Poll: Americans losing faith in lawmakers: Yes, Even in Brownwood Texas !

Poll: Americans losing faith in lawmakers
Investigations, scandal lead majority to condemn Washington
07:56 PM CST on Thursday, December 8, 2005
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Indictments, investigations and a congressman's guilty plea for taking millions in bribes have left most Americans convinced that political corruption is a deeply rooted problem, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll.
Missteps and misconduct that have reached all levels of government – from the White House and Congress to governors' offices in Connecticut and Ohio – have helped drive 88 percent of those surveyed to say the problem is a serious one.
Scandal has touched all politicians. President Bush's approval rating was 42 percent, slightly better than in the previous AP-Ipsos poll, due in part to improvements in the economy. Still, 57 percent of those surveyed disapproved of Mr. Bush's handling of the presidency.
More ominous as the 2006 elections loom was the public's opinion of the Republican-controlled Congress.
Sixty-five percent of respondents disapproved of lawmakers' work in Washington and only 31 percent approved, the worst numbers since AP-Ipsos began asking the question in January.
Several of those interviewed said corruption was endemic to a political system awash in colossal amounts of lobbying money and beset by an insatiable demand for campaign cash.
"It's kind of the nature of politics, working with money and finance, things happen every day that are questionable," said David Innerebner, a conservative-leaning missionary from Hayward, Wis.
People surveyed had no trouble reciting the names associated with offenses and inquiries:
•Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, faces money-laundering charges.
•Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is under a federal investigation for a well-timed stock sale.
•Lewis Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, has been indicted on five counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI in the outing of a CIA officer.
Mr. DeLay, Dr. Frist and Mr. Libby have said they have done nothing wrong.
•Last month, Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., resigned after pleading guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes in exchange for steering government work to defense contractors. His list of excess included money for a Rolls-Royce, antique furniture and two Laser Shot shooting simulators.
•A Justice Department investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff threatens to ensnare at least a half dozen Republicans and Democrats and Bush administration officials.
VIEWS ON CORRUPTION
The perception of corruption in government is widely held, with 88 percent of the public saying it is a serious problem, according to an AP-Ipsos poll.
57% of those surveyed disapproved of President Bush's handling of the presidency. Still, a 42 percent approval rating Mr. Bush received is slightly higher than previous AP surveys.
65% of respondents disapproved of lawmakers' work in Washington, the worst numbers since AP-Ipsos began asking the question in January.
91% of women consider corruption a serious problem, compared with 84 percent of men.
36% said Democrats were more ethical; 33 percent cited Republicans. That difference is within the poll's 3 percentage-point margin of error, meaning the two could be roughly equivalent.
The Associated Press-Ipsos poll on public attitudes about political corruption, conducted Dec. 5-7, is based on telephone interviews with 1,002 adults from all states except Alaska and Hawaii and areas heavily damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. Margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
SOURCE: Associated Press
source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/120905dnnatcorruption.1c19c6b5.html
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Dec. 8, 2005, 5:37PM

Kinky Friedman files papers to run for governor

Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — Humorist Kinky Friedman took his first formal step toward the governor's office today, promising, on a bitterly cold day, to work hard at putting "a chill up the spine of every politician."
The musician-turned-mystery writer officially filed his declaration of intent to run as an independent candidate for governor with the secretary of state.
But to get on the ballot next November, he needs to collect at least 45,540 voters' signatures — or 1 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election — from people next spring who don't cast ballots in any party primary or runoff.
Friedman told a few dozen supporters and reporters huddled for a brief, sidewalk announcement that his real opponent was not Gov. Rick Perry, but voter apathy.
Only 29 percent of Texas' voting age population cast ballots in the 2002 gubernatorial general election.
"If we can get the 29 percent who voted last time up to 39 percent, it'll all be over, and there will be a whole new spirit blowing through Texas," he said. "There will be a smile on everybody's face and a chill up the spine of every politician."
Wearing his trademark, black cowboy hat and puffing on a cigar, Friedman said his heroes were the legendary American humorists Will Rogers and Mark Twain, who often used their humor and satire to critique the culture and politics of their times.
"They were truth-tellers," he said.
"The point of humor and the point of fiction that I write is to sail as close to the truth as you can without sinking the ship."
Friedman, who has been campaigning for months after announcing his candidacy in front of the Alamo, said his campaign has about 20 staffers, thousands of volunteers and offices in Austin and Fort Worth.
Chris Bell, a former congressman and city councilman from Houston, plans to file for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination today . Felix Alvarado, an educator from Fort Worth, also has said he will run for governor as a Democrat.
Democrat Bob Gammage, a former Houston-area congressman and state legislator and former Texas Supreme Court justice, also is considering a gubernatorial race.
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn is challenging Perry in the March Republican primary.

clay.robison@chron.com
source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3512681.html