Rick Perry vs World

19 October 2010

Bill White "Mansion" and Rick Perry spanish ads

In my opinion, Bill White's ads have been the weakest part of his campaign. The spot contrasts $10k a month for the temporary governor's mansion with school spending. Not a terrible idea, but have we seen much indication that Texans are bothered by $10k a month to replace the Governor's Mansion? I think there are stronger issues.

Finally, Bill White's script in the commercial is: "When Texas has a governor who's more interested in his own house, his own future -- than our schoolhouses -- which are our future -- then you know he's been governor too long." That's fairly complicated on paper, and more complicated in the ad. Good communications often means simplifying.

I assume these were done by Manny Flores and LatinWorks, probably in conjunction with David Weeks. Pretty effective ads.

Not gonna lie, I heard "vamos por bwine camino," not "vamos por buen camino" the first time I watched the 2nd ad, and had to rewind it to get it right.

Posted by Evan @ 10/19/10 02:52 PM | Comments (0)

Culling and commenting

* In Harris County, it's the Republican areas who are showing up to early vote. Not a good sign for Bill White, if he's hoping turnout will propel him to the guv's mansion. h/t to Kevin Whited's Diigo.

* Karl Rove was feeling a little feisty when he talked to Der Spiegel. Whether purposely or not, Spiegel got pretty revealing responses.

* Chet Edwards Tx17 seat now only the 15th most likely to change hands in an election where 60 seats are likely to change hands...good news?

* Bob Perry donated $3.5 million to the RGA. Presumably some of that will find its way back to Texas, although it is hard to say for sure since I wouldn't be shocked if RGA Chair Haley Barbour had a good relationship with Bob Perry. Perry has given plenty outside Texas in the past, so I wouldn't be surprised if some/alot goes to other states. Hard to say.

* Peggy Fikac is funny.

White will appear along with Libertarian candidate Kathie Glass and Green Party candidate Deb Shafto. Watch the debate, which is being sponsored by media including the San Antonio Express-News/Houston Chronicle. And eat your vegetables.

Watching that debate sure would be like eating vegetables.

* SMU's Cal Jillson has made a number of pro-Democratic comments this cycle. Today:

Jillson said voters should not mistake Perry giving interviews with him actually debating White, however.

"He has, in fact, denied the voters of the state of Texas an opportunity to see him side by side with his principal opponent," Jillson noted. "This is the palest version of an actual debate."

Professors are entitled to their opinions, but shouldn't journalists try to filter out the partisan opinions when professor analysis?

UPDATE: Ed Schipul makes the case against red light cameras in Houston. I couldn't agree more. Red light cameras are about one thing only: money. They aren't about safety, as they arguably make the streets more dangerous.

Posted by Evan @ 10/19/10 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

"Tonight we discuss solar energy"

This is funny. It's the top 5 movie posters. I copied #5 below:
Bill White solar energy 300

Although hilarious, I wish that the Houston Press still put serious resources into covering local politics. Recently I needed to do some research on local Harris County politics, and nothing compared to the Press. Que lastima.

Posted by Evan @ 10/19/10 02:01 PM | Comments (0)

Fair game?

KPRC, a Houston TV station, has a reporter on the air that writes "almost everyone I know is offended and turned off by Democrats . . . but believe me I'm not partisan."

Should that reporter continue covering politics?

Posted by Evan @ 10/19/10 01:31 PM | Comments (1)

Rick Perry vs Mark White?

I have no idea why, but I got a few hits today for Rick Perry v Mark White

I don't know if that means name ID isn't that solid yet, or if I just missed something in the campaign.

Posted by Evan @ 10/19/10 01:36 AM | Comments (0)

18 October 2010

Links

* Jay Root reports for the AP on Bill White campaigning in Houston, focusing on the African-American vote..

* Bill White talked to the FWST editorial board about polls:

"The average of our last three polls is between 3.5 and 4 percent," White said. The most recent poll his campaign conducted had him behind Perry 46 percent to 41 percent but White said he believed that poll oversampled Republican voters.

Recent public polls have shown Perry with a lead of at least six points. A couple have found the governor leading by more than 10 points.

White said a large number of undecided voters remain, according to his campaign's polling.

"Most undecideds, generally, they tend to break against long-term incumbents and certainly our surveys have shown that," White said.

That last sentence is empirically incorrect, but it is a common saying in politics.

But of course, what I want to know is: if his pollster is oversampling Republicans, why doesn't he get a new pollster? I have sympathy for politicians who have to answer questions about polls when they are behind, but I'd come up with a better argument than that.

* Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert endorsed Perry.

* Farouk Shami endorses Rick Perry. Didn't he talk alot about how he was going to support the Dem nominee? Hmm. Conspiracy theories?

* No Texas races are in the top 10 races nationwide for spending by the congressional campaign committees.

* Karl Rove's Karl Rove: Carl Forti.

Posted by Evan @ 10/18/10 05:45 PM | Comments (0)

The gubernatorial "debate" -- Rick Perry and Bill White interviews

Gov. Rick Perry: The Full Hour Interview

Bill White: The Full Hour Interview

Probably more in-depth than a debate.

Posted by Evan @ 10/18/10 05:10 PM | Comments (1)

17 October 2010

Weekend potpourri

* Ross Ramsey gives us his state of Perry vs White. Pretty good analysis.

* I'm getting a fair amount of traffic for my post on BTEC and Bill White. Much of it is search engine traffic, but it seems like at least a few people have emailed it to their friends, because lots of those hits come from gmail, yahoo mail or hotmail. Interesting.

* DMN's Christy Hoppe wrote up the DMN's analysis of spending. Interesting, although such analyses are more useful after the race, and once third party spending is accounted for. A nitpick:

Communications consultant Elyse Yates, who worked on Democrat Ann Richards' 1996 run for governor, said the electronic age has allowed campaigns to microtarget, identifying more potential backers.

That's a rather inexplicable error. Richards ran in 1990 and in 1994.

* DMN's Terrence Stutz sees Dewhurst focused on the 2012 election.

* Bill White thinks Rick Perry is disrespectful of Obama, but it turns out that by his standards he's not terribly respectful of Obama or George W. Bush...or Perry. Obviously not a big deal, but it is emblematic of the fact that White's campaign hasn't thought through their attacks.

Posted by Evan @ 10/17/10 05:45 PM | Comments (0)