What the F*** is Goodhair up to now???

[yella_dawg]

Message paid for by "Texans who want to line their pockets at others' expense" aired some tripe about major increases in spending on everything while property taxes will be cut to nothing. Goodhair's new reform plan for Utopia.

Is that piece of shit warming up for a Presidential run??

[Wright Patman]

1. Aggie arithmetic

Yeah, if he had his way he'd continue to follow in *'s footsteps as the "hair apparent" to the White House, but not even the Diebold machines will vote for him.

[jobycom]

2. He's trying to save his political ass

He's dead in the water. The next governor won't be him, barring drastic changes in public perception. So he's doing anything he can to look like the more rightwing nutcase, to shore up his support in his party.

His problem isn't winning the general election--Republicans believe that's a given. His problem is beating the more moderate Strahorn in the primaries. To do that, he's hoping to get the wingnut vote.

People underestimate Perry. He's a streetwise, shrewd fighter. He doesn't care much whether he does a good job. He just wants to win a second term, and maybe set himself up for something bigger--senator, cabinet member, or something. And yes, rumor amongst the insiders is he would love to be president, if the opportunity presented itself.

That's what he's doing--winning the right, and assuming just being Republican will win the general. He may be wrong there. Texas is more moderate than people assume. But it leans right, so Perry's best chance is to be a right winger. This should be a fun race to watch. If we had a good moderate candidate with some charisma, we could all vote for Perry in the primaries, and have a decent chance to beat him in the generals. But we don't have the candidate right now.

Just my little speech.

[yella_dawg]

4. I agree with your assessment, but

won't the "gay lover" incident jump up and bite him? Are he and the party so secure in their power that they just forgot that?

In the real world, Perry is unelectable. Have we gotten so far into the world of the surreal that he can entertain greater goals?

[jobycom]

5. It's not proven enough, so I don't see how it will hurt him

That rumor was a lot of speculation based on a leak somewhere that there was an attractive gay governor who was about to come out. Since the New Jersey governor came out, the heat's been off Perry. Unless his wife or lover has some proof, Perry's safe.

Heck, he might even be straight, for all I know. Every Texas politician gets accused of being gay--it's the standard slander. It used to be said that there were two lies everyone would believe about any politician: he cheated on his wife, and he was a drunk. Since no one even cares about those anymore (Bush is proof on both accounts), being gay is the new lie. According to the rumor mill, the last three Texas governors have been gay, our current Lt Governor is gay, and Ron Kirk, while not gay, supported gay rights. It's so common a slander I don't even wonder if it's true anymore.

If Perry can become the champion of the right wing, he can win in Texas. Outside of the state I doubt he has a chance, but he's got to be thinking about Bush. He and everyone else knows he's twice as smart as Bush (which still makes him as smart as a toadstool), and Bush became president. He's gotta be thinking he has an outside chance.

Do you remember the stories when he was Lt Governor, about how he would sneak into the Senate Chambers when they were empty and act like he was the governor? The man has dreams, whether they are legite or not.

[Oversea Visitor]

3. Leave no state unchallenge

ATTACK

[jobycom]

6. The Democrats can win here, but they won't try.

We could take Texas. It's under 50% white, and a lot of the whites are Democrat, ranging from populist liberals of the Ralph Yarborough/Jim Hightower sort (Yarborough would not have liked that comparison, BTW) to moderate liberals like Ann Richards to Repub lites like Ben Barnes and John Sharp.

A strong, well-funded effort could take this state, especially if Perry is the candidate. But the national Dems won't finance anyone here, and we haven't groomed a candidate to take it. Tony Gonzales lost in 2002 because he was a DINO, and had supported Bush in the past. He had no experience at campaigning, and came across as a liar when he said he used to support Bush but now knew better. People saw him as an opportunist.

I refused to vote for him, but wasn't going to cast a vote for a Republican or an also-ran, so I voted straight ticket, then skipped over Gonzalez's name, and voted for all the other Democrats directly. So I voted for the Democrats for governor, and all the other candidates directly. It amounted to the same thing, but it was all I could stomach. A lot of people just skipped him, or wrote in someone.

I'd love to see Henry Cisneros run a well-funded campaign.

[Oversea Visitor]

7. Time is right

Bush the walking disater is creating a big big trainwreck for them