Well, Arnold’s going to be back Thursday and you’re invited.

Pony up $5,000 for lunch and a photo with the govern-ator. Lunch alone runs $1,000.

Fetch the invitation here.

Background material from Cornyn’s camp notes that he was a co-sponsor of the Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act Of 2008, which included tax credits for wind power. Though that did not pass into law, language extending tax credits for wind and other renewable energy sources for one year was attached to the Wall Street rescue/bailout plan signed into law last week, Cornyn’s office said.

Democrat Rick Noriega’s campaign had no immediate comment, though spokeswoman Holly Shulman said a statement is under preparation pointing to Cornyn votes against incentives for wind energy.

My forecast: Cornyn’s camp will say those particular votes weren’t against wind energy, but instead objections to particular pieces of legislation the wind planks were rolled into. Consider such an exchange as a standard version of how things roll in Washington and at the Texas Capitol in Austin, where voting histories are appropriately subject to interpretation.

Check out the ad here.

Titled “Fed Up,” the spot shows Noriega standing and saying Cornyn has failed Texas families by being among Washington politicians “who work day and night to bail out special interests,” a reference to the Wall Street rescue plan/bailout adopted by Congress last week and signed into law by President Bush.

Noriega then refers to his background as a Houston state representative and a lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army National Guard, where he has served in Afghanistan and along the Texas-Mexico border.

A campaign statement said the ad is airing in many markets throughout the state, perhaps a signal it’s not going to be seen everywhere. Spokeswoman Holly Shulman said she wasn’t going to discuss the campaign’s ad strategy.

Imagery in the ad includes a look at a cowboy-hatted Cornyn riding in a Brownsville parade — evidently excerpted from footage used already by Cornyn both in a video shown at the Republican Party’s state convention and in a TV spot.

Script snippet:

On the battlefield, at the border, and in the Legislature, I’ve proven that I’ll fight for you and your family. I’m Rick Noriega. I approve this message, because I’ll be a senator who has your back.

View the spot here:

Cornyn’s campaign, which has aired a series of soft-touch TV ads since mid-September, reacted without specific objections.

Spokesman Kevin McLaughlin said: “It’s very unusual for a candidate to introduce himself with an attack ad. It’s a sure sign of desperation. And we’re confident Texans will see this for what it is: empty rhetoric lacking solutions.”

The policy differences between the House District 47 candidates on issues such as transportation funding and taxes were clear — and predictable — from the start.

But the excitement came toward the end when an audience member raised the specter of House Speaker Tom Craddick when he asked: Would you support Craddick for speaker in the next session?

Keel, whose husband and brother-in-law have business and political connections to Craddick, said she doesn’t know him and would not make a decision on the speaker until she knows who is running.

She did say, however, that Bolton was “irresponsible” for not supporting the agenda of the Republican leadership.

Bolton, in turn, said Keel’s loyalties would clearly lie with Craddick since the speaker was the biggest client of Thornton Keel, Donna’s husband, who has an accounting and data analysis firm with many political clients, including Craddick and a political action committee largely funded by Craddick.

Thornton Keel then piped up from the audience to call that claim a “lie” and later had words with the moderator Will Atkins, Oak Hill Gazette publisher and editor, to complain that he was not given the time to “clear the air” about Bolton’s claim. Thornton Keel later said he has non-political clients that are not listed on the Texas Ethics Commission documentation.

Bolton wasn’t backing down, saying later that her statement was supported by public documents.

“It is disingenuous if not dishonest for her to say ‘I don’t even know the speaker,’ ” Bolton said after the forum.

Keel also took issue with the what she claimed as an unfair distribution of speaking time.

Dwain Rogers, president of the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods, said Atkins did the best he could to keep the speaking time balanced and there was no intention to give one candidate more than the other.

The fireworks between the candidates, Roger added, was a good thing and gave the audience quite a show.

Shapiro, who files her finance report Oct. 15, said she hopes to raise money at a similar clip through December before turning her focus to the 140-day regular legislative session starting in January.

Shapiro’s exploration of a Senate run, including “listening tour” stops in Lubbock, Abilene, Amarillo, Tyler and perhaps Austin, started this summer amid speculation GOP Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison would not complete her term, which extends through 2012. Hutchison might resign to run for governor in 2010.

Shapiro might not be able to raise enough money to deter deep-pocketed Republicans such as Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst or former Secretary of State Roger Williams from diving into a special election to fill a Senate seat—though Shapiro suggested that any candidate will have to showcase fundraising firepower.

“No one gets anointed,” Shapiro said. “The people make that decision. All of us are going to raise money. No one goes in and plunks down a check and says, ‘I don’t need donations.’ Whoever ends up in this race will be doing the same thing I am doing,” raising money.

Among Republicans, Michael Williams, chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, and Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones could prove Senate aspirants. Among Democrats, former State comptroller John Sharp has privately told friends he intends to run if Hutchison steps down.

When I asked, Shapiro didn’t air a position on the Wall Street rescue/bailout plan approved by Congress and signed by President Bush last week.

