This is a Texas sized thread about a Texas sized problem---the possibility that the GOP might call upon Governor Rick Perry to run for president.
Intro. Greetings from the bizarro state of Texas, which voted out popular governor Ann Richards in order to replace her with George H. W. Bush’s profligate---and dumb as a bag of rocks---son. W. Some folks say he got the job, because Rove called Richards a lesbian. I think a bunch of voters mistook the son for the father and decided that the job of governor would be a nice consolation prize for the one term ex-president. W. maintained that he was not interested in being president. But that did not stop him from waging one of the dirtiest campaigns ever in 2000, when he used the Supreme Court of the United States to keep lawfully cast votes from being counted in Florida.
There is a new sheriff in Texas, known by the name of Rick “Goodhair” Perry.
He says
he does not want to be president. Now, where have I heard that before?
W. was able to steal the election in 2000, in part, because he carefully scrubbed his Texas record. For instance, he boasted during a debate that he helped pass the Texas Patients Protection Act, a law that prevented managed care abuses. In fact, he vetoed the law the first time around,
after the legislature was out of session, so it was dead for two years. He got a lot of flak over this veto. So much flak that the next time the bill came around, two years later, he grudgingly allowed it to become law. Then he claimed credit for it.
Then , after he stole the election, he had Attorney General Ashcroft attack (and kill) the law in federal court.
I mention this, because the story teaches us a lesson. Do not listen to what the candidate says. Look at what he has done. If he is promising to be the new Teddy Roosevelt, but during his term as governor he was Ebenezer Scrooge, you can safely predict that the poor houses will be full to bursting under his administration.
Now, to the matter at hand. Let’s talk turkey. A great big fat turkey with a really nice head of hair.
I. Rick Perry Protects Pedophiles Texas Governor Rick Perry has done a lot of shameful things during his excessively long term. If people were actually forced to wear their Badges of Shame, he would look like an Eagle Scout or a four star general. His biggest, baddest medal is the one that says
I (Heart) Child Molesters .
Now, I could quote a bunch of liberal journalists, but folks would just say that they are biased. So, I will rely upon the reporting of a bone fide
conservative writer, Jerome Corsi, from World Daily Net to show you all just how big and bad this story was.
Here is a link which outlines the basics of the case.
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54882Briefly, in 2005 Texas Ranger, Brian Burzynski discovered that employees of the Texas Youth Commission had been engaging in sexual activities with their (underage) charges. This made them guilty of both rape and abuse of power. In a solidly red state like Texas, sexual shenanigans are not tolerated, right? State and local prosecutors should have jumped on the case. But they did not. Instead, two years passed, during which time the pedophiles were allowed to continue their child molesting ways. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot and U.S. Attorney General Al Gonzales both threw up their hands and said “It’s not my problem, man.”
Here is a link about Rick Perry’s involvement in the scandal---which might have jeopardized his changes in the 2006 election. You see, he was facing a challenge from the right in the form of third party candidate Carole Strayhorn. Perry was afraid that the if folks in Texas found out that he had overseen and made appointments to a Texas Youth Commission that was crawling with pedophiles, he might earn the reputation as someone who
protects pedophiles. In order to keep the story under wraps, he decided to….protect the pedophiles.
http://70.85.195.205/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54904 While Texas Gov. Rick Perry claimed to reporters he learned only last month of the teen sex scandal rocking the state's juvenile justice system, his office admitted to WND it knew of an investigation that began two years ago.
Perry told reporters he became aware of the Texas Youth Commission scandal last month, after news reports broke in Texas newspapers detailing Texas Ranger Brian Burzynski's probe into the charges. But WND's investigation shows Perry's office knew of Burzynski's probe as early as February 2005, two years before any grand jury had been convened in the case or any statewide investigation was launched from the governor's office.
The cabal of Texas Republicans in DC and Austin carefully avoided doing anything about the case until after Perry was safely re-elected (by less than a plurality) in the fall of 2006. Then, they sprang into action----pointing fingers at the local Democratic prosecutor in the case to explain why they decided to do nothing for two years.
