Barack Obama

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Author : Yong Mook Kim
Website : http://www.mkyong.com
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Fearful that a special election for U.S. Senate could result in a Democratic victory, Congressional Republicans appear to be pressuring U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison not to resign unless she is elected governor–while her own allies are increasingly indicating that she will follow that path and not resign at all if she is unsuccessful in her bid for state office.

Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) is one of the leading Congressmen pushing Hutchison to stay put:

Rep. Pete Sessions told me Friday that Kay Bailey Hutchison shouldn’t leave the Senate to run for governor.

Instead, Mr. Sessions said Ms. Hutchison should run for governor from her Senate seat.

Granddaughter Brenda Baker set the tone when she greeted about 200 family members gathered Sunday in Austin to celebrate the life of Amanda Roberts-Jones, who turned 110 just five days earlier.

"We don't want to see any solemn faces. We only want to see joyous faces because we're celebrating a home-going of a woman who lived a full life," she said.

The scheduled birthday party turned into a tribute for Amanda Roberts-Jones, who died in her sleep two days after her birthday - and three days before her party.

Brenda Baker's grandmother, whose father was a slave, lived through an entire century and parts of two others.

Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk said late Wednesday that he had met with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, according to The Dallas Morning News.

"I'm happy where I am, but if the president needs me, it's something I have to seriously consider," Kirk told the newspaper.

Kirk, a Democrat, was in Washington from the weekend through Tuesday, but he didn't reveal details of the discussion with Obama's team. During the campaign, he was one of Obama's top allies in Texas, and he also completed surrogate work for the president-elect in several swing states, including North Carolina.

WASHINGTON – With Illinois now possibly headed to a special election to determine the holder of President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn isn’t yet willing to say publicly that he’s begun to reach out to potential Republican candidates, but he’s perfectly happy to play coy.

“Well, I probably wouldn’t be talking to you about that if I was,” a smiling Cornyn told PolitickerTX.com Wednesday afternoon when asked if he had begun to reach out to would-be candidates.

Obama’s seat had been all but guaranteed to stay in the Democratic column until Tuesday, when Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested for trying to sell Obama’s seat to the highest bidder. U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Illinois legislative leaders have called for a special election to fill the seat, fearing that anyone appointed by Blagojevich would be seen as tainted. The state legislature is slated to meet next week to vote on a special election bill.

Texas' Congressional Democrats sent a letter last week to President-elect Barack Obama, his transition team and the Department of Defense, pushing for recently defeated state Rep. Juan Garcia (D-Corpus Christi) to become secretary of the Navy.

PolitickerTX.com reported Garcia as a candidate for the position three weeks ago, but little has been heard since. However, recent rumblings of discontent from Hispanic leaders over the lack of Latino representation in the Cabinet might boost Garcia's chances.

"We believe that he has the proven record of accomplishment as an Officer in the United States Navy, a corporate attorney, White House Fellow, and member of the Texas House of Representatives and respectfully challenge anyone to find a more qualified individual for this key position," the Democrats wrote in the letter.

President-elect Barack Obama's weekend selection of retired Gen. Eric Shinseki as secretary of veterans affairs means the job won't be going to state Rep. Rick Noriega (D-Houston).

Obama's choice came despite a recommendation from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to select Noriega for the post. Only one Latino, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for commerce secretary, has been chosen so far for Obama's Cabinet, and national Hispanic leaders have said they would "definitely be disappointed" with only one Latino in the Cabinet.

According to The Dallas Morning News, a source close to Noriega says he may still be on the radar screen for other Cabinet posts, adding that Noriega was "very excited just to be on (Obama's) radar screen."

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is pushing former Laredo Mayor Saul Ramirez and U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Mercedes) for positions in President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

The San Antonio Express-News reports that Ramirez is backed for secretary of housing and urban development, while Hinojosa is on the list for secretary of education.

"There is no doubt that Rick Noriega and Ramirez are being discussed," U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-San Antonio), the chairman of the Caucus task force on nominations, told the Express-News.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is pushing state Rep. Rick Noriega (D-Houston) for secretary of veterans affairs, the Houston Chronicle reports.

With only one Latino selected for President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet so far, Hispanic leaders have become frustrated in recent weeks at the lack of Hispanic representation in the Obama administration.

To that end, U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-San Antonio) and U.S. Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) sent a letter Tuesday to Obama's transition team, recommending Noriega and 13 other Hispanic politicians for various posts within the Cabinet.

Baca told Bloomberg News that Caucus members would "definitely be disappointed" if only one Latino was chosen for the cabinet. Bloomberg reports that Baca "warned that Obama's legislative agenda could be jeopardized if the president-elect doesn't nominate additional Hispanics."

Back in November, Texas Gov. Rick Perry dismissed President-elect Barack Obama as a man of "pretty prose." Upon meeting him Tuesday at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Perry appeared to change his tune.

Perry was one of 48 governors who met with Obama, most of which were facing state budget crises brought on by the nation's economic problems. While Texas is one of the few states not expecting a budget shortfall next year, Perry attended the bipartisan meeting to express conservative concerns over federal bailouts.

"Not only was it good policy, it was good politics," Perry told The Dallas Morning News. "He was very open. Trying to address the issue of debt and bad debt and financial crisis with more debt — I philosophically have great concerns about that," Perry said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is one of more than 40 governors in Philadelphia on Tuesday who will meet with President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden to discuss economic issues.

The intent of the bipartisan meetings, hosted by the National Governors Association and its chairman, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, is to allow governors to brief Obama on the impact of the economic crisis on state budgets. But with the Texas economy in far better shape than the nationwide situation, Perry's message to Obama is expected to take a different tone, focusing on factors he believes has the Texas economy in a better position.

In his meeting, Perry intends to sell the values of low taxes, limited spending and a reasonable regulatory climate, his spokeswoman Allison Castle told the Austin American-Statesman.