Hutchison and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, voted for the plan, though at the time GOP Gov. Rick Perry questioned the plan, saying it should have helped taxpayers more than Wall Street.

Shapiro said: “I don’t condemn (senators) for voting one way or praise them for voting another. We have to know they have done it because they believe it was the right thing to do.”

When I asked if she was was taking a pass on the topic, Shapiro replied: “It’s not taking a pass as much as saying I feel their pain; I know how difficult it is” to make such votes.

He’s targeting electric rates and the controversy at Pedernales Electric Cooperative.

You can see the commercial herehttp://www.patrickrose.com/

In a memo titled “Recent poll numbers” obtained by the Austin American-Statesman, Cornyn’s campaign manager, Rob Jesmer, writes:

“We are in good shape, but I don’t want to give the false impression we don’t have a lot of work to do. Although Noriega is a weak, underfunded candidate that is way to the left of the Texas electorate (and prone to angry outbursts!), we are operating in an extremely volatile and fluid political climate.”

Jesmer continues:

Also, (Noriega) is starting TV (ads) Thursday which will no doubt be negative. Simply put, we will likely have to navigate some bumpy days as the election approaches.

In an interview, Jesmer confirmed he sent the memo. He declined to comment further.

Noriega spokesman Martine Apodaca said: “We don’t need a poll to tell us that Texans are angry about out-of-control gas prices, that they’re fed up with the $700 billion (Wall Street) bailout, that they’re angry about our failed foreign policies and that they think Cornyn should go.”

Apodaca said he couldn’t talk about the timing of Noriega’s TV ads.

Fetch the Cornyn campaign memo here.

Howard raised $40,112.52 between July 1 and September 25 and had $53,821.83 on hand as of the end of the period.

During the same period, Waggoner raised $7,529.53 and had $13,032.18 on hand by the end.

Howard and Waggoner, along with Libertarian Ben Easton, who had not raised any money as of the last report, are vying to represent northwestern Travis County in the Texas House of Representatives. The district includes West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Lost Creek, Lago Vista and parts of Northwest Austin.

Howard received some of her largest donations from political action committees, including: $3,000 from the Texas State Teachers Association PAC, $2,500 from the Education Austin PAC, $1,500 from the Association of Texas Professional Educators PAC, $1,000 from the Real Estate Council of Austin Good Government PAC, $1,000 from the Texas Medical Association PAC, and $1,000 from the Communication Workers of America Committee on Political Education.

Howard also got money from fellow lawmakers, including $1,000 from state Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, and $401.60 from the campaign of state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin.

Waggoner’s donors were largely individuals or couples; none gave more than $1,000.

Democrat Diana Maldonado raised $227,293 the past three months, compared with $84,874 for Republican Bryan Daniel.

The disparity is greater in their bank accounts.

Maldonado has $278,368 cash on hand, while Daniel reported $19,142. Her advantage is not limited to penny-pinching. She slightly outspent Daniel the past three months. She spent almost $80,000 — about $5,000 more than her opponent.

The two are running to replace retiring Rep. Mike Krusee.

Travis County Democrats won’t be far away. Doors open at 7 p.m at the Long Center, 701 W. Riverside Dr., for the party’s debate watch party—including a mini-concert featuring Jimmie Dale Gilmore and remarks by Luci Baines Johnson. RSVP here or call (512) 477-7500.

Look for the parties to team up for the next debate Oct. 15 — as their locations converge somewhere near Lady Bird Lake — with Willie Nelson singing and KVET-FM’s Bob Cole serving as master of ceremonies. This is, of course, not going to happen.

“This election is about regaining the trust both domestically and internationally in governance, in people who serve in whatever capacity,” Noriega said.

Noriega, who’s challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, laid out four points as he prepares for the first of two debates on Thursday. I also summarize Cornyn’s response to each of the points, presented below.

Revisiting Cornyn’s response to a question at a Houston stop, Noriega said the incumbent “says that Texas ought to be the model for the rest of the nation in terms of health care policy.”

Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLauglin said Cornyn was referring to tort reform action in the Texas Capitol when he described Texas a model for the nation. “This has already been reported and discredited,” McLaughlin said.

Health care premiums have gone up 80 percent over the course of the last six years, Noriega said. Unstated: That’s how long Cornyn has been in the Senate

Noriega added that Cornyn, like U.S. Sen. John McCain, the GOP presidential nominee, favors requiring employees to pay taxes on employer-provided health care benefits.

Cornyn’s McLaughlin said Cornyn also clarified what he said about McCain’s health care plan because he misunderstood the question. “He is for more options and better care” and would not raise taxes to pay for any plan.

Point No. 2: “You and I are going to have to pay the bill on an over $700 billion bailout for the mismanagement of those on Wall Street and those in Washington, D.C.,” Noriega said, referring to the plan supported by Cornyn in a Senate vote last week.

