Attacks at GOP Convention

Trading Swipes in Texas delegation in race to be governor

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison took a rare swipe at Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday, saying he was "trigger happy" for lambasting her for telling a reporter the state had failed to do enough to provide health insurance for more children.

Hutchison said in a television news talk show interview Sunday that Texas has left hundreds of millions in federal funds in Washington that could have been used to provide health insurance for children in families too poor to buy private coverage and too well off to get Medicaid.

Hutchison's comments in the interview with Weslaco's Valley Newsline led Perry's office to accuse the senator of attacking President Bush's record while he was governor.

Former Republican Finds Convention Ugly and Un-American

Long time Republican Charles Aulds, who has left the GOP because of Bush's and his former party's actions under Bush, finds the GOP Convention hypocritical and distasteful. In an email he writes:

For all the flag-waving hoopla, I think the RNC convention has had ugly overtones from the very beginning ... they've definitely chosen the low road in this election season. Unfortunately, "ugly" seems to be working. No Democrat could get away with questioning the courage and honor of a decorated combat veteran who earned both Bronze and Silver stars for bravery under fire. It would be perceived as crass and patently "un-American." You know it; "they" know it too.

Meanwhile grassroots Democrats are urging Senate Democrats to expell Zell Miller from their caucus. Strong Bush supporter Andrew Sullivan, who has turned against the President in recent months over gay rights, called Zell Miller's speech "not merely crude, it added whole universes to the word crude... Remember who this man is: once a proud supporter of racial segregation, a man who lambasted LBJ for selling his soul to the negroes. His speech tonight was in this vein, a classic Dixiecrat speech, jammed with bald lies, straw men, and hateful rhetoric." Atrios lets the pictures speak for themselves, with his posting of large photos of Zell Miller and Dick Cheney faces as they gave their hate-filled speeches.

John Nichols asks: Why didn't Cheney just say re-elect me as president?

Dan Rather says Tom DeLay is hitting up donors at the convention for millions of dollars and getting the checks to run unregulated attack ads. You know, with those 527's which Bush officially denounces.