The Evening Brief: Aug. 30, 2012

New in The Texas Tribune:

•   D.C. Court Strikes Down Texas' Voter ID Law: "Texas’ controversial voter ID bill was struck down again, this time by a three-judge panel in Washington, D.C., that said the bill would disenfranchise certain segments of the voting-age population."

•  Perry Tells Texas GOP Delegates He'll Fight for Romney: "Gov. Rick Perry got a thunderous reception Thursday when he spoke to the Republican convention's Texas delegation. Perry said he'd do anything former rival Mitt Romney asks him to do to help Romney take the White House."

•   Senate State Affairs Committee Questions Kitzman: "State senators on Thursday took advantage of a committee hearing on cross-state health coverage to question Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman on her controversial decision to delay previously approved consumer protections."

•   Report: Mass Deportation Could Cost Texas Billions: "A new study by the Center for American Progress says that in Texas alone, there would be a $14.5 billion annual loss in tax revenue if all illegal immigrants in the state were deported."

•   Interactive: Super PAC Contributors Treemap: "On Aug. 20, another round of federal campaign finance reports was due. Use our interactive to see how much money Texans have given to Super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on behalf of candidates."

Culled:

•   Perry rouses Texas delegates (Austin American-Statesman): "Gov. Rick Perry excited the crowd today as the main speaker at the Texas delegates’ morning meet-up. An animated Perry hit on several topics that the made the delegates erupt in four standing ovations. … Perry spoke of getting the country back to believing in the Constitution (a favorite topic at the RNC), returning to the principles of the founding fathers (another crowd-pleaser), and replacing President Barack Obama and Democratic members of Congress with Constitution-lovers (an oft-repeated line that always brings RNC crowds to their feet.)"

•   Perry dipping his booted toe in presidential waters (The Dallas Morning News): "In an interview later with reporters, Perry said he was certainly eyeing another presidential race. Indeed, he said this week he has visited with the delegations of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee and Louisiana – most of those key early primary states. 'We made stops with all those delegations. To say hello to them, thank them for helping back in the presidential election and exhorting them to really work hard to elect this team,' Perry said, referring to the Romney-Paul Ryan ticket. But he also made clear that he’s, 'been re-engaging' with supporters of his presidential campaign. But he also backed away from the line he was toeing. '2016 is a long way away,' Perry said."

•   Sen. Dan Patrick pushes for ‘school choice’ bill at RNC (Houston Chronicle): "Keying off former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s speech to the Republican National Convention, Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, today vowed to pass a 'school choice' bill giving students vouchers to escape failing schools. Quoting Rice, Patrick said educational opportunity should not be limited by a child’s 'zip code,' arguing that children should not be stuck in neighborhood schools that are failing. 'It is the civil rights issue of our time,' he said, again quoting Rice."

•   What would Ron Paul do? (Politico): "The angst among Ron Paul delegates, some of whom walked out of the convention Wednesday night in protest of recent party rules changes, hasn’t abated in Tampa. There’s talk of another protest Thursday night, prompting an open letter from Arizona alternate delegate Edward Vallejo imploring his fellow Ron Paul supporters not to air their grievances publicly at this time."

•   Jeb Bush: I will defend George W. Bush from Obama (Politico): "Former Florida governor Jeb Bush said Thursday he would open his speech to the Republican National Convention with a defense of his brother George because President Barack Obama keeps running him down."