Texas Comptroller Eyes Governor's Race

[Freddie Stubbs]

Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn's reputation as a watchdog for the health and education of children is summed up in a needlepoint decoration in her office: "One Ticked Off Grandma." Strayhorn may try to add another job to her resume _ governor.

"People are very directly asking me to run for governor, and I'm listening," said the 64-year-old Strayhorn, who regularly takes aim at Gov. Rick Perry, a fellow Republican.

Strayhorn's attacks on Perry and his policies _ including state cuts to health care and the failure to devise a new method for funding public schools _ routinely make headlines. She has accused Perry of being behind the Texas Legislature's efforts to strip her state agency of some of its high-profile duties.

Said Kathy Walt, a spokeswoman for Perry: "Her paranoia is amazing."

more: http://asia.news.yahoo.com/041112/ap/d86ad0980.html

[Rufus T. Firefly]

1. Don't forget Kinky Friedman!

He's running too. I'll probably be voting for him, because the Rethugs are going to win anyway.

http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/

-----

One of the great political stories in generations is about to unfold, as Richard 'Kinky' Friedman, humorist, performer, mystery writer and Texas Monthly columnist, threatens to run for the governorship of the state of Texas in 2006. Friedman certainly would bring a whole new ballgame into Austin 's capitol building, and he would do so as an Independent candidate and political amateur.

"The professionals gave us the Titanic, amateurs gave us the Ark. Career politicians are ribbon cutters. They see the governor's office as a job; I see it as an opportunity to make that Lone Star shine again.”

“I'm an Independent, which is the party of George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, Sam Houston, and Davy Crockett.”

As Governor, Kinky, or “the Kinkster”, would:

• Legalize casino gambling to fund education.
• Abolish political correctness “We didn't get to be the Lone Star state by being politically correct.”
• Take a good look at death row. “We need to make sure that we're not putting innocent people to death, which I believe we are.”
• Outlaw the de-clawing of cats.
• Bring young people into his administration. “Young people are less corrupt. They are the future of Texas ; it's theirs to win or lose.”

[Wright Patman]

2. Former Democrat

She was mayor of Austin. Her late father, Page Keeton, was dean of the UT Law School and a noted scholar on tort law, the field Shrubya wants to reform out of existence.

She was always a budget hawk back then. Now she looks like a free spender compared to Perry, also a former Democrat.

This is what Texas is reduced to. The Republican primary decides who will occupy the statewide offices. We were only a two-party state for about a 15-year transition period between the late '70s and early '90s.

Before that, we were a one-party state of putative Democrats. But what's interesting is that the overall ideology of Texans has changed very little.

The Democrats in charge such as Shivers, Connally and Briscoe were farther to the right than most of the Republicans in the Northeast and Midwest. I remember when Poppy Bush was derided as a "liberal" when Lloyd Bentsen defeated him handily in the general election of 1970 for the U.S. Senate.

Bentsen had a few months earlier defeated one of the only true "liberals" (populist more than liberal, actually) ever to hold statewide office, Sen. Ralph W. Yarborough.

Only the names have changed. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.