Interview with Larry Kilgore

Q: I have read some on Wikipedia about you, but it was pretty limited, so tell me about
yourself. Schooling (primary and secondary)? School age programs and awards? Family? Career?

A: I was born and raised in Amarillo Texas across the street from Mesa Verde Elementary School where I attended school in the first grade. Due to the United States government forced busing program, I attended Robert E Lee Elementary three miles away during second through sixth grade. I attended Travis Junior High, Palo Duro High and Amarillo College. I was very involved in the Royal Ambassadors Program at First Baptist Church. I was employed at Sutphen's BBQ, Peking Chinese Restaurant and McKenzie's Interior Design.

At age nineteen I enlisted in the United States Air Force. After completing basic training, I attended electronics school at Keesler AFB. I served in Lajes Field, Portugal and Cheyenne Mountain NORAD. While at NORAD I volunteered to wear a key to participate in the launch of nuclear weapons if so ordered. After serving in the Air Force as a NCO, I started a career in wireless communications.

In 1989 I married my virtuous wife, Valerie. We have three teenage children. My 17 year old daughter and 15 year old son have graduated from home school and my 13 year old son is participating in athletics in government (public) school.

Q: You got 150,000 votes last election (in round numbers), how did you do it? How big was your campaign? Are you trying to replicate the "magic"?
A: Actually I received 226,649 votes in the 2008 Republican Primary. Money raised totaled 0.03% of what the opponent received. However, votes received totaled 18.5% of what the opponent received. The reason there was such a large vote percentage for myself without the advantage of large donations was due to Texans' desire for freedom via secession. And secession is still my main issue.

Q: Against Rick Perry raising $4 million in just 9 days, do you think you are a good enough fundraiser to compete?

A: Perry or Hutchison will win the fund raising war. However elections are won by votes and not by money.

Q: Do any "big name" Texans support you?

A: One thing I like about social networks is the ability to quickly identify supporters. And all of them are important, even the "small name" people.

Q: Texas Secession--why?

A: Washington continues to ignore the 10th amendment and Texas is not in a suicide pact with the US government. Until Texas independence, Washington's mandates on transportation, education, housing, health care and family issues will continue. Texas GOP Platform page 8 and 20: "We support state sovereignty reserved under the Tenth Amendment and oppose mandates beyond the scope of federal authority. We support downsizing of the federal government in order to re-establish states’ rights."

Q: Do you really consider the state to be a slave to the US?

A: Yes. 76% of the Texas budget is education, health & human services. And we receive federal funds for these programs only if we obey their mandates. Texas government has been overruled by US on the issues of alcohol, drugs, abortion, adultery, marriage, sodomy, death penalty, education, housing, employment, etc. Texans currently have no jurisdiction on Security, Immigration or Trade Agreements. Texans are forced to participate in Social Security & Medicare. Yes, Texans are slaves to the US government.

Q: Would the US really let its second largest state just leave?

A: The USSR peaceably separated and the USA can accomplish the same feat. The US Congress will need to work on a separation plan so the US government will be prepared to fairly and equitably divide assets & liabilities with states that request independence.

Q: Besides Texas Secession, what sets you apart from the other candidates?

A: Secession is so huge an issue that all others pale in comparison. I have not heard the other candidates speak about issues involved in running a new country with a new constitution.

Q: Perhaps I should rephrase that. Besides secession, what are your "pet peeves"?

A: Unlike my opponents I actually have a plan that will allow local communities to make decisions for themselves on the issues of Education, Health Care, Criminal Justice, retirement, etc. The other candidates may want to do something about these issue, but I am the only one offering a viable solution.

Q: What do you think of the other candidates (Perry, Medina, Hutchinson)?

A: Any of the candidates mentioned would probably do a wonderful job leading the nation of Texas via the parameters provided in the new Texas constitution. However, unless they pursue secession they will just become a slave governor reporting to their US masters.

Q: Do you honestly think you can win, or are you just trying to pull the discussion your way?

A: 2006 was Goliad. 2008 was the Alamo. 2010 is San Jacinto.

Q: If someone wanted to donate money or volunteer for your campaign, how would he/she go about it?

A: To volunteer or donate please visit www.larrykilgore.com or email info@larrykilgore.com or call 817-453-5744.

Minor(ish) Candidates for Governor

Debra Medina:
I must admit, I had never heard of Debra Medina until someone commented on a post of mine, and told me to check her out. So, I did. Unfortunately, I could not find out too much about her, but what I did was this. She is from Beeville Texas, with two children. Her education includes a Nursing Degree from Baptist Memorial Hospital System, and a Bachelor of Science and Business Management from Le Tourneau University. Apparently she is currently the President/CEO of Prudentia, a medical claims management firm. She is the chairwoman of the Wharton County Republican Party. As far as I can tell, she has never held office. Reading the "issues" section of her website, she sounds like pretty typical Republican fare. That is until I read two things, first she wants Texans to use ballot initiative to force Republican candidates to support, or at least not harm, the Republican platform. The second is that she was the state director for Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty. Now, I have this thing against Ron Paul since he and his supporters usually come across as moonbats. And before the election, I would have supported the ballot initiative idea, but I saw that the Democrats have a winning idea with allowing people to adjust to their districts, to be able to take the other party's turf. So, that is two strikes against her, in my book. However, it is still to far away from the election to pass judgement, so I will wait, and learn more about her before I decide who I am gonna support.

