What do Austinites think of Kay Baily Hutchinson? (Houston, Arlington: felony, college)

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by 1mintjulep

If White is the Democratic candidate, that's who I'll be voting for. I don't vote for Republicans.

Vote for the person not the party.

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by BentBow

Bill White wants to make this entire state one big illegal alien sanctuary.
The guy is a big liability on Texas sovereignty.

The Texas Congress has the power and ability to do things just like the Governor has the ability to say yeah or nah.

I am always surprised how easy it is to dupe naive people into believing whatever you want. BentBow posts this accusation and never really follows it up with examples or proof. Really, whenever I see someone just make an off the cuff remark, it immediately causes my BS sensor to chime in. But 2 other people, who I otherwise thought were smart based on their past posts, immediately chime in "oh! I knew there was a reason I didn't like Bill White!".

You don't like Bill White because he is a Democrat, not because he wants to import every Mexican south of the Rio Grande to Houston. Really, when you are looking for a reason to dislike a candidate because of their political party, you don't look to deep into accusations against them.

And that is the REAL problem with American Politics. It's not special interest groups, or lobbyists, or really even crooked politicians. Those things exist of course, but they pale in comparison to UNEDUCATED VOTERS. Voters who go "oh, a democrat, I bet he eats babies". And not to unfarily malign conservatives, liberals are just as guilty.

So although I don't know whom I am voting for in the gubenatorial race, I will go ahead and give you some information that you were too lazy to look up yourself.

Bill White, like most liberals, believes that our immigration laws are ineffective. Bill White, like most liberals, doesn't want to punish and deport otherwise working illegal immigrants who contribute to our society. Bill White DID support the federal government's 287(g) program, which trains local jailers to assist immigration agents in DEPORTING illegal aliens who have felony records.

This did not endear Bill White to his base, that is liberal democrats. And it also proves that BentBows statement about Bill White is a whole lot of, frankly jingoistic, hooey.

So when we are looking at gubenatorial candidtates, let's be honest. Let's past political parties, and say "Hmm, which candidate actually stands up for what they believe in? Who practices what the preach?"

Rick Perry? Who claims Texans should be sovereign and says we should limit the role of government, but wanted to build a Trans Texas Corridor and use manifest destiny laws to take farming land away from Texas families?

Kay Bailey? Who claims government should have a limited roll in industry, and rallies against financial bail outs, even though she voted for TARP funds in the Senate?

or Bill White? A Democrat in a hugely Republican state who desperately relies on liberal votes but still went against his base on illegal immigration because it made the streets of Houston safer?

If you need to vote Republican then vote republican. It is the responsibility of every citizen to vote for whom they think will be the best governor. But please, please, please, be an EDUCATED voter.

[love roses]

Ummm, my mother, stepdad, grandmother, inlaws and many friends live in Houston. They aren't fans of what Bill White has done to Houston per his immigration policy. Crime has not been reduced in several areas outside the City Center. All I need to do is ask what THEY think about it becaiuse they live there. I'm not too lazy to look it up for myself. In fact, I did. Still didn't like what I saw.

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by love roses

Ummm, my mother, stepdad, grandmother, inlaws and many friends live in Houston. They aren't fans of what Bill White has done to Houston per his immigration policy. Crime has not been reduced in several areas outside the City Center. All I need to do is ask what THEY think about it becaiuse they live there. I'm not too lazy to look it up for myself. In fact, I did. Still didn't like what I saw.

You are mashing up two things that I said. Partly my fault because my post was so long, but let's not put words into my mouth.

I did not say that Bill White has solved all the crime in Houston. I simply said that he went against his base to get felons not only off the street, but out of the country. Less felons running around = safer. The point here is not the efficacy of the program, the point is that he was courageous enough to stand up and act on what he believed in, despite the fact that is cost him votes. These are qualities that I find Lacking in both Perry and Hutchison, which is the question of the OP. The point is about political courage.

I also went off on a mini-diatribe about voters who are uneducated on the issues and just go with whom their friends, or neighbors, or families are voting for rather than actually look things up themselves. Or worse, only vote for one political party. You say yourself that your families opinion is partly how you arrive at conclusions. This is totally your right, and you can do it if you want. But, I believe that this is a problem with American politics.

