The Texas Governor’s race heated up last night with all 3 GOP candidates debating each other in Denton. There is a lot of good coverage out there including some of the articles from the Star-Telegram(here, here, and here) so I’m not going to go through and give you a break down of what exactly happened. I’m just going to give a few opinions and I’d like to know what you thought about the debate.

First off, there was no clear winner in the debate. All 3 candidates had mistakes and no one seemed polished. Debra Medina, the long-shot candidate, didn’t seem real comfortable at first but seemed to settle down as the night went on. She was also stuck between Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry, so you know that couldn’t have been the most comfortable of all spots.

I found myself getting annoyed by Gov. Perry throughout the evening. Perry kept talking about how Texas was the greatest state ever and everyone wants to be here. Look, I’m a big state pride guy. I love Texas and I do believe Texas is the greatest state, but eventually I want a candidate to stop saying that and get to the issues. Texas may be great but we do have problems here. Rick Perry didn’t win any points with me when we said that Hutchison and Medina were trying to tear Texas down. They weren’t. We have problems in this state and they need to be addressed. It’s not called tearing down, it’s called being honest.

Gov. Perry has a lead right now according to polls but last night he didn’t blow me away. At times he seemed confident, but at other times not so much. He was on defense all night and never put Hutchison or Medina away. For a while I thought Perry had forgotten Medina was even there.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison had a pretty good night though she did get caught up in the abortion issue. Not a big surprise there at all. I understand what she says about over-turning Roe v. Wade in that states would be able to do whatever they wanted. I think a better question to ask Mrs. Hutchison would be. Would you support overturning Roe v. Wade and also a national law making abortion illegal? That way she can’t get around the issue. Should abortions be allowed or not?

Hutchison went after Perry on taxes and education and I think scored a few points against him on those issues. One question that came up was about jobs and Perry touted 100,000 jobs that were created. When the panelist asked if Texas had lost more than created, Perry went into his “Texas is great” answer and said I don’t know how I can say it any clearer. That’s when Hutchison went in and brought up the fact that Texas had lost 300,000 jobs and 100,000 were created.

Hutchison’s best moment of the night was when she used Debra Medina to put down Perry during a candidate question time period. Medina played along and it wasn’t a great moment for Perry.

That brings me to Debra Medina. You could tell she was the new person on stage, but overall she did very well. Yes, she got tongue twisted a few times and she wasn’t the polished politician, but I think some people like that about her. She showed a sense of humor, but was also very serious. While Perry and Hutchison talked mainly about the intrusion of the Federal Government, Medina also brought up intrusion by the State.

Out of all the candidates Medina seemed to be able to get her message through more clearly than either Perry or Hutchison. You can tell Medina is very conservative and that will make the Tea Party…Party very happy. Medina was able to talk about liberty and small government without having to argue with anyone. Medina’s camp should be pleased with how last night’s performance went. I look forward to hearing more from Medina as the campaign continues.

I don’t think Medina has a shot at winning, but I do think she will gain support and that will hurt Rick Perry. As of right now, I’d expect a run-off between Hutchison and Perry.

So, what did you think about the debate? Any clear winners?

If you missed the debate you can watch it by going to texasdebates.org.

If you haven’t heard President Obama will be holding another prime time speech tonight to announce the troop surge in Afghanistan. And while I’m sure we will all be dazzled with teleprompter reading skills, we already know the details of the troop surge. We already know that many Democrats will be ticked off and Republicans too. However, there is another segment of the population Obama might be making mad. The family.

ABC had already scheduled the TV tradition of  ” A Charlie Brown Christmas” for 8pm Eastern tonight. When is Obama talking? Yup, 8pm Eastern. I know there are many families out there (even my Mom) who look forward to this night because it kicks off the Christmas Season. Instead, you will be tuning in a seeing Obama read from a screen.

If you’re Obama, you just hope have to hope that there isn’t a “Lucy” waiting to take away your prompter at the last second.

In a nutshell, if you didn’t support David Miller, Soccer fields, the $300 million dollar bond package for arts & entertainment, etc. then it’s not that you made a fiscally responsible vote, but instead you just weren’t educated enough.

The AJ makes it sound as though low taxes are bad and shouldn’t be factored into the quality of life. What’s amazing is that just a few weeks back Terry Greenberg, editor, wrote a column trying to prove that his paper was indeed conservative. Most conservatives love low taxes but the AJ seems to think it’s no big deal. The AJ thinks we need a lot of new stuff so people will move here.

I’ve been in Lubbock for over 8 years now, and in my opinion it’s never been better. There is a great night life, wonderful parks, and it’s safe. I enjoy the art trail and the art galleries we have. Lubbock isn’t Dallas and it shouldn’t try to be. Do your own thing and it will work.

