What is your take on Gammage or Bell?

[texas1928]

These two gentleman seem to be the front runners on Democratic side of the governors race.

I really like Bell.

The one problem I have with them both, is that Perry already has commercials running on TV, and they show them continuously here in Lubbock. But I have yet to see an ad by them. They need to start pushing here.

[crispini]

1. Neither one has raised much money yet, thus the lack of TV.

I've seen Bell speak, and he didn't impress me (very little passion, came across as "just another politico," IMO), but I like his positions on the issues.

I haven't seen Gammage speak. Of course he just got in the race a few weeks ago. I'd like to see him speak before I make up my mind.

If you look through this forum you'll find various threads about it, as well as some reports on Burnt Orange. The Bell and Gammage supporters are certainly quite active in the debate in cyberspace! :P

[Czolgosz]

2. I had lunch with Chris Bell, and came away with a "good news/bad news"

impression. The good news (for me) was that Chris has a great story and it was a real pleasure to see a gubernatorial candidate having lunch with real folks about Texas's problems and how best to fix them. The bad news (again, for me) is that he didn't seem overwhelmingly passionate or motivated by a desire to win for the sake of a strongly-held agenda which he had set plans to implement. The best and worst thing I can say about Chris is that he seems like a good moderate choice who I would be very proud to work and vote for in November, but he's pretty much the opposite end of the Democrat-candidate spectrum from David Van Os.

I worked at the Texas Supreme Court when Bob Gammage was a judge there. His ideals and to the left of Chris's and, therefore, more compatible with my own and I'm certainly drawn more passionately to the issues that Bob has prioritized (see issue comparison below). With that said, I'm not necessarily convinced that Bob would stand a better chance in November than Chris in a three-way race (I'm a little pessimistic that either would win in a four-way or two-way race). Perhaps Chris's moderation (which drives me toward Bob) would make him more electable, but maybe not.

In sum, my heart strongly is for Gammage based on the issue, but my head remains persuadable based on electability.

Gammage's priorities:

* Raise the state minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.50 an hour.
* Pass a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing every Texan the right to clean air and clean water.
* Pass an Ethics Reform Act to make it illegal for any state legislator or high agency official to become a lobbyist for at least two years after leaving state service.
* Pass a Corporate Responsibility Act to strengthen Texas regulatory and consumer protection agencies to stop price gouging in gas and utility prices and protect our citizens from corporate fraud.
* Pass a Texas Tax Reform Act. No more state taxes on the middle class unless we close the special corporate loopholes that save Rick Perry's yachting friends billions while ordinary families have to pay and pay.
* Work for a Prescription Drug Price Relief Act to regulate prescription drug costs and stop the gouging of consumers.
* Work for Affordable Health Insurance for all families in times of catastrophic illness and injury.
* Pass a Texas Excellence in Education Act to guarantee fair funding for every school district in Texas-with the standard set at "excellence" for all, not just an elite few.

<http://www.gammageforgovernor.com>

Bell's priorities:

* Rebuilding Public Education (by creating a Bipartisan Commission on Public Education)
* Reducing Barriers to Higher Education (by ending tuition deregulation and making higher education a higher state funding priority)
* Honoring our National Guardsmen (by granting tuition exemptions and low-interest loans to guardsmen)
* Protecting Kids (by making the Child Protective Services system a higher state funding priority)
* Fighting for Rural Texas (by canceling Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor and banning over-the-counter sales of pseudophedrine to cut down on methamphetamine abuse)
* Healing the Sick (by promoting research on stem cells)
* Expanding Home Ownership (by opposing a real estate transfer tax)
* Finding Common Ground (by taking partisan politics out of the redistricting process to end gerrymandering)

<http://www.chrisbell.com/issues>

Here's why I have hope that Gammage's progressive agenda is not outside of the mainstream:

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press conducted issue polling reported in “Beyond Red vs. Blue” <http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=242. According to this study, the extremist Republican activists, called “Enterprisers” in the report, are generally rich and white (and mainly married male gun owning Fox News fans). In domestic policy matters, these “Enterprisers” strongly support a pro-corporation/anti-consumer agenda, including the elimination of government social services and the elimination of regulation against corporate misdeeds. In foreign policy matters, they support the aggressive-unilateralist agenda set by Project for the New American Century. These “Enterprisers” compose just 9 percent of the population. On many key issues, these “Enterprisers” do not share the views of the other Republican voter groups, which are the Social Conservatives (the 11 percent of the population who are church-going, anti-immigration Republicans) and the Pro-Government Conservatives (the 9 percent of the population who are poorer, nationalistic, Christian Republicans – essentially poorer Social Conservatives).[br />
Here are eight issues that divide the activist-extremist “Enterpriser” Republicans from traditional Republicans:

1. INVESTING IN UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSURANCE

Who favors government health insurance for all (even if it requires tax increases)?

23% - Enterpriser Republicans
59% - Social Conservatives Republicans
63% - Pro-Government Republicans
65% - All Americans


2. RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

Who favors raising the minimum wage?

46% - Enterpriser Republicans
79% - Social Conservatives Republicans
94% - Pro-Government Republicans
86% - All Americans


3. PROTECTING AGAINST JOB OUTSOURCING

Who is concerned about outsourcing American jobs?

43% - Enterpriser Republicans
67% - Social Conservatives Republicans
71% - Pro-Government Republicans
69% - All Americans


4. PROTECTING AGAINST CORPORATE ABUSES

Who thinks big corporations have too much power?

