Kay Bailey Hutchison: John McCain in a Dress?
As Texas’ gubernatorial primary approaches, Governor Rick Perry’s main challenger, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, is doing her best to pawn herself off as a conservative. But there’s an elephant in the room that’s hard to conceal, an elephant that keeps reminding Texans that no matter what Hutchison says about her so-called conservatism, she’s a pro-choice senator who believes “Roe v. Wade is working very well.”
And the cold hard facts are that Hutchison has a lot more than her pro-choice viewpoints to hide. In truth, she has a Senate voting record that spans seventeen years and makes her look less and less like a conservative, and more and more like John McCain in a dress.
Speaking of McCain, in 2005 Hutchison sided with him and the Democrats against President George W. Bush by supporting the legislation that hamstrung our war on terror by limiting our military’s interrogation options against captured terrorists. This legislation marked the beginning of McCain’s push for what Rush Limbaugh described as the “terrorist bill of rights,” and Hutchison was right there to support it.
In 2006, Hutchison again sided with the Democrats against Bush when she voted to expand stem cell research so that it would include the use of stem cells taken from aborted fetuses. If you consider the fact that she doesn’t believe a baby in a mother’s womb has “viability” until “six months” into the pregnancy, it’s not really surprising that she’d be willing to use aborted children for experiments.
It should also come as no surprise that Hutchison was a longtime member of “WISH List,” the political action committee formed to raise money for pro-choice, Republican Senate candidates who are female. She quit that group when she decided to run against Perry, because being openly pro-choice and running for governor of Texas is about as damning as being openly anti-gun and doing the same.
I have great respect for both John McCain and Kay Baily Hutchinson so I am not outraged by your comparison. However, I am one of those many Texans who normally prefers the more conservative choice and will likely vote for Rick Perry in the primary. Hutchinson would have to come up with some evidence of real wrongdoing by Perry for me to change my mind; her current ad using newspaper headlines to accuse Perry of selling out to lobbyists contains no evidence, only accusations. Perry’s campaign is also going negative and Hutchinson’s right side of the middle of the road voting record won’t help her any.
Another RINO, needs to go. . . .why is Palin helping McCain? Inquiring minds want to know. . .
Kay Bailey Hutchison is a woman & a Christian who is neither Catholic or evangelical. So OF COURSE she (like most conservative women) supports abortion CHOICE and embryonic stem cell research.
Remember, it’s not religious vs non-religious…it’s Catholic/evangelical vs mainline Protestant & Jewish.
Anti-govt interference in our lives means just that!!!!!!!Only Catholics & evangelicals believe life begins at conception.
The GOP doesn’t get it. Perhaps they never will. There will be no respite for conservative principles and policy until the GOP leadership is replaced, one way or the other.
McCain in a dress. Priceless!
I’m down here in Texas and Hawkins is right. Hutchison is 100% inside the beltway material while Perry is 100% Texas. This primary shouldn’t even be close.
Palin stumped for Perry. That’s all anyone needs to know about this race.
I don’t even have to read the article. The title is enough. The answer is yes,yes, a resounding YES!
She is just like the rest of them, comfortable ruling the country from D.C.
Get better blood in Perry.
Texas please listen. She is a professional elite, just a little more center right than center left.
Still an elite.
Go home Kay. Raise cattle, meet a budget, live like the rest of us.
Kay Bailey Hutchison seems way too eager to compromise with the power elites of Washington. DC. Rick Perry thankfully embraces a more adversarial attitude. He knows that these people in the nation’s capitol wish to stab Texans in the back. Perry doesn’t trust them for a moment. If nothing else, they want Texans to help pay for the spendthrift behavior of blue states like California, New Jersey, Illinois, and New York. Obama and his buddies want to dig deep into our wallets.
Texas voters had better not think that this year’s election is not of particular importance. On the contrary, our state should increasingly dominate the rest of country economically for minimally the next decade. We must, however, make sure that the federal government is rendered incapable of harming Texas. Casting one’s ballot for a Washington insider like Hutchison is very dangerous. She is too similar to the wishy-washy John McCain.
“McCain in a dress…” Exactly. And I won’t vote for her just like I withheld my vote for McCain.
She’s toast.
McStain in a dress …. WITHOUT ever serving in combat OR having a record of surviving such a trial by fire as McStain did …. or … or … or.
