The battle for Texas’ sovereignty is brewing again in the state that was an independent Republic for ten years before voting to enter the federal union. The first major confrontation between the forces of sovereignty and those who support the ever-extending reach of the federal leviathan into state affairs will occur on March 2, 2010, the 174th anniversary of Texas’ independence from Mexico, when voters will make the final trek to the polls to cast their ballets for governor.
It is a “David” versus “Goliaths,” scenario, with Debra Medina, the young (age 47), “upstart,” citizen candidate facing Rick Perry, the longest serving, incumbent governor and U.S. Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Washington, D.C. fixture for many years. When she entered the race, no one gave her an icicle’s chance in Hell to compete with her well-known, politically well-heeled opponents. But, her burgeoning support has surprised everyone, except her followers who seem hell bent, not just on making it into a runoff with Rick Perry but to winning the Republican primary election outright. Texas election law requires a runoff between the two top candidates if no one gets a 50% +1 majority of the vote.
Medina is a registered nurse, small business owner, and rancher, who has been working actively in Republican politics for 20 years. Her common sense, anti-corruption, anti-establishment, anti-federalist message is ringing loud and clear with rank and file Texans who are incensed by what has been going on in the Texas government, bureaucratic maze of “now you see it, now you don’t” manipulations that pander to the money and influence of special interests. One prime example is the Trans-Texas Corridor that has seemed to die five times after massive opposition from the citizens of Texas, but is still very much alive. This project, which many people feel sells Texas out to foreign interests, i.e., a Spanish company, Cintra, would be the biggest land grab in American history if it lives. And, if it does survive, it will give Cintra the right to collect tolls on this massive network of highways, rail lines, etc. in perpetuity!
Debra Medina is leading the fight for independence NOT in the form of secession that would return Texas to an independent and sovereign Republic, but to a status as a sovereign state in the federal union, as intended by the Founders. She has pledged to use “nullification” and “interposition” to tell Federal agencies such as the EPA that they have no jurisdiction in Texas. She is sending a message to Washington DC that other federal bureaucracies had best keep their hands off Texas affairs. This will require, as she has emphasized, working with the legislature to pass legislation that she will enforce as the chief executive.
Passionately contested skirmishes are already being fought across the state and even in the nation as a whole, particularly on the Internet, where, on Facebook, Rick Perry fans are being doggedly pursued by Debra Medina fans and the gap is steadily diminishing daily! The fan list for Rick Perry currently stands at 25,459 and the corresponding list for Debra Medina fans is now at 21,444. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s fans are far behind at 15,065. This means if the election were held on Facebook, Perry would have 41% of the vote, Medina, 35% and Hutchison 24%, throwing the election into a runoff between Perry and Medina, since Perry has only a plurality and not a majority. Related to these facts are data reported in a recent poll in which Medina trailed Hutchison 24% to 29% with Perry at 39%, very similar results when you take into account that the margin of error in this poll was about 5 percentage points, putting Medina essentially in a statistical tie with Hutchison an perhaps even ahead, given the momentum of the Medina campaign.
Recently Indy Texans, an association of Independent voters endorsed Debra Medina, with over 60% of the membership giving her the nod. Independents comprise over 40% of the U.S. electorate and are estimated to number about 5 million in Texas. In addition, people are already turning out in record numbers for the primary election, as indicated by early voting statistics. In many locations, the ratio of Republican voters is 3 times the number of voters in the Democratic primary where former Houston mayor Bill White holds a commanding lead in the polls. This suggests two possibilities, both of which are likely to be true. (1) Democrats are choosing to vote in the Republican primary instead of the Democratic primary because they want to pick the candidate against White will run in November. And, since he polls best against Debra Medina and worst against Hutchison (although all Republicans are projected to beat him), it is highly likely that many of them are voting for Debra Medina. (2) There are many new Republican primary voters turning out, if Facebook postings are any indicator. There are people indicating that they voted for her and had never ever voted in a primary before. In addition, the number of new first time voters, primary or not, has apparently swollen like a Texas creek after a downpour. We should also note that the polls typically sample only voters who have voted in a previous primary.
So, Debra Medina’s support appears to be greater than would be predicted from the plentiful media advertising by Perry and Hutchison. Medina warriors are spreading the word by word of mouth and on the Internet. Medina is appearing on more radio talk shows than the other candidates, yet her penetration into the electorate at large, the politically uninvolved who will cast their ballots not knowing that Medina even exists until they get to the polls, has only begun to be felt.
For more information go to:
http://www.medinafortexas.com/
where you will find that Debra has raised less than $500 shy of $3/4 million in small $10, 25, 50, 100 contributions. Assuming an average contribution of $30 (an educated guess) this represents 25,000 supporter-donors who have access to the Internet.
Or, you can go to Debra Medina’s Facebook fan page and observe the spirited discussion that is incredibly more varied and fast-paced than you will find on the creeping Perry and Hutchison fan pages.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Debra-Medina/95669721909?ref=ts
I suggest you become a fan, so that you can ask questions and comment on other posts. It is a real education in the making. You can “home-school” yourself. ;-) Becoming a fan is easy if you have a Facebook account, which is free and also easy to obtain. Just click on “Become a Fan” and voila you are good to go!
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