Krazy Kathie Glass and Chicken Rick Perry

Let's just post this without any editorial comment from me.

HUMBLE - With a dash for the door after delivering a speech, Gov. Rick Perry avoided a confrontation with Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kathie Glass.

Glass had said she was going to confront Perry over not debating her and other candidates for governor. But she waited until Perry finished his speech to the Texas Conservative Coalition 10th Amendment Town Hall meeting at the Humble Civic Center. Seated front row center, Glass raised a finger into the air and charged in Perry's direction.

But he was off the stage in an instant. Event organizers and the Department of Public Safety security detail had created a wall that kept Glass from getting close to Perry. Men stepped in her way as she came forward. The closest she got was about five feet from the governor.

UPDATED: Perry's campaign provided video on the agreement that I not post it to prove Perry shook her hand. However, the handshake did not last more than an instant, and Glass lost her balance stumbling backward as Perry withdrew his hand. This handshake occurred in an instant as Tom Glass passed in front of me.

"If you can't stand up to Kathie Glass, how can you stand up to the federal government?" Glass shouted after Perry as he exited the room.

Glass afterward said she believes Perry is afraid of defending his record in office.

"That is not leadership - to run away like a scared little boy from someone who just wants to engage you in debate," Glass said.

Glass said Perry is hoping few Texans pay attention when the other candidates engage in a televised debate on Oct. 19. "He is afraid to debate because he knows he will not show well," she said.

Oh, but there is video ...



And this, from Debra Medina's former spokesperson:

Some political observers have surmised that Gov. Rick Perry’s primary motive for avoiding public debates has more to do with Libertarian Kathie Glass than Democrat Bill White (or his tax returns). The logic: Perry is trying to prevent a repeat of upstart Debra Medina’s impressive debate performances during the GOP primary, which launched her from obscurity into the spotlight, until her campaign eventually faltered.

“That’s absolutely true. There’s two Democrats in this race: That’s Bill White and Rick Perry,” said Penny Langford Freeman, a representative for Medina, and Medina’s former campaign manager. “The only conservative is Kathie Glass, and he doesn’t want people to know that.” ...

According to the Chronicle, Glass shouted at Perry: “If you can’t stand up to Kathie Glass, how can you stand up to the federal government?”

Last bit of news: Kinky Friedman plans to endorse Glass. It's a dual endorsement with the canine he previously endorsed.

"I already said I would endorse Woodrow the dog," he explains. "He'll have to be my animal endorsement, and Kathie will be my human endorsement."

Texas Shorts

I couldn't stand reading the phrase "bloggers in their Cheeto-stained underwear" any longer. So I went out and bought some Cheetos.

-- Color me amazed and astounded: the Dallas Morning News endorsed Barbara Radnofsky for Texas Attorney General. Just read this:

Abbott, 52, has joined a legal brief supporting Arizona's fatally flawed immigration law. He has sued the Environmental Protection Agency for daring to expect Texas to abide by the same, much-needed clean-air rules that apply to all 50 states. He is trying to block federal regulation of greenhouse gases. And when the Obama administration made the necessary decision to temporarily halt deepwater offshore drilling, Abbott filed yet another legal challenge – rather than focusing his efforts on how another disaster could be averted off our shores.

Meanwhile, there's plenty of work that needs to be done in the Texas office of the attorney general.

...

(A)fter eight years of Abbott, Texas can go no farther down this path.

Democratic challenger Barbara Ann Radnofsky offers a viable alternative. She's a smart, hard-nosed attorney who rightly suggests that the incumbent has done a poor job of picking battles. ...

... Radnofsky earns our recommendation. She's well prepared for the job and would back off from battles the state can't win – and shouldn't be fighting. Voters should not give Abbott another four years to tilt at Washington's windmills.

-- More endorsements from all over for Jeff Weems: the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Amarillo Globe News, Texas Fred (that's right; he of the Rowlett Tea Party) and the Sierra Club. That's about as broad spectrum as endorsements get.

