Comments on: JSC to get another new representative as Stockman aims for the Senate http://www.spacepolitics.com/2013/12/11/jsc-to-get-another-new-representative-as-stockman-aims-for-the-senate/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jsc-to-get-another-new-representative-as-stockman-aims-for-the-senate Because sometimes the most important orbit is the Beltway... Wed, 17 Sep 2014 13:35:41 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.38 By: Robert G. Oler http://www.spacepolitics.com/2013/12/11/jsc-to-get-another-new-representative-as-stockman-aims-for-the-senate/#comment-444511 Thu, 12 Dec 2013 07:43:43 +0000 http://www.spacepolitics.com/?p=6757#comment-444511 It is hard to see Cornyn losing this one but this is going to be a strange election cycle in my home state and well the political currents are “unsteady”

Cornyn is what is left of the GOP center in Texas (now that Kay is gone)…he is not really in the US political center, but the GOP in Texas is so far right that Cornyn is actually “outside” of the GOP/Tea party mainstream. The question is the primary where the GOP/Tea party extreme right usually are “controlling”. If Cornyn wins the primary he wins the general…but if he loses it will be interesting to watch the general race. The Gov race is controlling here. The AG (Abbott) is running a far right of center, god/gays/guns abortion campaign and normally that would do it, but Wendy Davis is gaining a pretty good head of steam (some early mostly useless polls show her with 5 points) and if she gets traction the state could pull back to the center.

There are several people (I still have a home in the district…but am not running! I am registered in Santa Fe now) who I know are interested in running for Stockmans seat. One or two have novel ideas on space policy.

But really things are unlikely to change in space policy at JSC until some administration recognizes the serious flaws in the agency and as a function of reorging the entire federal government tries to move JSC from a relic of the Cold War to something useful.

A more interesting space question might come up in the gov race. Davis is counting heavily on the “Norte Mexico” vote (ie thepart of the state south of I-10) coming out…and I know that her campaign is aware of the events going on with Musk in south Texas. I suspect that they are mulling over how to use this as a campaign issue…she could put Abbott in a box that way

Greetings from the Indian Subcontinent…a rare day off so delurking a bit

Robert G. Oler

]]> By: DCSCA http://www.spacepolitics.com/2013/12/11/jsc-to-get-another-new-representative-as-stockman-aims-for-the-senate/#comment-444498 Thu, 12 Dec 2013 03:06:06 +0000 http://www.spacepolitics.com/?p=6757#comment-444498 It is truly tragic for advocates of spaceflight, supporters of NASA in general and JSC in particular that for far too many years it has been burdened and impaired by such a decidely weak minded representative as Stockman.

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