No!! I'M the lesser of two evils!!
Posted on 10/01/2010 7:48:42 AM PDT by laotzu
If former Houston Mayor Bill White is able to prevent Gov. Rick Perry from an unprecedented third term in November, he’ll most likely have received an assist from Libertarian Kathie Glass.
Glass, a Houston lawyer who has been keeping a rigorous traveling schedule of tea party events, American Legion venues and radio talk show appearances, is campaigning on a platform of limited government and secure borders. On the stump, her blunt talk, accusing Perry of giving a wink and a nod to President Barack Obama, makes her an immediate presence. And a poll taken earlier this month showed her registering 5 percent of the vote.
While that’s not an eye-popping number in a state that has a history of third-party candidates leaving a significant mark, the rise of Glass could pose problems for Perry in a single-digit race.
“That’s the first poll that’s ever even mentioned my name,” Glass told POLITICO, referring to the University of Texas poll taken between Sept. 3-8. “Hardly anybody knows my name when I walk into places. But when they leave, they walk out with my yard sign. My challenge is to get before as many people in a short amount of time.”
Glass, of course, says her goal is to win. But as the UT poll demonstrates, the more realistic impact of her candidacy appears to be holding Perry under 40 percent, handing White a narrow opening on which to seize. A Rasmussen Reports survey released Friday provided more evidence of a close contest, with Perry leading White, 48 percent to 42 percent. That poll did not include Glass.
Glass’s strict-constitutional message, coupled with her ability to deliver biting one-liners, has many observers comparing her to Debra Medina, an early tea party-fueled candidate who captured 18 percent in the March GOP gubernatorial primary against Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Most recently, Glass sent a message to supporters praising the candidacy of Delaware GOP Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell. “Another gutsy woman has stepped up to lead this country back to freedom. Go Christine!” she wrote.
“She’s talking to the same voters Rick Perry is trying to. If the polls show her at 5 percent already, you get disaffected Republicans, they’re going to end up voting for Glass,” said Phil Martin, who works for the Texas Democratic Trust, a group that provides strategy and fundraising to Lone Star State Democrats.
Perry received only 39 percent of the vote in his reelection in 2006, and Libertarians consistently draw between 3 and 5 percent of the vote. In an anti-establishment year, a compelling candidate like Glass “could easily get up to 7 [percent],” Martin said.
While Glass offers sharp critiques of both White and Perry, her comments about the governor are more passionate and pointed. She accuses Perry of talking tough on border security but using Washington as a cop-out, neglecting to use the means readily at his disposal.
“The state Guard is under his control. He’s had 10 years to send them to the border. He’s part of this elitist crowd. He does not want a secure border,” she said. “Texans need to stop accepting Rick Perry’s word and go with action.”
Glass said she considered the possibility of damaging Perry’s chances and thereby providing an opening for White is “of no concern whatsoever. Whether we have Rick Perry or Bill White does not matter a hill of beans. We’re still going to hell in a hand-basket.”
“Rick Perry does not own anybody’s votes and if I get them I earned them. I work far harder for my votes than any votes Rick Perry has gotten,” she continued.
On Saturday, both White and Glass are scheduled to attend a tea party forum in Rowlett, just northeast of Dallas. Perry’s decision not to attend has caused a stir in tea party circles, with one widely read conservative blogger calling the governor “an ass.” The governor has also taken flak for shunning the state’s editorial boards and ducking debates with White.
Perry consultant David Carney said that despite the hysteria, the basic contours of the race have remained the same for most of the year. He pointed out that Libertarians have long had a presence on the Texas ballot and said the campaign has not discussed the impact of Glass even once over the past year.
“It isn’t anything unusual. It’s not anything we’re worried about. It’s just a fact of life. It’s not a worry to us,” he said.
Carney dismissed any Glass-Medina comparisons: “We are in good shape with people who believe in the tea party.”
Nonetheless, Democrats have been happily surprised by White’s ability to keep pace with Perry. Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Nathan Daschle said this week that he felt “better about this race every single day, and that’s sort of a surprise to me.”
With Perry’s polling percentage being held consistently under 50 percent, national Democrats insist Texas remains a top priority, framing the incumbent as a “part-time governor” in a midterm being rattled by another “change” narrative.
Glass’s challenge remains raising her profile in the five weeks left, with little cash and resources. But if she creeps up in the polling, Perry’s team will be confronted with the dicey decision it also faced against Medina: whether to engage her.
“Their challenge is they can’t discredit her without making her name more public. If it stays close, she really could have an impact on this race,” Martin said.
