The Dallas Morning News has an interesting article today on the possible political fallout that may result from the Todd Willingham case and Rick Perry’s cover up. The article is by Lynn Woolley, who is a Texas-based talk show host streaming from www.BeLogical.com. He may be heard live in Dallas-Fort Worth on KVCE-AM (1160) at 9 a.m. For the entire article click here.
Excerpt:
It is becoming apparent that there is a possibility that neither Rick Perry nor Kay Bailey Hutchison may be the Republican nominee for governor of Texas. Both of them have issues that must be cleared up – and soon – or other big names are going to enter the race.
Perry is smack in the middle of a developing controversy over the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham – indeed a very bad man, but a man who may not have started the fire that killed his three children. The strange thing is that the question of Willingham’s guilt is not central to the governor’s problem. Of course, if Willingham did not set the fire – that’s huge. But if Rick Perry interfered with the Texas Forensic Science Commission’s investigation into the case – that’s monumental.
There will be an investigation, so imagine this: What if the commission concludes that Willingham was innocent – and the voting public concludes that Perry’s move to replace the chairman and three other members of the commission might have been a blocking tactic? The Hutchison campaign is already saying, “It gives the appearance of a cover-up.”
This sordid affair might prove very useful to Hutchison in her campaign to unseat the governor, except for the fact that she seems to have no fire in the belly to pursue the race. In a radio interview with WBAP’s Mark Davis, she said she isn’t sure when she will leave the Senate to pursue the governor’s race full time. She isn’t certain about what Congress will do with health care, and she wants to “stay and fight with every bone in my body against a government takeover.”
And we all thought she wanted to be governor.
Previously, Hutchison had said she would resign from the Senate by December. But she also had stated that she wanted to remain to fight cap-and-trade legislation.
So she’s going to resign unless she doesn’t, and she’s going stay in the Senate to fight Obama’s health care and energy bills unless she returns to Texas full time to run for governor. Are we confused yet?
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Attorney General Greg Abbott are waiting and watching. They know that if Perry’s problem with the Willingham case blows up on him that Hutchison could easily take the nomination. Well, unless she doesn’t want it.