As far as your mother, stepdad, grandmother, in-laws and many friends, I am not discounting their dissatisfaction. But if you are saying "well, look at all these people that don't like Bill White, if so many people I know don't like him, he must be bad." Let me just say this, in 2005 Bill White recieved 91% of the mayoral vote. In 2007 he got 86%. So SOMEone has to be voting for him, and not just liberals/democrats. Your family aside, you don't get 86% of Houstonians to vote you in for a THIRD term if you are a terrible mayor.

And to be perfectly frank love_roses, you post on city-data alot, and I enjoy reading your posts. I am not trying to disrespect you. BUT, when Bentbow deliberately puts misinformation up, and your only response is "I KNEW there was a reason I didn't like Bill White" then I am sure you can see why it is reasonable that people assume you are only reacting to bentbow, and not actually stating a formed opinion that you researched on your own.

I am noticing a disturbing trend on city-data.com where message boards that once had fair and balanced arguments are all awash with "Obama's wants to take your moneyz!". I am not just talking about conservatives, many liberals do it as well. If you are posting an OPINION and masquerading it as FACT, then expect me to challenge you on it. If you do not provide readers with facts or at least specifics so we can research it ourselves, then expect me to challenge you on it. It's not personal.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Perry all the way.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Originally Posted by eepstein

Rick Perry has brain damage and has pretty much kept Texas as the laughing stock of the nation in nearly every respect.

including the respect that TX has one of the strongest economies, lowest cost of living and best outlooks for jobs in the county?

Go figure! Let's vote of a democrat to screw it up!

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

Go figure! Let's vote of a democrat to screw it up!

And that's my point right there. The idea that any democrat, regardless of policy beliefs, education, or experience, is automatically a failure JUST because they are a democrat. That only a republican is able to run the state.

Liberals do the same. Like 1mintjulep who doesn't even know who Bill White is, but if he's a democrat he's got her vote.

How can you cast a vote for someone and not even know what they stand for? Is your life so busy that you can't take 30 minutes out in the next year and a half to use the wonderful internet to at least see which candidate best represents you? This is the point I was trying to make (perhaps not very well). The problem with American Politics is uneducated voters. Not stupid voters. Not voters that didn't go to college. Voters who have no idea what is going on but go and vote anyway.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Originally Posted by JayBrown80

Is your life so busy that you can't take 30 minutes out in the next year and a half to use the wonderful internet to at least see which candidate best represents you?

Yep and we always know you can find nothing but the truth on the Internet!!

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

Yep and we always know you can find nothing but the truth on the Internet!!

You sure can. Information like voting records and history. Did a candidate campaign for lower taxes and then raise them. That sort of thing. We are not talking about a blog that says Rick Perry has a secret boyfriend or not. There ARE reputable websites for information. Office of the Governor Rick Perry - Veto Statements comes to mind.

Now a quick lesson in debate!! What does sarcasm say about the strength of our own arguments? It says our arguments are not that great to begin with, doesn't it?

[BentBow]

Originally Posted by JayBrown80

I am always surprised how easy it is to dupe naive people into believing whatever you want. BentBow posts this accusation and never really follows it up with examples or proof. Really, whenever I see someone just make an off the cuff remark, it immediately causes my BS sensor to chime in. But 2 other people, who I otherwise thought were smart based on their past posts, immediately chime in "oh! I knew there was a reason I didn't like Bill White!"....Blah, Blah, Blah

Is illegal immigration a big problem in the Houston area?


Democratic Houston Mayor Bill White drops Senate bid in favor of running for Texas governor -- themorningcall.com

He's drawn criticism, however, for being too reluctant to crack down on illegal immigrants and being too eager to support Democratic efforts to limit carbon emissions.

Houston mayor Bill White officially announces his intention to run for governor of Texas - 12/04/09 - Houston News - abc13.com (http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/politics&id=7152725 - broken link)


Houston Mayor Enters Texas Governor's Race - CBS News



Democrat Bill White to Run for Governor of Texas -- Politics Daily

Houston is a sanctuary city for all intense and purposes. He's done everything he can to keep the Houston Police from identifying illegal aliens, even after they kill officers. Don't want to upset the "undocumented aliens". Then there way the private sell of towing linences so only certain people could tow on the freeways. The excuse was public safety, not the money. Then red light cameras, again safety not money, where the owner gets the ticket not the driver. Houston has a very powerful Democratic group that controls local politics just like Chicago. It has little in common with the rest of the state, except Austin maybe.

And you got nuttin!!!

Kettle / pot