Texas politics is so interesting, it’s easy to see why George W. Bush hopped a taxpayer-funded plane home to vote today. Consider the governor’s race.
Former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell appears to have easily won the Democratic primary. Were Bell to take the governor’s mansion this fall, it would be a particularly sweet victory, since he was knocked from office after only one term by Tom DeLay’s nefarious redistricting scheme, currently up for review by the Supreme Court.
If Bell does win, he’ll have to face these challengers:
- Republican Gov. Rick Perry, long rumored to be involved in extramarital affairs with people of both genders, and signer of the state’s Defense of Marriage Act.
- Carole Keeton Strayhorn, better known as White House Spokestool Scott McClellan’s mom. Yes, she’s had more husbands than just Scottie’s dad, but then, that’s why we need to defend marriage. She’s running not as a Republican, but as an Independent.
- A Libertarian named James Werner out of Austin.
- Our favorite perennial candidate: Kinky Friedman, former rock star and very bad mystery writer. Friedman, for the younger PR readers out there, once toured the country with Bob Dylan and a band called the Texas Jewboys, which had a hit, “Asshole from El Paso.”
Kinky brings up another interesting Texas political fact. When Gov. Perry signed a bill banning same-sex marriage in 2005, he invited religious leaders for a photo op, including a “rabbi” of the Jews for Jesus variety as the representative for real Jews. He was later forced to apologize.
The day might not be far off when he’ll have to do more than say he’s sorry — he might have to pack his bag and get on down the road.
- Topic: News & Comment
- Topics: Elections
Bush spent our money on a flight to Texz for a primary vote? He couldn’t vote on an absentee ballot like other people do?
Members of the Bush administration have trouble doing simple paperwork. George Bush could not vote absentee because one of his “aides” forgot to register him for an absentee ballot. So, we, the taxpayers, got to shell out – what is it – like $50,000 per hour to fly him home to vote.
This is much like Cheney overlooking the $7 Upland Game Bird Stamp he should have had before he shot a guy. AND it echoes the time back in 2000 when VP Oily Slick flew back to Wyoming to register to vote there so it wouldn’t look as though both he and Bush were really from Texas. Cheney, at that point, WAS from Texas. It’s where he and his wife lived, filed their Federal taxes from, got all their mail AND, where they were taking the homestead exemption on their property in Dallas. Thing is, though it’s illegal to register to vote in Wyoming if you’ve been a legal resident of another state in the 12 months before you register.
So, their paperwork has NEVER been in order.
I guess he (Shrub) doesn’t trust that absentee ballots will be counted either.
I’d like to see Kinky win in Texas. He’s actually a fairly intelligent man with no known ties to special interests and the offspring of educators. Kids in Texas might actually get improvements in education under a man like him.
What did he pay his staff for not to forget things or was the staff member used as a scaped goat?that was alot of tax money for avote.
Thomas,
Nope — cause when you vote on a jen-you-wine Diebold touchscreen, it counts so much more than a paper ballot.
I WISH WRITERS DESCRIBING BUSH’S, MISREPRESENTATIONS, EQUIVOCATIONS AND OVERALL WILD EXAGERATIONS WOULD LABLE HIM A LIAR. THAT WORD IS IN THE DICTIONARY AND THEY OUGHT NOT BE BASHFUL IN USING THAT TERM. YOU RATE A-PLUS.
Kinky’s a closet conservative. He supports school prayer and posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms, didn’t take time to vote on Prop 2 last year, voted for Shrubya (!), and says he wants a teacher pay raise, but wants to spend surplus on tax rebate. He also ran for Kerrville Justice of the Peace position in 1986 as a republican.