Cornyn’s McLaughlin said: “This is not a blank check from taxpayers. It was a rescue plan to save Main Street nest eggs, small businesses and jobs. We can make all, if not more, of our money back. That’s not a bailout.”

Point No. 3: “My opponent believes that we do not have to have a pay-as-you-go government,” Noriega said, a charge he traced to an article in today’s American-Statesman (peek here).

“This is the vision that you do not have to have the money to pay for things. ‘I can gamble them away… You know why? Because I can always come back to the suckers and get the money.’”

McLaughlin stood by Cornyn’s comments in the article.

Point No. 4: “My opponent has taken $4 million from money houses in D.C., over $1 million from insurance companies and HMOS, the same amount of money from big oil companies,” he said.

Cornyn’s spokesman said Noriega “didn’t seem to have a problem with the single largest recipient of finance money,” Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, coming to Texas to raise money for Noriega last week.

“He embraced rescue money when it benefited him,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin added that Cornyn has gotten 90 percent of his campaign dollars from Texas givers, Noriega 75 percent — with 25 percent coming from a “special interest” political committee representing Democrats who blog.

Noriega is slated to speak to the American-Statesman’s editorial board later today.

Heading into the last month of the House District 47 race, Bolton has more than $125,000 available while Keel has about $37,000 remaining.

Annie’s List, which raises money for Democratic women candidates in Texas, gave Bolton $25,000 and was her biggest contributor, according to the campaign finance reports filed on Monday.

Other contributors include several education groups, state Sen. Kirk Watson and the Real Estate Council of Austin political action committee.

Keel’s major donors were the Texas Republican Party and members of her family.

“I’m very pleased to say that our state’s economy is better suited than just about any other state to weather this financial crisis,” Perry said, noting that Texas, unlike California, will not be asking the federal government for a handout to “keep the lights on.”

It is a message that state officials have often proffered since the economy took a turn for the worse a year ago. Perry did, however, add a note of caution.

“As strong as our economy is, it is still interlaced with the economies of other states that are in substantially worse condition than we are,” Perry said.

It is the state’s pension systems that are the most vulnerable to the national economic woes. But as Austin American-Statesman business reporter Bob Elder reported last week, the pensions seem to be faring comparatively well.

Dick Lavine, senior fiscal analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities, said no one can be certain how the Texas budget next year might be roiled by the national conditions.

For instance, the state might have to put more money toward children’s health insurance and Medicaid since the federal budget is being stretched thin, he said.

“Looking backwards, things were going great,” Lavine said. “But going forward, we’re driving into the fog.”

Talmadge Heflin of the Texas Public Policy Foundation said the state should focus on trimming spending.

“It should serve as a precaution just to be very frugal,” said Heflin, director of the foundation’s Center for Fiscal Policy.

This round, the senator is shown strolling among cows on a ranch near Beeville in South Texas.

The message: The financial disaster being weighed in Congress never should have happened. Text that flies across the screen notes that Cornyn demanded a crackdown on mortgage abuses in 2006.

UPDATE: Democrat Rick Noriega’s campaign today shared a statement calling the Cornyn commercial questionable in light of where Cornyn has fielded campaign donations—a tack that Cornyn’s camp calls misleading because at least some of the donations don’t come from high-dollar interests from outside of Texas.

See the Noriega campaign’s critique of the cow ad here.

That approach by the first-term senator is arguably canny strategy considering how Congress rates in general voter approval.

Cornyn’s message has to be helped by the fact that Democratic candidate Rick Noriega has yet to answer with TV buys of his own, though Noriega’s campaign did post a Web video last week. Cornyn’s camp has replied to Noriega’s criticism of Cornyn fielding $4 million in campaign contributions from financial interests by noting that several Democratic leaders including Sen. Hillary Clinton have reportedly taken even more money from the interests.

Noriega’s latest Web video:

Cornyn’s previous TV ads have shown him at Palo Duro Canyon and among cows in a pasture near Beeville. In those spots, like the latest one, he speaks softly as pretty scenes flit by.

In the new spot,”Family,” the Republican appears briefly standing on a rock in the Pedernales River. Other scenes show his wife, Sandy, and two daughters as well as Cornyn and his wife at a South Texas celebration.

“Every child should attend a good, safe, school and graduate,” Cornyn says in the voice-over. “Education means our children can achieve their potential.”

Cornyn hasn’t carried landmark education legislation to passage in the Senate. But he has offered a proposal that envisions states having more ways to comply with accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind law that Democrats have criticized for not being fully funded.

Noriega spokesman Martine Apodaca reacted:

John Cornyn didn’t show nearly as much concern for Texas kids when he voted six times against expanding children’s health insurance, despite representing the state with the most uninsured children. Nor did he seemed concerned with their education when he repeatedly voted against funding No Child Left Behind and Head Start. By the way, fully funding No Child Left Behind and children’s health insurance would have cost a tiny fraction of the $700 billion Cornyn just voted to give his Wall Street contributors. His priorities are wrong for Texas.

Cornyn has said he supported Republican versions of the plan to expand access to children’s health insurance.