Medina: 2, Perry/Hutchison: 0

[RileyE104]

I don't like how she answered the Gay Marriage question.. Instead of making the issue seem complicated she should have just made it simple and said she's opposed to any Federal legislation that would define marriage, and instead leave it up to each individual state.

I really didn't like how they tried to sneak up on her with playing that semi-truth clip of her talking at that rally she spoke at. They purposely showed only the part where she quoted Thomas Jefferson to make her look like an "extremist".

Overall I think she did a great job. Her ending was THE BEST! I love how she called out Perry and Hutchison. What was it she called them again? I can't remember but the line was great, her whole closing statement was great.

Oh ya, I just got this bumper sticker in the mail today.. :D
http://i46.tinypic.com/34td1c9.gif

Oh and I loved how she explained how removing the property tax would be better for the people (than taxing big businesses who got tax cuts more), instead of an eye-for-an-eye like the guy who asked the question was wanting.

[QueenB4Liberty]

Yeah I thought she could've handled the gay marriage question better but other than that I was really impressed. I forgot what she called them at the end though.

[malkusm]

Something to the effect of "They are both economic tricksters, sinking our economy and willing to sell our state to the highest bidder."

[Dianne]

I agree...that was her most unstable moment of the night. I wish she could have said something like "it doesn't matter what my view is.. the people of Texas have voted and spoken against same sex unions; and their decision stands"

[RileyE104]

Something to the effect of "They are both economic tricksters, sinking our economy and willing to sell our state to the highest bidder."

Ya, that's it! I wish they would have shown Perry and Hutchison's faces when she said that. :D

[rpindy]

I liked her but disagree about the end. What she said was decent but was obviously scripted and she kept having to look down. The other highlights were Hutchison not knowing the first governor of Texas and Perry saying that out-of-state residents should move to Texas to get in-state tuition, and illegals should have in-state tuition.

[RileyE104]

I liked her but disagree about the end. What she said was decent but was obviously scripted and she kept having to look down. The other highlights were Hutchison not knowing the first governor of Texas and Perry saying that out-of-state residents should move to Texas to get in-state tuition, and illegals should have in-state tuition.

Medina was the only one who was actually close with her answers to those questions. 3% off and like only $600 off. That's a lot better than thinking there's 50 miles of extra fence when there's not and thinking you lost 90,000 less jobs than you actually did.

As for the scripted ending, I don't really see anything against it. She came prepared with an ending statement that made her stick out among the 3 candidates.

[Dianne]

I know she's a longshot; but I would love to see Texas give her a chance. I might have to think about moving there, if she does.

[Number19]

Trying for an unbiased assessment and considering only style and presentation, I think Debra held her own. But I don't think Perry hurt himself tonight. Hutchinson clearly came in third. When the poll numbers come in on Monday, I think this will be a very good indication how the average Texan feels about the substance of Medina's campaign. I think Debra had a slight edge over Perry tonight. Come Monday, Hutchinson will be losing ground and Perry will come down a few points, but not much. Debra will gain ground on the two, but I just don't know how much. If she only goes up to about 15%, this will mean that, except for the Movement, Texans are rather cool toward her message. But if she surges to 20% or more, it will mean her campaign to eliminate the property tax is really gaining traction. I see this as the defining issue of her campaign and what truly sets her apart.

[malkusm]

Found the actual quote she used:

"Together they're a team of economic tricksters intent on destroying our freedoms and selling Texas to the highest bidder."

[Bern]

I really didn't like how they tried to sneak up on her with playing that semi-truth clip of her talking at that rally she spoke at. They purposely showed only the part where she quoted Thomas Jefferson to make her look like an "extremist".

I thought her response to that question might have been her strongest one of the night. She was clear, firm and forceful with her response and came off very reasonable.


Overall I think she did a great job. Her ending was THE BEST!

Honestly, I thought she had done fantastic in the debate until the closing statement. It was too strong (ie. extreme). I'm not sure how it will be received/perceived by the GOP base who she needs to win over.


... and thinking you lost 90,000 less jobs than you actually did.

