Burnt Orange Report

Strayhorn to Switch Parties?

By Byron LaMasters

After last weekend, it looks quite unlikely (if the whole Unitarian Church funding flap wasn't enough for Democrats that might be open to embracing her). It would be quite difficult to accept someone into the Democratic Party that went from GOP caucus to GOP caucus at their convention saying things like this:

Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn is pelting the Republican true believers with a hail of words.

"You are representing mainstream, Main Street, common sense, conservative, straight-talkin'..." she's building, louder, running over the commas, "grass-roots-hard-workin'-energized-enthusiastic-driven-dedicated ..."

The adjectives keep rolling. She won't pause for breath. The drenching, dizzying downpour of words sweeps the crowd so that in caucus after caucus, people start laughing and clapping even before she can finish the string. By the end, most have even forgotten they're mad at her.

This throng of 12,000 staunch social conservatives at the state GOP convention through today isn't supposed to be her crowd. But Mrs. Strayhorn, unlike almost every other statewide officeholder, has set up camp for the full three days, and that has won points for the woman widely expected to spark a big gubernatorial primary fight in 2006.

She'll need this base of Republican activists in whatever race she runs. She has royally angered their leader, Gov. Rick Perry, by accusing him of "unconscionable" policies, such as leading the nation in uninsured children and proposing a $5 tax on strip club patrons.

She hired Mark Sanders as her spokesman, even though the GOP press aide crossed over two years ago to help Democrat Tony Sanchez criticize Mr. Perry.

And she is obviously politicking for a job held by a Republican.

Conventional convention wisdom would have her dropping in, giving a short speech – slotted late in the program and presented to a half-empty hall Friday evening – and taking her exit. Instead, she addressed the county chairmen first thing Thursday morning. Then she went to the caucuses in the afternoon. And when her hospitality suite opened that evening, more than 2,000 delegates came to see her. The line spilled down the hotel hallway and piled into the elevator vestibule like she was previewing the new Harry Potter movie. The food and drinks were long gone, and still they came. Friday night was a repeat.

[...]

"She's burned so many bridges over the past six months to a year ... ," Mr. Shackelford said. "There are people theorizing out loud wondering if she'd run in the Democratic primary instead of the Republican primary."

Not to worry.

"I'm going to be running full force in 2006," Mrs. Strayhorn said. The party isn't in doubt. Only the office.

"I want to be where I can make the most difference in this state," she said. "But this isn't the time for any announcements."

I still doubt that Strayhorn can win a GOP primary, but she certainly has her followers. And here's to a heated, nasty 2006 GOP primary!

Posted by Byron LaMasters at June 7, 2004 08:10 PM | TrackBack