-- There will be a debate between Hector Uribe and Jerry Patterson, the Land Commissioner candidates, tomorrow in Austin.

-- What Kuffner said about Sharon Keller skating. I'm just too revolted to add any more vitriol to the last chapter in this sordid saga. Grits has a take as well.

-- Sci Guy Eric Berger and the Texas State Climatologist, on climate change:

You may have noticed a recent AP story (picked up by USA Today here) on my announcement that Texas temperatures were rising and that triple-digit temperatures would be the norm within a few decades, as the story put it. I'd like to provide a little context about the story itself and about future Texas climate.

First, here is some helpful context that I received by email from an anonymous email account, here quoted in full with a tiny bit of character substitution: "hey you pathetic lying scumbag everybody is laughing at you and the al gore scam. what a stupid poiece of scum you are. professer mt a**. try dumba** al gore a** kisser."

Maybe you'd like some different context? Good.

And it gets better and more 'sciencey' from there.

Berger writes the best blog at the Chron (no disrespect to Dwight or Kate or J.R., who are almost indispensable themselves). During the hurricane season just passed, I didn't look at teevee once for storm information. Just Eric's posts and Stormpulse.

-- Here is last week's Harris County Clerk candidates' debate, between Ann Harris Bennett, Stan Stanart, and Don Cook.

The longest ballot in history?

That's what they keep saying.

If it seems like that Harris County ballot you got in the mail is long, it is. Veteran election watchers say it is the longest they can recall.  The ballot is so long that it requires 61 cents to mail in your vote. Harris County Democratic Party Chairman Gerry Birnberg joked, "We're real close to a poll tax here."

Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman recently gave a vivid demonstration of the daunting list voters face Nov. 2 by unfolding a ballot that extended to nearly her height.

Voters are "overwhelmed," said the Houston-area League of Women Voters president, Nancy Parra. The League's executive director, Christina Gorczynski, said the office never has received so many calls. A fire that destroyed nearly all of the county's voting machines has people clamoring for information about how to vote early, she said.

Keep in mind that if you vote early (EV starts next Monday the 18th and runs through Oct. 29), you can only vote electronically on a borrowed e-Slate. If you vote on Election Day you can ask for a paper ballot.

For the first time in several elections, I'll be voting on Election Day.

University of Houston political science professor Richard Murray said this year's ballot is the longest he has seen in the 44 years he has lived in Harris County and speculates that it may be the longest one in the nation this year.

"It's almost certain it's the longest ballot in the history in the state because we're by far the biggest county," Murray said.

No Harris County voter has all 252 candidates and 142 election contests on his individual ballot, but every one starts with 72 judicial contests.

Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill said the party's response to the lengthy ballot is simply to promote straight-ticket voting. Woodfill said the phone calls, door hangers, radio spots and mailers all will emphasize voting for all Republicans with one sweeping vote. In the 2008 presidential elections, 62 percent of Harris County voters cast straight-ticket ballots.

LOL, Jared. Democrats out-voted the GOP in straight ticket votes in both 2006 and 2008, and I don't believe the Tea Party likes some of the Republicans on your ballot. Besides that there are many, many Republicans splitting their ticket starting with the governor's race.

Kaufman notes that the Libertarian Party has fielded dozens of candidates in congressional and state races, lengthening the ballot by a few names on any individual ballot.

The Libertarians will suck away a minimum of 5% of the usual GOP tally, probably more like 7 or 8.  It's really a shame Kathie Glass isn't drawing off more of Goodhair's base; she's plenty kooky enough for the Teas and the Medinaites and even some of the Kay Bailey primary voters. We already know that a lot of moderate GOP are breaking for White.

The Greens also have a handful of candidates, mostly at the statewide level. Again, because the Dems did not field a Comptroller candidate, Edward Lindsay carries the torch for future Green Party ballot access in Texas. As Neil notes, if he gets 5%, they'll qualify in 2012.

