When Kay Bailey Hutchison, the senior U.S. Senator from Texas, retires at the end of this legislative session, we will have a front-row seat to a marked shift in the Texas Republican Party. Likely to replace her is Republican nominee Ted Cruz, a Tea Party favorite who currently leads his opponent, Democrat Paul Sadler, by nearly a 2-1 margin. While both the senator and her likely successor are Republicans, a comparison of Hutchison’s legislative record with Cruz’s goals highlights the contrast between them.

Hutchison, a former UT cheerleader who graduated at 19 and obtained a law degree five years later, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1993. During her 19 years in that office, Hutchison stood with the GOP on most issues, voting with the majority of Republicans almost 90 percent of the time, according to The Washington Post. She invariably supported the oil and gas industry at the expense of environmental protection, and voted for an outright constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. She also voted to exclude sexual orientation from hate crimes criteria. However, her breaks with recent trends in the Republican Party show that she isn’t as through-and-through conservative as many of her colleagues.

Hutchison’s voting record presents a mixed bag on the issue of abortion. She consistently voted for strict restrictions on abortion and contraceptives, but supported Roe v. Wade and repeatedly voted against efforts to prohibit the practice altogether. In a 1993 Senate debate, she argued for restricted but legal abortions up to the third trimester, saying, “I’m not for abortion … The question is, should I make that decision for you, and that’s where I come down on the other side.” In 2003, she told the Dallas Morning News, “I’ve always said that I think that women should have the ability to make that decision, even if I disagree with it.”

The most striking departure from others in her party, however, was her openness toward government spending. In contrast to the Republican holy war on earmarked funds, a major talking point for some Republicans, Hutchison unabashedly sought a great deal of pork barrel government money for her home state. In 2008 and 2009 alone, she claimed almost half a billion dollars in earmarks for spending in Texas and was outspoken in her support of the practice. “I’m proud of being able to garner Texans’ fair share of their tax dollars,” she said in 2009.
Hutchison has also enthusiastically supported federal funding for higher education in Texas. Her website proudly proclaims that  she “has worked to move Texas from sixth in the nation in federal research funding to third.”

That friendly view toward government spending combined with her relatively moderate stance on abortion crippled Hutchison in a 2010 run for Texas governor. Although she was the early frontrunner by a large margin, incumbent governor Rick Perry succeeded in portraying her as a pro-choice, liberal spender and himself as a fiscally and socially conservative alternative to retain the governor’s office for another term. Hutchison had difficulty adapting to an electorate that had turned from predominantly moderate “country club Republicans” to right-wing ideologues, and she lost big. That defeat was more or less the end of her career on the national stage.

Two years later, Hutchison has confirmed her long-rumored retirement and opened up her seat for the next generation. Tea Party Republican Ted Cruz is the overwhelming favorite after his defeat of the GOP establishment’s preferred candidate, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, in the Republican primary. Cruz, by finding room to the right of the Republican leadership in one of the reddest states in the country, represents a new breed of conservative. Unlike Hutchison, he supports a repeal of Roe v. Wade, calling it a “shameful decision,” and opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest. He also proposes the complete elimination of the Department of Education, which would end federal financial aid for college students. Furthermore, Texas can kiss the gravy train of government spending it enjoyed under Hutchison goodbye. In a recent interview with Texas Monthly, Cruz said, “I am absolutely opposed to earmarks. When 435 members of Congress and all 100 members of the Senate go to Washington and view their jobs as feeding at the public trough, that’s how we bankrupt our country, and I don’t think Texans want their senator to be part of that.”

Being a fiscal conservative is one thing, and earmarked spending can certainly be taken too far, but completely cutting off federal support for states and students in a weak economy makes no sense.

It’s a shame that Hutchison is retiring, because she’s the kind of senator Texas needs right now. As she rides into the sunset, a less open-minded generation of Republicans takes her place. That means all the federal spending that brought jobs and growth to Texas, and much-needed help to students, will soon be a thing of the past. That should be cause for concern.

As her 19 years in the United States Senate come to a close, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison reflected on a career of public service and offered her take on higher education at the LBJ Presidential Library on Monday evening.

Hutchison, the senior Republican senator from Texas and a UT alumna, participated in a discussion with Evan Smith, CEO and editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune. On several occasions Hutchison said quality higher education is necessary for Texas to compete in the global economy. An official said 450 people attended the event.

“For Texas, I want our state to be known and respected as a high-quality academic higher education-providing state,” Hutchison said. “I think the number of major companies that move here want an educated workforce. They want the research capabilities to do public-private partnerships and have great research, and they want students who have been around great research and great programs.”

