I don't know if you are talking about me but I'm anything but a hardcore Democrat (or any kind of Democrat). The fact is control of one's mouth is a requirement for a position of leadership like governor. Whatever Kinky did in the past was fine and dandy. Some people are better at lobbing grenades on the front lines than being leaders (Newt "the Nut" Gingrich is an example). Being governor of Texas means representing the whole state and getting things accomplished, not spouting out the first thing that comes to your mind. If his mouth doesn't kill his campaign before the election, it will impale him IF he's elected, which is a scary thought. Some of his statements are funny and cute now since he's fresh to the scene. If elected, people will get tired of that in a hurry when there is business to be done. Folksiness and populism wear off really fast when accountability enters the equation. The honeymoon will be very short. The governor of Texas is a weak position relative to other governors, but whoever occupies the position is the face of Texas to the world. Ann Richards was a great face for Texas while she was governor; nevermind the fact she had almost zero influence over the legislature and they basically ran the business of the state without her input. It finally caught up with her and Ms. Smiley Face and Quick Quip lost her re-election to W. With Kinky, he would be a laughingstock of a symbol AND the legislature would ignore him. Believe you me, I'm no fan of Chris Bell! But unlike the scary Tony Sanchez, he's a viable, functional alternative to Perry. Perry must lose and only Bell has a smidgen of a chance to pull this election off and beat. So I still say a vote for Kinky is like throwing your ballot in the trash can. The same applies to Carol Keeton-Rylander-Strayhorn.
All I can say is that the people who are going way out of their way to trash Kinky are all urging me to vote Democrat. Half the time in these political posts I don't even remember for more than a minute who wrote what. I cast no dispersions on your character. This is where we differ. From everything I have seen of Chris Bell I don't think he has any chance to win. The best way I can describe it is that when I watch him I see a school district superintendent, not a Govenor. There's nothing wrong with him and in fact his resume shows a good candidate but he doesn't have the special something that it takes for a non-Repuiblican to get elected in Texas. As far as I can tell, Kinky has the same something special that Ann Richards had. Ann Richards had it, Kinky has is, and Chris Bell doesn't. If he were a Republican in Texas with a few policy variations he could probably be electable, but not here, now as a Democrat. I know of no other way to describe it though I wish I could. It is the same 'it' that allows a moron like 'W' to get elected over a compitent and experienced politician like John Kerry. On paper Kerry appears 10x the candidate that Bush presents, and yet 'W' won.
so everyone says it was out of context. can someone please post the context or a link to the context. I haven't read every word of the thread but I didn't see the context here.
Ann Richards had what? She won on a complete fluke. Clayton Williams was ahead by about 25% in September when he made the famous crack about rape. (In fact, Kinky's loose lip stuff reminds me of Williams). The only reason she won was because the bozo completely self-destructed. Before that he was destroying her. If a trained monkey had been the Democratic nominee it would have won after Williams' remark. In fact, he even made a couple of more gaffes after that one. If he had locked himself in a room and never made a public appearance after Labor Day he would have won going away. The only thing Ann Richards had that got her elected governor was dumb luck. Four years of her as governor proved she wasn't up to the task of doing anything more than appointing people like Lena Guerrero (anybody remember her? LOL!) to positions in state government. This year has a chance to be weird also. If Kinky self-destructs, many of his supporters could join the anti-Perry movement and swing over to put Bell in. The "special" thing Kinky has matches Clayton Williams more than Ann Richards. Maybe if Kinky flames out late enough the Republican attack machine won't have a chance to shoot their big guns at Bell. On W vs. Kerry, the only reason he won is because Kerry was an incredibly weak candidate and the GOP has forgotten more about presidential politics than the Dems have ever learned. The pathetic Kerry was actually killed by Howard Dean. (The truth is Dean just showed everyone that Kerry was actually dead and was unworthy of being nominated). The spooked Dems then got together and rescusitated Kerry's comatose candidacy for several months until they thought he could breathe on his own. They were wrong.
I'm sorry, but this is a really trite analysis of the '04 election. You wrote that as if you were revealing something new . "Bush lost because Kerry's campaign was flawed..." Duh! You are wrong, however, concerning the primary. Kerry won the primary because he fired Jim Jordan and turned to Mary Beth Cahill, who streamlined his message in Iowa. While Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean were destroying each other with negative ads there, Kerry and Edwards were quietly gaining support on the ground (where it mattered, not in blogs or in the media, who were completely clueless until a day or so before). Where Kerry screwed up was when he turned his campaign over to John Sasso (Dukakis insider, OMG!) and the worst presidential strategist of all time, Bob Shrum. Those were the two geniuses behind the, "Eh, just ignore the swift boaters, John. They'll go away in a couple of days." On his own, John Kerry is actually a funny, charismatic guy. If you dont believe me, watch his appearances on Don Imus. His problem was allowing these morons to handle his campaign. Same problem Al Gore had (and yes, Bob Shrum had his fingerprints on that gem as well).
Geez, what have I started? So far we have that George Allen is a racist. The Pope is borderline, and Kinky is not. I guess if you are a democrat, you can get away with more racially racy talk then if you are a republican. Hmmmmmm.....
No apology needed. You weren't rude. If you want to bust something I say with facts go right ahead. You may disagree, but I remember Leiberman and other Dems basically turning on Dean by saying vicious things about him. The impression I got was they decided he would not be their nominee under any circumstances because they thought he was a sure loser in the general election. Kerry was seen as the safer selection against a vulnerable incumbent. Maybe I'm wrong here but there are a lot folks (independent, GOP, Dem) who feel this is what happened. I'll never forget the "Bush recession followed by the Dean depression" remark from Leiberman. An incredible cheap shot. Your comments on the presidential race just confirm the fact that the GOP runs hardball presidential campaigns better than the Dems. Kerry could have chosen better managers but he didn't. The Swift Boat debacle will go down in presidential election infamy along with Willie Horton and the ACLU card. They didn't learn from '88. BTW, I know what I said was "trite" and not new. I don't take any of it back but, of course, there were more nuts and bolts to the story.
I've pretty much decided I'm voting for whoever is closest behind Perry in the polls right before the election. First, and last time, I think I'll ever be that careless with my vote. But getting Perry out is more important than getting the best qualified person in.
this seems to be a common decision going with this election.... i'm following someone else's lead on the board (dont remember who) this go round, and voting against every incumbant, democrat and republican alike.
Kinky's campaign statement is right on the money. Thanks for posting it Roderick_98. The mere fact that the slimeballs are reaching back to Kinky's nightclub performances in the 70s and early 80s, where he utters the "N-word" while imitating and satirizing racists proves that Perry, Bell and Strayhorn-Keeton-Rylander-Smith- Jones-Johnson are scared as hell of the Kinkster. Wait until the debates, folks. You ain't seen nothing yet.
October 6 in Dallas is the only one with most of the candidates. (I don't think Werner will be there)
sounds like a racist to me ... not for the use of the word "Negro" but why the black man in jail reference? undercover klansman
1)the full use of N was throughout the 70s and 80s in his comedy routine 2)talking about putting child molestors in a cell and making them "listen to negros talk to themselves" was over a year ago in an interview 3*)his statement about katrina evacs being thugs and whatever else was a few weeks ago number 3 gets a star because he said thugs, it is all the media and others trying to spin it to be racist, eventhough there isn't anything racist about the word thug.
