The political fractures that once plagued the El Paso delegation are no longer visible, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, suggested on Thursday.
Straus was in El Paso meeting with the area's lawmakers and touring UTEP, Fort Bliss and the Paul L. Foster school of medicine. He also met with the El Paso Times editorial board.
"The fact that we can do social lunches with this delegation should be noted," Straus said. "It's a very collegial group and that helps in Austin."
Asked if that was not the case before, Straus said "it's the case now."
"I don't believe I've been in a room with the entire delegation in the past," Straus said. "So, that's good. It's very positive, I think, for this community."
Three El Pasoans have been awarded scholarships to help toward their studies at the University of Texas at Austin thanks to the El Paso Social Network in Austin.
The group, formed by El Pasoans living in Austin, gave $500 scholarships to Misael Mendoza-Valdez, a Burges High School graduate studying music performance; Hae Soo Chung, a math major and graduate of Montwood High School; and Shannon Wolf, a Chapin High School graduate who is studying nutrition and pre-pharmacy.
The freshmen students will be honored Wednesday in Austin.
Can Gov. Rick Perry regain his front-runner status in the next Republican presidential debate?
Political pundits and news organizations are attempting to answer that question ahead of Tuesday's debate in New Hampshire.
The New York Times reports that Perry is knee-deep in campaign preparation that includes a stand-in for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and getting plenty of sleep. One unnamed Republican friend of Perry told the New York Times that, after three lackluster debate performances, Perry was a "tired puppy" and added "he had been pushed really hard."
The Daily Rundown on MSNBC took another approach this morning by digging up video from Perry's debate performance for lieutenant governor against Democrat John Sharp in El Paso on Sept. 26,1998. The footage was used to give an example of a time when Perry was considered "a pretty good debater," according to the show's host Chuck Todd.
In one clip, a confident Perry draws applause when he says "let me tell ya the people of the state of Texas are smart enough to figure out who the real conservative is in this race."
Perry, who more recently has worked to distance himself from former President George W. Bush in his push for the country's highest office, touted an endorsement from the state's governor at the time.
"Gov. Bush has made it very clear who he wants to be the Lt. Gov. with him and that's Rick Perry," Perry said back then.
In a separate exchange on MSNBC today, chief Perry spokesman, Ray Sullivan, said Perry will announce a "major pillar" of his jobs plan during a policy speech in Pittsburgh on Friday. Perry has come under fire from Romney for not offering up a jobs plan.
"This will not be the full-fledged, full-blown plan, but it will be a major pillar of job creation in this country," Sullivan said.
Quintanilla has been tough to get in touch with this week but El Paso Times reporter Aaron Bracamontes caught up with him while covering a story on the Union Pacific Safety Train. The five-term state lawmaker said he is planning a press conference at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Friends & Neighbors Adult Day Care Center.
"That is when I intend to announce my political future," Quintanilla told Bracamontes.
He could not be reached for further comment Wednesday.
Gov. Rick Perry is looking to give his presidential campaign a jolt by announcing that he has raised more than $17 million since he announced he was seeking the country's highest office.
Nearly half of the more than 22,000 donors that contributed to his campaign between Aug. 13 and Sept. 20 are from Texas. He has $15 million on hand to use on the primary race.
"The generous contributions from Americans across the nation prove the overwhelming support for Gov. Perry’s principled, conservative leadership and vision to get America working again," said Campaign Manager Rob Johnson. “The governor will continue travelling the country talking directly to Americans about restoring our economic strength, job creation and putting our country on a path to prosperity and opportunity for future generations. Gov. Perry deeply appreciates the energetic support and hard work of the thousands of Republican volunteers and activists who’ve helped us build a strong and growing organization in just seven weeks.”
Capitol Report
Zahira Torres writes about Texas politics and government from the Austin Bureau of the El Paso Times.
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