To be fair, Perry mentioned the total job loss. The 90,000 discrepancy is accounted for by the 88,000 government jobs that were created. It's not like he didn't know what the numbers were - he was just playing coy with the interviewer "speaking in percentages" and all.

~~~

I love that Medina got a chance to clarify her stance on the property/sales tax issue. She really seemed like the only candidate up there that had any sort of vision for the future.

KBH and Perry really looked like clowns with their forced smiles all night. Medina was the only one keeping it real/genuine.

[RileyE104]

To be fair, Perry mentioned the total job loss. The 90,000 discrepancy is accounted for by the 88,000 government jobs that were created. It's not like he didn't know what the numbers were - he was just playing coy with the interviewer "speaking in percentages" and all.

Thanks for clearing that up. I knew he was trying to sneak around that question, just like Hutchison with the Abortion question.



KBH and Perry really looked like clowns with their forced smiles all night. Medina was the only one keeping it real/genuine.

I couldn't help but laugh at how much Perry was reminding me of a George Bush impersonator... Not in the carbon-copy sense, but in the... Saturday Night Live sense.. lol

[Stary Hickory]

Well for Gay marriage you have to recognize there are two aspects to it. One is legal rights for gay couples(valid) the other is officially redefining the institution of marriage to include gays using government force(not valid).

It's not governments place to define marriage. It belongs to the people. Any two people should be able to attain equal rights for being a couple, however the institution of marriage is beyond the scope of government. And should remain so.

We cannot legislate respect or acceptance, these are things given VOLUNTARILY. To attempt to use force to accomplish this is only going to create problems. It's irrational to do this.

[invisible]

I also kept thinking of bush! I think you nailed why, he seemed just like bush, but even so much more arrogant and smarmy and oily that it almost seemed a parody.

Medina's closing statement wasn't extreme. She legitimately called out both of her opponents as frauds ("economic tricksters" and a comment about their record of not following the Constitution, whether it be state or federal) in the strongest attack by any candidate, and hit the final of many grand slams (she showed that she wasn't afraid to stand up, speak the truth, and lead). It was certainly a highlight of a debate she clearly won, hands down. She got the very last word in with that attack, and her opponents never got a chance to respond. You can bet there will be LOTS of press over this, which is a good thing because it allows the debate to continue (her opponents WILL respond) and become more widely exposed, especially the exposure of the truth about the two establishment candidates. She was the only candidate to present a website and offer dialogue directly with the voters. While perhaps her delivery wasn't quite perfect (looking down, obviously reading a prepared statement), I thought her closing statement was pure genius.

I'll repeat my prediction on this one, as I do think I'll be proven correct by the polls over the next few weeks. perry is pretty unpopular, his percentage is pretty low for a sitting Gov. People have had 10 years of the guy and perhaps are finally ready to dump him, his numbers don't have anywhere to go but down. hutch's numbers in that first poll showed it to be at least a two way race. But while Medina's numbers were low, there were a LOT of undecideds. In a three way race with two candidates with excellent name recognition and resumes of elected offices in TX, both of those candidates have horrible numbers. hutch's numbers also aren't going anywhere but down. Medina's current numbers + the undecideds + support pulled from the other candidates with much more name recognition = a 3 way statistical tie at least. Medina is perfectly poised to charge right up the middle of a statistical tie in the polls, if she does not become the actual outright frontrunner. Her numbers have nowhere to go but up (unless she does something really dumb but I don't think she's that dumb by any means), as she has the least amount of name recognition.

[Ricky201]

She was absolutely fantastic tonight. She may become a serious contender after this debate. As for the gay marriage question, I agree she could have handled that better, but she did reinforce that the people of Texas had voted. I think she was going to recognize that marriage is a church function, but her answer was cut off half way, and I think we would've heard a far more libertarian-esque answer if she was allowed to continue.

I was VERY happy that she brought up the fact that eliminating property taxes would also have a positive effect on individuals who don't "own" property. She needs to stress that point heavily in the future.

[Koz]

Man, I'll tell you I didn't thnk Debra Medina had a chance a month ago. She may pull an upset here. I think she'll move up in the polls after some of the articles that I read. She's got a long way to go, but the political landscape is ripe for underdogs. The People are pissed off and want change.