26% - Enterpriser Republicans
88% - Social Conservatives Republicans
83% - Pro-Government Republicans


5. REGULATING BUSINESS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC

Who thinks corporations should be regulated to protect public interests?

16% - Enterpriser Republicans
58% - Social Conservatives Republicans
66% - Pro-Government Republicans


6. PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT FROM INDUSTRIAL POLLUTERS

Who favors better protecting our environment from industrial polluters?

16% - Enterpriser Republicans
67% - Social Conservatives Republicans
61% - Pro-Government Republicans
77% - All Americans


7. PRIORITIZING DEFICIT REDUCTION OVER TAX CUTS

Who thinks tax cuts are more important than reducing the budget deficit?

50% - Enterpriser Republicans
31% - Social Conservatives Republicans
37% - Pro-Government Republicans
32% - All Americans


8. ENDING UNILATERAL FOREIGN POLICY

Who supports Bush’s unilateralist foreign policy?

73% - Enterpriser Republicans
49% - Social Conservatives Republicans
40% - Pro-Government Republicans
37% - All Americans


I think the "Enterprisers" are Perry voters. We can't win them. I think we (and Carol KMRS DRI) can split some of the other Republicans away Perry on the types of issues that Bob Gammage is emphasizing.

[merci_me]

3. I concur......

I know Chris fairly well, since his first council race. Chris is a really good guy. I truly like Chris as a person and would absolutely have no trouble working for and supporting him in the general election. However, Bob Gammage, who I also like very much as a person, is the one who shares my ideals and he does so with fire. He's definitely the more progressive candidate. Bob has my full support.

[PDittie]

4. I'm a Bell supporter but

Bob Gammage has done a lot to try to win me over.

I like both men quite a lot, and I think that Texas Democrats are blessed to have them standing for office.

My own perception is that Chris Bell is the more progressive of the two, as his voting record in Congress is more friendly to women's reproductive rights, to gay rights, and many other socially progressive issues. I believe the criticism of Bell advanced here and elsewhere as lacking excitement is completely unfounded. As recently as two weekends ago, anyone attending the SDEC rally would beg to differ with this. Bell was on fire, and I have often seen him deliver stemwinders from the stump. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, of course...

texas1928, we had a bit of a row last week in another thread here in the Texas forum between Bell and Gammage supporters (crispini has previously alluded to it). I'll let you go find that thread yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Texans will elect a fine Democratic Governor this year. I'm convinced of it.

Pick one (and throw some coin his way so that you can start seeing some ads from him). Whichever one you choose is going to need all the financial help he can get.

[Czolgosz]

5. I wouldn't try to persuade you support a different candidate because I'm

undecided myself and your view seems well set and you seem right about most things from what I can judge from reading your posts and, most importantly, I agree both candidates are great.

The only area where I might debate with you is your perception that Bell is the more progressive candidate. First, I suspect the Bell would concede that he is running to the right of Gammage. Second, I think it might be a little misleading to weigh the candidates by comparing Bell's recent congressional record with Gammage's 30-year-old congressional record. If either candidate hadn't grown in the last three decades sufficiently as to warrant an evaluation of their candidacy based on their votes 30 years ago, I'd agree that the candidate who hadn't grown was probably not worth considering.

[PDittie]

6. Yours is an opinion I have a lot of respect for as well, C

It is almost always well-thought and well-documented.

But this is just silly:

First, I suspect the Bell would concede that he is running to the right of Gammage.

I suspect you're quite mistaken. And FWIW, I'm really not interested in opening another can of worms over this contention, either.

I think it might be a little misleading to weigh the candidates by comparing Bell's recent congressional record with Gammage's 30-year-old congressional record.

"misleading"? Perhaps it's inaccurate, but the record is all there is. That and their words today. As I've stated previously, I'll take both men at their word where they renounce or clarify the record. They've both earned that trust from me.

[Czolgosz]

7. "Misleading" was a poor choice of words. I meant that the comparison

between Bell's congressional voting record and Gammage's was an inapt comparison because of the decades separating their terms in Congress and that the comparison might lead someone to reach an inaccurate conclusion. I said "misleading" with the idea in my mind that the comparison might lead one to an erroneous conclusion, but I definitely did not mean to imply that it was a "misleading" comparison in the sense being deceptive. I apologize for the poor choice of words.

I don't want to open a can of worms either, but I would not be averse to a thread that had information for promoting both Gammage's and Bell's platforms to spark interest in both candidacies and to assist those people who want assistance in deciding which candidate they prefer.

I said that I suspect the Bell would concede that he is running to the right of Gammage because I have had a face-to-face discussion with Chris where we discussed the advisability of giving a high priority to a modestly enhanced statewide minimum wage law and a statewide initiative to incrementally increase health care through corporate incentives (this was shortly before Gammage got into the race). Chris is for raising the minimum wage (he's voted for it many times) and he's in favor of expanding health care -- there is no doubt about that -- but he was of the opinion that emphasizing those issues as top legislative priorities would position his campaign as too progressive to win a general election in Texas.

Subsequently, Bob has entered the race and he has embraced those issues which Chris thought were too progressive.

I agree both Gammage and Bell would be governors who would encourage and sign legislation to raise the minimum wage and which would offer corporate incentives to provide workers health care, but only Gammage is emphasizing those progressive issues in his campaign and Bell's decision not to emphasize those issues was because he felt those issues were too progressive to be widely embraced among the type of swing voters who any Democratic candidate must win over. Hence, I suspect the Bell would concede that he is running to the right of Gammage.

[meg]

8. South Texas Chisme has a post on this, too

Gammage vs Bell