Gubernatorial candidate Medina makes local stop

Greenville, TX- Texas gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina made a campaign stop in Greenville on Jan. 20 at the Knights of Columbus Hall. The Republican candidate spoke to more than 250 supporters who braved the rain to hear her take on key issues.

Initially considered an afterthought in a race that includes current Texas governor Rick Perry and the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. senate Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Medina saw her support triple from 4 percent to 12 percent in recent months. Riding high off of a debate with the two other candidates earlier this month, Medina spoke to an enthusiastic crowd for almost an hour on the major issues surrounding her campaign.

Speaking from a conservative stance within the Republican party that caters more to the libertarian and tea party movements, Medina outlined her major issues in the talk that lasted more than 45 minutes.

"I say get rid of property tax because it's a freedom issue and find another way to fund the schools, the roads and the city government services and the county services that need to be done," Medina said. "I think that the other way is the sales tax."

While Medina also discussed merely limiting the property tax, the increase in sales tax could be as much as 15%. Medina also addressed border control, the economy, and gun rights in her speech.

"If we care about the safety of one another, then what our elected officials ought to be saying to us is buy a gun, learn to use it, and keep it with you," she said. "You shouldn't have to have a concealed carry permit to have a weapon and carry it with you, you shouldn't have to have open carry legislation, and you shouldn't have to have gun registration. If you use a gun carelessly, we have laws in the books and you'll be prosecuted appropriately."

Medina's stricter interpretation of Constitutional authority has won her support from conservative voters.

"I came tonight because I'm concerned about our freedom," Gary Moses, 60, said. "I have children and our grandchildren, and their freedoms are being eroded by our federal and state governments. The concern is that they won't have the childhood I had, especially my grandchildren."

Most of the crowd Wednesday night agreed with Medina's policies, often breaking into applause after key points during her speech.

"We need a champion for the rule of law," Karl Falster, East Texas coordinater for Debra Medina, said. "We don't need country-club politicians that do whatever they want to do. Rick Perry says he's endorsing the house concurrent resolution on the 10th Ammendment because the Constitution has just withered away and is no longer able to protect the citizens. It is the politicians that have withered away. We need to vote them all out and get new blood in government."

Despite the apparent presence of a strong "grassroots" movement, Medina is still far behind incumbent Perry (43%) and Hutchinson (33%) in recent Rasmussen polls and has a lot of ground to make up before the March 2 primary elections.