The Bell Tolls For Thee, Rick Perry!

We are obviously mounted-up and riding high with the Kinky Friedman campaign for governor. (I mean, Why the Hell Not?) But we have the sneaking suspicion that this race will eventually come down to a battle between the two parties of the Establishment. With that said, the Democrats picked up a little bit of optimistic steam this morning as Chris Bell announced his candidacy for governor. In his announcement, Bell brought a breath of fresh air to the stagnate and unproductive environment of our state government. And, Chris is in touch with his constituency, at least those of us in Austin, as his announcement is even available as a Podcast. (Look for stories in the mainstream media in the next, oh 2-3 years, as to what Podcasting is).

As I've traveled the state, I've been talking about the "New Mainstream," the disaffected majority of Texans who know that Rick Perry couldn't lead a silent prayer. I've been talking about how budgets are moral documents that have both a fiscal impact as well as a human cost. And, as a public school parent, I've learned that parents and teachers across Texas share my frustrations with Enron-style accountability that encourages dropouts and systematic fraud by teaching our kids nothing as much as how to take yet another standardized test.

Bell has had success as a journalist, litigator, Houston City Councilman and US Congressman. His record shows a commitment to bipartisan discussion about issues that are important to him: health care, public education and campaign ethics. As you may know, Bell is the man responsible for bringing ethics charges against our good buddy Tom DeLay, charges which eventually led to a Congressional admonition of the former exterminator. Read more about Chris Bell to inform your decision making process in the upcoming election.

Give ‘em hell, Chris Bell!