Kevin Whited takes issue with one of Democrat Tony Sanchez's campaign motto "We didn't elect him, we don't have to keep him" in regards to Governor Rick Perry, who ascended into office when Bush left.

But he was elected as lieutenant governor in a race in which then-Governor Bush campaigned hard for the Republican ticket (with sort of an implication he might run for President). In that sense, the election was about the person who might succeed Bush were he to head to higher office. And Rick Perry was elected.

I realize it's a minor point in a campaign where Perry and Sanchez continue to crank up nasty ads and essentially call each other liars, but I find this motto more grating than most of the retarded ads.

When I saw the ad, I thought it was kind of cute. Probably because I also see it as entirely ineffective. Texas doesn't have Gov-Lt.Gov tickets, so Kevin is absolutely right that Perry was elected to serve in Bush's absence. Added to that fact is that some Republicans and right-leaners I know specifically voted for Perry over Sharp because they didn't want the governor's mansion going into Democratic hands (and didn't want it hurting Bush's national ambitions). They admitted that Sharp was more qualified and not exactly a liberal, but it just would have caused a whole mess of trouble if Bush would have left the state in Democratic hands. It's quite possible that if Bush wasn't rumored to run for president, Sharp would have won.

I'm not entirely decided on the governor's race. I imagine that I will vote for Perry for a couple reasons:
(1) I think Sharp is going to win and I'm not comfortable with Sanchez-Sharp.
(2) Perry has made efforts to de-lower* the Houston speed limits.

*- I refuse to say 'raise' because it acts as though they are not just giving something back that they never should have taken to begin with.