The League of Women Voters has help for voters. To get voter guides and a ballot for your precinct, visit www. onyourballot.vote411.org. The League's paper voter guides should be in local public libraries by Wednesday. The county clerk's website, www.harrisvotes.net, has information on early voting locations, how to obtain a mail-in ballot and which races are on individual ballots. 

The League and Murray advise voters to do their homework and write down whom they intend to vote for before they enter the voting booth.

Straight-ticket voting does assure that bottom-of-the-ballot candidates get their share (many voters who split their ticket get tired of the long ballot and stop before they get to the end). But because there are frequently issues with straight-ticket voting at the top of the ticket -- and with Harris County using e-Slates from many other places, the likelihood of voting on a compromised one is increased -- the League's and Dr. Murray's advice is well-taken. From the Snopes link:

The best advice to ensure your votes count as you intend is to study a sample ballot in advance, read the ballot and voting instructions provided to you at the polling place carefully before casting your vote(s), and ask a poll worker for assistance if you are unsure about any aspect of the voting procedures. If you think you may have spoiled your ballot, do not hesitate to report the situation to a poll worker.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some political parties may not field candidates for every single partisan office on a ballot, so by selecting a straight ticket you may end up not voting at all in some races. Therefore, if you plan to vote a straight ticket, you might want to review your ballot first to verify that your party has a candidate running for every partisan office listed (and also be sure to cast votes for non-partisan offices not included in the straight ticket selection process). As they say, "If you're going to take the time to vote, take a few extra seconds and make every vote count."

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is imagining a world in which John Lennon would have lived to see his 70th birthday as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff published interviews with Democratic candidates Jeff Weems, Hector Uribe, and Hank Gilbert.

BossKitty at TruthHugger is disgusted again. This is a very serious election, but America is the deer in the headlights and appears to be frozen. So the last thing he wants to hear is "its a TRUCK"! This election is all spin and conspiracy (not that previous elections haven't been) but this one is critical because it's hinting at rolling back what progress has been achieved. Israel is sliding, America is sliding and the radicals are ready. This is NOT the choice American's should face.

Matthew Dowd, a Bushbot, longs for the glory days of the Bush presidency and envisions Rick Perry as president. That sound you hear is CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme retching uncontrollably.

Bay Area Houston says that during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Americans are truly a sick bunch of people.

nytexan at BlueBloggin is beyond irritation at the continual hypocrisy of Congress and the Republican agenda of NO. The latest example is Senators Coburn and Brown Take Pay Raise and Say No To Federal Employees. It's stunning that the US Congress can continue to give themselves pay raises every few years and then claim that federal employees are overpaid. Tom Coburn believes "we need to expect more, and we need to pay less".

The Texas governor is apparently going to finish the 2010 campaign much the way he started it: remaining cowardly, and trying to get re-elected based solely on his good looks.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts (again) on the failure of our state's leadership: Public school finance continues to be a problem.

WhosPlayin writes about why it is so important for Texans to log on to www.donatelifetexas.com and check the status of their organ donor registration, and sign up if they haven't already.

Neil at Texas Liberal attended the Governor's race debate on the topic of education that was held in Houston. All the candidates were there ... except the incumbent.

Sunday Funnies

"Don't f*ck with Todd Palin. He will make you an offer he can't pronounce. You mess with Todd Palin, you could wake up with a horse's ass in your bed, like he does everyday." -- Bill Maher, on Todd Palin firing off an angry email full of grammatical errors to Alaska GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller

Geek fighting on Facebook

This was one of my friend's - no, one of my real friends -- FB status updates today.

