“Sarah Palin is a good friend and accomplished governor who will continue to be a strong voice of conservatism in American politics,” Perry’s written statement said. “Her state and our country are better off as a result of her tenure as governor and her candidacy for vice president.”

The statement continued: “I expect she will continue to work on the issues facing our country as conservatives strive to undo the damage being done by an out-of-control congress and federal government.”

So, why, he asked, do Americans allow politicians to “mess up the job?”

The political celebrity — whose real name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher and who doesn’t work as a plumber anymore — spoke at Zilker Park, where several hundred people gathered for an anti-government “tea party,” one of many being held around the country over Fourth of July weekend. Attendees, many wearing red, white and blue, came to express their frustration with big government, taxes and illegal immigration and their desire to fight for that which they hold dear: freedom.

They held signs that touted secession, criticized President Barack Obama and said things like “Climate change for Congress: Go to Hell.” There were T-shirts for sale that said: You can’t fix stupid … but you can vote it out.”

“I’m just tired of what they’re doing to our country — spending us into bankruptcy, taxing us to death,” Austinite Cherri Trahan, who was attending her first tea party, said of politicians.

Good morning.

He said the fact that two measures on Gov. Rick Perry’s agenda passed but the third did not reflected the fact that in a very short special session, members wanted to come in and “pass the bare necessities” — things that should have been addressed during the regular session.

“I don’t think they were looking to delve very far into substantive policy matters,” he said.

The Legislature passed a bill keeping alive several state agencies and another that would allow the state to issue $2 billion in transportation bonds, but did not pass a measure that would have extended the state’s authority to enter into long-term contracts with private companies to build and operate toll roads.

When asked whether the governor had put pressure on him, Straus said: “None at all.”

Straus, a San Antonio Republican, said that he will be home for the Fourth of July and then has a family trip planned shortly after that — a trip, he joked, that probably won’t last much longer than the special session.

About five minutes earlier, the Senate passed House Bill 1, a road-building bond bill, the final vote on legislation during the special session, then itself adjourned sine die.

The special session began at 10 a.m. Wednesday and — at just under 30 hours in length — is one of the shortest in recent Texas history.

After the 11-minute mark of this interview with instapundit’s Glenn Reynolds, Perry salutes the tea parties, describing them as “spontaneous, organic, coming right out of the ground, if you will, all across this country.”

Perry adds that he enjoyed seeing Americans “that love this country, knowing that we are on a track that will destroy America, particularly destroy America’s economy, unless this Congress gets under control,” presumably a reference to federal spending and other actions.

“And to me that’s what the tea party has really always been about… Tea parties are really about freedom and liberty. Americans are tired of seeing their freedoms be taken away, seeing their liberty being restrained. And it happens when Washington forces their programs upon the states,” Perry says, without specifying which programs.

Earle’s move comes in the wake of his saying last week he was leaning toward running for governor after his earlier speculation about running for attorney general.

Earle’s action also comes after separate online efforts to draft State Sen. Kirk Watson and/or Earle to run for governor next year. Both Facebook pages surfaced recently; neither prospect spoke up for or against the pitches, though Watson has said he’s going to mull his political options probably until the end of the summer.

In some Democratic circles, there’s just that much unease at possibly ending up with former Fort Worth Rep. Tom Schieffer as the likely nominee; some are uncomfortable that his career has been entwined with the successes of George W. Bush. Another hopeful is Mark Thompson, the party’s nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission last year, while Kinky Friedman, who ran as an Independent in 2006, is considering a try as a Democrat.

Peek at the draft-Watson site here. See the draft-Earle site here.

“If the Legislature does not reauthorize CDAs during this very short special session, I don’t think it will cause any problems for the state. My only goal in authoring Senate Bill 3 was to make sure that if the Legislature decided to allow CDAs, we would only do so in a way that returned local control of transportation projects and established important protections for Texas drivers and taxpayers.”

And lawmakers plan to finish their other business — approving the issuance of $2 billion in road-building bonds and continuing the operations of five state agencies — and then go home later today.

Dewhurst said attempts for a compromise on the toll-road bills — Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 3 — failed amid growing questions about whether any action on the matter was needed before the Legislature convenes in regular session again in January 2011.

State Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, said the urgency of the matter waned after local and state transportation assured legislative leaders that no projects would be killed or delayed by the lack of a vote.

“If it was a critical issue, we’re here to deal with it,” Corona said. “But we have been assured … that no major project is going to be left behind … We will take this (issue) up in 2011.”

Gov. Rick Perry had called lawmakers back into special session to address three issues: The bonds, to continue the operations of the five agencies that otherwise would have shut down, and to give the authority of the Texas Department of Transportation continued authority to contract for the privately built toll roads — through deals called “comprehensive development agreements.”

Dewhurst said Perry’s reaction to let the third issue on the agenda die without action was: “roads need to get built.”

“They will,” Corona said. “It would be a mistake to do away with CDAs. But we need to take some time to look at this issue, and we can do that in 2011 without any impact on projects.”

