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COMMENTARY: W. GARDNER SELBY

Pistol-packing Perry challenger aims to affect race

Libertarian-leaning Medina is long shot for GOP nomination but could prompt runoff.

Thursday, December 10, 2009
In case of danger, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Debra Medina legally totes a 9 mm pistol (with a 16-round magazine) in a zippered case in her car.

But she doesn't want a license to carry it elsewhere.

The Wharton businesswoman favors repealing the Texas concealed handgun law, saying it shouldn't be government's job to license and regulate guns.

This protégé of libertarian-leaning U.S. Rep. Ron Paul is no sheep.

She told me that decriminalizing marijuana deserves a look. The mother of two home-schooled children, now grown, also sounded skeptical of the state mandate that children attend school.

Medina said she voted for Republican George W. Bush for president but not for the GOP's 2008 presidential choice, U.S. Sen. John McCain (or Democrat Barack Obama).

"That's one of the biggest mistakes Republicans make: Close your eyes, hold your nose and vote for the guy with the 'R' beside his name regardless of what he stands for and what he does," she said.

Making her first race for public office, Medina is chasing well-known, well-funded foes Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Barring upheaval, she won't catch them.

Still, she could keep one from drawing more than half the March 2 primary vote. She'd then get credit for causing their April runoff preceded by loads of high-dollar advertising.

Historically, long shots don't win because they're overlooked and ignored. Of late, Medina has complained of being left out of debate plans.

But her fans take heart from 2006, when secession advocate Larry Kilgore drew 7.6 percent of the vote in the GOP gubernatorial primary and two others together got 8.1 percent, holding Perry to 84 percent.

Medina hinted that she hopes to overtake Hutchison in the primary before besting Perry in a runoff.

Who knows? Medina's signature idea — replacing property taxes with sales taxes — might stir voters, though the envisioned shift would be a hard sell to legislators.

Analyst Dick Lavine of the Center for Public Policy Priorities estimates the 6.25 percent state sales tax would need to double to replace the $14 billion in property taxes collected to support public schools and make up for a probable drop in retail spending.

Lavine wonders too how school boards lacking property taxes might raise money.

Medina said boards could ask voters to OK higher sales taxes — a prospect giving districts reason to fight for keeping property taxes.

Medina generally advocates fresh leadership, saying: "There seems to be a lot of slop in state government."

Spoken like a mama, the pistol-packing kind.

wgselby@statesman.com; 445-3644

bad idea!

Taking a WAG, this is a Paul Harvey moment and the reporter left out the rest of her story. My guess is that she also went on to say that she thinks the law needs to be repealed and that everyone (in general) should be able to carry without a CHL.
Just a guess.

Purplehood wrote:My guess is that she also went on to say that she thinks the law needs to be repealed and that everyone (in general) should be able to carry without a CHL. Just a guess.

You're almost certainly correct.

Go Medina!

Beiruty wrote:bad idea!

Which idea? I have concerns about her tax plan, but eliminating the requirement for a CHL is a great idea. It's not a new idea, either. It was put on paper 222 years ago as the 2nd Amendment.

chabouk wrote:

Beiruty wrote:bad idea!

Which idea? I have concerns about her tax plan, but eliminating the requirement for a CHL is a great idea. It's not a new idea, either. It was put on paper 222 years ago as the 2nd Amendment.

That is why I brought up my observation for the benefit of the OP...

I posted this "straight" so everyone could read it for themselves. But I also agree that Medina thinks we should be allowed to carry without a licensing requirement, as she apparently legally does in her car.

austinrealtor wrote:I posted this "straight" so everyone could read it for themselves. But I also agree that Medina thinks we should be allowed to carry without a licensing requirement, as she apparently legally does in her car.

My bad.

Purplehood wrote:

austinrealtor wrote:I posted this "straight" so everyone could read it for themselves. But I also agree that Medina thinks we should be allowed to carry without a licensing requirement, as she apparently legally does in her car.

My bad.

no bad on your part. Glad you clarified it, as it was obviously a bit murky.

Maybe she should clarify her position on the CHL law herself and spare everyone the useless speculation.

The fact that she believes it's not the role of government to regulate licensing or regulation of firearms, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that she feels government should have no say in how a person chooses to carry a firearm.

She may well have stated that position before - I don't know - but the reporter may have failed to mention it in this article.

bdickens wrote:Maybe she should clarify her position on the CHL law herself and spare everyone the useless speculation.

I bet a buck that she did and it didn't pass the journalists filter...

Well she certainly knows how to hit the hot button on issues that concern us. Some things she says I like, some things she says are a little over the top for me to digest. But she DOES have my attention. And she has an uphill battle to wage if she wants to be considered a real contender.

I really hope she's included in the debates she's complaining she's left out of....for now.

She is like most Libertarians to me. Some things she says sounds good, then she says something to undo it.

Libertarians like Ron Paul believe liberty can be obtained through proper interpretation of the United States Constitution, something which would not allow federal incursions on the economy and civil liberties. I like that. I believe that this is what our founders wanted. But I'm not a Libertarian.
Some Libertarians view drug use to be "OK" to an extent. Some have anti-statist views and believe we should have no government at all. Anarchy.

There are many levels of Libertarism, but most subscribe to favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration across borders, and non-interventionism in foreign policy that respects freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries.
The most votes any Libertarian Party canidate running for President was Ron Paul who got 0.5%. Not bad, but a long way from being the voice of America.
Medina does not speak for all Texans, just as Ron Paul does not speak for all US Citizens. They speak for a small group, a very small group, and their voice should be heard. Like most politicians, they have their good points and their bad points. I like Ron Paul. I like some of his views and hope conservatives pay heed to them. Dr. Paul wanted to Audit the Fed years ago! He is just now getting the support he needs to do so. 317 in the House and 30 in the Senate. He's worked long and hard for it. He was the right man in the right place at the right time.
Is Debra Medina this type of person?
Only time and History will tell. Just like the history of today, and how it will view "Hope and Change".

She doesn't explicitly mention CHL on her issues page, but it's plain she believes there should be no government regulation at all of RKBA.

http://www.medinafortexas.com/gunOwnership" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;