The Contrarian Returns

Business was slow on The Contrarian the past few days while I finished a story for the magazine and then flew off to Yankeeland to visit relatives. Now I’m back and will be posting regularly again.

When I returned to the office today, I was shocked to discover that Kay Bailey Hutchison has decided — quite out of the blue — to run for governor. I had no idea she was even considering it. And it’s amazing she kept quiet about that for so long without letting word slip.

At Hutchison’s campaign site, you can read the text of today’s surprise announcement.

The senator is delivering this speech in Austin as I type this — her third stop on today’s campaign-kickoff tour. (Intrepid Observer reporter Josh Haney is there and will file a dispatch later today.)

Looks like a good speech to me. I have one question, though.

She bashes Perry for presiding over a state that leads the nation in dropouts, uninsured kids, college tuition, among other things.

She promises to rectify these ills — “In my administration, we will tackle these challenges,” reads the prepared text. Yet several lines later, she also promises: “For starters, I will spend less, tax less, and borrow less.”

So: How can you insure more kids and improve schools when you’re taxing less and spending less?

It seems the lady doth promise too much.