I'd like your thoughts on Strayhorn vs. Perry

[Czolgosz]

I have been debating this among friends and we cannot reach a consensus about who we'd prefer to win the primary before losing in the general election.

I'm thinking Strayhorn because (1) I think she may be easier to beat than Perry and (2) if, god forbid, we don't win, I think she's neither as creepy nor as ambitious for additional terms or higher office as Perry.

Others are thinking (1) Perry is easier to beat and (2) if Mark and Scott McClellan came from Strayhorn's womb she is probably the devil.

So . . . who would you rather see win the primary before losing in the general election and why?

[Richardo]

1. I want to see whoever is unannointed by the GOP win...

...'cause the annointed one will spend the entire primary campaign totally trashing her for us. I mean take-no-prisoners, Lee Atwater-style mudflows.

:popcorn:

[Dora]

2. Strayhorn

It's just a feeling. IF she won the general election, she'd be a better gov than Perry.

Who's our best Democratic candidate?

[Czolgosz]

10. I think Bell's the best Democrat running and the next governor if there's

any justice.

[acmejack]

3. None of the above!

Chris Bell (D)! http://www.perspectives.com/forums/forum6/46324.html

[Gothmog]

4. I am supporting Kinky

Perry is mainly popular with the religious right and the Rove elements of the party. Strayhorn is a bit more personable and popular with the general electorate. If Kinky was not running, I would vote republican for Strayhorn just to cause some issues.

[sonias]

6. Kinky isn't in this equation yet

Kinky is not running as a repuke or a Democrat. He won't be on the primary ballot at all. He's going to run as an independent in the general election and will only be on the ballot if he collects enough signatures to appear on the ballot as a third party candidate. I do believe he will collect the signatures. Just be aware that you can not sign Kinky's petition if you vote in the primary (for either major party). That's Texas election law.

I certainly hope that you won't be wasting your vote on Kinky instead of voting for the Democratic candidate Chris Bell.

Sonia

[Czolgosz]

11. Don't you have to abstain from either primary to sign Kinky's petition?

With all the other races on the ballot, that's too high a price for me. Plus, I'm concerned that Kinky'll Nader us in a close election.

Edited to apologize for not reading the whole thread before posting this and thereby asking questions that had already been answered.

[sonias]

14. Ballot access law for Texas - Just say no to Kinky

http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/candidates/guide/newparty.shtml
Your party must register with the Secretary of State's Office by January 2, 2005, and needs the support of 45,540 qualified voters. (That's for a new party) If Kinky does run as an Independent which is a registered party he's going to need 64,076 signatures like Nader tried to collect.

And from the Petition in Lieu of the Filing Fee form
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/a2-4a.pdf
I understand that by signing this petition I become ineligible to vote in a primary election or participate in a convention of another party, including a party not holding a primary election, during the voting year in which this primary election is held.

So what that means is that if you sign a petition for Kinky you can forget about voting in either the repuke or Democratic primary. Also it follows that if you vote in the primary election you can't sign the petition for Kinky to appear on the Nov. ballot.


http://www.votenader.org/media_press/index.php?cid=31
Nader Campaign Sues Texas
Suit Alleges Texas Ballot Access Law Unconstitutional
May 10, 2004

Washington, DC: Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader and three Texas voters seeking to be his presidential electors, filed suit today against the State of Texas for preliminary and injunctive relief against the State’s ballot access law. The suit, Nader et al, v. Connor, filed in federal court in Austin, notes that the campaign has already collected in excess of 50,000 signatures and urges the Court to find the statute unconstitutional and discriminatory in three respects.

1. Texas has the earliest due date of any state, May 10. Forty-six states have deadlines of July, August, September or later. The early due date is not needed to regulate ballot access and therefore is unconstitutional.
2. It is unconstitutional for Texas to require Independent candidates to collect 64,076 signatures, nearly 20,000 more valid signatures than Third Party candidates, which must collect 45,540.
3. It is unconstitutional for Texas to require Independent candidates to collect signatures in 60 days, two weeks less time than Third Party candidates, which have 75 days.

More at link above
-------------
Nader lost the lawsuit by the way.

Sonia

[sonias]

5. Adios MoFo

Rick Perry is going to be so much weaker this election cycle. He's a do nothing governor who has accomplished nothing - I do mean nothing. We need Carole Keeton, McClellan, Rylander, Strayhorn, John Cougar Mellencamp, to bloody him up some more in the primary. We need to follow all of her attacks since she's a crafty tough grandma who really plays nasty. We're pretty sure she had a hand in the "Ricky is gay" story last year. And that attack was so juicy and got quite a bit of traction. His poll numbers are lower than bush's. He's going to totally fail in the school finance crisis and that's something we can hang on him. If Carole wins she can say she will do something different on school finance.


