'Deadbeat' Dewhurst?
On Jan. 24, I left a House Democratic press conference and scooted over to the Senate to ask Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for a response to two Houston reps' insinuation that he is a hypocrite for proclaiming a "Children First" agenda while opposing annual renewals for families in the Children's Health Insurance Program.
"I don't think most people in Texas have a lot of sympathy for someone that can't fill out a two-page application every six months," Mr. Dewhurst said, defending a semiannual renewal rule that lawmakers imposed on CHIP families in 2003.
I suspected that wasn't the last time we'd hear that quote -- either from Mr. Dewhurst or CHIP advocates.
Today, Democratic activist Matt Angle, once an aide to former Congressman Martin Frost, released documents showing that a Dewhurst business lost its license on Dec. 6 for failing to file a report due at the Secretary of State's office every four years.
"Deadbeat Dewhurst failed to file basic business forms," screamed a headline on the Lone Star Project web site.
It turns out one Dewhurst business failed to file a so-called "periodic report." The report is sort of like a Rolodex refresher. It updates the state on whether a limited partnership has a new office address or any new officers or directors. The David Dewhurst Investment Partnership Ltd. was sent two warning letters last summer about its failure to submit a report. Mr. Angle says Dewhurst-related businesess have ignored similar filing requirements "at least six times" over the past 23 years.
Dewhurst spokesman Mike Wintemute disputed Mr. Angle's account of some of the earlier, alleged paperwork lapses. But Mr. Wintemute acknowledged that the limited partnership made a boo-boo last year. Its address changed in 2001, he said.
"The partnership never received a notice to file," he said. But it's still active and the failure to file the update "is being corrected as we speak."
Many Democrats have said requiring reenrollment in CHIP every six months has bumped tens of thousands of otherwise-eligible children from the rolls. Mr. Angle seized on the partnership's paperwork lapse.
"When David Dewhurst makes a mistake, he has millions to fall back on," Mr. Angle said. "But when CHIP families make a mistake, Dewhurst thinks their kids should lose health insurance."
Mr. Wintemute denied there's a Dewhurst double standard. Mr. Wintemute said re-upping in CHIP "is quite simple. ... What we're talking about are two completely different requests."