I wasn't going to give any money to her campaign, but now I think I will. Also, I have a house in Ft. Worth so if she is able to eliminate the property tax I will benefit. Texas property taxes are ridiculous. I pay more in Texas for a $150,000 house than I do in Ohio for my residence that is $400,000.

[LibertyEagle]

I agree...that was her most unstable moment of the night. I wish she could have said something like "it doesn't matter what my view is.. the people of Texas have voted and spoken against same sex unions; and their decision stands"

+1

[LibertyEagle]

What we badly need is a ton of boots on the ground to be handing out literature to people across the state of Texas.

Debra also badly needs as much money as she can get so she can run more ads. Texas is a huge state and it's expensive. So, if you know any way to make the moneybomb on 2/2 more successful, please do it.

[torchbearer]

I agree...that was her most unstable moment of the night. I wish she could have said something like "it doesn't matter what my view is.. the people of Texas have voted and spoken against same sex unions; and their decision stands"

with the fucking retards we have on this forum- if she had said the above,
you would see all kinds of threads on here calling her a traitor-
in the past month i have seen retards on this forums post-
Ron Paul is a traitor (for endorsing republicans)
C4L is really a neocon scam (for buying a politician that would be beholden to them financially)
Schiff is a neocon (because he would defend this country if it were attacked)
Rand Paul is a traitor because he wanted to keep gitmo or some crap like that.
so- let's add the Medina is a traitor thread.

that will complete the stupidity which this forum has become.

[Flash]

with the fucking retards we have on this forum- if she had said the above,
you would see all kinds of threads on here calling her a traitor-
in the past month i have seen retards on this forums post-
Ron Paul is a traitor (for endorsing republicans)
C4L is really a neocon scam (for buying a politician that would be beholden to them financially)
Schiff is a neocon (because he would defend this country if it were attacked)
Rand Paul is a traitor because he wanted to keep gitmo or some crap like that.
so- let's add the Medina is a traitor thread.

that will complete the stupidity which this forum has become.

Agreed. And if these Sarah Palin/Rand Paul rumors are true then I have a feeling we'll see a return of these "Rand Paul is a traitor" threads.

[TastyWheat]

Yeah I thought she could've handled the gay marriage question better but other than that I was really impressed. I forgot what she called them at the end though.
Yeah, but TX is seriously anti-SSM. We even banned sodomy for a little while. You have to pick and choose your battles and I don't think that's an issue she should be tackling before she's even elected. She may have said though, that TX isn't supposed to recognize any marriages [according to our state's Constitution], and I agree with that interpretation, but in practice we pretty much do recognize marriage.

I was also kind of ticked off they called her a "spoiler" in the debate introduction. I agree though, she's going to spoil Hutchison and Perry's chances of getting elected.

[MR2Fast2Catch]

I don't like how she answered the Gay Marriage question.. Instead of making the issue seem complicated she should have just made it simple and said she's opposed to any Federal legislation that would define marriage, and instead leave it up to each individual state.


I don't understand why everyone on here is criticizing her statements on marriage. Her answer was exactly what you say it should've been. She said the constitution, and the 10th amendment reserve this power to the people of each state, and thus the people of Texas, explaining why the federal government does not have the constitutional authority to define marriage. I thought she was very clear about that through her reference to the 10th amendment on this issue. I agree 100% with her stance on marriage, and she answered the question well.


I thought her weakest moment was her closing statement. It was too general and had the over-used rhetoric of two corrupt politicians going up against her. But it wasn't horrible by all means. She did GREAT in this debate.


with the fucking retards we have on this forum- if she had said the above,
you would see all kinds of threads on here calling her a traitor-
in the past month i have seen retards on this forums post-
Ron Paul is a traitor (for endorsing republicans)
C4L is really a neocon scam (for buying a politician that would be beholden to them financially)
Schiff is a neocon (because he would defend this country if it were attacked)
Rand Paul is a traitor because he wanted to keep gitmo or some crap like that.
so- let's add the Medina is a traitor thread.

that will complete the stupidity which this forum has become.

+1. I agree, and am sick of this divisive, purist atmosphere.