The AJ has been on the wrong side for many elections and now they are blaming you, the people of Lubbock. They along with the big spenders think you don’t understand. They don’t think you are doing what’s right for the future of Lubbock. They think you are un-educated and that you just don’t get it. Well, Terry Greenberg and those big spenders and tax hikers are the ones that don’t get it. They want you to buy into the idea that everthing proposed will bring in tons and tons of people. They want you to raise your taxes so the city can make the illusion that they are making life better. Terry Greenberg wants you to buy his paper, but he doesn’t get you.

The AJ wants you to invest in their paper every week so they can report the news to you. Unless of course it’s not covered by the AP, then they won’t cover it. The AJ wants you to believe they are a conservative paper, but they always want you to raise your taxes. Terry Greenberg wants to act like a big time Editor, yet he won’t write an editorial unless it’s defending the AJ’s stance on an issue or trying to convince you how conservative they are. Have you noticed Greenberg hasn’t said a word yet on LP&L? Maybe next week? Oh wait, next week he will probably write about Thanksgiving. Is there any wonder why more and more people are dropping the AJ? You see Mr. Greenberg, people like it when you take a stance on real issues. Have you noticed that KFYO and in particular Lubbock’s First News and Pratt on Texas are successful? Have you noticed that you’ve endorsed every big spending project, while we have not? Have you noticed that your circulation is falling while our audience numbers keep rising? Hmmm…

Sounds like to me one organization is out of touch. Maybe Terry Greenberg and those at the AJ should get educated on how this city works.

More on this later.

It was a good idea, but poor on execution. First off, it cost $15 bucks to get in and all that gets you is a small wine glass. There were a few places giving a first free taste, but most cost you another buck just to get a taste. This is all on top of the 15 bucks you’ve already paid. I believe there were about 12 different wineries, so that cost can add up. If you wanted a full glass, that would have set you back $5 bucks.

As for the rest of the festival? Well it’s not worth writing about it was just a bit boring.

This was the first year for the festival and every event has it’s kinks that that need to be worked out before year 2. However, if they want me back next year, they had better step up and change a lot.

Again, the Wine Festival is a great idea, but this year I don’t think it was a big hit.

That’s what last nights election was all about. Responsibility. Were the soccer people upset? Sure they were and they have a right to be. However, you should be more upset.

After the election results came out a member of the LSA (Lubbock Soccer Association) told Rex Andrew of KFYO News that they aren’t giving up and would instead try to get private donations or grant money. Why wasn’t this tried before? Why hasn’t LSA tried to raise the money themselves? They are just now coming up with the idea to raise the money themselves after getting rejected by the Lubbock voters. Sad.

Of course while you thought you were being responsible and voting to not spend money, the City of Lubbock decided to spend $87 million dollars to buy out Xcel Energy in Lubbock. That gives LP&L a monopoly in Lubbock.

Oh well.

• Prop 1: Street Improvements – Approved
• Prop 2: Fire fighting facilities and equipment – Approved
• Prop 3: Splashpads in parks – Failed
• Prop 4: New soccer fields – Failed

As I have said many times on LFN and on the blog, I supported Props 1 & 2 while voting against 3 & 4.  The time was not right to increase the city’s debt for soccer fields. I only approve of the items that are really necessary.

The 4 bond proposals (in a nutshell) are:

• Prop 1: Street improvements. 34th street and streets in SW Lubbock.
• Prop 2: Firefighter equipment
• Prop 3: Splash Pads (4 of them)
• Prop 4: Soccer fields

On my show I have come out in favor of Props 1 & 2 because these are necessities for Lubbock. 34th street is in bad shape and equipment for the firefighters is very important.

At this point I’d like to remind people that these thoughts are mine alone, not those of Ryan Hyatt or Don Williams. So don’t get confused and/or angry with Ryan or Don.

I am recommending that the people in Lubbock vote against Props 3 & 4. It’s not because I hate soccer, water, or kids. It’s because now is not the time to spend money and tax people on their luxuries, which is exactly what splash pads and soccer fields are.

Remember, we are still in a recession. We are being asked by everyone to be responsible with money and to tighten our belts. If these 2 bond issues pass your taxes will go up. Think about it. Your Federal taxes will probably be going up soon(thanks Obama). Your state taxes could go up soon too. Lubbock has already upped your taxes… or “fees” for the storm water use. Props 1 & 2 will pass easy so your taxes are going up there too. Oh, not to mention that people are still losing their jobs here in Lubbock, and if you’re not losing your job then your paycheck might be a little lighter.

So take all that in for a second and think, do we really need these two luxury items right now? Even Clayton Isom who appeared on LFN representing the Four For Lubbock PAC admits these items are luxuries.

And what about the maintenance on the soccer fields? The city can’t even take care of what they have, so why should we trust that the City of Lubbock with new fields? The argument that the city will take care of them because they are new is ludicrous.

If you put everything together it just isn’t responsible to raise taxes right now for luxury items. Let the economy bounce back and let the city prove they can take care of what they already have before we sign off on higher taxes and debt.

Halt!

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