Not all Texans gung-ho to elect Bush as president

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas sun shone bright on Austin Monday as a political frenzy formed in front of the capitol, where Gov. George W. Bush would announce his return and address the anxious throng of Republicans and reporters awaiting Tuesday's election results.\nBut on the sidewalks of the cordoned-off streets of the city of politics and oil, where Bush seemed to reign supreme, the detractors lurked: those who would vote against the native son.\nLike Bush, Chris Telles is a Texan. An El Paso native, he strolled Congress Avenue on his way to one of the high-rise buildings to make a bank deposit, not from an oil company, but from the studio where he films commercials and independent movies.\n"There's plenty of people who live in Texas that I don't like," Telles said. "I'm not a gun supporter. I'm anti-big business. I'm very much for separation of church and state. I'm pro-choice."\nTelles was wearing boots, but unlike Bush's, Telles' boots were made by Kenneth Cole and stopped just above his ankles. Like Bush, Telles took seven years to get his degree, except his is a bachelor of arts in broadcast journalism and Bush's is a master's in business administration from Harvard. \nUnlike most of Texas, Telles still didn't know who to vote for -- Vice President Al Gore or Green Party nominee Ralph Nader.\nHe owes his liberal viewpoint, he said, to growing up on the border.\n"Growing up in a border town had something to do with keeping me aware of what life was like for the disadvantaged," he said. "For the most part, the Republican Party pays little more than lip service to the disadvantaged. The Democrats are a little better, because their conscience is in line, but they've had to play the game buying votes."\nTelles called the Green Party refreshing and said he's considering voting for Nader because Texas is a Bush state and his vote won't swing "Because it's a Bush state," he said, "to widen the choices for the future seems like a good thing. But it's scary, because you don't want to give Bush an excuse to win."\nAcross the street from the bank building where Telles was delivering his deposit, the avenue clogged with press and political official foot traffic, a stout man in three-foot long dreadlocks stood waiting for a panel truck to drop off a delivery of modern art. \nThat man was Stuart Sussman, who installs art exhibitions at galleries in downtown Austin. He moved to Austin 18 months earlier to be with his wife, a student at the University of Texas. He came from San Francisco and described the Democratic Party as being "too far to the right" for his tastes. He's voting for Nader, so the Green Party can receive federal funding.\n"The two-party system we have is not working," Sussman said. "Huge segments of the population are under-represented, there's rampant pollution, our criminal and drug policies are terrible."\nSussman said America suffers from a "moral deficit" because there is too much greed and not enough charity.\n "There's people that sleep on the streets and go hungry, and there's people who drive $200,000 cars and live in several multi-million (dollar homes)." \nSussman pointed to the other side of the street, as if pointing through the huge Bush media tent, and said there was a little cafe across the street where many others shared his views. It was called Little City, and modern art, oil paintings and eclectic music reigned supreme in its dark interior. Skinny people in glasses sat at tables and sipped coffee with other skinny people in glasses.\nAlison Sagebiel and her boyfriend Josh were just ducking out with some iced coffee. Sagebiel also said she will vote for Nader and is a humanitarian and a Socialist. And she's quick to point out what she doesn't like about Bush.\n"He's killed a lot of people," she said. "He's lost a lot of money for health care. They used environmental fund money to pay businesses for emissions testing. They separated religious schools from state supervision."\nObviously, not everyone was against Bush. Late in the evening, as the skyscrapers were locked for the night and those in shirts, ties and suits took to the streets on the way home, Eric Sandberg, president of the Texas Savings and Commercial Bankers trade organization, emerged from the bottom of his office complex and was dismayed that the media frenzy still ruled the streets. But he quickly voiced his support for Bush.\nJust then, Sagebiel and Josh, still sipping their coffee drinks, stopped to make one last comment. "As far as it goes," Josh said. "Texans would vote for anyone in a presidential race. They'd vote for a trained monkey, if they could get him nominated."\n"Where are you from?" Sandberg asked.\nJosh said, "Massachusetts," and walked off.\n"Yeah, he doesn't like Texans," Sandberg said. "He probably goes to school here. But do you know why he goes to school here? Because it's cheaper for an out-of-state student to go to school here than it is for a resident to go to school in Massachusetts"