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Why we miss Kay Bailey Hutchison
Copyright 2013: Houston Chronicle | October 15, 2013 | Updated: October 16, 2013 11:05pm
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Photo By Nellie Doneva/Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, center, talks to Lynn Lunsford, right, public affairs manager with the Federal Aviation Administration after a tower dedication ceremony at Abilene Regional Airport Wednesday, May 2, 2012, in Abilene, Texas.
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Photo By J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 20, 2012.
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Photo By Adam Sacasa/The Associated PressU.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison speaks during a ceremony held in her honor at Texas A&M University-Texarkana on Thursday, April 5, 2012, in Texarkana, Texas.
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Photo By Manuel Balce Ceneta/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011.
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Photo By LM Otero/The Associated PressU.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison swings a towel in support of the Texas Rangers before Game 2 of baseball's American League division series playoffs against the Tampa Bay Rays, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, in Arlington, Texas.
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Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston ChronicleAtlantis shuttle crew member commander Chris Ferguson hands Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Houston Mayor Annise Parker a banner that was flown on space shuttle Atlantis during a homecoming event where hundreds turned out to greet the astronauts at Ellington Field Friday, July 22, 2011.
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Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston ChronicleSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison joined thousands of trail riders and committee members in the 2011 Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade downtown Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011, in Houston.
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Photo By Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning NewsJarvis Young of Dallas listens to republican gubernatorial candidate Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison giver her concession speech during a primary election night watching party held at Eddie Deen's Ranch, Wednesday, March 2, 2010.
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Photo By Matt Nager/The New York TimesSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison gives a concession speech, ending her run for governor of Texas, at Eddie Deen's Ranch near downtown Dallas, March 2, 2010.
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Photo By Tony Gutierrez/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison smiles as she acknowledges support from her husband Ray and others following her speech conceding from the Republican nomination for Texas governor in Dallas on Tuesday, March 2, 2010.
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Photo By Jaime R. Carrero/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a gubernatorial candidate in Texas, greets well wishers during a campaign stop in Tyler, Texas on Monday, March 1, 2010.
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Photo By Billy Smith II/ChronicleSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison meets with supporters during The Harris County Republican Party's annual Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner, Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at the JW Marriott in Houston, Texas.
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Photo By Michael Paulsen/Houston ChronicleSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison sits next to James Baker III during a Greater Houston Pachyderm Club meeting, where Baker announced his endorsement for Senator Hutchinson as she makes her bid for the the position of Texas Governor Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010, in Houston.
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Photo By LM Otero/The Associated PressTexas Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison smile after greeting each other at the Murchison Performing Arts Center at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010.
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Photo By Brendan Hoffman/BloombergSenator Kay Bailey Hutchison speaks during a Senate Banking Committee vote on the nomination of Ben S. Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009.
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Photo By Karen Warren/Houston ChronicleFormer Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison wave to the crowd before Cheney announced his support for Hutchison during a campaign stop in Houston, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009.
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Photo By Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-NewsSenator John Cornyn listens to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison speak during a press conference outside III Corps headquarters Friday Nov. 6, 2009 on Fort Hood Army Base in Fort Hood, Tx.
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Photo By Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-NewsU.S. Army Col. John Rossi and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison walk past III Corps headquarters where an American flag flies at half-staff Friday Nov. 6, 2009 on Fort Hood Army Base in Fort Hood, Tx.
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Photo By Alex Brandon/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison talks on the phone about the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009.
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Photo By Julio Cortez/Houston ChronicleKay Bailey Hutchison made a stop during a tour around Galveston Island to learn about the damage Hurricane Ike left behind prior to a hearing on Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, in Houston.
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Photo By Melissa Phillip/Houston ChronicleSenator Kay Bailey Hutchison tours The Hurt Company, Inc., 3310 Alice Street, with Jay Hurt, president and CEO of the third generation small business Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, in Houston.
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Photo By Karen Warren/Houston ChronicleSenator Kay Bailey Hutchinson greets supporters just after she formally announced her plans to run for Governor of Texas, Monday, Monday, Aug. 17, 2009, at the Bellaire Civic Center in Houston.
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Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle"Keep on doing good work," Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said to nurses Frances Dib and Joaquina Simmons as she talked to a group of employees at Ben Taub General Hospital after a press conference on health care reform Monday, July 27, 2009, in Houston.
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Photo By Johnny Hanson/Houston ChronicleTexas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, helped METRO celebrate the ground breaking on north and southeast light-rail corridors at Union Station in Minute Maid Park Monday, July 13, 2009, in Houston.
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Photo By Brendan Hoffman/Getty ImagesSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison whispers to Bill White, mayor of Houston, while testifying on Capitol Hill about the Gulf Coast's recovery from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike on September 23, 2008 in Washington, D.C.
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Photo By Pablo Martinez Monsivais/The Associated PressTexas Gov. Rick Perry talks to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson as they wait to greet President Bush at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas on Sept. 1, 2008
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Photo By Matt Slocum/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison smiles while speaking to supporters in Dallas on Nov. 7, 2006.
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Photo By Karen Warren/Houston ChronicleDorothy Rogers, of Waxahachie, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Beverly Parks, of Granbury, and Dorothy Wiseman, of Hillsboro, chat with their matching outfits during the Republican Convention, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, Tuesday, August 31, 2004.
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Photo By Bill Glenn/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison christens the U.S. Navy's newest amphibious transport dock ship San Antonio (LPD-17), Saturday, July 19, 2003, at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in New Orleans.
