Hutchison 'pleased' to have Cheney endorsement

By DAVE MONTGOMERY

dmontgomery@star-telegram.com

AUSTIN — Former Vice President Dick Cheney is supporting U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Texas governor’s race and will formally unveil his endorsement at a Nov. 17 fundraiser in Houston.

"I am so pleased," Hutchison said on WBAP Radio in Dallas on Wednesday. "I respect the vice president so much. We’ve worked together. He knows my record as a conservative in the Senate."

Cheney was often depicted as a conservative hard-liner in the Bush administration and, as such, could help boost Hutchison’s support among conservative activists in her bid to unseat Gov. Rick Perry in the March 2 Republican primary.

But Perry’s campaign suggested that the endorsement from a Washington political figure will have little effect in swaying voters in Texas. "It’s not surprising considering they both worked together in Washington for so long," Perry spokesman Mark Miner said. "The Washington establishment usually sticks together."

Political analysts offered differing assessments of the potential impact.

"It’s unclear how much support he’s going to draw," said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas. "It’s clear they’re trying to court conservatives, but I think conservatives in Texas have a somewhat ambivalent response to the Bush administration."

An issues race?

Former Tarrant County Republican Chairman Steve Hollern said that Cheney, though high-profile, may not make a big difference in a race that is likely to be decided by how the candidates come down on the issues. Nevertheless, he said, Cheney is well-respected among traditional GOP primary voters.

"I know the press beats up on him," Hollern said, "but I think he did a good job and among the base of the Republican Party is pretty well thought of."

Cheney’s plans for a trip to Texas come amid recent press reports of hard feelings between the former second-in-command and his boss for eight years — George W. Bush, now a private citizen in Dallas.

Cheney reportedly was outraged with Bush’s refusal to pardon I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney’s former chief of staff, who was convicted of perjury and obstruction in an investigation into the leak of a CIA officer’s identity.

Bush commuted Libby’s sentence but stopped short of granting Cheney’s request for a pardon, according to news accounts.

Texas ties

Cheney has strong ties to Texas and Texans. He lived in Dallas as CEO of Halliburton before Bush tapped him as his running mate in the 2000 presidential race. A former congressman from Wyoming, he served as defense secretary under Bush’s father, President George H.W. Bush, directing Pentagon strategy in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Back then, Cheney drew sharp criticism from Fort Worth’s defense industry by canceling General Dynamics’ A-12 Navy attack plane and attempting to scuttle Bell Helicopter’s tilt-rotor aircraft, the V-22 Osprey.

Cheney’s return to Texas could also rekindle memories of an earlier ill-fated trip to the Lone Star State in 2006, when the vice president accidentally shot and wounded 78-year-old attorney Harry Whittington on a quail hunt.

The mishap uncorked a spate of jokes by late night comedians. An award-winning cover on Texas Monthly magazine in 2007 featured a shotgun-wielding Cheney with the words, "If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, Dick Cheney Will Shoot You in the Face."

Hutchison spokesman Joe Pounder said Cheney and Hutchison "have worked together over the many years on a lot of conservative issues," including passing George W. Bush’s tax cuts and strengthening the military.

"We’re proud to have his support," Pounder said.

DAVE MONTGOMERY, 512-476-4294

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