[reedmelnick]

You might be surprised at how well Ms. Strayhorn does in the fall against our stupid Aggie Governor. He sure isn't on our side with lowering property taxes (wait until you see your estimate for next year), air pollution (with his fast-tracking the permits for 11 more polluting coal plants just south of us here in the DFW area, school finance is still a joke, and the list goes on. If Ms. Strayhorn will get off the "grandma" BS and talk about issues, she will have more than a chance against Perry. My $.02

[sinkspur]

The fact is that property taxes have been lowered from $1.50 to $1.00 per thousand dollars of valuation over three years.

Now, there is no appraisal cap, but Perry couldn't get that in this special session. He has promised to bring it up in the regular session starting in January.

Strayhorn criticizes Perry for his spending, yet she never met a state program she doesn't like. And she thinks one of the major ways to fund Texas schools ought to be putting video poker machines in airports. Now, remember, Perry and the legislature were under a court order (which expired on June 1) to come up with an alternative to the property tax as the prime funding source for Texas schools.

Any candidate who suggests legalized gambling as one of those "primary sources" is not serious.

Strayhorn is hoping to ride into office on the back of opposition to the Trans-Texas Corridor. Her only problem is she has no alternative. Expanding I-35 into a virtual TTC would be hugely expensive and would drain the highway fund for the next 15 years.