Would The Old Rick Perry Be Calling For Governor Perry To Resign?

WASHINGTON -- At some point this weekend, whether on a stage in South Carolina or Iowa, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is expected step up to a microphone, put an end to months of media speculation and formally announce his bid for the presidency.

But in doing so, Perry would be violating the spirit of an amendment he proposed to the Texas constitution in 1989. Filed that March, the amendment called for "the automatic resignation from office of certain public officials seeking other elective office."

In other words, the 1989 version of Perry would probably think Gov. Perry should resign from office before hopping on that plane to South Carolina.

Perry's amendment [PDF] did not equivocate:

"The candidacy constitutes an automatic resignation of the office then held, and the vacancy created shall be filled pursuant to law in the same manner as other vacancies for the office are filled."

The forced resignation would kick in for anyone holding elected office that paid $10,000 or more per year. Gov. Perry certainly falls into that category.

But in his 1989 proposal, Perry may have left the future Gov. Perry an out. The forced resignation would only kick in if the elected official decided to run within the first 180 days of their term in office. His announcement this weekend would have put him just outside that 180 day window.

Still, Perry told Time's Mark Halperin he had already decided on a run more than a month ago, which would have been before the 180 days window closed.

Back when he wrote the amendment, Perry was a Democrat and far removed from any consideration of national office, let alone anyone's favorite in a statewide contest. He was a just state representative from west Texas. His proposed amendment failed.

"In 1989, Dem State Rep. Rick Perry believed that if a governor of Texas early in their term wanted to run for president, they should resign," says Jeff Rotkoff, a consultant with the Back to Basics PAC, a Texas political action committee that opposes Perry. "Why doesn't he stand by that belief today? Does he stand by that belief today? If not, what's changed?"

Long-time Perry campaign strategist David Carney referred a request for comment to the governor's press office. The governor's media team in Austin did not return a request for comment.

Comments

[MyOpinion20122]

01:16 PM on 09/18/2011

The guy should be force to resign. He is not doing anything for Texas and was just voted in a mear year ago. We should not be paying him a salary to be campaigning for another position. Texas is going through an extreme drought with horrendous fires across the state and this guy is out campaigning and not working at all for the state's welfare.

[lvdragonlady]

10:56 PM on 08/15/2011

Nothing like a good GOP flip flop on a Monday.

[WilhelmKein]

04:08 PM on 08/15/2011

If this guy wants to be Prez, he better get on the ball with that secession business.

President of Texas - it's got a nice, dystopian alternate future ring to it.

[missouriwatcher]

02:17 PM on 08/15/2011

Who is the current Lt. Gov. of TX? That is who would take over should Rick remember his old ideals. Before voting a TX governor to be President, people in this country need to be aware that the Texas governorship is one of the weakest--if not THE weakest--in the entire country. This means the governor actually holds very little real power; do we really want another GW in the WH?

[Sheila Whitehead]

02:05 PM on 08/15/2011

Perry is as thick in the head as two short planks. What he has done to Texas education and the school system is a crime. The prisons are full of gangs and over crowded, the road are in disrepair, the state is in debt, he takes special deals with offshore out of country oil companies rather than Exxon and Shell because of making better state money which he does not share with state healthcare, the indigent, women's clinics, and he puts his religion before our country

[Vikingdave]

01:16 PM on 08/20/2011

Couldn't agree more.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/davidhorsey/2011/08/16/rick-perry-is-george-w-bush-on-steroids/texan

[Sheila Whitehead]

09:48 PM on 08/20/2011

Thank u boobie. When you turn 72, and become a Chigago transplant living in Houston, Tx, you start to see how thick headed and brainless Texans are.

[joel123]

01:43 PM on 08/15/2011

Does America really need another Texan in the White House???

[GM1966]

01:53 PM on 08/15/2011

Hopefully, not in my lifetime.

[Sheila Whitehead]

02:10 PM on 08/15/2011

no no no no

[1differentdrummer]

01:36 PM on 08/15/2011

He didn't mean it, he was just funnin' folks.