More on Perry’s complicity in the Texas Youth Commission Scandal here:
http://www.lonestarproject.net/archive/2007-03-09%20-%20TYC_Perry-Kimbrough.pdfNote that when Perry was finally forced to appoint someone to (stonewall the) investigat(ion) of the pedophiles, he chose a staunch Republican, Jay Kimbrough, whose other claim to fame is that he is the one who demanded that federal law enforcement officials arrest Texas Democratic legislators who fled the state in an effort to keep Tom Delay from doing an illegal, minority-vote-splitting redistricting in 2003. Note that Rick Perry was involved, too. He called for
three special legislative sessions that year in order to force lawmakers to pass that redistricting plan, which the Supreme Court later said violated federal voting rights protection laws.
II. Rick is Opposed to Private Property Sometimes, I think that Rick Perry is W. with an extra poofy wig. Recall that after a series of failed businesses, Bush finally made some real money by having the City of Alrington, Texas steal private citizens’ land for him so that he could build a ballpark. He then turned around and sold the ballpark to the city for millions. Now, if the city had used its powers of eminent domain to seize the land to build a city owned ballpark, that would have been one thing. However, they allowed one private developer (W.) to take land from other private citizens, presumably on the grounds that the son of an ex-president was
more equal before the law than a bunch of nobody property owners.
Given the controversy that this case caused, you would think that aspiring Republican politician, Rick Perry would run, not walk, from any eminent domain scandal. However, in 2007, he vetoed the very popular bill that would have protected Texas property owners from eminent domain claims by private developers. He said that he was doing it, because of provisions involving road access. However, no one bothered to say a word about the road access provisions when they were being considered by the legislature. That was because they provided Perry with a convenient excuse to veto the entire bill after the legislature was out of session (and yes, it is a wonder that anything ever gets done in this state when all you have to do is bribe the governor if you want to kill a progressive law for two years).
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/01/23/0123property.htmlNote in the above article that Perry is trying to undo the political damage he suffered in 2007, because he is scared that Se. Kay Bailey Hutchison (who has better hair than Perry) will use the issue in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Shades of W.’s Patient Protection Act veto.
III. Rick Perry Panders to the Confederate Flag Constituency 
I want to make one thing clear, here. There are some that claim that they wave a Confederate Flag out of sense of pride in their southern heritage. This is bullshit. Even in the south, everyone knows that the flag is the banner under which states committed the ultimate act of treason in order to protect their right to deprive Blacks of their rights as human beings and United States citizens. Waving a Confederate Flag around while claiming that you are not a racist is like getting a swastika tattooed on your forehead while protesting that you love Jewish people. The Confederate flag symbolizes the south’s hatred of federal laws which have required equal treatment for all, regardless of race. If you believe that special schools should be built for whites and that Blacks should not make the same wages as other workers and mostly importantly
that no Black man should ever be president of your country , then you express your displeasure by waving around one of these things.
During the speech, people waved "Don't Tread on Me" flags and signs lampooning the Obama administration's economic stimulus efforts. Some shouted, "Secede!"
Among the signs: "Obama. Liar in Chief" and "I'll Keep My Guns and Money. You Can Keep the Change."
Perry told reporters following his speech that Texans might get so frustrated with the government they would want to secede from the union.
"There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/041509dnmetteaparties.d8880855.htmlNote that Perry has assumed the role of modern day Jefferson Davis in order to pander to extreme right wing voters in Texas who might consider voting for Hutchinson. He hopes to make the Confederate Flag constituency associate her with Obama. Can “Call me, Barrack” ads featuring the former UT cheerleader turned U.S. senator be far behind?
IV. Some of Rick Perry’s More Memorable Vetoes Perry vetoed a bill that would have informed ex-felons of their right to vote in Texas, because
Many GOP political consultants believe ex-offenders will be more likely to vote Democratic.
