White says ‘No’ to private toll contracts

First Reading blog AAS 10/20/10
Libertarian Glass channels Debra Medina

(snip)
In the 2010 Republican primary, it was little-known candidate Debra Medina who turned the most heads with responses that were simple, colorful and memorable as she debated Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Medina did well in those debates because she was both a fresh face and an informed candidate.

Libertarian Kathie Glass approached Medina territory Tuesday in a televised debate with Democrat Bill White and Green nominee Deb Shafto. She said the Texas Department of Transportation lost $1.1 billion “like I lose my car keys.” When asked to say something nice about Perry, she praised his marksmanship, as long as nobody is shooting back. And when she said Perry and White were spending millions to say the other wasn’t qualified to be governor, she added, “I think they’re both right.”

Glass can’t win this race and probably won’t reach double digits. And some of her policy positions, such as opting out of Medicaid and reducing state spending by 50 percent, are, at best, politically impossible. But you have to wonder whether she caught the attention Tuesday of any voters who assumed that Perry, who did not show up for the debate, was the only conservative alternative.