Dr. Murray: Reasons for Chris Bell's decision
Over at abc13.com, Dr. Richard Murray wrote a very interesting piece about Chris Bell's decision to run for Texas Senate. Here are some key points from his piece:
There are good reasons for [Chris Bell's] decision. State senators in Texas are enormously important legislators, arguably more significant than members of the U.S. House of Representatives where Bell served from 2003 – 2005 before being redistricted out.
There are just 31 state senators in Texas, making it the smallest legislative body in any populous state. And every senator holds real power, due to that body’s rules and traditions, whether they are in the majority or the minority party delegation. In light of that fact, taking a shot at an open state senate seat in 2008 looks like a good move on Chris Bell’s part.
And, not unimportantly, Bell has a better than even chance of winning the special election, either in November 4 election, or in a runoff in early December if he falls short of a majority in the first round of voting. Why do I think this? Four basic reasons: ...
