Post by rosa on Sept 23, 2009 6:34:38 GMT -7
We missed this guy when he stopped by recently. So far, there's nothing making me want to go out and whoop and holler...
www.statesman.com/search/content/region/legislature/stories/2009/09/21/0921gilbert.html
TEXAS POLITICS
Tyler-area rancher says he'll enter Democratic gubernatorial primary
Hank Gilbert ran for agriculture commissioner in 2006.
By Corrie MacLaggan
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, September 21, 2009
Hank Gilbert, the straight-talking, cowboy-hat-wearing rancher who was the Democratic nominee for Texas agriculture commissioner in 2006, kicks off his gubernatorial campaign today with a tour around the state.
The resident of Whitehouse, less than 10 miles south of Tyler, got 42 percent of the vote for agriculture commissioner in 2006, when Republican Todd Staples won the seat. Gilbert, 49, said he was thinking of running for agriculture commissioner again but decided to enter the governor's race because he wasn't wowed by any of the candidates.
Others vying for governor "are pretty much what I call professional politicians," Gilbert said. "I know we can bring some fresh ideas and fresh approaches to the discussion."
Gilbert, a former teacher who runs a cow-calf operation with his wife and two sons, said his priority is education. He's proposed creating seven top-tier universities in the state in the next decade. And he said that today he'll outline a public school strategy that will call for scrapping the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
Gilbert doesn't hesitate to take shots at political rivals. In a 2006 speech to the state Democratic convention, Gilbert called Gov. Rick Perry "just one notch lower in stupidity" than then-President George W. Bush.
"I'm a no-bull kind of person," Gilbert said in an interview Friday. "I'm not always politically correct in the way I say things or present things, but people who know me ... understand that whatever I tell them, they can take it to the bank."
Margaret Byfield of Taylor, a Gilbert supporter who hosted a fundraising party for his campaign Sunday night, said she likes his straightforward nature.
"He's going to tell you what he thinks," Byfield said. "If you're looking for a political response, you're not going to get it from him."
Byfield, who said she voted for author/musician Kinky Friedman for governor when he ran as an independent in 2006, said she and her husband, Dan, are conservatives who appreciate Gilbert's fiscally conservative philosophy.
"We've already had friends ask why we're supporting a Democrat," said Byfield, who got to know Gilbert when they both fought against Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor. "He's appealing, I think, to both parties."
In the Democratic primary, Gilbert will face Tom Schieffer, a Fort Worth attorney and former state lawmaker, and other candidates. Gilbert has criticized Schieffer for his ties to Bush, who appointed Schieffer as U.S. ambassador to Japan and Australia. And Gilbert said that Schieffer's work overseas has made him out of touch with Texas.
Schieffer spokesman Clay Robison said that Bush is the only Republican that Schieffer has ever voted for and that living overseas broadened his perspective. Schieffer made frequent trips back to Texas and "wasn't out of touch," Robison said.
Other gubernatorial candidates who have said they're running in the Democratic primary include Friedman, educator Felix Alvarado and Mark Thompson, the party's 2008 nominee for railroad commissioner. Possible Democratic candidates include Houston hair care executive Farouk Shami and former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who said last week that he's leaning toward running. "I'm thinking about what is in the best interest of the state, and I'm not in any hurry to make that decision," Earle said.
In a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994, the candidate who emerges from the Democratic primary will face an uphill battle against the winner of the Republican contest. The GOP field includes Perry, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Wharton businesswoman Debra Medina.
cmaclaggan@statesman.com; 445-3548
I have to wonder sometimes ;D Earle is "thinkin' 'bout it", and DeLay over on Dancing With The Stars....it's a world gone absolutely bonkers ;D
www.statesman.com/search/content/region/legislature/stories/2009/09/21/0921gilbert.html
TEXAS POLITICS
Tyler-area rancher says he'll enter Democratic gubernatorial primary
Hank Gilbert ran for agriculture commissioner in 2006.
By Corrie MacLaggan
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, September 21, 2009
Hank Gilbert, the straight-talking, cowboy-hat-wearing rancher who was the Democratic nominee for Texas agriculture commissioner in 2006, kicks off his gubernatorial campaign today with a tour around the state.
The resident of Whitehouse, less than 10 miles south of Tyler, got 42 percent of the vote for agriculture commissioner in 2006, when Republican Todd Staples won the seat. Gilbert, 49, said he was thinking of running for agriculture commissioner again but decided to enter the governor's race because he wasn't wowed by any of the candidates.
Others vying for governor "are pretty much what I call professional politicians," Gilbert said. "I know we can bring some fresh ideas and fresh approaches to the discussion."
Gilbert, a former teacher who runs a cow-calf operation with his wife and two sons, said his priority is education. He's proposed creating seven top-tier universities in the state in the next decade. And he said that today he'll outline a public school strategy that will call for scrapping the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
Gilbert doesn't hesitate to take shots at political rivals. In a 2006 speech to the state Democratic convention, Gilbert called Gov. Rick Perry "just one notch lower in stupidity" than then-President George W. Bush.
"I'm a no-bull kind of person," Gilbert said in an interview Friday. "I'm not always politically correct in the way I say things or present things, but people who know me ... understand that whatever I tell them, they can take it to the bank."
Margaret Byfield of Taylor, a Gilbert supporter who hosted a fundraising party for his campaign Sunday night, said she likes his straightforward nature.
"He's going to tell you what he thinks," Byfield said. "If you're looking for a political response, you're not going to get it from him."
Byfield, who said she voted for author/musician Kinky Friedman for governor when he ran as an independent in 2006, said she and her husband, Dan, are conservatives who appreciate Gilbert's fiscally conservative philosophy.
"We've already had friends ask why we're supporting a Democrat," said Byfield, who got to know Gilbert when they both fought against Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor. "He's appealing, I think, to both parties."
In the Democratic primary, Gilbert will face Tom Schieffer, a Fort Worth attorney and former state lawmaker, and other candidates. Gilbert has criticized Schieffer for his ties to Bush, who appointed Schieffer as U.S. ambassador to Japan and Australia. And Gilbert said that Schieffer's work overseas has made him out of touch with Texas.
Schieffer spokesman Clay Robison said that Bush is the only Republican that Schieffer has ever voted for and that living overseas broadened his perspective. Schieffer made frequent trips back to Texas and "wasn't out of touch," Robison said.
Other gubernatorial candidates who have said they're running in the Democratic primary include Friedman, educator Felix Alvarado and Mark Thompson, the party's 2008 nominee for railroad commissioner. Possible Democratic candidates include Houston hair care executive Farouk Shami and former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who said last week that he's leaning toward running. "I'm thinking about what is in the best interest of the state, and I'm not in any hurry to make that decision," Earle said.
In a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994, the candidate who emerges from the Democratic primary will face an uphill battle against the winner of the Republican contest. The GOP field includes Perry, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Wharton businesswoman Debra Medina.
cmaclaggan@statesman.com; 445-3548
I have to wonder sometimes ;D Earle is "thinkin' 'bout it", and DeLay over on Dancing With The Stars....it's a world gone absolutely bonkers ;D