How was the Governors Debate?

[01Snake]

I'm still out West....

How did the Governors Debate go? Anything interesting happen?

[Nbadan]

Bell won, at least according to the non-scientific JR poll on local conservative talk radio, Grandma couldn't remember the name of the guy who wound up winning the Mexican Presidential election - there were two winners, Obrator and Calderon. Kinky proved that he is more of a one-line artist than a politician with any real plan or anything.

Some of the questions to the candidates were highly dubious. One questioned Kinky if he would continue to be a bad-role model by smoking cigars.

All in all, for being one of the top 10 economies in the world in itself, Texas still runs its Governor debate like if the candidates were running for local sheriff or something.

What a Joke!

[01Snake]

Does Bell even advertise? I only see Perry/Granny/Kinky on TV.

[AFE7FATMAN]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/met...e.3581d67.html

Gov hopefuls snipe, posture

DALLAS — The only debate of the Texas governor's race Friday rarely pushed the four major candidates beyond their campaign rhetoric as they tried to portray each other as unfit for the state's highest office.
The statewide-televised event before a panel of journalists was more of a joint news conference than a debate, but the candidates sniped at each other over taxes, toll roads, ethics and racially tinged remarks.

Debate quotes
Rick Perry:

'There is nobody standing before you but me who has laid out a plan that is doable, except for the Trans-Texas Corridor.'
'Mr. Friedman, words matter. Using (racial slurs), whether it's on stage or whether it's in the Governor's Mansion, is ... unacceptable.'
Chris Bell:

'A lot of folks in the Republican Party say they want local control (of education), but what they really want is remote control. ... These folks think they can sit in Austin and make all the decisions.'
'It's time for Democrats and independents and angry Republicans to wake up and realize this is our best opportunity in years to take back Texas for the people.'
Kinky Friedman:

'I was raised by a black lady in Houston. She taught me that Jesus Christ was color blind, and I'm proud to say that I'm color blind myself. I'm no racist. I'm a realist.'
'You get the best people from outside of politics. For education, I'd want someone who's seen the inside of a classroom. ... I'd hire anybody, black, white, blue or green ... but I want people who are not part of this lobbyist system.'
Carole Keeton Strayhorn:

'I'm going to blast the Trans-Texas catastrophe right off the books.'
'I would not give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, which is what the governor signed into law.'


Gov. Rick Perry, the Republican who is leading the pack but with less than 40 percent of the vote in recent polls, faced off against Democrat Chris Bell and independents Kinky Friedman and Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn for an hour in the studios of TXCN cable television. Libertarian James Werner wasn't invited.

The debate, sponsored by Belo Corp., was carried live on Belo stations, including KENS-TV in San Antonio. It was the only debate Perry agreed to do.

Voters "should have ample opportunity to hear from the candidates, and they shouldn't have to sneak away from the high school football game on the day before the Texas-OU game just to get to hear from all four candidates on the same stage," Bell said.


Bell, who has been lagging in fundraising and free media exposure in the race, had his campaign boosted Friday by Houston trial lawyer John O'Quinn, who said he would help Bell raise "whatever it takes" to be compe ive in the final month.

During the debate, Strayhorn focused on Perry, trying to portray it as a two-person race. Bell attacked Strayhorn and Perry, urging Democrats to rally behind him for victory.

Perry tried to diminish Strayhorn's candidacy by putting Bell in the crosshairs of his closing remarks. Friedman painted all three as professional politicians, saying he would bring people in from outside the political arena to address the state's problems.

But the biggest beating of the night came from the panel of Belo journalists who played a fast-paced game of political Jeopardy with the candidates.

Perry gave plausibly correct answers about the electric bill for the Governor's Mansion and the current home mortgage interest rate. Bell also knew that the battle of the Alamo occurred in 1836. But Strayhorn drew a blank when asked to name the new president of Mexico, Felipe Calderón.

Friedman also took pointed questioning from the panel about remarks he has made that some said were racially insensitive. Similarly, Strayhorn was quizzed repeatedly about taking more than $1 million in campaign contributions from tax consultants who have had contested cases pending before her agency.
Perry was forced to defend his support of the Trans-Texas Corridor and his property tax cut plan.

The toughest questioning Bell faced was about whether he had run a boring campaign that had failed to ignite the Democratic base.

Friedman said the controversy over his remarks, made during his campaign and as a satirical entertainer years ago, had diverted attention "from things that are troubling real Texans."

He said he hadn't heard any of the other candidates talk about crime problems in Houston, which he said has been aggravated by Katrina evacuees, whom he has referred to as "crackheads and thugs."

"I was raised by a black lady in Houston," he said. "She taught me that Jesus Christ was color blind, and I'm proud to say that I'm color blind myself. I'm no racist. I'm a realist."

The other candidates chided Friedman for his words, but Perry was the harshest.

"Mr. Friedman, words matter," Perry said. "Using that terminology, whether it's on stage or whether it's in the Governor's Mansion, is absolutely and totally unacceptable."

Friedman, who wore his trademark black cowboy hat throughout the debate, also took a shot at his more politically experienced opponents, suggesting an outsider such as himself was needed in the governor's office.

Defining politics, he said, "Poly means more than one, and ticks are blood-sucking parasites."


"These are all good people, but they've been in politics way too long, like 89 years for just the three of them," he said.

Strayhorn defended herself against questions about how she has raised more than $1 million from tax consultants. Her agency is the state tax collector.

Strayhorn said a state auditor investigation was a "witch hunt" that found nothing illegal in her agency. She said when she promised in 1998 not to take campaign contributions from people with contested tax cases, she said that meant cases that came directly to her.

The candidates also focused attacks on the property tax cut and business tax passed by the Legislature this year. Perry was asked about his promise of an average $2,000 property tax cut for Texas homeowners, a dollar amount few believe will be achieved.

"It is indisputable that there is a $15.5 billion property tax reduction over the next three years," Perry said. "Everyone knows that. It's a fact."

Strayhorn fired back, "Have you been to your mailbox lately? It's not a $2,000 property tax cut. At best, it's $52 this year. It's a paltry property tax cut that goes poof."