It's time for Sen. Hutchison to decide if she stays or goes
SMU Political Science Professor Cal Jillson talks about U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's political future.
By James Ragland
The Dallas Morning News
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is playing hard to get ... rid of.
Since losing the Republican primary race for governor to incumbent Rick Perry, Hutchison high-tailed it back to D.C., vowing to fight tooth and nail against President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
She and her GOP colleagues came up short in that scrape, too.
Now, with her political chin and ego badly bruised, and with Congress in recess for two weeks, Hutchison is faced with another political quandary.
Should she resign her senatorial seat as she promised time and time again during her run for governor? . . .
"I think she's mad and she's hurt and she's not taking anyone's interest other than her own into account," said SMU political science professor Cal Jillson. "And she's going to take all the time she wants."
Jillson is among those who believe that Hutchison really had her heart set on returning to Texas and spending more time with her husband, Ray, and their kids. They have a home in Dallas, where they're expected to spend much of the congressional recess, which runs through April 12.
"It's hard for me to imagine that her heart is in it up there [in D.C.] after having been beaten so badly for governor," Jillson said. "The health care argument is as meaningless [an excuse] as it has ever been."
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