Bill White Goes on Offense in Texas Governor's Race

by: Todd Hill

Tue Mar 09, 2010 at 04:00 PM CST

Here are some dynamic quotes from White that shows both his depth of knowledge on the pressing issues of the day facing Texas, but also his incredible political astuteness:

On Rick Perry:

He [White] criticized Republican Gov. Rick Perry as a divisive chief executive who wastes more time campaigning and "railing about things he can't control" than he does working on state problems like education and controlling dropout rates and making college more affordable. "Leadership is not dividing people into teams... leadership is finding common ground," White said.

On Perry's election year attempts to order "budget cuts:"

He criticized the across-the-board five percent budget cuts ordered by state leaders as "Soviet-style budgeting," and touted his record as mayor of Houston, saying the city kept its budget balanced by reacting more quickly to signs of economic downturn, and accomplished cuts with "productivity improvements" and renegotiated contracts with vendors and other measures. "You don't do it with some memo across the board," he said, referring to a letter from Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus III to state agencies last year.

On Perry's less than conservative transportation plans:

He was critical of Perry's transportation planning, saying the governor has spent too much time on roads designed to move 18-wheelers across the state and too little on mobility for people in major urban and suburban areas. He made an example of transportation debt that's to be paid back using money that would otherwise go to maintenance and operations of roads. "I don't know what you call that, but it's not conservative," White said.

The "TribLive" event appears to be one of the most wide-ranging interviews White has done so far, but also demonstrated he is not afraid to throw some factual punches in order to wobble his opponent a bit. White clearly has received the message that many had hoped he would hear--go on offense early, frame your opponent early, and articulate the serious problems facing Texas at the hands of Rick Perry.  

Update: The initial salvos by Bill White has sparked news outlets to continue and take a look at the Texas governor's race.  Great move on White's part to begin the campaign on his terms.  Perry's response was weak and predictable.