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Photo By Pablo Martinez Monsivais/The Associated PressPresident Bush stands on stage with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison R-Texas during the introductions before he addresses the National Republican Senatorial Committee dinner at the National Building Museum Wednesday Sept., 25, 2002 in Washington, D.C.
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Photo By Ken Lambert/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison introduces legislation along with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to establish a national AMBER Alert program, a child abduction communications warning network, during a news conference in the Capitol, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2002, in Washington.
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Photo By Joe Marquette/The Associated PressSen. John McCain, R-Ariz., leans over to talk with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison during a hearing between House and Senate members about an aviation security bill Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2001, at the Capitol in Washington.
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Photo By Steve Ueckert/Houston ChronicleBrenda Nelson from the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center works to draw the blood of US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison on Aug. 10, 2001.
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Photo By Pablo Martinez Monsivais/The Associated PressPresident-elect Bush compares boots with Tex. Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Sen. Phil Gramm on stage during the Black Tie and Boots ball in Washington Friday night, Jan. 19, 2001.
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Photo By Rebecca Hamm/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison waves from an Amtrak car bound for Fort Worth on Sunday May 21, 2000, in Austin, Texas.
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Photo By Amel Emric/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Major Gen. Robert L. Halverson of Austin, Texas, commander of U.S. troops in northern Bosnia clap during an Easter Sunrise Service at U.S. Base Eagle, near Tuzla, Bosnia, Sunday, April 23, 2000.
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Photo By Hillery Smith Garrison/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison meets reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday April 20, 2000 to discuss her upcoming trip to Bosnia to visit Texas troops.
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Photo By Kevin Fujii/Houston ChronicleTexas Governor George W. Bush waves to his supporters with his wife Laura and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison by his side at the Dell Jewish Community Center in Austin, March 14, 2000.
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Photo By Harry Cabluck/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Texas Lt. Gov. Rick Perry share a private moment during last minute political campaigning on Monday, March 13, 2000, in Austin, Texas.
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Photo By Pablo Martinez Monsivais/The Associated PressNew York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is greeted by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison as he walks to a restaurant on Capitol Hill Thursday, June 17, 1999.
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Photo By Harry Cabluck/The Associated PressTexas Gov. George W. Bush speaks during a news conference on Friday, May 21, 1999, in Austin, Texas. At left is U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
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Photo By Doug Mills/The Associated PressFormer first lady Barbara Bush hugs Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison before the start of the Republican Women Leaders Forum dinner at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, Tuesday, May 11, 1999.
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Photo By Melissa Phillip/Houston ChronicleTexas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison rides a horse named Elvis in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade on Feb. 13, 1999.
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Photo By Richard Ellis/The Associated PressSen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, discuss the ongoing Senate trial of President Clinton during NBC's 'Meet the Press' Sunday, Jan. 17, 1999 in Washington.
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Photo By J.Scott Applewhite/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison walks through the Capitol, Saturday, Jan. 16, 1999, during a break in the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton.
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Photo By J. Michael Short/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison greets U.S. Border Patrol agents-in-training Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1998, prior to a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Border Patrol headquarters in Laredo, Texas.
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Photo By Joe Marquette/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison talks to some of the daughters of Senate staffers on Capitol Hill Thursday April 23, 1998 who took part in the annual 'Take Our Daughters to Work Day.'
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Photo By Ron Heflin/The Associated PressSen. Kay Bailey Hutchison holds the Fort Worth Star-Telegram after she was acquitted Feb. 11, 1994.
Does anyone else miss Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison?
We're not sure how much difference one person could make in the toxic, chaotic, hyperpartisan atmosphere in Washington, but if we could choose just one it would be Hutchison, whose years of service in the Senate were marked by two things sorely lacking in her successor, Ted Cruz.
For one thing, Hutchison had an unswerving commitment to the highest and best interests of Texas at all times. This revealed itself in a thousand different ways. Hereabouts, we miss her advocacy for NASA, the Port of Houston and the energy industry. And we know she worked just as hard for Dallas, San Antonio and a hundred smaller Texas cities and towns.
Read the endorsement: Cruz for Senate (Oct. 12, 2012)
And dare we say it? We miss her extraordinary understanding of the importance of reaching across the aisle when necessary. Neither sitting Texas senator has displayed that useful skill, and both the state and the Congress are the poorer for it.
One reason we particularly believe that Hutchison would make a difference in these hectic days is that if she had kept her seat, Cruz would not be in the Senate.
When we endorsed Ted Cruz in last November's general election, we did so with many reservations and at least one specific recommendation - that he follow Hutchison's example in his conduct as a senator.
Obviously, he has not done so. Cruz has been part of the problem in specific situations where Hutchison would have been part of the solution.
We feel certain she would have worked shoulder to shoulder with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in crafting a workable solution that likely would have avoided the government shutdown altogether.
But we'll never know.
While we're on the topic, we'd like to think our first choice to succeed Hutchison in the Senate, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, would have been more amenable to following Hutchison's example than Cruz has been. But these days, we're not so sure. Dewhurst, long considered a moderate in the Texas GOP, clearly was rattled by his unexpected loss to Cruz for the Senate seat.
Since the defeat, the lieutenant governor has attempted a full-blown political makeover designed to make him the darling of the conservative wing of the Texas party.
Faced with the impossible task of outflanking three strong conservative challengers, the traditional moderate Dewhurst does not seem like a man comfortable in his own skin. It's painful to watch.