Free Republic

In protest of being booted off of the KERA TV debate for Gubernatorial candidates, Debra Medina has launched a new TV spot taking Rick Perry to task for refusing to debate if Medina were allowed to participate.

ampaign Manager: We'll Battle Ds, Rs All Across Texas (Houston) - The Jeff Daiell for Governor Campaign has appointed Bill Grisham, CPA, as Campaign Coordinator for Bexar County. Mr. Grisham is an eight-year veteran of the U. S. Navy. In December of 1982, he graduated from Southwest Texas State University with honors. A native Texan, he has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1986.

There have been many invitations to participate in debates and forums coming through our (Debra Medina's) office. The public certainly deserves to hear from each of the candidates. Unfortunately, we’re receiving multiple reports that each time we confirm, the governor cancels. It seems that Rick Perry has learned, over the years, that in order to protect his incumbent status he must be in total control of who he is on stage with and holds the media hostage to his demands.

Mayor Bill White will formally enter the race for governor today, instantly becoming the Democrats' best hope of winning a statewide office in seven years. White, a three-term mayor who is balding and known for something of a bland personality, is expected use self-deprecating humor to tell a Hilton Americas crowd of supporters that he knows he is not a “perfect candidate” but is someone who can get things done. White has said he wants to end “strident partisanship” in Austin. He will tell supporters he wants to improve high school graduation rates and slow the rising costs of...

"Texas has a very diverse heritage, but all Texans expect our leaders to be accountable and responsible to the people. We are taking the message to the people."

In a world moving more and more rapidly towards globalization, perhaps we’d do well to review exactly what insures freedom. What is it that makes one free? What sets a free man apart from one enslaved? Do we still hold these truths to be self evident, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed?” Surely, if it is government’s job...

by Debra Medina, Republican candidate for Governor of Texas It’s a shame isn’t it, that Republicans continue to ignore Hispanics especially here in Texas? The writing has long been on the wall that unless the GOP begins to better work with Latinos, the GOP will continue to lose races and be a minority party. It is equally important, of course, for the Latino community to realize that true political identity will be achieved only through participation in all national party structures - Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, etc. We are not all the same and we shouldn’t all be attracted to...

A sign hangs outside the gate of the scorched Texas Governor’s Mansion, “Wanted… Conservative Texas Governor”. The 2010 Republican Primary Election is just around the corner and Texas needs a strong Conservative to lead her and our nation in the fight against sweeping waves of the socialism that are rolling in from Washington DC. Where do we find this Conservative candidate for Governor? Currently two political powerhouses are slugging it out to try and win your vote; incumbent Governor Rick Perry and US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Both have statewide name recognition and well funded campaign juggernauts. But are they...

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s decision to challenge Republican Gov. Rick Perry in next year’s gubernatorial primary is leaving her would-be Senate successors perplexed on how to handle their campaign finances. SNIP Already at least four Republicans are running and raising money: former Secretary of State Roger Williams, Texas Railroad Commissioners Elizabeth Ames Jones and Michael Williams and state Senate President Florence Shapiro. But the most aggressive campaign organization is being built by the Democratic mayor of Houston, Bill White, who raised $1.8 million over the past three months and has $2.1 million in the bank. snip The complicating factor is...

Possible Run for Governor There is some speculation in the media that former U.S. Ambassador and State Representative Tom Schieffer is considering a run for Texas Governor. He was president of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club and a business partner with George W. Bush. He served as ambassador to Australia and Japan while Bush was president. Although having had positions in the Bush administration, Schieffer calls himself a Democrat and says that if he does decide to run for Governor, it will be as a Democrat.

Friedman won't run as an independent next time, he says. By W. Gardner Selby AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, August 09, 2007 Kinky Friedman might run again for governor in 2010, conceivably as a Democrat. "I'm open to running," Friedman said Wednesday before cautioning that he won't settle plans until after the 2008 elections. "Had I run as a Democrat last time, I think (Gov.) Rick Perry would already be (out of office as) a lobbyist for a cigar company," he said. The black-hatted humorist, who has a book coming out on his flashy 2006 campaign, said he realized after finishing with...