Last year, Gov. Rick Perry challenged colleges and universities to develop degrees that cost no more than $10,000. Proponents of the $10,000 degree, including the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a nonprofit conservative think tank with ties to Perry, have also questioned the efficiency of research in higher education.

At the event, Hutchison said research plays a necessary and valuable role at major universities in Texas.

“I think that any talk of devaluing research is not productive and it is hurting our image,” Hutchison said. “We need to say, ‘Look, I’m not against experimenting with 4-year, $10,000 degrees, but you don’t do it at flagships.’”

Hutchison was first elected in 1993, making her the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. After three consecutive re-elections, Hutchison announced in 2011 that she would not seek another term. Republican candidate Ted Cruz and Democratic candidate Paul Sadler are currently running to fill Hutchison’s seat.

History junior Taylor Guerrero said she hopes Hutchison’s successor will learn from her willingness to work across party lines.

“I think the next senator should be able to work in a bipartisan manner and to represent Texas the best that they can instead of just representing a certain percentage of Texans,” Guerrero said.

Hutchison said she has no plans to seek public office again but will continue to advocate the issues that matter most to her and to the state of Texas. Hutchison said one of those issues is seeing more universities in Texas gain Tier One status, which identifies schools with significant research programs but has no concrete definition.

“California has nine, New York has seven and we have three,” Hutchison said. “That’s not enough. We need to have three more, and we need to put the money into three more.”

Texas’ current Tier One schools are UT-Austin, A&M University and Rice University.

The crowd at the event included those not politically aligned with Hutchison.

“I decided to come out because of my interest in politics,” government senior Justin Perez said. “Even though I’m a Democrat, I think it’s important to hear what others have to say.”

Printed on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 as: Sen. set on education

 When meandering through the West Mall, one is certain to catch a glimpse of dozens of vibrant student organizations fundraising, informing and advocating for a variety of causes. While these student organizations excel at spreading their messages, many groups are forgetting to use our city’s most important asset to cause the change they wish to see. At an impressive 308 feet, the Texas Capitol puts the Washington, D.C. capitol building to shame. The 150 state representatives and 31 state senators are not simply in office to pass questionable legislation; they are here for our use, too.

On the weekend of Oct. 22, alongside a number of students from around the country, I lobbied at the D.C. offices of U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison to co-sponsor the Syria Sanctions Act of 2011. Though the senators receive lobbyists often, they rarely encounter lobbyists from Texas. While I was fortunate to experience lobbying in our nation’s capital, I still have access to an entire network of influential politicians in Austin, as do the rest of us. UT students need to place a greater importance on lobbying our representatives and senators to achieve the changes we often discuss and rally behind.

Voting is the main mechanism Americans use to select their representatives and have their voices heard. However, after the results of the election are published and many of our chosen politicians lose, apathy begins to invade our system. Americans aged 18 to 24 are generally considered politically apathetic. This stereotype often proves true, as the Economist cites that only 24 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in the 2010 midterm. As a result, politicians do little to cater to this demographic, and many of the political issues we find important, including higher education reform and the international crises and efforts that so many of us advocate in West Mall, are not priorities. Increased voting and campaign participation may demonstrate the youth’s interests in politics, but a more influential demonstration is lobbying. Entering a politician’s office and demanding that our voices be heard is the most powerful message we can transmit.

Lobbying seems a daunting task, involving business-casual dress, concrete facts about current and previous legislation and, the most intimidating of all, interacting with members of the governing elite. However, normal citizens interacting with these elites is vital to the democratic process. While the lure of continued reelection is a powerful motivator to ensure that our elected officials represent our viewpoints, decisions on which pieces of legislation to create or support falls to these representatives. Furthermore, if one’s elected officials’ political views fail to align with one’s own views, important issues will remain unresolved, ignored or mishandled.

Lobbying gives the average citizen an opportunity to communicate which issues are of importance and to educate our elected officials, who often are ill-informed. In D.C., my colleagues and I made our appeals to one of Hutchison’s staffers and one of Cornyn’s staffers. The senators use these employees to research legislation, investigate domestic and international conflicts and inform policy choices. As many of the staffers are recent college graduates, lobbyists who procide information about complicated, convoluted issues can immensely benefit policy decisions.

While lobbying itself is a powerful action, what you do while lobbying also influences policy makers. Bringing along petitions with hundreds of signatures or dozens of hand-written letters urging representatives to take action or delivering a giant, hand-painted banner, as we did in D.C., further demonstrates one’s commitment to an issue. The trick of this political game is to raise your voice loud enough so the representatives have no choice but to listen.

