Harvey Kronberg On TPT Today

Quorum Report owner and editor Harvey Kronberg will preview the fall election season and handicap the most interesting races on today’s episode of TEXAS POLITICS TODAY. The show airs every week from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. CDT on KOOP, Austin’s community radio station. KOOP broadcasts at 91.7 FM in Austin and also streams live over the Internet at www.koop.org.

The Quorum Report is a non-partisan newsletter focusing on Texas politics and government. Founded in 1983, QR is Texas’ oldest political newsletter. Published online most days, the newsletter combines fast breaking news along with institutional memory and a healthy skepticism as befits a publication whose subscribers include most of Texas elected officials, most of the lobby as well as most law firms with a legislative practice.

Harvey Kronberg has been covering Texas politics since 1989. He also serves as political commentator for News 8 Austin — a 24 hour news channel serving central Texas. He has been cited in publications as diverse as The Congressional Quarterly, The Wall Street Journal, The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor and more.

Bill Bishop on "The Daily Show" (updated)

Bill Bishop, the author of “The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart,” will be Jon Stewart’s guest on the “The Daily Show” tonight. Bill was a guest on Texas Politics Today back in May of this year.

"The Daily Show” airs at 10:00 p.m. CDT on the Comedy Channel.

UPDATE: Watch the "Daily Show" episode here.

Great Minds Think Alike

On the Texas Politics Today episode on Wednesday, July 16, we joined Markos Moulitsas, founder and chief author of Daily Kos, in a wide-ranging discussion of how the blogosphere emerged as an important force in progressive politics and how they are affecting national, state and local politics in this election year. One of the points in our discussion was a contrast between the conservative/Republican domination of talk radio and the progressive/Democratic domination of the "netroots." As reported by co-host David Kobierowski here, here and here, Markos said, "the right has a top-down approach to governing, where the left has a more democratic/bottom-up approach that allows for blogging to work."

This morning on "Weekend Edition," Scott Simon spoke with Jose Antonio Vargas, Washington Post reporter on technology and politics, about the role of the blogosphere in modern politics. One of the points Vargas made: that Republicans are more top-down and Democrats more, well, democratic. Sounds like Vargas heard our interview with Markos or read our posts about the interview.

Take a listen here.

M-O-N-E-Y, The Mother's Milk of Politics

Political campaigns are battles of personality and ideas, yes, but they are also big business. In just the primary season alone, all the candidates raised over a billion dollars. Barack Obama led the pack by far, having raised over $339 million and spent over $267 million. Although the levels are smaller when it comes to statewide and local races, there is no doubt that money plays a critical role in the ability of a campaign to function effectively.

This week on Texas Politics Today, we’re taking the advice of Deep Throat and “following the money.” We’ll look at campaign finance reports for the first six months of the year — submitted July 15 — and give an overview of who’s got the scratch and who’s scratching around.

Texas Politics Today airs every week from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. CDT on KOOP radio, located at 91.7 on the FM dial. KOOP also streams live at http://www.koop.org/

David, Markos and I

David Kobierowski and I were delighted to have Markos Moulitsas on our radio show Wednesday, but in the hustle and bustle neglected to get a picture with him. Fortunately, we caught up to him at the Netroots Nation 2008 conference this afternoon and he was gracious enough to pose with us.

David K's Thoughts On Markos

This is co-host David Kobierowski's thoughts on Markos Moulitsas' appearance on TEXAS POLITICS TODAY on Wednesday, July 16.

Texas Politics Today’s Deece Eckstein and David Kobierowski interviewed Markos Moulitsas, Founder Daily Kos today.

The interview was broadcast live at 2:30pm, Wed., July 16th, 2008 on 91.7FM KOOP, Austin’s Community Radio Station.

It was an honor to have Markos join us in-studio at KOOP Radio today.

Early in the interview, Markos commented “I started Daily Kos as a place to vent and react to what was happening in the world…because I was not seeing it in the traditional media”.

He went on to say “there was a yearning for a progressive medium that was not Corporate in nature. Daily Kos provides honest progressivism”

For me personally, having dedicated 15 years of my life to Corporate America, hearing Markos’ story was refreshing. As a believer in Democracy from the bottom up, the success of Daily Kos validates our need for more honest voices from everyday people that are not paid lobbyists with a special interest agenda.

It was clear that Markos was not happy with the power of lobbyists in our government…he said at one point that “AT&T Lobbyists often have more influence than we (Daily Kos) do”.

