This is a BIG deal. The editor of this paper cannot write an editorial without mentioning Jesus. Seriously. I am SHOCKED. My relatives up there call us the "Demoncrats". This reflects a deep, deep level of dissatisfaction (even though they go on to endorse Republican incumbents in all the other races).
:wow:
http://theparisnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=a782db2d3d46821cThe Paris News endorses Chris Bell
Staff reports
The Paris News
Published October 15, 2006
Democratic candidate Chris Bell emerges from the pack as the candidate of choice in the opinion of The Paris News' five-person editorial board and receives this paper’s endorsement for Texas governor in the November General Election.
The board reached a consensus on the Bell endorsement after debating whether to endorse any candidate in the five-candidate race. In our opinion, none of the candidates is a particular standout.
Bell came off as knowledgeable and clear on the issues during last week’s televised debate featuring incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Perry and independents Carol Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman. We did not consider Libertarian candidate James Warner.
By a process of elimination, we determined Friedman should continue being a humorist — just not at the expense of the Lone Star State. We cannot tolerate his lack of concern for the youth of our state as evidenced by his use of foul language, his drinking in public and constant display of tobacco use.
Strayhorn, we believe, to be an opportunist — having changed her position on several issues, not to mention political party flip flops from being a Democrat to being a Republican and then an independent. We applaud her for wanting to “shake things up in Austin” but believe Bell, with the Democratic voting base, has a better chance to unseat Perry.
Why unseat Perry? Because of his lack of leadership skills as evidenced by a tumultuous six years in office with legislative session after legislative session filled with constant bickering among Republican leaders. We are hopeful by throwing a Democrat into the mix, Austin can rid itself of partisan politics to the extent that has been exhibited of late. We are hopeful Austin can return to the decorum demonstrated when then Republican Gov. George W. Bush worked hand in hand with a Democratic lieutenant governor and a Democrat as speaker of the House.
We are hopeful Bell will carry through on his promise to address the dropout rate in our schools and to make accountability testing more meaningful for students and less threatening for educators. The candidate also promises to end state college tuition deregulation in an attempt to thwart skyrocketing tuition rates. He pledges to increase community college funding to reverse budgets cuts of recent years.
We would hope under Bell’s leadership the Texas Legislature would get a chance to rethink the Trans-Texas Corridor, something Bell has called “a product of corruption.” We agree Texas needs a long term transportation plan, but we hope the needs of East Texas would be factored into the mix.
Bell also makes sense when he addresses the problem of decaying Texas parks. The candidate says money collected through licenses and fees should be fully appropriated for park use rather than being left unappropriated to certify the budget. Bell would also move monies from the Texas Enterprise Fund to the park system.
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