(not that I trust Perry any further than I could throw him)
Here in Houston we’re getting all the spin Hutchison has to offer. She’s on the attack against Perry and she’s doing it in order to keep prying eyes away from her record (the record Hawkins has hit upon here). Perry needs to win this race if Texans are to remain on the path we currently enjoy.
She has a definite liberal streak and has chosen to contend withRepublican Perry for no specific reason.
She was instrumental in opening Packery Channel on Padre Island and has some inconsistent views . So her conservative Cred is iffy.
Perry gets my vote.
PS – Perry benefitted from having Sarah Palin campaigning for him over the weekend, and that’s good because it reminds people of his ties to the Tea Party movement (and grassroots conservatism).
I am a Longhorn, both my parents and both my siblings are Longhorns, as is Kay. I’m voting fot the Aggie.
…and to think that I voted for her in her first senatorial election and the first thing she does when she gets to Washington is to vote with the democrats to kill the SCSC (super conducting super collider particle accelerator). So instead of Texas being the international center for particle physics research it is in some forsaken place in France (yes, I know CERN is officialy in Geneva, but part of the accelerator ring is in France, my daughter studied there a couple of years ago – she worked on ALICE).
The shame I feel for having voted for a RINO. I have not voted for her since, I haven’t voted for senator when she is in the candidate.
I am not a big fan of Rick Perry but he has my vote over KBH. And if she did have anything to do with Packery Channel then she is a democRAT since there are fewer republican office holders in Corpus than honest politicians in Washington. I lived in Corpus for 15 years and the corruption there is absolute. They are shameless in the theft of public money.
This is our chance to retire a fraud!
I would ask all Texans a simple question. I’m just north of your border and cringe when I have to make this admission.
Why would you want a Washington shill to manage your state when you’re doing better than anyone else? Even the eggheads in California and New York know Texas does it better than anyone else and is the strongest state in the nation. It’s not even debatable anymore. You want to start screwing a good thing up?
I wouldn’t describe Kay Bailey as McCain in a dress. I would describe Kay Bailey as Ann Richards without bottle in hand.
#17
Tex, you may have a future as a coyote, sneaking Americans across the Red River into the Republic of Texas!!
Hutchinson would be a good fit as a Republican where I live.
Which happens to be NJ.
I would imagine she’s a bit too lefty for Texas.
And that’s a good thing for Texas. Because it is going to take a Perry-type figure to stand up to the Democrats who want to use fiscally responsible states like Texas to bail out left-wing basket cases like my state.
I don’t want NJ bailed out. I want it to get its act together. Rick Perry would actually help that.
This is hard hitting stuff. I wonder why no one else has pounded away at these aspects of Hutchison’s past? From friends of mine in Texas I gather that Perry’s campaign has not done a good job bringing these things out. If I were running against KBH, I’d be hammering her on this pro-abortion stance day and night.
I think Perry has been following some gentleman’s code of conduct so the State Democrat Party cannot use his remarks against him in the fall campaign. He ‘s taken the gloves off recently and starting hammering her on her liberal streak.
The Democrats in Texas are drooling all over themselves to gain the State house and install a state income tax. Their candidates won’t even mention it in their campaign ads and curiously they won’t even put their Democrat name or jackass logo on their signs and commercials.
I think I’ll vote for Medina in the primaries, then vote for Perry in the election.
I met KBH when she was on an overseas CODEL (aka junket). Much less impressive than the other Congressmen met, spent most of her time kissing up to Phil Gramm. She did not show any traits of leaderships, but lots of traits of politicking.
We must weed people like Hutchison out of the party if we are to finish the work the Tea Party has begun. We must support true conservatives, and in the case of the Texas governor, that is clearly Perry over Hutchison. Why would we want another McCain? (I didn’t want the first McCain.)
Liberal republican candidates–hence the Tea Party.
Texas already has a good governor. There’s no good reason she should be trying to oust him. I trust Texans will boot her out in the primary when she runs to save her Senate seat. She’s asking for it. Tea Party Time in Texas.
I will NEVER forget her support for the ‘immigration reform’ travesty over the summer of 2006. Her, McCain and Bush, all on television essentially calling me a racist, over and over. Purposefully conflating ‘immigration’ with ‘illegal immigration’ to slander millions of good people concerned about American sovereignty and debt from social services stolen, and she was cynical about it because she was protecting her rich friends with all the border area ranching and agriculture property because they needed cheap labor to stay profitable.