Regarding the mosque near ground zero, I say let them build it. But across the street, we should put a topless bar, called "You Mecca Me Hot". Next to that, a gay bar called "The Turban Cowboy" and next to that, a pork-rib restaurant called "Iraq o' Ribs"? And a check cashing center called..."Iran out of... money"

This is my response:

This is a great idea! But we could just get the strip club that's already there to change its name (from the Pussycat Lounge). And the Thunder Lingerie and More sex shop ('more' looks like peep shows and dildos) could rename itself "72 Virgins". Talk about Meccan me hot...

Within three blocks of Ground Zero, there are 17 pizza shops (one slice of Meat Lovers, extra sausage, for my Muslim buddy over there on the corner), 18 bank branches (Iran Outta Money is perfect), 11 bars, 10 shoe stores (I like "Duck, Bush!" personally) and 17 separate salons where a girl can get her lady parts groomed. How about "Brazilians by Chileans"? Allah Akbar!

Not to mention at least ten churches, three synagogues, one Buddhist community center, a Hare Krishna facility and an existing Muslim prayerhouse that, on its website, denies any connection to "any other organization trying to build anything new in the area of downtown Manhattan".

I'm not making any of this up (except the renames, in the spirit of the OP). Just Google 'ground zero strip club' and click on the NY Daily News link. It should be the second one from the top.

You know what I like best about this suggestion? Morons like Newt Gingrich may finally stop calling GZ 'sacred ground'.

"Christ, Patrick, don't try to kiss me .."

"Can't you see we're in church, you moron?!"

Remaining cowardly (Perry as well as the state media)

This ad calls the governor out yet again -- and since it no longer contains that word that offends the Houston Chronicle's Jack Sweeney, it appears in that newspaper, and 40 others across the state.

“Rick Perry again proved what a coward he is by stiffing Texans and skipping out of Sunday’s gubernatorial debate. With a looming $21 billion budget deficit and the recent scandals showing Perry’s willingness to sell out our state government to campaign donors, it’s no wonder he’s afraid to face the people of Texas.

“Texans are tired of long-time career politicians like Rick Perry, who hides from voters in his $10,000-per-month taxpayer-funded rental mansion and refuses to be held accountable for his record.

It's a remarkable list of of accomplishment, isn't it?

There's yet another media poll out today ...

With election night now less than a month away, the new KHOU-Belo Texas Poll shows incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Perry is backed by half of all surveyed Texas voters; indicating he has built a commanding lead over Democratic challenger Bill White.

The poll shows Perry is supported by 50 percent of surveyed voters, compared to White's 36 percent.  Another 9 percent of voters were undecided, while Libertarian candidate Kathie Glass picked up 3 percent. 

Perry has led almost every poll conducted during this campaign, though not always by such a wide margin. But the governor breaking the 50 percent barrier in an independent statewide poll is a dramatic development in a campaign in which even White himself concedes he's the underdog.

The survey indicates Perry's support is not only wider than White's, it's also deeper.  Pollsters at Public Strategies Inc., the Austin-based firm that conducted the study,  suggested that Perry is ahead, not only because Republicans outnumber Democrats, but also because they're more likely to vote this November.  

That's an inevitability narrative. Too bad the poll is even more seriously flawed than last week's. Matt Angle at the Lone Star Project released this statement to the press earlier this afternoon:

The recent poll commissioned by Belo and reported by KHOU Channel 11 in Houston and WFAA Channel 8 in Dallas, however, appears to be distorted to the point that it should not be considered an accurate measure of the current political atmosphere in Texas. Specifically:

*The interview “screen” used to determine which individuals to include in the poll distorts the make up of the voter sample to the point that it cannot be an accurate reflection of the likely make-up of the 2010 General Election electorate in Texas. Typically, those surveyed in political polls are asked the question, “Are you likely to vote in the next general election?” The Belo poll asked a very different question. Its screen asked if the respondent voted in "most" or "all" school, local and primary elections.

