I read an opinion article in the opinion section of the Dallas News website titled, Will the Abbott-Nugent fiasco give Wendy Davis a bump? In the author's(Tod Robberson's) article he talks about how Greg Abbott's support might fall due to comments made by Ted Nugent, who was invited by Abbott to join his campaign. During a concert Ted Nugent is quoted as calling President Obama a, "subhuman mongrel"
    The author continually says that he feels Abbott is exemplifying "abominably" bad judgement in that he is standing behind his decision to include Nugent in his campaign. The article states that Abbott has not issued a statement of regret, which could suggest that he is in fact OK with his decision on Nugent. Mr. Robberson feels that these kinds of decisions can only serve to damage Abbott himself in the long run. He expresses a deep confusion as to why Abbott would even consider mixing himself up with a man that seems to have a bad track record. Some that are mentioned in the article are, a tendency to make sexist and racial remarks, affairs with underage girls, and being a draft dodger. I think by putting these examples in the article the author is convincing the audience that maybe Abbott is not such a good judge of character or that maybe he's a man that associates himself with sexist and racist which could lead voters to questions Abbott's own morals and character. Mr. Robberson attacks Abbott' judgment many times throughout the article, ultimately suggesting that this is not appropriate as a gubernatorial candidate. He also suggests that even though Davis has taken heat from misrepresentations in the past, that it will be no where near as bad as what Abbott will have to contest with, nor will it be as long lasting. Mr. Robberson predicts Abbotts defeat, even more so he predicts it will be humiliating.
    I agree with Mr. Robberson in that Abbott will have a hard time coming back from this. He has dug a very deep hole by associating himself with a man who has shown that he has many terrible qualities. The fact that he has also not issued some sort of statement the he disagrees with what Nugent says is also unsettling. If Abbott's actions are suggesting that he supports people that make sexist or racist comments or that involve themselves in illegal actions then it really call into question where this man's morals lie. Is this really the kind of man that Texans want in charge?
   

Wendy Davis calls out Greg Abbott on Public School Funding Lawsuit

    In an article written today in the Austin Chronicle by Micheal King titled, Davis Calls for School Funding Settlement, King tells of how Wendy Davis called out GOP opponent, Greg Abbott, on settling the current public school funding lawsuit.
    This happened outside the Rio Grande campus of Austin Community College where Wendy Davis, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, gave a brief press conference. Among the topics talked about, "open-carry" of hand guns and border communities being some of the other topics mentioned in the article, Ms. Davis chose to focus on the topic of Mr. Abbott and the lawsuit concerning the public school funding. The story goes that in 2011 there was a legislative spending cut, in later paragraphs it's clarified that the cut was $5 billions from schools, and then a partial restoration of school funding by 2013 legislature, only $3.4 billion. Federal Judge John Dietz is mentioned in the article as having "declared the current state of school funding inadequate under the Texas Constitution."
    Throughout the Article Wendy Davis is quoted criticizing Greg Abbott for not taking action, stating, "So here we are, locked in a legal battle that everyone, except General Abbott, seems to know is over. He is defending the indefensible." Ms. Davis doesn't just suggest that Mr. Abbott stop halting progress, she takes it a step further and says he needs to provide solutions to the problem, stating, " he needs to tell us what he'd do to improve our public schools." Ms. Davis goes on to suggest some solutions that Mr. Abbott could take, such as getting the Legislature to take care of the "broken school funding formulas and "responding to Dietz's ruling with the adequate funding for public schools." Ms. Davis even suggests the Rainy Day Fund as an adequate resource to resolve the problem.
    I believe this article is worth reading because it shows where our candidates for governor's concerns lie. I will say however, that this article is extremely one sided and you will need to go else where to find Abbott's side of the story. With Wendy Davis' popularity growing this year's election is going to be intense.