[Cordell Cameron]

01:35 PM on 08/15/2011

Dudes a liar. "I brought 150 businesses to Texas last year from California."

No, he didn't. That's called lying. There is no confusion over it. He gets in front of a camera, then lies between his teeth to everyone. He should be thrown out of politics because he can't tell the truth.

[Cordell Cameron]

01:30 PM on 08/15/2011

What's this article about? Whether or not Rick Perry is going to be a hyprocrite? We already know that he is so why bother speculating.

[Mr Clerihew]

01:18 PM on 08/15/2011

Rick Perry, The Ambitious
Quite clearly he wishes
To follow in W.’s lead.
But failing that, he’ll take Texas with him and secede.

[Cordell Cameron]

01:31 PM on 08/15/2011

That was so awful I had to favorite it.

[L-Hand]

01:00 PM on 08/15/2011

"The governor's media team in Austin did not return a request for comment."

Get used to the stonewalling. Perry is like Palin, but w/a fake front tooth. Media access is limited to only very friendly venues and his "public statements" are often in the form of social media tweets - which the media promptly broadcasts with little or no scrutiny.

This tactic allows him to shape the narrative and stick to his talking points. No follow-up questions or analysis as to whether any of it is true. Opponents are left to debate with a blinking cursor.

You need only look at Perry's last re-election campaign to see how he operates. Perry refused to meet any the Texas newspaper editorial boards. Refused to debate his Democratic opponent. Refused to comment on the multi-billion state budget deficit. He just stuck to his talking points, tweeted, and insisted that everything was fine. If a reporter wrote something negative, Perry's campaign would "unfriend" the reporter. Petty yes, but it put the reporter at a disadvantage at getting what little info was actually available.

Perry won, walking away.

[tdgaustin]

06:01 PM on 08/20/2011

Here in Austin...you are correct on all points. ...refused to debate...that says so much about the guy and how he operates.

[BlueLady68]

12:43 PM on 08/15/2011

If Perry resigns, he'll be unemployed in December 2012.

[PeterFormaini]

01:07 PM on 08/15/2011

What does December 2012 have to do with anything, since if he won he would not take office until January 2013?

[pynecastle]

01:29 PM on 08/15/2011

It has everything to do with it. He proposed that filing as a CANDIDATE would be tantamount to resigning a currently held office. He is being paid to be the governor of Texas and will be pursuing another job at the expense of his current one and the Texas taxpayers' dime.

[Really I B Waiting]

12:07 PM on 08/15/2011

... with the amount of concealed firepower equaling small nations Texans are so proud of, why is this sob still on this earthly plane?

[Cordell Cameron]

01:33 PM on 08/15/2011

We're too drunk.

[Bea Johnson]

12:00 PM on 08/15/2011

Ok, I'll own it, this is shallow and superficial. But hey, so's he! This man skeeves me down to the very core of my soul. He looks like Repubot 2012, like he's put together with pieces parts from politicians past. He thinks he's slick and attractive, but he really looks like that guy at the bar you always see, the one who's just a little too old to be there? His hair or what passes for hair, makes the Trump toupee look stylish by comparison. And BS is the substance that oozes from his pores. Even if he kept his original position as card carrying liberal, he'd STILL be skeevy. But even more so now that he flips, he flops, with his bangs he mops, ugh. Do people really buy his snake oil, really? One look, one listen and even the most half-witted republican should be able to smell the BS he's doling out. Or maybe his low IQ is what makes them want him, they feel smarter by comparison.

[tdgaustin]

06:04 PM on 08/20/2011

A friend's 12-year-old saw him speak (I think at a Boy-scout's thing here in Austin)...and said if you looked in his (Perry's) eyes..they were dead...with no soul...that's from a 12-year-old. This was maybe 8 years ago. I'm sure the eyes are deader by now.

[Ed C Atlanta]

11:55 AM on 08/15/2011

With all the negatives perry has he will be walking backwards for the rest of the campaign...