KERRVILLE, Texas — Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn voted for themselves for governor Monday, the first day of early voting, as each tries to become the first independent elected to lead the state in nearly 150 years. "I voted for Kinky. I like where the guy stands on most of the issues," Friedman joked after casting his ballot at the Kerr County Courthouse. Before he entered the courthouse, Friedman had not yet decided what candidates would win his vote on the many other races on the ballot. "Haven't got that far," he said. "I have to look down the...

AUSTIN — Two polls released Monday found Gov. Rick Perry is vulnerable to defeat, but his campaign is questioning the surveys' accuracy. Conventional wisdom in the governor's race has been that none of the governor's four opponents would have a chance to beat him if he gets more than 35 percent of the vote on Nov. 7. There is no runoff in the general election, so the top vote-getter wins. Perry has hovered between 35 percent and 41 percent in public polls for months. But he has fallen into the defeatable zone in polls done by Rasmussen Reports and the...

Two challengers to GOP Gov. Rick Perry have oft-tossed nicknames. Carole Keeton Strayhorn, One Tough Grandma. Kinky Friedman, the Kinkster. How about Democratic nominee Chris "Who the Hell" Bell? The former Houston U.S. House member, who notably filed '04 ethics complaints against U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, has yet to catch fire statewide. More than half of likely voters surveyed last month by a nonpartisan group hadn't heard of Bell (making him the least known of the major contenders). Unfamiliar, perhaps. But Bell's steady demeanor contrasts neatly with the snap-crackle-pop styles of Friedman and Strayhorn. Voters could find him a stolid...

Among them they have at least seven failed runs for public office. And all signs point to their current endeavor ending the same way. Three men often dismissed as "token opposition" to Gov. Rick Perry will appear alongside the incumbent on the ballot for the March 7 Republican primary. They have no money to spend and Perry has done little to acknowledge them, but (technically speaking) there's nothing to stop the GOP faithful from bypassing Perry and voting for Rhett Smith, Larry Kilgore or Star Locke. Kilgore, a telecommunications consultant from Grand Prairie, has a simple, if ambitious, goal. He...

White House spokesman Scott McClellan once derided Barnes as “a longtime partisan Democrat” who was part of “a coordinated attack by John Kerry and his surrogates on the president.” (Austin American-Statesman, 9/12/04, United Press International, 9/9/04) AUSTIN – Leading Democrat and nationally known “Rather-gate” figure Ben Barnes is hosting a major fundraiser in Austin this month for Carole Strayhorn. Barnes, who was forced from elected office in the 1970s because of scandal, was a central part of the infamous “Rather-gate” 60 Minutes II broadcast that featured phony documents designed to defeat the reelection campaign of President George W. Bush (see...

The following is a statement by Perry Campaign Spokesman Robert Black concerning Carole Strayhorn's filing as an independent candidate for governor: “Carole Strayhorn’s decision to leave the GOP is a direct response to Gov. Perry’s strong leadership and support and an admission that she would have been defeated in the upcoming GOP primary by those who know her best: Texas Republican voters. Carole Strayhorn has once again offered only empty criticism and no solutions to Texas voters. Throughout her entire career, Carole Strayhorn has not produced a single meaningful reform, only empty promises that she has never kept. Today’s action...

April 9, 2005, 11:07PM Turnout key to possible Perry foes Rivals in party need moderates' votes in primary By R.G. RATCLIFFE Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau AUSTIN - The brewing Republican family feud over the re-election of Gov. Rick Perry involves more than a clash of personalities. It potentially is a fight to overcome the dominance of evangelical social activists in Texas GOP politics. George W. Bush, as governor, successfully bridged the gap between the business establishment and faith-based conservatives without fully embracing the social conservative agenda. Perry, after he became governor in 2000, made social conservatives the cornerstone...

AUSTIN Governor Rick Perry has named Reece Rondon of Bellaire to be judge of the 234th district court in Harris County. Rondon will serve until the next general election, when he can opt to run for a full term. Rondon is an attorney with Andrews Kurth L-L-P, and is a former judge of the 334th district court.

Why am I running for governor of Texas in 2006? Why the hell not? I already have several good campaign slogans, starting with "How hard could it be?" Compared with the daunting financial crunch that Arnold Schwarzenegger inherited when he became governor of California, being governor of Texas is a notoriously easy gig. It's rather like being the judge of a giant chili cook-off. Consider that in the past a series of wealthy Texas oilmen have ascended to the office, some of them rarely bothering to leave their ranches to go to Austin unless there was a football game. And...