The Midday Brief: January 25, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

“After three consecutive losses in statewide races, some top Democrats are questioning a tactic aimed at boosting the party’s candidates in each of those contests: Bush-bashing. “ — Democrats' Bush-bashing strategy goes bust — Politco

“Nearly half the oil that spilled at a major Texas port during a collision between a tanker and a towing vessel has evaporated, dispersed or been recovered from the water, the Coast Guard said Monday.“ — 175,000 gallons evaporated, dispersed in oil spill — Associated Press

“Edward Whitacre Jr. , the bulldog chairman and interim chief executive of General Motors, is permanently taking over the top leadership position at the nation’s largest automaker.” — Whitacre to be permanent CEO at GM — San Antonio Express-News

“I don’t really give a hoot if somebody yells out, as somebody did at the Nullification shindig, ‘Kill Obama!’ What truly depresses me is that there’s nothing at the bottom of all this fist-waving fury but a mess of nonsense. That, and the fact that the only fist-waving, spit-at-power, publicly protesting folks in contemporary Texas are on the far right.” — Hanging with the Null Set —The Texas Observer

New in the Texas Tribune:

“Campaigners swear by Facebook’s effectiveness for reaching voters. ‘Facebook is the best at reaching the younger audience,’  says Helen Sutton, the campaign coordinator for Democratic Railroad Commissioner candidate Jeff Weems, ‘I think we're learning all the time how to better use it.’” — Social Studies

“Debra Medina, currently in third place in the Republican primary, has already been called a spoiler. Currently polling around 12 percent, she could easily force Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison into a runoff. She'll tell you she's not in it for that; she wants the GOP nomination, and in fact, didn't run as an independent because she didn't think she could win that way.” — Spoiler Alert

“Rick Perry seems to have found his message and his bloggers. And it helps if those bloggers delivering “the message of conservatism” wear “I GOT MY TWEET ON @ THE PERRY 2010 BLOGGER SUMMIT” t-shirts.” — Speaking Tweets to Power

Want a rundown of the primary races worth watching? The toughest race goes to HD-11’s Chuck Hopson vs. Michael Banks vs. Allan Cain. The weirdest goes to SD-22’s Kip Averitt vs. Darren Yancey. And there’s many more. —  Life of the Parties