Fury of the Grandma

In the hot heat of the Texas sun, and with about 500 in the crowd, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn turned up the political heat on Gov. Rick Perry Saturday, formally announcing as a challenger in the Republican Primary.

"You know that Texans cannot afford another four years of a governor who promises tax relief and delivers nothing," she said. "Now is time to replace this do-nothing drugstore cowboy with one tough grandma," Strayhorn told the cheering crowd. Strayhorn specifically criticized Perry for his decision today to veto the state's $35 billion education budget and call a new special session without having a plan on how to overhaul public school finance. "A leader does not call a fifth special session costing taxpayers another $1.5 million dollars when he does not have a plan," said Strayhorn.


Earlier, Perry said, when asked about Strayhorn's comments on his leadership failure of school finance, "This is about one of the most, if not the most, important public policy issues that we have in this state, and politics is just white noise in the background and that's where it should stay.

Strayhorn called Perry's Trans Texas Corridor plan to build a 4,000 mile network of toll roads was branded a "$184 billion boondoggle" and "Trans Texas Catastrophe" His Enterprise Fund to lure new businesses to Texas was labeled a "slush fund."

Bruce Buchanan, a UT political-science professor, said Strayhorn's candidacy and the near challenge by Hutchison expose weaknesses for Perry among moderate Republican voters.

The Houston Chronilce has some great coverage as well as the AA Statesman, The UK Guardian, and my personal favorite keathmilligan.net VIDEO coverage where you can see and hear the announcement for yourself.