So with the controversial issue off the table, here’s what the schedule for the rest of the special session looks like:

At 3:30 p.m., the Senate Finance Committee is expected to approve House Bill 1 (bonds). It will then go to the full Senate for a vote, probably about 5 p.m.

The House earlier today approved Senate Bill 2 (continuation of the agencies, also called the safety-net bill).

Adjournment of both the Senate and the House is expected by early this evening.

The former Travis County district attorney has been mentioned as a possible candidate for governor.

He filled out a one-page, hand-written form designating a campaign treasurer, which is required for candidates to start serious fundrasing. He listed himself as treasurer.

Former Ambassador Tom Schieffer and humorist Kinky Friedman are running for governor as Democrats.

A lot would have to happen to get to this point, but say Earle ends up the Democratic nominee and the Republican nominee is U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Earle pursued and won an indictment against Hutchison in 1993, accusing her of running a political shop out of her state treasury office before being elected U.S. senator.

Former Statesman report Laylan Copelin, who knows Earle as well as any journalist, wrote in a 2007 profile, “Earle stunned everyone, including his trial team, when he filed a motion to dismiss the case after the jury trial started. A judge appeared ready to throw out key evidence, and the dismissal motion might have given Earle the option of regrouping and trying again. The judge short-circuited that option by directing the jury to acquit Hutchison.”

Surely it would give Hutchison headaches to have it constantly mentioned that Earle prosecuted her, even though she was acquitted.

“We agreed not to take it up,” said one senator, who didn’t want to be quoted because the caucus discussions were private.

Other senators confirmed the comment.

The Senate is standing at ease — still in session, not doing anything — until 2:30 p.m. so they can receive House Bill 1, have it approved by a committee and then have it approved in final form by the full Senate.

After that, the Senate and House apparently plan to adjourn and go home.

The House this morning approved Senate Bill 2.

House Bill 1 (road-building bonds) and Senate Bill 2 (continuation of five state agencies) address two of the three issues Gov. Rick Perry brought lawmakers into session to approve.

The third issue was continued authority to contract for privately built toll roads.

Those agencies had gone through “sunset” this session and were to be renewed. But their sunset bills failed to pass in the late session pileup, as did a “safety net” bill to keep them open.

This bill is in effect that safety net bill, take two. This means that this bill is ready to go to the governor for his signature.

That means the Legislature has now done one of the three things Gov. Rick Perry assigned to them when he called the special session. Action on another bill, House Bill 1, has a good chance of being done by later today.

Lawmakers have indicated the third item, Senate Bill 3, likely will be shelved.

But the tone today was laudatory, as retiring state Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins and Adelaide “Addie” Horn, the retiring commissioner of the Department of Aging and Disability Services, were honored for their service by the Texas Senate.

Honored with a standing ovation, in fact.

“This is nearing the end of an amazing professional journey,” state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, chairman of the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee, said of Hawkins.

Of Horn, Nelson said, “she was a tireless advocate of people with disabilities.”

A Fort Worth native, Hawkins is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked his way through school working as a postal worker.

Starting in state government in 1978 as a program analyst for the Legislative Budget Board, Hawkins worked his way up to become budget director under Gov. George W. Bush in the 1990s, then served in Washington after Bush was elected president in 2000.

“This state is a much better place for your service,” observed Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, who acknowledged being one of Hawkins’ biggest critics, applauded the executive commissioner’s steadfast professionalism and his unwavering commitment to Texas’ needy.

Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, echoed the sentiment of others, when he told Hawkins: “I gave you a hard time, but it was all with respect.”

Horn started out on the staff of the Austin-Travis County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center, and later served as director of programs for the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

She worked in the private sector in New Mexico and Indiana before returning to Texas a director of long-term care services for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. In 2004, she became deputy commissioner of DADS and has served as commissioner of the 15,000-employee agency since 2006.

“Be really proud of what you have done,” Odgen told Horn.

“House Bill 1 is a very important bill to keep our state moving,” sponsor state Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, said.

The House just approved an amendment to HB 1 taking out the “revolver” fund that would have used $1 billion out of the $2 billion being borrowed under Proposition 12. Under the amendment, the money instead would go to the existing state infrastructure bank and could be lent out only to publicly run transportation projects.

On the way, the House approved a second amendment that said none of the money can be used to convert a free road to a toll road. In a discussion between state Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, and state Rep. David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio, Leibowitz acknowledged that his amendment would not prevent the money from being used to add toll lanes to an existing free roads.

No free roads in Texas have been converted to toll roads — although some TxDOT officials in 2004 and 2005 were anxious to do so — and the Legislature in past sessions has made it increasingly harder to do so.

“I believe whole-heartedly that she can, and will be, a fair and effective justice,” Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell said.

Lulu Flores, former president of the Hispanic Bar Association said those who focus solely on Sotomayor’s personal story are “glossing over” her strong judicial record and and legal experience.

“Her life story is very compelling, but it’s not her only qualification for being on this court,” Flores said.

Watch video of the gathering here.