Medina says she is not crazy

NY Times:

Some days it is hard to be a neophyte far-right candidate in a governor’s race, even in Texas, where Republicans vying for the party’s nomination try to outdo one another to prove their conservative credentials.

Debra Medina found that out when she appeared on Glenn Beck’s radio show last week and fumbled a question about whether she agreed with conspiracy theorists who think the Bush administration was involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“I think some very good questions have been raised in that regard,” she said. “There’s some very good arguments, and I think the American people have not seen all the evidence there.”

Mr. Beck, an admirer of Gov. Rick Perry, ridiculed her right away, saying, “I think I can write her off the list.”

Within hours, Mr. Perry and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, his heavyweight Republican opponent in the primary race, pounced on Ms. Medina’s response. The governor said she had insulted Americans who lost loved ones on that day. The senator called her statement an affront to United States soldiers fighting Al Qaeda.

Ms. Medina, 47, spent the day trying to control the damage. In interview after interview, she insisted that she, too, believed that Islamic terrorists had brought down the twin towers and that the United States government had had nothing to do with it. She had been ambushed by Mr. Beck and her opponents, she said.

“This is war,” she said, referring to the primary. “They don’t shoot at you until you are over the target. We are over the target.”

From the obscurity of rural Wharton County, about 60 miles southwest of Houston, Ms. Medina, a former nurse who owns a medical billing business, has become a wild card in the race for the Republican nomination. She is a factor because the primary usually attracts a low turnout, and historically its outcome is decided by about 600,000 of the most conservative voters in the state.

...

On the hustings last week, Ms. Medina took great pains to avoid being labeled out of touch, declaring to one audience after her remarks about Sept. 11 were broadcast, “I am not a flake.”

While she supports some libertarian ideas and has been a longtime supporter of Representative Ron Paul, the Texas libertarian, she hastens to point out that she is not in favor of legalizing drugs. She is also quick to defend her plan to replace property taxes with a sales tax as a practical one, though it requires sales taxes of up to 15 percent.

“I am not a crazy person,” she said. “I know we have to fund government.”

I actually like the idea of replacing property taxes with a sales tax. It would better control the size of local government and avoid the problem of tax increases through reappraisals. My property taxes have more than doubled in 10 years while the sales tax has remained stable. It probably would inhibit some big ticket purchases.

At this point I don't see Medina growing her support. She may hang onto her base after the gaffe, but it will be hard to grow her support. I understand how the debate's helped her. The snipping between Perry and Hutchison was not attractive. I have suggested early on they should talk about issues and not about each other.

Voters seem to be cutting through that now. Hutchison is being hurt by her ties to Washington and Perry is approaching 50 percent in some polls.