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/may/29/unseemly-rick-perry-veto-shows-how-gop-fear-felon-/Rick Perry also vetoed a bill that would have required drivers to give cyclist three feet of space when passing around them. (???)
http://austinontwowheels.org/2009/06/20/update-on-safe-passing-bill-gov-perry-vetos-sb-488/Getting arrested for something you did not do sucks, right? Well, in Texas, that unpleasant situation gets even worse, because the Republican State Supreme Court has ruled that the police can keep a record of every
arrest ---even if charges were later dropped because you did not do it----until the statute of limitations of the crime in question passes. That means two years for a misdemeanor and forever for an offense like murder. The state legislature tried to correct this problem, by passing a law that would have required law enforcement to wipe records clean if charges were dropped. But guess who vetoed it?
http://blog.austindefense.com/2009/06/articles/evidence-and-criminal-procedur/rick-perrys-definition-of-more-harm-than-good/His reasoning?
In its final form, it would have done more harm than good to our citizens.
Because hey, what about the rights of cops to sully your reputation permanently by making bogus arrests?
One way in which Perry does not resemble W.? His wife is not an ex-school teacher. That probably explains why he vetoed a bill that would have provided $25 million to pre-K programs. Early childhood education is the great equalizer in our society, and anyone who is courting the Confederate Flag vote knows that “equality” is a four letter word.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6489252.htmlNote in the above article that Perry has used (abused?) his veto power more than any other Texas governor. This does not bode well for our Democratic Congress were he to get into the White House.
Here is another head scratcher. Texas tried to pass a law to keep buses from idling while waiting for students. Anyone who has ever been forced to hold his breath while wading through the chemical soup mixture which a fleet of idling buses can pump into the air understands this one. It is bad for asthmatic children and it’s bad for the environment. However, Rick Perry (who is the number one recipient of oil and gas money in the state)
wants to see those buses sitting there burning up fuel.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/06/19/19bus.htmlNow, if you read section I. of this thread, you will understand the reason for Perry’s next veto. Sometimes young folks get convicted of sex offenses for the relatively innocuous crime of having sex with their girlfriends or boyfriends. Say, the guy is a high school senior age 19 and the girl is a senior age 16, and things got out of hand after the prom. The way things are now, even if the two are engaged and get married, he can still be labeled a sex offender
for the rest of his life. That means he may not be allowed to have contact with the children he will have with his wife. His kids definitely will not be allowed to have friends over---just because his parents got hot and heavy at the prom.
Lawmakers in Texas attempted to fix this problem by giving courts the
option of removing some people’s sex offender status. The bill had widespread public support---and Perry vetoed it. Because hey, he would not want voters to get the idea that he is soft on pedophiles.
http://startelegram.typepad.com/politex/2009/06/smith-blasts-perry-for-vetoing-sex-offender-bill.htmlAnother bill that passed with unanimous support was one designed to give consumer protections to people buying annuities. Apparently, the people who sell annuities did not like it, because they got Perry to veto it.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-aarp_24tex.ART.State.Edition1.4ab6d16.html
Perry’s vetoes are so controversial in Texas that the Texas Monthly wrote an article about them entitled
“No! No! No! The governor, of course, is empowered by the Texas Constitution to veto bills. But the veto power, if not exercised wisely and sparingly, can be a dangerous one. It can make lasting enemies of those who expected to benefit from a bill's passage. It negates the sponsoring legislator's hard work. Most of all, a veto is often a tacit admission of the governor's own failure, because the legislative process offers ample opportunity for intervention and compromise. A veto becomes necessary only if the governor's intervention was nonpersuasive—or nonexistent. Think of a veto as the parliamentary equivalent of a spanking. It is a last resort that should be used only when really necessary. Like a spanking, a veto will get the attention of the recipient. It may also inspire fear. But it cannot purchase respect. Or love….
snip
Most startling was the contrast between Perry's attitude toward legislation before the May 28 adjournment and after. Overnight, he and his staff underwent a transformation from distant observers to obsessive nitpickers. This mutation will define Rick Perry for his cohorts in Texas politics long after the details of the bills he vetoed have been forgotten. He chose to be an outsider, chose to play gotcha with the Legislature rather than to work with it, chose to snipe from ambush rather than engage in the open.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/2001-08-01/btl.phpOne of the bills which roused the ire of the Texas Monthly was a veto of a bill that would have allowed the execution of mentally retarded criminals. In most states, you have to know what you did wrong and why you are being punished for it before you can die. In Texas, you just have to possess a pulse and a vein through which lethal drugs can be injected.
