The LT. Governor Debate

The Texas Tribune on September, 29, 2014 posted an opinion piece written by Alexa Ura titled “In Debate, Patrick and Van de Putte Spar Over Texas.”  This was definitely written for voters and potential voters who are well informed and already following the candidates and the election. 

The scope and breathe of the piece was clearly meant to be viewed through the lens of having watched debate, and not informative enough for those who had not to gain a true understanding of what all it entailed. There seems to have been a large amount of back and forth and outright squabbling between the two candidates, and while the tone is relayed in the piece, details are not forthcoming. It does seem however as though both candidates used their campaign slogans to attack each other, which I feel all politicians do during debates. 

Ura included some of the main focal points that will be the determining factors in this election which is funding public education, health care, taxes, and immigration. 

She seems to have done a decent job explaining what happened during the only debate for the position of Texas Lt. Governor and showed a favoring to Van de Putte, because she noted how Van de Putte wanted more debates and that Patrick thought one was efficient enough to show voters the differences between the two.  We get to see how Texas is pro-business with the quote from Van de Putte in her response to Patrick’s sale tax raise which would be “only a penny or two” and how it would be a burden to families and businesses.  While funding education is a hot topic, we need a solution that will solve the problem that we are having and Van de Putte threw Patrick under the bus by saying he was responsible for the school cuts in 2011 when many teachers lost their jobs.  There are many places in this article where Ura points out each candidate’s political stance, but each time Van de Putte is put in the spotlight as being the right candidate for the job by having a more sophisticated response to Patrick’s attacks.

In conclusion, I would have liked to have seen a more balanced piece with each candidate explaining how and where cuts will be made and to ensure that public schools funding will not be cut anymore. There was not much mentioned about immigration except that Patrick thinks that the Texas Dream Act makes Texas encourage illegal immigration and Van de Putte says it’s for the state’s workforce. Other than the preference for Van de Putte, this piece will give a voter at least some insight into where these candidate’s stand with the popular topics. I did like how Ura addressed the fact that her employer, The Texas Tribune, was the sponsor of this event and that it occurred in Austin.