*Screening to require that respondents vote in "most" or "all" local and school elections eliminates a large pool of voters who will in fact vote in a highly publicized General Election like the ongoing race for Governor in Texas and in many hotly contested local Legislative races. It is not unusual for turnout in local and school elections to be half or less than the turnout in a General Election.

*Further, voters in city elections and local school board elections are typically higher income, more likely to be homeowners, and more likely to support or “lean” towards supporting Republican candidates than a General Election electorate voter from the same area.

Bottom line:
The voter screen used in the Belo poll eliminates many likely Bill White voters before they are even asked a substantive political question. This poll shows the race favoring Rick Perry to a much higher degree than any other poll because it is unintentionally skewed to favor Perry. I am hopeful that Belo will cease reporting the poll as a fair measure of the current race for Governor in Texas or make clear to viewers and readers that the sample does not reflect the turnout normally expected in a contested General Election race.

Despite his having ignored every editorial board, and even the personal challenge from the most conservative daily in Texas,  the state's media conglomerates -- Hearst newspapers, Cox newspapers and TV stations, and now Belo (newspapers as well as TV stations in the top four Texas markets) continue to flog the Perry campaign line. Maybe it's an accident.

("It is inevitable" is a message to the opposition, of course: don't bother voting, you can't win, it's already over. Precisely designed to counter the surging Democratic wave I wrote about here ... and of which you're already beginning to see some national reporting.)

I certainly think Rick Perry is leading, but the race is much, much closer than the newspapers and TV people are saying, and it will all depend on who gets their voters to the polls. The deadline to register for this election was yesterday; early voting begins week after next on the 19th, and Election Day is four weeks from today.

What are you going to do?

Running on his physical appearance

There seems to be a meme running through the Internet's series of tubes today. Let's begin with Peggy Fikac:

No, really, women aren’t any more shallow than men.

When a poll by a group of newspapers including the San Antonio Express-News/Houston Chronicle showed that about 50 percent of women likely to vote favor GOP Gov. Rick Perry -- compared to 40 percent for Democratic challenger Bill White -- some called it a testament to Perry's looks.

Among them was the pro-Perry blog "Rick versus Kay" which posted this (tongue-in-cheek?) item: "If you want to know the real reason Rick will win women, it is the same reason Obama won so many women ..... or why Clinton won so many women ..... women don't want to have to look at Bill White's gollum-looking mug for four years whereas Rick is who they wish their husbands looked like at age 60."

I know someone might be laughing - and I'm not picking on Rick versus Kay. But let's face it, it's a bit annoying.

It might be annoying -- even pathetic, I submit -- if it were true, Peggy. And who are these "some"? But before we get to that let's note that Corrie MacLaggan at the Austin Statesman dutifully followed suit...

"Perry is doing extraordinarily well among women," said Mickey Blum, whose firm, Blum & Weprin Associates Inc., conducted a poll on behalf of the American-Statesman and other newspapers. She said that in years of polling in Texas, this might be the first time she's seen more women than men backing the Republican.

The poll found that 50 percent of women who are likely voters prefer Perry, while 40 percent prefer White. Overall, 46 percent of likely voters picked Perry and 39 percent liked White, the poll said.

Yes, this might indicate some trouble for the Democratic nominee if it were accurate. However, as Phillip Martin has demonstrated, it is a false assumption that women prefer Perry over White. The newspapers reference a single poll, the one they commissioned. The average of ten polls since May indicates White has a plurality of support with Texas women voters. One of those is the mighty Rassmublican poll from 9/22 -- two weeks ago -- showing a 51-39 split in favor of the Democrat.

But those facts didn't stop Fikac or MacLaggan, and they sure as hell didn't slow down Big Fat Jolly in his Big Fat Whine about last night's gubernatorial debate (I warned you he was going to be cranky). No excerpt; let's give him the traffic.

In BJ's defense, he attended the event. After a long day of activism, I was too worn out to do so and instead watched the online stream. Neil Aquino also made it and had a much more reasoned take, including this:

All in all, the debate served a useful public purpose. I urge folks to consider all the candidates.

