Democratic hopeful for Texas governor Hank Gilbert spoke about politics, education, health care and transportation with the St. Edward’s University College Democrats Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Gilbert, an East Texas rancher and former high school agriculture teacher who has a reputation for bluntness, did not hold back in his criticism of incumbent Gov. Rick Perry, as well as his Democratic rivals. “I want to get Texas back on track,” Gilbert said. “Rick Perry has run it into a ditch.” Gilbert, who first ran for Texas Agriculture Commissioner in 2006, said he got involved in politics because he got fed up with career politicians and wanted to send them home. “I want to send [Perry] home,” Gilbert said. “I want to send him to Alaska where he can sit on a porch with [former Alaska Gov.] Sarah [Palin] and keep an eye on Russia.” Palin has endorsed Perry and will campaign for him sometime next year, according to Perry’s campaign.Gilbert said that he got involved in the 2010 governor’s race because of what he perceived as weaknesses in the other Democratic candidates. Gilbert referred to former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Tom Schieffer, who is a long-time friend of former President George W. Bush, as “Democrat-light,” and said entertainer Kinky Friedman, who ran as an Independent in 2006, is not a Democrat.”Lord knows Kinky Friedman ain’t a Democrat,” Gilbert said. “Kinky Friedman doesn’t even know what Kinky Friedman is.”Gilbert previously alleged in an event in Weatherford, Texas, that Friedman accepted $100,000 from Rick Perry to get in the 2006 race to siphon votes away from Democrats. The claim, Gilbert said, was based on rumors. There is currently no evidence to support Gilbert’s claim and Perry’s spokesperson, Mark Miner, denied the claim.Education, transportation, property rights, health care and eliminating the influence of special interests were all cited by Gilbert as his top priorities. There are too many dropouts in Texas, Gilbert said, and the dropouts are the reason Texas has the nation’s largest prison population. Gilbert’s solution is to provide universal Pre-K for children beginning at age 3.”We want to get them early on, so when they get to the ninth grade, we won’t have to worry about them dropping out so much because their brain is already developed.” Gilbert said.In September, Gilbert accused Schieffer of “hijacking” his ideas on education policy. Schieffer, too, has attacked high school dropout rates in the state.In addition, Gilbert said that he wants to reform high school curriculum in the state and change an education system, which he said was mismanaged.Gilbert saved the harshest criticism of Perry for his economic policies and for the Trans-Texas Corridor, a series of proposed roads and light-rails that was declared dead recently. Gilbert said the corridor would have destroyed private land of thousands of people. He also disputed Perry’s claim that Texas’s economic blueprint should be applied to the rest of the nation.”The idiot doesn’t understand economics,” Gilbert said. “Under his blueprint, we’d be a third-world country.”Health insurance is a personal issue to Gilbert, who said that his family is unable to afford the costs. Gilbert said that he wants to change the way insurance business is done in Texas.”It’s got to be fixed,” Gilbert said.A candidate from the Democratic Party has not won a statewide election in Texas this decade. Gilbert said that he will also work to rebuild the party in the state from the bottom-up. He said that one of the things Texas did right was help get votes for President Barack Obama, who he said inspired him when he watched the 2008 Democratic Convention.”I felt an inspiration that I had never felt before,” Gilbert said. “Wilder than my first date. It blew my mind.”To rebuild the party, Gilbert said, they are going to have to reach out to everyone to get work done.”To me, the governor’s job is not about partisan politics,” Gilbert said. “It’s about getting things done.”St. Edward’s College Democrats President Garrett Hall, a senior, said that Gilbert agreed to come to the university after he met Gilbert at a political event.”His speech was casual, but motivating,” Hall said. “I think he’s unconventional, but generally, he holds the values of St. Edward’s College Democrats.”The club did not endorse Gilbert, as they are hoping to hear from other Democratic candidates first. Hall said that the club is hoping to get Schieffer to visit in the near future as well.Freshman Taylor Holden said that she liked Gilbert’s passion, but questioned his ability to win.”I thought that he was passionate about winning the race, but he has a long way to go to win the Democratic nomination,” Holden said.Gilbert said that he believes his appeal can reach across party lines and that he can beat Perry, who is currently locked in a primary battle with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. “If you came in here to hear a fire-spewing, hell-raising liberal Democrat, you came to the wrong meeting,” Gilbert said. “If you want to elect a true Democrat, I’m your guy. If you want to elect a true Texan, I’m your guy.”