Word: kirkes
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...come the crowd attending a convention of rural electric cooperatives in a Dallas hotel last week--men whose weathered faces spoke of long days riding tractors and branding cattle--was getting such a kick out of the afternoon's speaker, the African-American Democratic nominee for Senator? Ron Kirk had them applauding from the moment he told them, "I sure wish Enron ran their business the way y'all run yours." By the time he had finished up with his line about giving the capital a dose of "what it's like to be on the front lines of problem...
...Both sides understand that this election will test whether the state's shifting demographics have altered its politics. The Democrats are banking on multicultural appeal, with Kirk for Senator and millionaire Hispanic businessman Tony Sanchez running for Governor. But Kirk bristles at that kind of identity politics and says he prefers to run on issues like corporate accountability and fiscal discipline. He knows he can't win unless minority voters turn out strongly, but he also needs white votes. As he steered his suv into the parking lot of a Dallas chop house last week, Kirk insisted...
...Kirk's strength comes not just from his sunny personality but also from a solid record as a pro-business mayor who took over a city paralyzed by racial bickering and left downtown Dallas with a gleaming sports arena, a successful light-rail system, a new police headquarters under construction and $543 million in funding for development along the Trinity River - without losing powerful minority support. Recalls David Biegler, a Republican energy executive who chaired the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce when Kirk was elected: "The force of his personality drove people to work together and get things done...
...Opponent Cornyn calls Kirk's record "of marginal significance" to what kind of Senator he would be, emphasizing his un-Texan links to the national Democratic Party. (Both Bill and Hillary Clinton have headlined East Coast fund raisers.) That, he says, explains Kirk's opposition to pet Texas issues like Alaskan oil drilling and his desire to tie future installments of the Bush tax cut to deficit reduction...
...Kirk says he has no choice but to enlist outside support since he's looking down the barrel of Bush's fund-raising might. The President and Vice President have already flown home on Cornyn's behalf; Laura Bush will appear at a Cornyn money drive this week in Austin, where the price of a photo with the First Lady will be $5,000. While the two campaigns have raised equivalent war chests, Cornyn has just begun to tap his, while Kirk had to spend heavily to win a three-way Democratic primary. "I have to be on TV when...