Sonia

[NoPasaran]

7. I'd like to see Carole Fournames bloody Goodhair something fierce

But expect that Perry will prevail in the primary thanks to the Talibornagain. Then, about three days before the election, Anita walks in on Rick in a threesome with Craddick and Dewhurst.

[sonias]

12. I would really love to see that threesome

happen, except that Dewhurst and Craddick really hate each other. That doesn't mean that ricky mofo wouldn't invite two other willing partners. We have to dog that hair for brains governor, and I'm sure we can find the dirt on his escapades. This may be a job for Larry Flynt.

Sonia

[crispini]

8. I think Perry is easier to beat than Strayhorn.

But he'd be a worse governor, as he has already proven. :P

[Maestro]

9. Hard call

I mean to think that Scottie McClellan's mommy has a chance to be governor is just disgusting but not as disgusting as Goodhair who has the support of the fundies so I guess let Grandma bloody Goodhair, win, then lose to Chris Bell or some other good democrat, but Chris sure looks good.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

13. Strayhorn? Unambitious?

Her political resume appears to consist of winning election to one office, only to begin campaigning for the next higher office at her earliest opportunity.

I think it's going to be fun being a Democrat in Texas in spring 2006. Repubs hold all statewide offices, along with both senate seats and a large majority of HR seats, so the only way any republicans can move ahead is by attacking the repubs in their way.

Democrats need to get rolling on some "smoke-filled rooms" to get some candidates anointed, so funds are not needlessly spent in primary battles. It will make things easier if we have one candidate for the statewide offices before the primaries even start.

[sonias]

15. Welcome to DU Geoff!

I think some of those "smoke-filled rooms" are already happening. For example Nick Lampson who is running in CD22 to challenge DeLay pretty much got Richard Morrison (prior Democratic challenger to DeLay) and Gordon Quan to drop out of the primary race for that seat.

We've been hearing rumors that other people may challenge Chris Bell for the Democratic primary for Governor (like John Sharp) but nothing has really come of it. I think Chris has the early lead at this point. And while I like John Sharp a lot, I'd like to see him run for Lt. Governor instead.

Sonia

[Czolgosz]

16. All I'm saying is Strayhorn is 65. How much gas is left in that tank?

Even if, god forbid, she won, is she going to serve more than one term? Certainly we don't have to worry about her seeking a higher office (not because she's humble or modest but because her career is not going to last much longer).

Perry is a decade younger and appears to be in good health. Oh, and he's a douchebag.

[meow2u3]

17. Which husband is Strayhorn on?

She's undoubtedly the Liz Taylor of Repunk politics, changing spouses the same way a normal person would change their underwear :evilgrin:

[ThJ]

18. The Honest Truth

First, whoever the Democratic nominee is they probably do not have a chance of winning a statewide office at this time.

Chris Bell is not well known statewide, and thus would have to spend a lot of money just gaining name recognition, and it doesn't help that he lost to DeLay of all people.

I'm wondering if Sharp will enter the race - he's known statewide and can appeal to enough people, but he was not able to beat Dewhurst (beating out Perry or Strayhorn could be another matter entirely however, something he could very well do). Ron Kirk is out there and ran for US Senate, so he's got name recognition statewide, but again lost the statewide race (and so far, I haven't heard anyone mention his name).

Second, the one group who could be influential in statewide elections are not participating at the voting booth - Hispanics. There were a couple of articles about this phenomena in the papers yesterday. So, unless the increased number of Hispanics can translate into votes, the Democrats will not have any advantage in next years elections.

Thirdly, this state has become, for better or worse, Republican. Even local politicians who could become elected in Republican districts, even though they ran as Democrats, are now switching parties. Not a good sign for the Democratic Party at a grass roots level.

Whatever one may wish, it is highly unlikely the next governor of Texas is going to be a Democrat, so the next best thing is anyone but Perry.

[crispini]

19. The urban areas are getting much bluer.

I totally disagree with you about local pols switching teams. Dallas will field a Democratic slate of about 45 candidates for judicial as well as other local offices in 2006. We are, in fact, seeing a renaissance of the local DP. But I agree with you about the Gov. race. Statewide, it's still a tough row to hoe.

[ThJ]

20. I'm not really familiar with the urban districts...

such as Dallas and Houston. I know Austin is strongly Democratic, except out west, but I was thinking more in the rural areas.

[crispini]

21. The population of Texas is 80% urban/suburban.

Surprise! Most people don't realize that. Of course, it's the suburban voters who are mondo Republican. Moreso than the rural voters, I'd bet.

[ThJ]

22. That urban/suburban distinction is very important...

You can to urban Austin, and they certainly do not vote the same as suburban Austin (although suburban Austin is quite a mix).