The results of my lobbying experience were fruitful, as we better educated the staffers on the situation in Syria, argued persuasive points as to why the senators should co-sponsor the legislation and warned of repeated follow-ups until our demands were met. Both staffers responded positively, and our cause has now advanced. If student activists at UT realize the importance of lobbying our policy makers and take their protests from West Mall to the Capitol, they may begin to effect change.

Waliany is a Plan II and government senior.
 

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will receive the Inaugural Annette Strauss Texas Leadership Award on Feb. 22.

The Annette Strauss Texas Leadership Award reflects the standards of civil service established by the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation. The group chose to honor Hutchison for her civic contributions, according to the Institute.

“She was a person who knew Mayor Strauss and worked with her in Dallas. And when we started the institution 10 years ago, even though they were of opposite political affiliations, she was gracious enough to endorse us,” said College of Communications Dean Roderick Hart, who chairs the Annette Strauss Institute.

The award ceremony coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the nonpartisan organization.

“This an attempt to dramatize the importance of civic engagement,” Hart said.

The proceeds of the ceremony will go to the organization’s education fund, which promotes scholastic outreach to secondary and collegiate learning.

The selection process for the award is entirely nonpartisan, Hart said.

The fourth-term senator will receive the award upon the premise of her civic commitment to the public and her demonstration of leadership within her community. Hutchison announced in January that she will not seek another term in 2012.

The presidents of UT’s three student governance organizations selected U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison as the commencement speaker for the May 21 event on the Main Mall. The senator will speak at a UT graduation ceremony for the second time. Hutchison also addressed the graduating class of 1998. As an alumna of the class of 1962, law school graduate and former cheerleader, Hutchison agreed to speak to the University at no charge. “It is particularly gratifying to be able to speak to the graduates of my alma mater,” Hutchison said, in a statement. “Like so many generations of UT graduates, life’s challenges and potential awaits them.” Student Government President Scott Parks, Graduate Student Assembly President Manny Gonzalez and Senate of College Councils President Chelsea Adler decided that Hutchison should speak at the ceremony because of her UT background and her career. Adler said the trio attended meetings in President William Powers’s office starting last summer to come to a decision. “It was an informal consensus,” Adler said. “Hutchison was on the list from the beginning.” While Parks, Adler and Gonzalez had the final say, Adler said the bodies of students that each president led suggested other potential commencement speakers. Powers also had oversight of the decision. Adler said Powers met Hutchison and said he was sure that there was no chance of the senator turning the opportunity into a political situation. “We see her as a Longhorn first and a Republican second,” Adler said. “She’s not quite as polarizing as other politicians.” Notable speakers from past commencements include President Lyndon B. Johnson and computer pioneer Michael Dell. Actress Marcia Gay Harden spoke last year. College Republicans President Justin May said he thinks Hutchison is the best choice for speaker in his four years at UT. May said he thinks Hutchison is one of the more bipartisan politicians. University Democrats President Billy Calve said he looks forward to hearing Hutchison’s remarks. “Commencement is a time to celebrate the achievements of UT graduates and put partisan politics aside,” Calve said.

Eight UT students will join a statewide hunger strike in support of the DREAM Act. Their primary aim for the strike is to urge Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, to support the legislation, they said. The DREAM Act would guarantee a pathway to permanent legal residency for undocumented students who came to the U.S. before the age of 16, have no criminal record and spend two years in college or the military. A group of UT-San Antonio students have been on a hunger strike since Nov. 10. “The DREAM Act is not an amnesty bill; it will only benefit those that will contribute back to this country,” said chemistry freshman Adrian Reyna, a member of undocumented student and allies group University Leadership Initiative. “We will strike until we have a response — a response in favor not of us, but in favor of this country.” U.S. Senate majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced last week that he would push for the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill in hopes of passing it during the lame-duck session. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., set it to appear before the House on Nov. 29. Although Hutchison has expressed support for the DREAM Act in the past, she said that she will not vote for it in its current form, claiming it is too far-reaching and may benefit those who do not actually graduate from U.S. high schools. The hunger strikes will not affect her position on the legislation, said Hutchison spokeswoman Courtney Sanders. “The senator’s position on the current legislation remains the same, but she has expressed her concern for the safety and welfare of the students who are pursuing the hunger strike,” Sanders said in a statement. “The senator appreciates their passion but strongly believes that they should pursue safer and more constructive methods of promoting their cause.” The UT students who are participating in the hunger strike said they will continue their strike indefinitely until Hutchison agrees to support the legislation or until the U.S. Senate takes a vote. “We feel like we have done pretty much everything else — letter writing, phone banking, rallies, press conferences,” said civil engineering senior Loren Campos, ULI president and an undocumented student. “We hope the hunger strike will create the urgency necessary to let Hutchison know that there is a support base of Texans here and across the state that want her to vote for the DREAM Act as it is.”