8:00pm - Back soon with wrap-up and final thoughts.
7:58pm - Bill White closing argument: "While Rick Perry and his friends can run the state over the last several years, during times when polls are open you can decide the direciton of this state. Get out the vote, get others to do so."
7:56pm - Shafto wants to construct the kind of world where we can care for each other, and what car you drive isn't as important as how close you are to your neighbor. Says many of our green values are human values.
7:54pm - Glass' closing argument: Says she will be a fighter, and she's heard the top two people spend $50 million to tell everyone why each other is wrong, and says they are both right. You can vote for Rick Perry on November 2, but the next morning he still won't respect you.
7:53pm - Missed that last lightning round question. I was shooting whiskey. Closing statement!
7:52pm - "Beer, wine, whiskey or green tea?" Shafto: Green Tea. Glass: wine. White: coffee.
7:51pm - Favorite philosopher? Glass: Ayn Rand. Shafto: Pass. White: St. Augustine. "Socrates had his moments."
7:50pm - How would you rate Barack Obama's performance as President? White: won't give running commentary, but will give him respect and call him President. Glass calls Obama, "the worst President ever." Glass says, "6.5-7" and is constrained by forces that aren't always obvious.
7:49pm - Lightning round! What law do you want to repeal? Shafto wants to end the death penalty. White wants to end unfunded mandates -- for example, the one that doesn't give local school districts setting school calendars. Glass: property tax.
Governor Rick Perry wants to distract from the massive financial crisis that is bearing down on the state of Texas. Today's stunt -- and that's all it is, pure stunt -- is his way of ducking the tough issues facing the state of Texas, as he has throughout his ten years as Governor and twenty-five years as a career politician.
Democrats must stand up to Perry on this. We must tell our friends about this. There is a political element, of course, but this is an extremely grave public policy concern. We've only now -- seven years later -- started to recover from the disastrous cuts that were made in 2003, and they didn't even cut that much then. It is going to be twice as worse in 2011, especially if our elected officials continue to hide from this grave problem.
Perry has assumed he can ignore the newspapers, whose stories usually run just one time. If he wants publicity, he’ll buy it in slick TV ads that run dozens of times, and fly around the state for carefully staged and controlled photo ops.
That’s particularly so since a Miner news conference several months ago to blast White’s ethics, in front of White’s Austin campaign headquarters, was co-opted by Democrats. The TV news cameras featured the raucous Democrats, including one in a rather large chicken suit, underlining Perry’s refusal to debate.
Since then, Perry’s People are guarding him almost more tightly than the state troopers who shadow him everywhere.
Meanwhile, there's been lots of pointless hand-wringing about how the Back to Basics "Coward" ad was somehow to mean, or nasty, or negative to Rick Perry. As if Rick "Adios Mofo" Perry can't handle a newspaper ad, and as if their entire campaign hasn't lived in the gutter for months. Democrats throw a single punch and -- WAAAAA!!! -- the Perry campaign cries fowl. The fact is that the ad simply echoed what many across the state are saying: it is past time for Rick Perry to saddle up and debate Bill White.
People from across the state of Texas are calling for a debate. If Rick Perry wants to play chicken with Bill White on this issue, he can. But I promise you -- he's gonna lose even quicker if he does.
The following is a list of editorials calling on Rick Perry to debate, as provided in a press release I received yesterday from the Back to Basics PAC:
The following full-page newspaper ad from Back to Basics is going to run in twenty newspapers across the state on Tuesday, ten weeks from election day:
Perry should debate White, but he won't. He would rather make scripted appearances before groups of cheering, sycophantic Texans who are going to vote for him anyway.
That's fine, but what about the rest of Texas voters who are trying to decide for whom to vote? Debates could help them make their choice.
Perry wonders what White is hiding but not releasing his 12-year-old tax records. We wonder what Perry is hiding. He refuses to meet with editorial boards at Texas newspapers large and small. Now, he won't debate.
What is he hiding from the people he was elected to serve? It's fine to speak to groups of supporters. His ego certainly gets a boost.
But he is governor of all Texans and answerable not only to those who love him, but to the rest who aren't sure.
Perry might not like the questions asked and the issues raised in public debates. That's too bad. If he wants to keep his job, he needs to let Texans raise them.
Houston TV station KPRC (Click 2 Houston) Vice President and General Manager Larry Blackerby voiced an on-air editorial yesterday calling on Rick Perry to debate Bill White. You can watch the editorial here:
Here is a transcript of the on-air editorial. Emphasis is mine:
"In a democracy, public debates are a must. It is one of the most direct ways voters can compare and contrast their choices for public office. It's time for Governor Rick Perry to drop the political smokescreens and make himself available to debate Bill White.
Until now, Governor Perry, using all the advantages of a n incumbent, has refused to debate until White releases all tax returns related to his time while in public office. That's a case to make to voters during a debate and shouldn't be used as a reason not to have one. We think it's a lame excuse to avoid facing an opponent, and a disservice to all Texans.
KPRC has made an offer to host such a debate on our station, on our sister station in San Antonio, and any other stations in the state of Texas who want to carry it. Millions of Texans could then decide for themselves who they'd vote for as Governor. Bill White has said yes; Rick Perry is using a political maneuver to avoid it.
Shame on you, Governor Perry, putting politics first over the people you say you want to represent.
I'm Larry Blackerby. That's our take. What's yours?"
Rick Chicken Perry knows that any time he debates, he will lose. He knows that his vision for Texas can't stand up next to Bill White's vision for Texas. He knows that if voters ever truly saw the two candidates, side by side, that Rick Perry would look worse than Bill White. Rick Perry is in this election for himself -- not to answer unscripted questions, not to appear before the general public, not to actually engage in an honest campaign.
