Bill White does a riff on Jon Stewart

Rallies are all the rage. Even pre-rally, copycat rallies. So much so that Democrat Bill White is planning one on the University of Texas campus. It's going to be next Tuesday, just a few hours before White goes toe-to-toe with Libertarian Kathie Glass and Green Party candidate Deb Shafto in the only televised statewide debate of governor candidates. (Sorry everybody that you'll miss Glee. That's the real conflict preventing Rick Perry from attending).
Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/9MqUYV

Minor-party hopefuls get Texas gubernatorial debate invitations

Unlikely to get a one-on-one exchange between Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic challenger Bill White, the state's largest newspapers today will invite two minor-party candidates to a planned debate next month.
http://dallasne.ws/9DTekh

Bill White says releasing tax returns for debate would set 'bad precedent'

Rusak:
Bill White gave perhaps his clearest answer yet on the debate about debates today, telling WBAP-AM's Mark Davis that the reason he won't release certain tax returns to meet Rick Perry's demand for a debate is that it would set a bad precedent. "I don't think it's right for one candidate to impose some kind of condition like this on the other for them to attend a debate," the Democratic candidate for governor said. "That's just not right."
http://dallasne.ws/bBRliz

Rick Perry still won't debate Bill White until tax records are released

Rick Perry reaffirmed Tuesday that he won't debate rival Bill White unless the Democratic nominee for governor publicly releases income taxes from his years as deputy U.S. energy secretary. "I'm pretty much set on doing what I said I would do," Perry said in a Dallas visit. "He needs to come clean with the people of this state. There's obviously something in those tax returns, or he would have released them by now."  http://dallasne.ws/aIKTpX

Gromer Jeffers reports:

Newspapers plan gubernatorial debate whether Perry joins or not

Embry at the Austin American-Statesman reports:

The state's largest newspapers plan to host a debate between the major candidates for governor this fall, even if just one candidate shows up. The Dallas Morning News and four other newspapers, along with Austin public television station KLRU, will deliver a letter to Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic challenger Bill White today inviting them to a debate Oct. 19 at the KLRU studios at the University of Texas.
http://dallasne.ws/c1b2oW

Perry and White accuse each other of racial politics

Rick Perry called on Bill White today to apologize for telling an African-American audience that he would be a "servant" as governor while Perry wants to be a "master." "Injecting that type of language into the race is not appropriate," Perry said. White fired back, saying Perry "is just trying to play racial politics." White said that if anybody was offended, he apologizes. But he added that his remarks stand: "I do think the government should be the servant and not the master. It's a deeply conservative philosophy." Our servant Slater reports:
http://dallasne.ws/acP9Zi

Perry refuses to debate until White releases income tax returns

Slater reports:

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry is refusing to debate Bill White unless the Democratic challenger releases income tax returns covering his years in public office.


The Perry campaign told WFAA-TV (Channel 8) in Dallas that it won't discuss debate dates until White makes his past income taxes public.

White campaign spokeswoman Katy Bacon said the Republican governor just doesn't want to debate.
http://tinyurl.com/2de3apt