bush after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a Congressional official said Wednesday.

Supreme Court Halts Va. Inmate's Execution
The Supreme Court stopped the execution of Virginia death row inmate Christopher Scott Emmett yesterday, a move that legal experts said might signal a nationwide halt to lethal injections until the justices decide next year whether the procedure amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Are Cancer Bonds Worth the Cost?
by Michael Quinn Sullivan
The marketing machine to convince you to grow government and spend more of your money is churning again - this time in the form "Proposition 15," allowing for the expenditure of $4.16 billion so that the state can spend $3 billion over 10 years to help look for a cure to cancer. Which cancer? What type? You know, um, cancer.

A Choice for Taxpayers
by Robert Novak
Back on their heels in a defensive posture all year while majority Democrats in Congress offered liberal initiatives, reform-minded conservative Republicans this week introduce the most sweeping tax plan since Jack Kemp's three decades ago. It would establish a radically simplified, flatter tax for an estimated 90 percent to 95 percent of all income tax filers.

"Oops, I Did It Again"
by Gary Bauer
No, this isn't about Britney Spears. Fresh off one Chinese fundraising scandal involving Norman Hsu and the Paw family, today's Los Angeles Times carries a scathing report on what could likely become another major scandal for Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Gen. Sanchez's Scream
by Daniel Henninger
Over the past weekend there were front-page accounts everywhere of Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez's description of the war in Iraq as a "nightmare." The New York Times led its story this way:

"In a sweeping indictment of the four-year effort in Iraq, the former top commander of American forces there called the Bush administration's handling of the war 'incompetent' and said the result was 'a nightmare with no end in sight.' " Gen. Sanchez said this last Friday to a gathering of reporters and editors in Washington who cover military affairs. It was a dramatic denunciation from the man who led U.S. forces in Iraq from 2003 to 2004.

The Rise of the Religious Left
by Steven Malanga
Everyone knows the potent force of the Christian right in American politics. But since the mid-1990s, an increasingly influential religious movement has arisen on the left, mostly escaping the national press's notice.

Choice of Lesser Evils for Religious Right
by Sheldon Alberts
Facing an auditorium full of conservative Christians yesterday, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson demonstrated that, if nothing else, he has mastered the age-old politician's skill of pandering to a crowd.

England Wrong to Blame Electric Rates on GOP
by Will Lutz
When switching parties a few weeks ago, Rep. Kirk England (D-Grand Prairie) cited high utility costs as one reason for his dissatisfaction with the Republican Party.

Hurricane Fears Cost Homeowners Coverage
It is 1,200 miles from the coastline where Hurricane Katrina touched land two years ago to the neat colonial-style home here where James Gray, a retired public relations consultant, and his wife, Ann, live. But this summer, Katrina reached them, too, in the form of a cancellation letter from their home-insurance company.