Democrats eager to run away from what their party is doing in Washington

Houston Chronicle:

Secession. Nullification. States rights. Federal balanced budget amendments. The Republican campaigns leading into Tuesday's primary elections have focused more on Washington than Austin and the Lone Star State.

Texas Republican politicians, even those without opponents, have been tapping into the conservative anger over a down economy, government spending and potentially expensive health care reform.

And once the primaries are over, Democrats say they will try to turn voters' attention back to Texas after months of Republicans blaming Washington for the nation's ills.

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Trinity University political scientist Tucker Gibson said the Republicans really are speaking only to their own primary voters. Gibson noted that in most elections the GOP voter turnout represents less than 5 percent of the state's eligible voters.

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Now why would Republicans focus on issues important to the people voting in their primary? What a concept! And, if those votes are so unrepresentative of Texas votes as a whole, why do Republicans keep winning all the statewide races? This appears to be an attempt by Democrats to distract voters who are really angry with the Democrats in Washington. President Obama's approval rating in Texas is in the low double digits and Congress is even lower so it would seem running against them would be a good strategy for a Republican.

The Democrats will probably have a smart candidate in Mayor White, but the burden he has to drag around with him is even more difficult than the one Sen. Hutchison has had during this primary. The Republicans can claim that they are doing things better in Texas than Democrats are in Washington and that is why the state is doing better than the country as a whole.