Offline I asked Markos why blogs have been more successful on the left than the right and he commented that “the right has a top-down approach to governing, where the left has a more Democratic/bottom-up approach that allows for blogging to work”.

Yea!! That’s what I’m talking about!! With 92% of US AM Radio programs being Conservative, possibly the right doesn’t need to blog?? Well, I’m just glad the people’s voice is getting heard!

When asked about the mission of Daily Kos going into the Nov. elections and 2010 Markos explained “to find candidates that represent the “NetRoots values”…which Markos added “is a lot easier now than it was in 06′”

Another goal of DailyKos is “to push the Democratic Party to represent the people more, as opposed to representing the Corporate Interest”.

Referring to the potential of a major victory in Nov., Markos said “Republicans have made such a mess out of this country that you could be a Monkey and win some of these elections”

Specifically in TX, Markos commented “there’s a possibility for an upset in TX for Obama and the Democratic Party, IF the voters turn out”.

Markos talked about NetRoots Nation (YearlyKos) being “a truly bottom-up event. We didn’t say lets get a bunch of people together to go see Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. But we got a bunch of people together and then Nancy Pelosi wanted to join us”.

Referring to BOR, off-air Markos commented The “Burnt Orange Report is easily one of the top three ‘State Political blogs’ in the country”. NICE!

Thanks again Markos for joining us today on “TX Politics Today”!!

"It's Time For Some Campaignin'!"

This is the latest from the nutty geniuses at JibJab. Did they catch the zeitgeist of the election and the essentials of the main characters? You decide. Comments, please.

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

TPT Show With Markos Generates Media Interest

This week’s episode of TEXAS POLITICS TODAY, which aired yesterday with Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas as our guest, was terrific. Markos turned out to be a smart and engaging interview, in one of the few interviews he’ll give while in Austin this week. His presence on the show garnered lots of local media attention.

Austin American-Statesman political reporter Gardner Selby previewed the interview, then live-blogged it. His thoughts can be read here. (The most interesting part of his story may be the comment by “Rick,” who fretted that “this radical left element is responsible for the internet attacks on government/Whitehouse/NASA/CIA/NASA/USAF website—-anything the radical left disagrees with” and expressed his ”HOPE the FBI tapes this outfit—-I am sure they will find more than a few ‘persons of interest’! ” I hope the FBI did tape the show — they can give a copy to us so we can put up a podcast.)

Elise Hu from KVUE News plugged the episode on her Political Junkie blog. She also did a story on tonight’s news that included an interview with Markos. She inserted some B-roll of our show into the segment. If you can’t remember what the “On Air” sign in the studio looks like, or wonder what the back of David Kobierowski’s head looks like, check out her report here.
Speaking of David, he’ll share his thoughts about what Markos had to say in a future post.

Markos on TEXAS POLITICS TODAY

Join Markos Moulitsas Zúniga on TEXAS POLITICS TODAY for a lively discussion of Internet activism and the 2008 elections. TEXAS POLITICS TODAY airs from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. CDT every Wednesday on KOOP, Austin’s community radio station. KOOP is located at 91.7 on the FM dial and also streams live over the Internet at http://www.koop.org/.

Markos Moulitsas is the founder and principal author of DailyKos.com, the widely-respected political blog with an average daily readership of over 750,000 people. He has written several books, including Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics and the forthcoming Taking On the System: Rules for Radical Change in the Digital Era. He also is a contributing columnist to Newsweek Magazine. He’ll be talking with us about the netroots phenomenon and how it’s transformed politics, and giving us his thoughts on the fall elections here in Texas.

"The Big Sort" In The News Again

As Wayne Slater mentions in this blog post, former President Bill Clinton spoke to the centennial meeting of the National Governors Association. In his remarks, he referenced Bill Bishop’s book “The Big Sort.” Bill Bishop was a guest on TEXAS POLITICS TODAY on May 28, 2008. Read our post about his visit here.

Celebrating Independence In 2008

We used to celebrate Independence Day in the United States. It was held on July 4, and it commemorated the day on which the Declaration of Independence was approved in Philadelphia in 1776. It was a day to consider the blessings of liberty, to recall the struggle for independence that is our heritage even today, and to celebrate the values, until then unpracticed in the world, that fundamentally shaped the American political identity — the notion that the State existed to serve its citizens, not vice versa; the ideal of government of, by and for the people; the (literally) revolutionary idea that, when government failed to serve its people, it was their right, indeed, their sacred duty, to throw off that government.