Larry Kilgore:
You can sum Larry Kilgore up in two words: Texas Seccession. I do believe that is enough to say about him, but I will give you his background regardless. He is from Amarrillo. He served in the USAF from 1984-88. He has run for a variety of offices, from congress (in CO) to US Senate against John Cornyn, but has never won. Here is a complete list:

• Colorado Republican Primary HD40 1994
• Colorado Republican Primary HD40 1996
• Colorado Constitution Party General Election HD40 1998
• Texas Republican Primary HD93 2004
• Texas Republican Primary Governor 2006
• Texas Republican Primary US Senate 2008
• Texas Republican Primary Governor 2010

It is not to early to make a call about Kilgore: no. While I respect that he is very religious, seccession is absolutely the wrong course of action to take, at the moment.

Kinky Friedman
How could it be a race for Gov without him? Well, he is running again, this time around trying to get the Democratic nomination. Kinky was born in 1944, and was a singer/comedian, as well as a novelist, and a columnist for Texas Monthly. He gained notoriety for his 2006 campaign for Governor, featuring the themes of "How Hard Could It Be?" and "Why The Hell Not?" He gained 12.6% of the vote, to come in fourth. He has also run (1986) for Justice of the Peace in Kerrville, but, predictably, lost. As I said, he will be running as a Democrat, which is good, since many of his ideas are more towards the Democratic side. He is pro-choice, anti-death penalty, and pro-gay marriage. And being a joke, he should be a perfect fit over there.

KBH-1 Perry-0

Well, as I mentioned yesterday, Perry suddenly reversed his much ballyhooed position on not taking any stimulus money. To be fair to both campaigns, I asked both KBH, and Rick Perry, for a statement on this development. In six minutes flat I had a response from KBH's people. As of yet, I have not heard from Perry's people. I daresay if the rest of the campaign is run like her blog contact people, this race is gonnna be no contest. Anyhow, the campaign sent me a link to a video they made. They also sent this statement: "Rick Perry must get confused keeping all of his hypocrisy straight. Yesterday he spoke by phone and practically begged Vice President Biden for the same stimulus dollars he pretended to blast over the weekend at the TEA Parties. This is yet another reminder that all you get with Rick Perry is politics."
So, if Gov. Rick ever responds, I will be sure to bring it to you. And "if" is the operative word in that sentence.

Texas Governor's Race 2010

2010 Texas Gubernatorial Candidates

With the election over, it is time to start looking at the future. I will start discussing the 2010 gubernatorial election. I will be discussing each candidate, posting my article on each, one at a time. I will order the article with the first part being a biography of the politician, and the second part being my analysis of their chances. One thing is for sure: this election is going to be a battle of heavy weights, and it will be played for keeps. At the time of this writing, it appears that at least three of our most powerful politicians will be running, leaving only one of them an office when this is over. This will also create some room for younger politicians to move up the political “food chain” into the vacant offices.

Rick Perry

Rick Perry was born on March 4^th 1950, near the family ranch in Paint Creek, Texas. He received his Eagle Scout, and then went to Texas A&M University to study Animal Science, hoping to become a veterinarian. Becoming a veterinarian didn’t pan out, but he did spend time as a yell leader at A&M, a coveted position. After school he spent five years piloting C-130s in the Air Force. In 1977 he returned to the family ranch to take up the family trade. In 1984, he won his first public office, as a state representative. He was elected as a Democrat. He remained a Democrat until 1989, when he was passed up for a leadership position, and then switched parties. In 1990, an up and coming political consultant named Karl Rove saw an empty suit where he could put hi talents to work. Perry became one of his creations, and ran for his first statewide office, winning a surprise victory for the position of Agriculture Commissioner against a popular incumbent. This was one of the first signs that the Democrats’ control of the state was starting to fade. In 1998, Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock announced that he was retiring, and Perry announced that he would run for the seat. Now, in many lesser states, the office of Lieutenant Governor is nothing more than an honorary, meaningless office. However, in Texas, the Lt. Governor is more powerful than the Governor, because no legislation can come to the Senate floor, and sub-sequentially be passes, without his personal approval. This puts him in an excellent bargaining position. He served in this office until 2000, when Governor George Bush resigned to become President. Perry survived his re-election, coasting to a 58%-40% victory even though he was outspent by more than 2 to 1. One of his more controversial issues was his role in forcing through the new redistricting plan that was masterminded by Tom Delay. He also pushed through a plan for a new superhighway from Dallas, through Austin, to the Mexican border. This was approved, but two years later, was stopped by the state legislature. The most controversial issue, was when he signed an executive order requiring all Texas teenage girls to receive the HPV vaccination. This made the conservative state incredibly angry, with the state legislature overturning his order with an almost unanimous vote. He won re-election in a 4 way race, with a 39% “majority”. This has caused his nickname of “Governor Goodhair” to be replaced with “39% Perry”. On December 21^st, he will become the longest serving governor in Texas history.

Perry has many problems with the conservative base of the Republican party, and must survive a definite nomination battle. However, he does have a few advantages. First, is that he has a fundraising advantage, with over insert number million dollars. Second, he is the sitting governor of the state which will cause many loyalists to vote for him. Third, he is 100% pro-life, which is in opposition to one of his primary opponents.