I got SO SICK of being called racist by MY OWN PARTY, I was and still am furious about that. It’s part of my tea party motivation, that summer of 2006.
Perry has his problems, but at least he understands what conservatives want and doesn’t openly call them names or engineer cynical opposition to them for power’s sake.
Texas better look at what has happened to CA. Twenty-five years ago if CA had been its own country it would have been the 4th richest in the world and today it tanks near the bottom. Let a democrat in office and kiss your state good-bye fiscally. Personal freedoms get fewer and fewer…just look at those HOA’s
Why McCain and Palin ever intermixed is going to be a matter for historians to figure out? Why does McCain keep getting reelected…POWER too many in AZ feel will be lost if he isn’t kept in office such a joke there never was…
Vote all the elected out that have been in elected positions for more than a decade…they have lost sight of what America really is
Would prefer to vote for Perry over “yes to TARP” Kay, but can’t get past that mandatory HPV vaccine issue in 2006. Sorry Rick, as much as I’d like to, I told myself that I couldn’t vote for you again. Adios mofo.
Probably will vote for Medina in the primary to make myself feel better.
MSMENSA. enlighten me please, when exactly does life begin if not at conception? Is there some other life given occurence that happens later in the gestation process which is not taught in freshman biology? Inquiring minds want to know.
The only thing wrong with Rick Perry is that he’s been in office too long, but we have to overlook that considering the opposition.
Vote her out…I have more comtempt for RINOs than to the far left Progressives.
I’m with you, #15 moron! I am a born and raised Longhorn, but I will be voting for Rick Perry, even if he is an aggie. The only thing I have disagreed with Perry about was his push toward mandatory HPV vaccinations for our daughters…and we all know how that turned out. Long live the great and fiscally-solvent (so far) state of Texas!
Rick Perry is only conservative when it’s an election year. He is as corrupt as they come and has worn out his welcome.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/Perrys_brazen_abuse_of_power.html
He is currently covering up a massive abuse of power by firing members of a commission investigating this case.
I am voting for Debra Medina, she isn’t a politician, but she is a life-long republican, a businesswoman, and she is serious in her commitment to the constitution. Judge Napolitano described her as a Barry Goldwater Conservative. http://freedomwatchonfox.com/category/show-archives/
This column by AWR Hawkins is sophmoric. Hutchinson has her record, and McCain, a pro-life fiscal conservative, has his.
Can Hutchinson compare with McCain’s voting record on domestic issues? Historically, McCain’s voting record overall is rated moderately conservative, and he has been a consistent opponent of out-of-control federal spending and earmarks. In 2009, McCain voted AGAINST every Obama bailout bill (and even voted against the second release of TARP monies when Bush was still President in late 2008). McCain voted AGAINST every Obama spending bill, denouncing Obama’s multi-trillion dollar deficit spending as “generational theft.” McCain voted AGAINST the confirmations of tax cheat Geithner, radical pro-abortion advocate Sibellius, leftist attorney Kagan and transnational advocate Koh to their respective positions in the Obama Administration. McCain voted AGAINST the confirmation of Sotomayer to the U.S. Supreme Court. McCain voted AGAINST ObamaCare and was attacked by the New York Times for throwing bombs on the subject. McCain has announced that he will vote AGAINST this year’s cap and trade bill. The foregoing is as conservative a voting record as you could ask for. How does Hutchinson compare? Does the column tell us?
There is another aspect to McCain’s record to consider that is critically important. McCain has been and is still is one of the more knowledgeable persons around concerning foreign policy, military matters and national security. He was right about the Iraq War when even many Republicans went wobbly and fought off Democrat led efforts to cut off funding our troops in the field in Iraq; McCain was right to attack Obama for dithering about committing to General McChrystal’s plan for Afghanistan and for nopt supporting the Iranian dissidents. McCain could be right because he knows his stuff when it comes to Commander in Chief decisions. On top of it all, McCain was a combat naval aviator, the son and grandson of U.S. Navy Admirals and a genuine war hero; his campaign theme of “Country First” reflected a family tradition of military service continuing with one son who is a Marine who has served several tours of duty in Iraq and another son who serves in the Navy; John McCain’s discussion of serving with a servant’s heart was and is genuine. How does Hutchinson compare? The column does not tell us.
From what I understand, there may be positive virtues to Hutchinson, but she is unlikely to be fairly called a McCain in a skirt.
a go for Perry!