Now, it seems, we celebrate the 4th of July — a midsummer day’s dream of mattress sales, keg parties on the lake and fireworks shows. And it’s all great fun, fellowship, and mercantile profit, as it should be. But does anyone besides me worry that we’ve lost touch with the reason for the holiday?

This week, TEXAS POLITICS TODAY looks at Independence Day 2008. Over the 4th of July weekend, we went out and talked to ordinary Texans about how they were celebrating the 4th and what independence means to them. Tune in for a entertaining, informative perspective on Independence, 2008 style. The radio show airs from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. CDT on KOOP radio, located at 91.7 on the FM dial. KOOP also streams live at www.koop.org

Also, next week we’re thrilled to have Markos Moulitsas Zúniga with us. Markos is the proprietor of DailyKos.com and co-author, with Jerome Armstrong, of Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics (Chelsea Green). He is a contributing columnist to Newsweek Magazine. He was named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the world by People en Español, clocked in at third in Forbes’ Web Celeb 25 rankings, and was listed 26th in PC World’s list of the “Most Important People on the Web“.

TEXAS POLITICS TODAY "Feet On The Street" In SoCo

The TEXAS POLITICS TODAY team will be down on South Congress Avenue tonight, meandering around the First Thursday happening and asking people what the Fourth of July means to them — all in anticipation of our Super Duper Independence show next Wednesday, July 9. TEXAS POLITICS TODAY airs every Wednesday from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. CDT on KOOP, FM 91.7 and streaming live at www.koop.org.

Look for us if you’re down there!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

On the TEXAS POLITICS TODAY episode today, we played a recitation of the Declaration of Independence by a distinguished group of American actors. The recitation was off a video made by Declare Yourself and Constitution Live and executive produced by the incomparable Norman Lear. The actors appearing in the video (and whose voices were heard) include:

Mel Gibson

Michael Douglas

Kathy Bates

Kevin Spacey

Whoopi Goldberg

Edward Norton

Renee Zellweger

Ming-Na

Winona Ryder

Benicio Del Toro

Graham Greene

Please watch and enjoy the video!

The Real Deal on the REAL ID Act

Melissa Del Bosque of the Texas Observer, whose coverage of the border wall controversy along the Rio Grande has won national acclaim, will discuss the border wall battle on TEXAS POLITICS TODAY this Wednesday, July 2. The radio show airs from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. CDT on KOOP radio, located at 91.7 on the FM dial. KOOP also streams live at http://www.koop.org/.

In 2005, Congress passed the REAL ID Act, which (among other provisions) directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to meet a 2008 year-end deadline for completing 670 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Act also gave DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff broad authority to waive property rights, environmental, labor and other laws in order to get the job done.

Del Bosque began writing about the border wall fracas last year as the Department of Homeland Security ran roughshod over local communities, longtime landowners, and even the University of Texas System. The Observer’s coverage has won widespread praise and can be viewed here, here and on the Observer’s blog.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of Defenders of Wildlife vs. Chertoff, in effect legitimizing the huge grants of power given to DHS in the REAL ID Act. Del Bosque will discuss the Chertoff decision and its implications for the civil liberties of all Americans. She will also discuss yesterday’s action by a Brownsville federal judge encouraging DHS and the University of Texas-Pan American to work out an alternative to DHS’s plan to bisect the campus with a section of the wall.

TEXAS POLITICS TODAY is collaborating with another KOOP program, “Shades of Green,” in reporting on these issues this week. “Shades of Green,” the environmental talk magazine, airs on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. CDT on KOOP. ”Shades of Green” hosts Ken McKenzie-Grant and John Hoffner will have a representative of the national Defenders of Wildlife organization to discuss the Supreme Court decision as well as Sheila Dean, a nationally-known activist and blogger on REAL ID issues.

TEXAS POLITICS TODAY is the weekly radio show devoted to Texas state and local politics. TEXAS POLITICS TODAY is produced by longtime Capitol insider Deece Eckstein, who shares hosting duties with Austin community leader David Kobierowski.

KOOP, “the little station that could,” is Austin’s only community-owned radio station. It shares the FM 91.7 radio frequency with KVRX, the University of Texas student radio. It also streams live over the Web at http://www.koop.org/. KOOP is on the air on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on weekends from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.