Rick Perry is scared of Bill White. Rick Perry knows Bill White is his worst nightmare. Rick Perry will refuse to debate, refuse to engage, refuse to answer questions, refuse to act honestly, refuse to act ethically, refuse to behave like a man. No macho man, tough guy would rather spend time in California or laying by the pool in a taxpayer-funded $10,000-a-month rental mansion than show up to his job. But Rick Perry isn't a macho man -- he's a chicken who is in it for himself.
The first debate in the Texas governor's race will be between a pair of Houstonians in the Hill Country on Monday, minus Gov. Rick Perry. [...]
Kerrville Area League President Donna Robinson said Perry was invited to attend but turned it down. Robinson said Perry remains invited to show up Monday if he wishes.
And I don't mind highlighting what Bill White had to say about tonight's debate on his Facebook page:
The League of Women Voters is a mainstream, non-partisan group promoting voter education and candidate accountability. I accepted their invitation to debate others running for Governor tomorrow in Kerrville. Kathy Glass, Libertarian candidate, also accepted. Perry's handlers don't want him to answer questions about the state's financial condition or all the insider dealing and mismanagement, so he won't show up.
Rick "Chicken" Perry has now held a Perry-White debate ransom for 70 days. There is no justifiable reason for Perry not to debate:
I’m pretty sure White is going to spend his entire allotment talking about Perry, Perry’s miserable failure of a record as Governor, and the fact that Perry didn’t have the stones to show up and talk about his record.
Today is Day 52 of Rick Perry refusing to debate Bill White.
Rick Chicken Perry continues to refuse to debate Bill White. Enjoy this viral video, and help us spread it around:
The clip of Perry is from the Hispanic Leadership breakfast he hosted last Friday at the Republican Party of Texas convention in Dallas. Rick Chicken Perry is refusing to debate Bill White for absolutely no good reason. As I wrote in my post, "Rick "Chicken" Perry Campaign Hosts Bill White Press Conference":
Rick Chicken Perry's press conference has certainly gained plenty of attention online. Here's all the mentions I've found so far, not including repeat AP mentions:
For over half an hour, the chants at Rick "Chicken" Perry's campaign press conference were drowned out by dozens of proud Texas Democrats shouting the same two things:
"Rick Chicken Perry! Rick Chicken Perry! Debate Bill Now! Debate Bill Now!"
Rick Perry tried to host a press conference in front of the Bill White for Texas and Travis County Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign office. Make no mistake -- the photos and video you're about to see below are from Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry's press conference - and it was perhaps the most disastrous press conference in Texas political history. The Perry team, thinking they could pull off a cute stunt, instead were overwhelmed with more than 60 Bill White supporters and -- of course -- a chicken suit.
Before I write any more, I have to give a major shout of congratulations to the students at the Mark Strama Campaign Academy, and all the Bill White volunteers who showed up. Without their chants, support, and willingness to dress up in a chicken suit, none of this would have been possible. They deserve the credit for taking control of Rick Perry's failed press conference.
I live-blogged the event at Burnt Orange Report. The slideshow below -- photos courtesy of Katie Naranjo and Katherine Haenschen, the first a former and the second a current writer at Texas' own Burnt Orange Report -- captures the sheer force of Democrats responding to Rick Perry's stunt:
For those who haven't been following this race, here's what's going on: On April 26, 2010, Rick Perry's campaign first said he'd refuse to debate until Bill White released his tax returns:
"If he releases his tax returns, we'll be happy to talk about debate dates," said Miner.
Let's call that what it is: CRAP. The Perry campaign, if the Perry campaign thinks it will get away with not allowing a debate to occur between him and the major party candidate for Governor over what they perceive to be an insufficient release of the Mayor's tax returns it is, pure and simple, crap. It should be called crap by everybody, and no one should allow the Perry campaign to get away with it.
As you can tell, Democrats aren't going to let him get away with it. Today marked Day 50 of Rick Perry refusing to debate, and with press conferences like this, Perry may have to cave much sooner than he'd hoped. Their idea was dumb from the beginning -- they wanted to have a press conference to talk in front of Bill White's Austin headquarters. However, word spread after they sent out their media advisory, and before you knew it Democrats had swarmed their presser. The Texas Tribune's Elise Hu captured video of the chaos:
Rick "Chicken" Perry and his campaign team are, allegedly, among the best and the brightest. But while Rick Perry is off in China, his campaign team -- led by Mark Miner -- got drowned out in one of the stupidest press conferences ever.
I'd be remiss if I didn't give everyone a chance to hear Miner's chants drowned out by the crowd one more time, so here is the Austin American-Statesman's footage:
“I think there's a real probability we won't have a debate. I just don't think Rick sees it in his interest to have one,” said Masset, former political director of the Republican Party of Texas. “All he'd be doing is giving name ID to an opponent.”
Masset — who disagrees with those in his party who offer angry rhetoric on issues like immigration — backed U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the GOP primary but plans to vote for Perry in November. Masset noted that voters rarely see an unscripted answer in a debate, but White could bring something different — and that's no advantage to Perry.
“He (White) is plain-spoken. He is very specific-oriented,” Masset said. “He's kind of our nightmare ... Why give him a chance?”
This is nothing but a delaying tactic, and not a very transparent one at that. White has made public his tax returns during his entire life in elected public office. The time for Perry’s posturing is over.
In explaining his recent lethal encounter with a coyote, Perry has acknowledged he has a fear of snakes. That’s perfectly understandable, even if his practice of jogging with a laser-sighted sidearm isn’t.
Debates, however, come with the territory of higher office. Unless Perry is also afraid of facing White in a public forum, his campaign needs to drop the contrived demands and get down to negotiating details of the debates everyone knows are going to happen.