Meh article.
1) Belabors Hutchison’s stance on abortion.
2) Indulges in assumption that pro-choice=liberal. Pro-choice Repubs will tell you that they feel that way because it’s true conseravtism.
3) I don’t care what Rush Limbaugh called something.
4) If the “terrorist bill of rights” is that bad, why does Dick Cheney support Hutchison?
5) Why isn’t Cheney’s support of her mentioned in the article?
The article is spot on. I think KBH might be even more centrist than McCain. I’m
not a fan of Perry, but he’s the lesser of two evils. I AM SO TIRED OF VOTING FOR
THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS for the last twenty years locally and nationally!!!!!!
I may go back to Texas to vote against Kay Bailey and forego my Indiana vote. She has served both Texas the United States poorly in her tenure as Senator. She would be a total disaster as Governor. She disguised herself as a Conservative to get elected to the Senate, and she’s at it again.
Kay had better not quit her day job. Aside from the dim-wits here in “Wanna-be Berkeley” (Austin), most Texans aren’t that easy to fool.
I think everyone needs to wake up and smell the roses! If Medina could get the publicity she would be the best choice for Texas!
As with most elections, the choices are not that great. Perry doesn’t suck as bad as Kay so I guess I’m voting for “Hairspray Boy”. Why would Kay want to give up a senatorship to be governor? And who’s going to replace her in the senate? She has been mediocre at best- we need someone with a backbone in the senate.
Why doesn’t Kay Bailey stay in Washington? Texans voted her a 6 year term. She should serve out her term. We seldom get it all in one package but Texas has done well under Perry. Why should Republicans cut each other apart while the world/Dems watch?
Thanks for this article. I have never been a fan of KBH. The only reason she is running for governor is to check it off on her resume so that she can run for president. She cares nothing for Texas.
When Perry took office he was very much like his friend and predecesor George W. But he seems to have had a political awakening in the last couple of years and with that the enthusiam of a new convert. He regularly attends Tea Party rallies and has given talks that indicate a passion, not just words, for conservatism. I think he will help us stand up to the Federal Government. He pledges to sue the Feds if the unconstitutional health care bill passes. And if it comes to a shooting war, well, he’s got guns and he knows how to use them.
As for commentor #3 Msmensa, do not delude yourself into thinking most Conservative women are pro-choice. We have brains just like the Conservative men.
You stated that “Only Catholics & evangelicals believe life begins at conception.” I am sure a lot of other non-Catholic/non-evangelicals as myself will disagree with that statement. There is no question as to when human life begins. We can test it scientifically and it begins at conception.
Roe v. Wade (http://supreme.justia.com/us/410/113/case.html) really doesn’t have anything to do with privacy. If you murder someone in your bedroom, you aren’t protected by the right to privacy.
The Supreme Court declared abortion legal because a fetus is not a person. By looking at a strange collection of 19th century writings the majority justices were persuaded that “that the word ‘person,’ as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn.” Thus the fetus was just a thing in the woman’s body and thus covered under the right to privacy. It is a basically a rewrite of the Dred Scott decision; a fetus is not fully human, just as blacks were not fully human, and thus is not protected under the law.
You can not hide behind science, abortion is a moral issue pure and simple. I think it is a cop out to try to say a baby is not a baby. We should discuss this as adults and look at abortion as part of homicide law–when and under what circumstances does one human have the right to take the life of another and when is it murder?
I do not call myself pro-life because I think it is confusing. I support war, self-defense, and capital punishment. Thus, I am not against killing people. I am against murder. I do not believe someone has the right to take the life of someone else just because someone is inconvenient. And if someone is not woman enough to handle the biological fact that if she has sex she may get pregnant, then she should go have her uterus removed.
Oh my,MsMensa
Do you suppose maybe someone neither Catholic nor Evangelical might exercise enough synaptic links to recognize that he or she was also once only a few cells in stature? That had his/her mother decided to have a doctor chop him or her up in fetal stages of his/her life, his / her life would have ended? (violently and painfully, I might add.
The abortion crowd showed its true nature in the flap over a simple pro-choice superbowl ad celebrating a mom who chose LIFE. I’m really tired of the liberal/abortion$$$/Planned Parenthood stance that anyone who might not agree that sex should be recreational and resulting children should be killed in the womb MUST be silenced.