So for the next two months it’s petition-gathering time for the independent candidate campaigns. Anyone spotted a Friedman or Strayhorn table yet? I’ll be curious to see if I run into one. I’ll have my voter reg card with its “Democratic” stamp on it to ward them off if I do. In the meantime, however, I was confused when I wrote that you could vote for Radnofsky in the runoff and still sign one of these petitions. The Statesman says:
Strayhorn and Friedman must each gather 45,540 signatures by May 11 to join GOP Gov. Rick Perry, Democrat Chris Bell and Libertarian James Werner on the November ballot. Registered voters can sign as long as they did not vote Tuesday and abstain from voting in either party’s April runoff.
And here’s § 142.009:
PETITION TO BE CIRCULATED AFTER PRIMARY. A signature on a candidate’s petition is invalid if the signer:
(1) signed the petition on or before general primary election day or, if a runoff primary is held for the office sought by the candidate, on or before runoff primary election day; or
(2) voted in the general or runoff primary election of a political party that made a nomination, at either primary, for the office sought by the candidate.
Sorry about that. I know which one I think is more important, but to each their own.
One other point:
“Support a true Texas independent,” said Seth Waits, 22, who said he began as a fan of Friedman’s music and writing and now is vice president of [Longhorns for Kinky].
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: If Friedman were a “true independent”, wouldn’t he have supported the efforts of Ralph Nader to overturn Texas’ restrictive ballot access laws for independent candidates? Friedman was already publicly talking about running for Governor as an independent when Nader filed his ultimately losing lawsuit. An amicus brief probably would not have made any difference, but it would have shown support for the independent cause and been in his best interests besides. Is the boastfully non-voting Friedman, who griped about the Secretary of State’s totally routine exhortations to Texans to vote in the primaries, that disconnected from the political process that he was unaware of Nader’s suit, or was he just not interested in any “independent” besides himself? Either way, forgive me if I scoff at that characterization.
I’ll have my voter reg card with its “Democratic” stamp on it to ward them off if I do.
Will you be wearing it on your lapel, or just keeping it in your wallet so you can flip it out like a policeman’s badge?
If Friedman were a “true independent”, wouldn’t he have supported the efforts of Ralph Nader to overturn Texas’ restrictive ballot access laws for independent candidates? … Is the boastfully non-voting Friedman, who griped about the Secretary of State’s totally routine exhortations to Texans to vote in the primaries, that disconnected from the political process that he was unaware of Nader’s suit, or was he just not interested in any “independent” besides himself?
I would guess the latter – “independent” just means “not affiliated with any political movement or party;” there’s no reason to expect independents to support each other out of a common political philosophy. Still, on this issue you’re right – if he was seriously considering this run back in ’04, he had a clear interest in the outcome of Nader’s suit and should have tried to intervene on Nader’s side.
Strayhorn at least has the excuse of being a Republican until her filing for Governor.
The thing that will always stick in my craw is that the only time he bothered to vote was for George W. Bush in 2004. It is things like that which totally have me confused as to why he has so many supporters on the left.