Did Goodhair commit political suicide? (Howe, Bailey: residential, office, snake)

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

Well, a question would be: who could prevail over him in the Republican primary slot for governor? And who would challenge him in the primary?

I'd much prefer, of course, that Texans elect a Democratic governor, but I doubt that would happen yet in 2014.

Doesn't the idea of re-electing anyone to serve as the chief executive of a state for such a long tenure stink to most people?

The key word is RE-ELECT. The people voted him in for an unprecedented third term.

Had they done the same with Ann Richards, you'd be happy as a clam. It all depends on how your politics lie, and yours are very definitely "ever leftward."

Having said that, I've never been a big fan of Perry's....but his opponents were so awful that I really had no choice but to vote for him to help prevent the others from winning.

I have been known to vote for a democrat (1992, nationwide), but I really ended up regretting it.

So if Perry runs again (I doubt it, but...) and is re-elected, it is because Texas voted for him...again.

[doctorjef]

What was perceived to be so awful about Kay Bailey Hutchison?

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

What was perceived to be so awful about Kay Bailey Hutchison?

Kay Bailey Hutchison would have been fine had she won the primary.

So.....to clarify, Perry's opponents who won their primary and ended up as the final democratic candidate were just awful.

[doctorjef]

OK, but that was my point: why haven't the Republican majority in Texas been willing to nominate someone else besides Perry to run for governor? This is the critical election (the Repub primary), just as it used to be the Democratic primary election in Texas that really decided everything.

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

OK, but that was my point: why haven't the Republican majority in Texas been willing to nominate someone else besides Perry to run for governor? This is the critical election (the Repub primary), just as it used to be the Democratic primary election in Texas that really decided everything.

Because 3 republicans ran in the last primary, effectively splitting the vote and allowing Perry to skate by. The governor of the state of Texas is elected by a minority of registered republican primary voters. AKA, a sub-group of a sub-group of a sub-group. And the members of THAT sub-group have to be aware that the primary is happening and bother to vote.

That's why Perry, who seems to be really really unpopular, manages to win relection over and over. He doesn't NEED to be popular. He only needs to squeak thru the republican primary. Going against Kay Bailey, Perry easily held on to his evangelical base because Kay Bailey Hutchinson believes in abortion rights and has described herself as pro-choice (her voting record actually isn't very pro choice though, go figure that out ). Since Debra Medina managed to siphon a large chunk of the "fiscally conservative" republican vote, Hutchinson didn't stand a chance.

Everyone assumes that Perry isn't going to run for governor again, but I dont see why he wouldn't. Perry trades in political power, that's his job. That's how he makes money. Why would he give up the governor's mansion when he doesn't have too? All he has to do is squeak by in the primary again, which he should easily do b/c of his strong evangelical base, and boom, he is in the money. It doesn't matter if 90% of Texans hate Rick Perry, and he KNOWS that. He only has to keep his evangelicals happy and he can win the governorship every cycle with their votes.

Why do you think Perry goes to all of the trouble of holding prayer rallies? Why do you think Perry (when he knew his bid for the presidency was over) used his last bit of noteriety to release a scathing anti-gay campaign ad? He knew going anti-gay wouldn't help him in his presedential ambitions. He was just shoring up the evangelical vote for 2014 here in Texas. Perry is a very sharp political agent. He KNOWS how to pander.

[doctorjef]

It's hard for me to accept that there is so much voter apathy in Texas (or anywhere) at the primary election level, as I ALWAYS voted in the Dem primary in the many years I lived in TX. Anyway, if it is a foregone conclusion that Perry will win any Repub primary race, can anyone name a Democratic politician who could conceivably beat Perry in the general election?

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

It's hard for me to accept that there is so much voter apathy in Texas (or anywhere) at the primary election level, as I ALWAYS voted in the Dem primary in the many years I lived in TX. Anyway, if it is a foregone conclusion that Perry will win any Repub primary race, can anyone name a Democratic politician who could conceivably beat Perry in the general election?

Some counties don't even have two primaries.....my home county of Crockett is one. They have only a democratic primary, so they have no opportunity to vote for a Republican one at the primary level.

But in the general election, the county was bright red, with about 70-75% going for McCain-Palin.

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

It's hard for me to accept that there is so much voter apathy in Texas (or anywhere) at the primary election level, as I ALWAYS voted in the Dem primary in the many years I lived in TX. Anyway, if it is a foregone conclusion that Perry will win any Repub primary race, can anyone name a Democratic politician who could conceivably beat Perry in the general election?

I dont know. There are so many "straight ticket" voters in Texas, that any Democrat has a very uphill climb. I personally thought Bill White was a very good candidate, and he didn't do terribly in the 2010 gubenatorial election. He got (too lazy to look it up so plz don't crucify me if the numbers are wrong) I believe 2.1 million votes. He still got beat by 700K votes, so he didn't even come close to beating Perry, but that's still 2.1 million people that wanted a change. I thought Chris Bell was a good candidate as well, but he couldn't take Perry either.

To be honest though, I don't worry about it b/c the Governor of Texas doesn't really have that much power at all. He is a figurehead. Perry has managed to amass more power than the governor should have by appointing his cronies to key positions, but he still is relatively weak compared to the legislature of Texas. I am more concerned with the constant gerrymandering of Texas republicans. They are too cowardly to face democrats in real elections, so they cheat to get ahead. Perry is just embarassing. Like a drunk uncle who comes to your family reunion, Perry is hard to watch, but ultimately harmless. The gerrymandering of Texas congressional districts and the disenfranchisement of Texas citizens is the real problem.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

So if Perry runs again (I doubt it, but...) and is re-elected, it is because Texas voted for him...again.

More likely they would be voting against the Democrat, rather then for Perry

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

More likely they would be voting against the Democrat, rather then for Perry

Very true.