Democrats appear to have recruited retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez to run for the U.S. Senate in Texas, setting the stage for a potentially competitive race in 2012 for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Sanchez, reached by phone at his San Antonio home, said, "I can neither confirm nor deny."
While Sanchez, the former top military commander in Iraq who was forced out by the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, wouldn't speak about the Senate race, he did discuss his career and political philosophy.
I would describe myself as during my military career as supporting the president and the Constitution," Sanchez said. "After the military, I decided that socially, I'm a progressive, a fiscal conservative and a strong supporter, obviously, of national defense.
That sounds very Blue Dog to me. And Sanchez, while he was "cleared" of any wrongdoing in Abu Ghraib - well, there's enough problems with our occupation of Iraq to give anyone the willies.
Former Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes confirmed that Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the head of the Democratic Senate campaign committee, was referring to Sanchez Thursday when she said that Democrats were very close to announcing a candidate in Texas.
So this is what the Democratic establishment wants. I put this question to Texan Kossacks - is Sanchez a good choice? I assume the establishment, as usual, would rather elect a Blue Dog than nominate a more liberal candidate and lose.