- fiscal responsibility
- National soverignty
- fair tax laws
- border control
- individual freedom
- earn the respect & vote of constituents
- conservative ideals of any kind
NO.....it's blame those mean ole third parties.
('you won't get any votes, and you'll cost us the race' Which is it?)
Republicans rage they are too big to fail, and demand to be bailed out by tea-partiers & libertarians.
They are no longer the home of conservatives, but pragmatitists.
Repubs say we need to vote for them to stop the dems, and then they get elected and act like dems.
I’m probably going to vote for her. In Texas, the Governor really doesn’t have much power. The lt gov does. So, we really wouldn’t miss much if White wins. She represents what I believe in. Perry, for some reason, doesn’t mind letting illegals in (probably because of his relationships in Mexico), in spite of his request for more support on the border. He doesn’t support the Arizona law and doesn’t want a similar one in Texas.
Hmmmm, Politico trying to help Repulsicans?
Not!!
I’ll take my tea party candidate, thank you very much.
Not going to happen. Rick has his worts, but his statement at the San Antonio TEA Party cemented his re-election. And he is NOT a Leftie, White is.
You’re correct on all those accounts, but it still turns my stomach to think about the possibility of having a DIM governor ‘representing’ conservative Texas.
3ed party people almost alway hurt Republicans.
The last thing we need is a big city Liberal Democrat in power in Texas. Every Democrat Governor has swelled the rolls of government employees in Austin.
The Bull Moose party got us Woodrow Wilson the progressive.
John Anderson got us Carter
Ross Perot got us Clinton. How did that work for you.
Tx gov election news.
Republicans hurt Republicans.
I never voted Bull Moose, or for Anderson, or for Perot.
Although Teddy Roosevelt(R) was a progressive, I doubt you are.
“John Anderson got us Carter”
Umm . . . I was there when John Anderson ran. That was 1980.
Remind me again who won that race. I’ll give you a clue. It wasn’t Carter.
Here is a second clue. It wasn’t Anderson, either.
A third clue. It wasn’t Jerry Ford, too. That’s the guy Carter beat in 1976.
“but it still turns my stomach to think about the possibility of having a DIM governor ‘representing’ conservative Texas.”
Turns my stomach to vote for Perry, turns my stomach even more to think we might have White as gov.
I’m inclined to vote for Glass and would in a New York minute if this race wasn’t so close. I swore I’d never again vote for the lesser of two evils, but I might have to hold my nose and vote for Perry. He’s a jerk, to put it mildly, but White is a bigger jerk.
Then again, I might go into that voting booth and find my hand just cannot push the button for Perry.
Exactly, I’m inclined to hold my nose and vote Perry, even though I can’t stand the guy, because the race is so close. Considering that the TX Governor doesn’t have any real power in the state, but they are considered the ‘face’ of the state, and I can’t stand the idea of White being that ‘face’.
Texas will be doing their redistricting during the term of the upcoming Governor so if White wins it will affect our State for the next ten years at least.
On Falcon Lake in Zapata County, TX two boatloads of Mexican drug cartel gunmen shot at an American wife and killed her husband as they were riding jet skis. We can't go to Mexico, we can't recover the body, we can't investigate.
Fortunately, Perry has aquired drones so that we may get to watch similar future incidents.
Sort of makes you proud, doesn't it?
And, let us not forget ACORN is pumping boatloads of money into White’s campaign. It would be considered quite a win for them to seat a Rat in the Tx Gov chair. As much as I have grievances with Perry, I can’t understand the logic of folks throwing their votes to the democrats by voting third party. We need to vote with strategy in mind, not emotion. Those who vote third party “to send a message” only serves an advantage to the dims, not to mention a complete waste of their time.
That’s an idea, but I’m not going that way.
She’s had almost no presence in Texas race. In fact, I didn’t know about her at all until a couple of days ago and I live in Texas.
She will just take votes from Perry. I don’t want Texas to have a democrat Governor. White hasn’t done much for Houston and, well, he’s a dem.
Glass should continue to make her presence and name known.
Maybe she can oppose Cornyn in the Republican primary next time. He’s on my S list right now.
Oh yeah, if you think Perry is squishy on the border, just look what Bill Sanctuary City White has done for Houston. The thought of a democrat as Governor of Texas is just sacrilege. On that same note, remember Ann Richards much?
I have no intention whatsoever voting for Perry. Screw him and his crony-capitalist friends. Can’t wait to see him retire and take up lobbying for Centras
I never heard of Glass until her radio ads were broadcast. Her voice inflections are strange; she sounds kind of weird.
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