Speaking of executions…
V. Rick Perry Believes in Executing Innocent People Perry’s most recent controversy involved the case of a man who was almost certainly arrested for an arson/murder that did not happen. Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 (during Perry’s watch) for setting a fire in his house and killing his own children. The problem with the case---there were no witnesses, there was no confession. All the prosecution had was some flawed science.
Last week, five years after the (almost certainly wrongful) death of Willingham, the Texas Forensic Science Commission tried to right this wrong by considering new evidence in the case. Perry put a stop to this by firing three members of the commission on the eve of their meeting.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1263390.htmlI guess he is worried that the combination of his veto of the bill protecting the mentally retarded plus a finding that he allowed an innocent man to die might make voters in other states a little bit leery of electing him their president. Texas was unique in a national survey as the only state where a majority of voters said they would be fine allowing innocent people to be put to death if it meant that no guilty folks evaded execution. The other United States put a greater value on human life than Texas and its Republican governor.
VI. Remember What Don Seigelman was Prosecuted for Doing? Selective prosecution of Democrats for things that all politicians do is one of the major scandals of the Bush DOJ. Alberto Gonzales even announced publicly in 2006 that he planned to start a lot of investigations and prosecutions of Democratic elected officials in the wake of the Democrats’ sweep of Congress. In the process, he painted a great big read
Kick me (out of office) sign on his own back that lead to him being the first (and last) Bush administration official to be forced out of office by Congress.
The case of Don Seigelman who was charged and convicted of appointing someone to a board in exchange for a contribution was one example of the way the Bush administration used the DOJ like a Mafia enforcement squad. Funny thing is that Gov. Rick Perry of Texas (and his predecessor, W.) is notorious for playing quid pro quo with appointments.
The University of Texas is a huge system that is swimming in cash. The ability of a few VIPs to make a lot of money off UT has been protected in Texas, first by W. and then by his separated at birth successor, Perry.
When George W. Bush signed UTIMCO into existence, he created a lasting connection between the investment company and the governor's office. Rick Perry has, in every way possible, kept this tradition alive. The most obvious example of this relationship is the close correlation between the campaign donations Perry receives and the appointments that are then graciously given out to his donors.
Snip
This close connection between a few elite Texans, their deep pockets, and their appointed positions is not only dangerous but it is undemocratic. These people who make and control decisions have many negative affects on many different people, but usually not themselves. When a few connected individuals control University policies and its investments while fighting to gain even more power, less accountability and more corruption can be expected. Rick Perry, although he is a public servant, does not act on the public's behalf when controlling this elite group. This quid pro quo Good Ol' Boy system, on which Texas politics are now based, is continually damaging the University and those who are associated with it.
http://www.utwatch.org/utimco/perry.htmlHere is more on the cash for appointments policy of Perry.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6406108.htmlGov. Rick Perry has accepted nearly $5 million in political campaign donations from people he appointed to state boards and commissions, including some in plum jobs that set policy for state universities, parks and roads, records show.
Nearly half the appointee donations came from people serving as higher education regents, including more than $840,000 from those at the University of Texas System, according to a Houston Chronicle review of campaign-finance records.
Political patronage is nothing new for Texas governors in both political parties. The contributions are a legal and common practice, though it has been fodder for critics over the years.
“The reason people should care is that it would be nice to think that government functioned as a meritocracy,” said Andrew Wheat of the watchdog group Texans for Public Justice, which has tracked appointee donations in the past.
Meritocracy? You have got to be kidding. Right now, Texas is an oligarchy, and Rick Perry is the bought and paid for aspiring Mussolini of the state’s corporate elite.
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