| 8:16 -- Last Update Looking back over my notes (the liveblog below), I can honestly say I enjoyed the forum/debate. Kathie Glass, like Debra Medina, is an honest and sincere person. However, she is absolutely out there -- her answer on how to address mental health issues (cut taxes, lower spending, secure our borders) was one of the most incredible stick-to-talking-points-when-you-don't-know-the-answer responses I've ever seen. She is even more of a state's rights, sovreignty person than Perry. Glass declared that education is "socialism." But ultimately, she was there. She was willing to share what she thinks. Rick Perry isn't. Rick Perry had one of his trolls working the chat room for the livestream of the debate online -- and getting thoroughly rebuked by everyone in there. Rick Chicken Perry continues to disrespect the voters of the state -- because he doesn't have answers to the $18 billion budget shortfall, how he's doubled state debt and nearly doubled state spending. Perry refused to debate Medina, refused to attend editorial board meetings, and has now refused to appear at a public debate. A career politician like Rick Perry isn't going to get to ignore the voters for four more months. The more he does, the worse he and his campaign will be.
--------------- 8:00: That's it! First debate closes. Actually an informative conversation. Perry got beat up the whole time, and Kathie Glass is a strong messenger on his issues. For any libertarian/Republicans who have Perry fatigue, she will be a suitable alternative. Wrap-up post tomorrow. Thanks for reading! 7:57: Glass closes with a big, "are you afraid?!?!" speech. One line: "Are you going to awaken and wonder what freedom they've taken away from us next?" Goes back to her greatest hits -- sovreignty, border security, cutting taxes -- and says "if you're going to vote for Rick Perry, that's a wasted vote." 7:54: Oh yeah -- for the record, Bill White won the coin toss tonight! Each candidate will get to close with their stump speech. Nice direct line: "Rick Perry will see how many times he can say "Obama" and "liberal" in a :30-second TV commercial." Talks, again, about respect and public servants. White's closing: "If you don't have the guts to get up here on stage and answer to the taxpayers who pay your salary then you shouldn't be elected Governor."
7:52: White responds to how to reduce unemployment Texans by talking about the need for improvements in education, planning for the future across all issues. He really sees the whole big picture, which is encouraging to see in comparison to Part-Time Perry, but also can get him pulled off track. 7:51pm - Final question: "What measures would you do to reduce unemployment?" If you guessed that Kathie Glass said, "cut taxes" you were right. She also wants to remove certain licensing laws. Kaiba is...less than impressed with Kathie Glass. I'm starting to get the feeling this is the only liveblog I'll be doing until Rick Perry gets involved... 7:50pm - Conversation on health care. Nothing new here...Glass wants to nullify everything. 7:48pm - White asked, "What mandates would you give agencies in Texas to see that our industries" keep things healthy. White's response: "My mandates to the agencies would be to make decisions based on public health criteria, and not how much somebody donated to a campaign."-- Bill White
Then goes on to discuss the radioactive waste dump site, in West Texas. 7:44pm - Feed is getting choppy here towards the end...trying to fix. 7:42pm - Glass rejects the premise that Texas needs more revenues. I didn't see that one coming. (eyeroll.) Calls for the elimination of the property tax, and the franchise tax. Kathie Glass doesn't mince words -- she will cut everything!!! 7:40pm - White: "State spending has gone up by 79% since Perry has been Governor." Talks about looking under the hood for tightening the budget. 7:38pm - Bill White talks about history in Houston, and how he helped address mental health issues in Texas. White then goes into a sincere conversation about how he will do more to address the issue in Texas. 7:37pm - Kathie Glass will increase our mental health by....cutting taxes, lowering spending, and securing our borders. Why? Because with less spending, we'll be mentally healthy. Not joking. Definitely a highlight of the night. 7:35pm - Water resources conversation. I'm taking a water break. Nothing tangible said, but not that much can be. Water is one of the most complex issues imaginable. The management of our state's water resources is twice as challenging as figuring out transportation, and look how poorly we do on that. 7:32pm - Bill White goes into his 5-point plan on education. It was one of his most-liked posts on Facebook. Yes, I know that. I'm also live-blogging this. 7:31pm - Kathie Glass declares that public education is socialism. Home run! It's eerie how much she sounds exactly like Rick Perry at times. "You can't just fix socialism" is the classic quote! |
