From today's Houston Chronicle
The Texas presidential primary has been all but forgotten amid the state’s U.S. Senate free-for-all and some attention-grabbing congressional and legislative races.
But the May 29 primary remains a test for Republican nominee-in-waiting Mitt Romney.
If the former Massachusetts governor performs well enough in Texas he could formally clinch the Republican presidential nomination in Texas.
Romney, the only Republican candidate who is still actively campaigning in upcoming primaries, is between 79 and 107 votes shy of the 1,144 delegates he needs for the Republican National Convention. Texas’s 155 delegates could put him over.
But Texas Republicans warn that Romney’s lack of attention to the Lone Star State could prolong the contest for one more week, when California and New Jersey would end any remaining suspense.
Despite the state’s strong Republican leanings, Romney has shown little love for Texas in the days leading up to the primary. He’s only visited the state once and held private fundraising events rather than public rallies.
Hey, we don’t take it personally, Mitt. With a mere 25 million constituents, I can see why it wouldn’t be worth your while to swing by our crappy little one-horse town. Even though we’ve got some Texas-sized deep-pocket donors, the kind of folks who think nothing of writing a six- or seven figure check, I guess you’ve got enough money rolling into your SuperPAC to be able to give us the cold shoulder.
Then there’s Rick Perry, the guy who called you out on your “vulture capitalism” tendencies. Some of us here in the Lone Star State actually felt proud of our witless Secessionist-in-Chief when he stood up for the "little people". Most of the time, like you, Rick's a pay-to-play kind of guy, more comfortable raising money than worrying about droughts and wildfires and folks losing their jobs and languishing without health insurance. None of that matters when you can tout the "Texas Miracle".
I will say this: you were nice enough to poor Rick when he got that awful brain freeze during the debates. When everyone else was laughing at him, you actually tried to help him remember which government agencies he would have eliminated. For a moment, you seemed almost human. Almost.
It was nice of you to reach out with a helping hand in his hour of need. How were you to know the guy was hopped up on pain meds and red wine throughout the debates? He could no more remember those three agencies than you could remember three companies that Bain actually saved, or three dogs that lasted more than a couple of years.
So it’s pretty clear that Rick owes you, big time. He’s endorsed you, and you can’t even bother showing up in his state. That’s cold, Mitt. Typical, but cold.
His next planned visit — after the May 29 primary — will once again seek campaign funding in the metropolitan areas of San Antonio, Dallas and Houston.
Yeah, we get it. We can see that it’s not about the voters, that great mass of unwashed working folks. The thought of sitting down at some greasy picnic table with the common folk, eating BBQ or Tex-Mex or any of our other wonderful delicacies probably makes you nauseous. I mean: who knows what's in that stuff? Was it store-bought, or cooked in some icky kitchen where people probably only wash their hands when they head home for the day?
We understand. It's not about the voters; it’s about the money, for Pete's sake!
Bottom line: you only come here when you want something from us. A financial booty call. Then you're gone. You don't call. You don't text. Nothing.
“He hasn’t had a single rally or meeting with grassroots,” complained Texas Republican Party chairman Steve Munisteri. “I think he takes Texas for granted.
Never let it be said that we’re not able to connect the dots here in the Lone Star State, even with our substandard educational system.
Munisteri has run the numbers and has concluded that for Romney to win 107 of the state’s 155 delegates would require about 70 percent of the primary vote. And while Rep. Ron Paul is the only other Republican candidate with a campaign organization in Texas, the state GOP chief says Romney faces a tough challenge next Tuesday.
“Seventy percent is a very high bar,” Munisteri said.
Munisteri said he has talked with voters who have already cast ballots for Republican presidential candidates with suspended campaigns such as Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. And he can easily see Paul, a libertarian lawmaker from Lake Jackson, getting a “significant percentage” of votes.
Ron Paul and son not-named-for-Ayn-Rand have been pretty actively campaigning, not just on Ron's behalf, but for US Senate candidate Ted Cruz, favorite of the low-information, ankle-biting Texas Teabaggers. I can see why Mitt wouldn't want to hang out with any of the Texas candidates, and frankly, his endorsement might be as welcome as an outbreak of flesh-eating bacteria.
George C. Edwards III, a political science professor at Texas A&M University, said the GOP lock on Texas leads national Republicans to see it as a place to seek money, not votes.
“The Electoral College means that candidates will ignore Texas,” Edwards said. “You’re not going to see either candidate campaign here during the general election because we already know the outcome.”
Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson said he would be surprised if Romney did not reach the needed 1,144 delegates in Texas, but that doesn’t mean Texas Republicans have fully warmed to their standard bearer.
Texans “will support Romney in the general election,” Jillson said. “But this is not a love affair.”
No, it’s definitely not a love affair. Like I said: it’s just a financial booty call.