Transplanted Buckeye

One of the things I looked forward to most in moving to Texas was enjoying the colorful political scene. The local politics is not unlike anything I experienced in Ohio. But the state politics has not yet disappointed me.

Shortly after we moved here, there was a dispute over the reorganization of congressional districts. As much as the media made it out to be all Tom Delay's fault, the dispute was the same as in any state where the party in power redistricts to ensure their party would be in the majority at the next election. The dispute was just more ornery.

The House of Representative Democrats protested by leaving the legislative session and holing up in a Holiday Inn in Ardmore, Oklahoma, screwing up the quorum and putting everything on hold. The Senate Democrats, about a month later, did the same thing, except they went to a luxury hotel in New Mexico. The comments I remember from the time went along the lines of, "Gee, the House members did try to sacrifice at least. They only went to Ardmore--not much to do there. But the Senate members, not much of a protest at a resort, is it?"

Now we are having a governor's race.


The current governor is Rick Perry. He is the man who succeeded W. as governor. I've asked some Republicans here what they think of him, and the response seems to generally lay along the lines of "underwhelmed." Some even say that he is too dull. They like a little spice in the governor's office down here.

The Democratic Candidate is Chris Bell. You can already see that his schtick is that he's a husband, father, public servant, and a Texan (not necessarily in that order). His web site claims that he was a victim of redistricting, as he lost his U.S. Congress seat in the last election. The latest thing I heard from Bell was that the Governor spends too much on air conditioning at the governor's mansion. Wow, Chris! That certainly tells me about the bold changes you'll make when you become governor!


And then there's Kinky Friedman, whom I am seriously considering voting for. He's promised to make Willie Nelson in charge of promoting biodiesel fuel. And I tell you what, he's working hard for the votes. He may be a bit vulgar, but there is no chance that his term in office would be dull.
Carole Keeton Strayhorn is a Republican running as an independent. She's very conservative, and recently made a fuss over not being allowed to be called "Grandma" on the November ballot. She would also be more interesting than Rick Perry. She's former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's mother. She's disgusted with the ineffectiveness of the Perry administration, and feels that too many special interests are holding him hostage.

I am still quite the novice when it comes to Lone Star Politics. I am trying hard, as I hate to be an uninformed voter. However, I can be reassured that things will be very interesting this fall as long as Kinky and Carole are in the race.