Jonathan D. Blundell

From Dallasblog:

In a rare act of acquiescing to political reality Congressional Republicans have scheduled a vote on raising the minimum wage before next week’s August recess. The vote will clearly pass but the GOP is divided. Some 31 conservatives wrote to House Speaker Dennis Hastert opposing any action on the minimum wage but 48 other Republicans with large working class populations demanded a vote. The minimum wage was last raised to $5.15 in 1996. Inflation has eaten away most of the benefits of that increase. The new wage would likely rise to $7.25 to keep pace with inflation. Polls have repeatedly shown overwhelming majorities in support of the increase and many Republicans think it could be a devastating issue if not passed.

In my opinion this is a hard issue to decide upon. No one wants to be the party or congressman to “vote against the poor.” But you also have to look at how raising the minimum wage will affect everyone else. What happens to the guy who’s been working for a year, got a raise and is now making $6 an hour? Now he’s going to have to have his salary raised to $8 or more. To be fair the minimum wage affects everyone at every payscale. Hopefully it will turn out for the best for everyone.

My buddy Rick Reynolds – from back in my Power FM days has his own blog. Check him out.

Polls across the state are showing each candidate finding differing amounts of favor from the voters.
Depending on which poll you read every candidate has been on top at least once.
Your homework assignment is to write 100 words or less on who you plan to vote for in the November election and why.
And simply saying, “Because he’s Gov. McDreamy” won’t cut it.
E-mail your thoughts or leave them as a comment.

This just in from Libertarian candidate James Werner:

“The whole thing is pretty silly. It shows how debased the level of political discourse has become. It’s ironic that KERA is planning to exclude me from the gubernatorial debate. Apparently it serves the voter’s interests to prattle on endlessly about each candidate’s nick name, but it would not enlighten them in the least to see and hear the most coherent and reasonable candidate on the ballot.”

Independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn has dropped her lawsuit Thursday to get “Grandma” listed as part of her name on the November ballot for governor.
Strayhorn, who was hoping to boost her name recognition among voters, announced the decision a few hours after a judge ruled she didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the nickname case.
“I am a 66 year old grandma,” Strayhorn said. “This isn’t about my future, this is about the future of our children and our grandchildren. This campaign is about Texas’ future. And that is what I want to talk about during the upcoming critical part of this campaign.”
Strayhorn accused the secretary of state of playing politics and siding with Perry on the issue.
“She’s turned herself from a character into a caricature,” Jason Stanford, a spokesman for the Bell campaign said.