Many Texas voters will likely follow that advice (whether they read Neil's blog or don't). Many of those Texans will be women.  And after ten too-long years, Texas will have a new governor on Tuesday evening, November 2. Thank goodness.

Update: Rachel gets mean.

The Weekly (Fall, finally) Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance welcomes the arrival of October as it brings you this week's blog roundup.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts about Rick Perry still in denial about the economy in Texas: Trying to make a living in the best state not to have a job in.

Off the Kuff examined the possibility of a Libertarian effect on the governor's race.

Bay Area Houston has an opinion on Renew Houston's new tax for drainage improvements.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks that the Republican running for Harris County Clerk is an idiot.

News you won't hear on the Lamestream Media this week is that the conservative/TeaBag/GOP momentum peaked three weeks too soon, while the liberal/progressive/Democratic momentum is surging. You can wait a month and learn what happened on FOX ... or you can read all about it now at PDiddie's Brains and Eggs.

Rev. Manny at BlueBloggin takes a look at Tea Party candidates and sees more proof that they are running cover for the Corporate Agenda. When you think of classic business hustles, there is a long list but at the top are sweatshops, mercenaries, commodity profiteering and environmental assault. Enter the Tea Party.

It was another bad week for Sleazy Todd Staples. First off, there is now a video to go with his votes to expand eminent domain. Then he tried to defend some of his inaction with stupidity. Hank Gilbert, of course, slapped him down hard. Read it at McBlogger.

Libby Shaw does yeoman service to us all, gathering together a sort of bestiary of Far Out Right Wing Republicans running for office this cycle. Check out the videos. Word of warning: don't try to ingest anything while you are viewing. Either you will gag or you will burst out in laughter. Neither is good for your digestion. Check it out at Texas Kaos... The Scourge of the Republican Radical Right.

Neil at Texas Liberal noted a report that aliens are disarming nuclear missiles in the U.K. and the U.S. Neil supports this course of action by our alien visitors, and urges them to come to Texas to disable the means by which we execute people. The number of innocent people executed in the U.S. is a crime of galactic scale.

Sunday Funnies

Some of the real news

Conservative momentum peaked about two weeks too early. By contrast, progressive momentum is just beginning to rise. (But you won't hear anything about this on the Lamestream Media.)

The Republican National Committee's less-than-stellar fundraising this summer is forcing the party to dial back on some of its traditional get-out-the-vote efforts in the final weeks of the 2010 campaign.

As first reported by Roll Call's Jackie Kucinich, the RNC has decided to end the long-standing practice of sending congressional staffers into hotly contested districts to make contacts with voters and assist the GOP's midterm election efforts. A spokesman for the RNC says the program isn't "cost-effective" and the party plans to spend its money on other get-out-the-vote efforts, like mailing fliers to voters' homes.

The move seems counterintuitive on the eve of an election in which Republicans are strongly favored to make serious gains in the Senate and possibly regain control of the House. But with less than five weeks to go before Election Day, the RNC doesn't have the cash it had in previous years to spend on dollar-intensive get-out-the-vote efforts.

As of Aug. 30, the RNC had roughly $4.7 million cash in the bank for the final push, according to its latest Federal Election Commission report. By comparison, the Democratic National Committee reported more than $13 million.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele has been under fire for months for the party's lackluster fundraising and what some officials have described as frivolous spending. Steele is currently on a 48-state bus tour — which some GOP insiders have privately criticized as a waste of money.

Bob Schieffer's teevee program this morning was all about the Democrats' infighting, the projected loss of Congress, what went wrong with Obama's agenda ... basically the same thing you would hear if you were listening to Mike Wallace's wayward son on FOX.

This might have been news last month. Today it's already false.

Now if you will excuse me again, I'll get back to GOTV efforts and rallying the base.