Rick Perry Should Stop Embarrassing Texas
I've had enough of Rick Perry.
At least the Perry who stood on the steps of the Texas Capitol today bashing our federal government and talking openly about Texas seceding from the United States.
This isn't the Perry I knew 25 years ago, when he first ran for the Legislature from my part of West Texas, and it's not the Perry who earned the respect of his colleagues and most Capitol reporters in the late '80s for his work on the House Appropriations Committee.
Perry's always been a conservative, but that isn't the issue. He's a demagogue now, and every single newspaper in Texas with a decent editorial page should denounce these remarks and call for him to retract them publicly or resign.
I mean that. This isn't a joke.
Partisanship and political philosophy aside, I can think of few things more irresponsible in this economy than the governor of Texas speaking freely about secession. What business is going to relocate to Texas with him talking like that? Who wants to come to a state to do research at its large land grant universities with a governor who sounds like George Wallace or Lester Maddox naming the regents.
The reality is that few if any Texans believe he is serious, and Texas isn't going to secede. Most Texans just pass this off as Perry pandering to a crowd of right-wing malcontents to whip up support for his upcoming re-election.
As Wayne Slater reported in the Dallas Morning News:
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." The event came as Perry has stepped up his criticism of political rival Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, suggesting she is part of the problem in Washington.
That is the very definition of demagoguery.
I was covering the Texas Senate in 1991, its first session under the leadership of legendary Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, when a Republican House member from Amarillo filed a bill to divide Texas into four states. I knew it wasn't likely to come to a vote, but it was a slow news day, so I asked Bullock about it sort of in passing.
Well, Bullock jumped all over me. He dressed me up and down so bad my knees almost buckled. Most Texans love our state, but I never met anyone who loved Texas more than Bob Bullock or who worked harder to make it a better place.
Bullock told me people in the rest of the country read stories like that and they think Texas is full of stupid backward people. He said state government does serious business that affects a lot of people's lives and anybody around the Capitol who talks like that or files a bill like that ought to go home or at least get out of the way.
Calling me out like that made me think long and hard about the kind of reporter I wanted to be.
I didn't write the story, but I never forgot it. And, as you can tell, Bullock's tongue lashing changed the way I looked at politicians for the rest of my life.
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If at First You Don’t Secede ….
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Perry is doing far more than embarrassing Texas. That man has been financially raping and pilaging our fine state for years. We have some of the highest property taxes in the country. We have some of the highest home insurance rates in the country. Our health insurance companies are completely out of control and the Department of Insurance has no teeth to deal with the problem. We are required to pay franchise tax based on revenue instead of profit, which is murderous to small businesses. Perry even tried to make Gardasil a required shot for every female child in Texas. Perry has not done a single thing to improve any of this. In each of these situations, Perry benefits financially by the decisions he makes. He gets huge money from the insurance lobbyists, for example. I could just go on and on. This is another friend of Bush, so his hand was deeply embedded in our trouser pockets.
On this issue, Perry has more backing than you give him credit for. I wouldn't believe the numbers you are getting from the "poll".
There are over a dozen or so groups that have been trying to Texas to secede since 1994. There is PLENTY of support for Texas secession.
Governor Perry should make a public statement addressing this issue before some idiot gets it into their head that he, Governor Rick Perry, endorses some kind of action against President Obama. The Governor was at the rallys, he saw the placards and heard some of what some participants said. If he doesn't think some of these people idiotic enough to bring harm to anyone I would suggest that he find a mirror.
Reading this article makes me scared. I think that Mr. Perry does not represent all the Texans here in our great state. I personally hope that Mr. Perry is not re-elected and that secession is not the answer. We are all affected by whatever happens to our great state and these are times that we should stand together not apart. America is one country and we need to support the country. We may not all agree on the same things but we all agree that there is a mission to get through here and Taxes will always be there no matter what party you support...
The Title says it all. Quit embarassing our state for your political grandstanding. We ALL know you don't have the cojones to actually secede from the union. You have officially become the male counterpart to Sarah Palin. (hint: to the rest of the world thats an insult)
Perry is the 21st Century Ma' Ferguson. Actually, Ma' doesn't look so bad now, come to think of it.
where in texas do they grow people like perry? how come they got the wackie$t of the politicians. bush, armey, delay, cornryn, and now this clown. may be texas is a different country after all.
Actually, Texas never wanted any government to begin with, so we've just consistently sent our least able, totally wacked-out people to do the job. As our beloved Molly Ivins once wrote, "In Texas, it's actually better if a candidate for office has a criminal record." It's never worked all that well, but we keep on doing it, anyway. Texas' demographics are changing, though, so those days may be numbered.
There is something in the water out there in West Texas. Perry and Bush may very well have drank from the same aquifer. Oh and the sun fries their brains.
Thank you for saying this, Joe. My first reaction when I saw what Goodhair said was, "Oh my God, I've got to get out of here!" But then I realized "who will want to come to Texas and buy my house, with this crazypants in charge?" Perry is the 39% Governor, you know; barely eked out a win in '06. When he entered the arena of statewide office in the early '90's by edging out Jim Hightower for Agriculture Commissioner, it was clear he was in the corporate pocket and he's been burrowing deeper ever since. Sort of the male version of Sarah Palin--failing upward on a mixture of luck and superficiality.
Demagogues like Perry, Bush, Delay and Cornyn think all they have to do in order to garner power is do the old west swagger; but even here in Texas, that's becoming less effective . Several Republican officeholders hung on by the skin of their teeth last fall, and every countywide office in Dallas County is now held by Democrats. The Legislature, after more than a decade of heavy Republican influence, is now down to slim Republican majorities in both chambers. They're running out the current Legislative Session on foolishness like Voter ID and commendations for everyone who'd bother to darken their door, instead of dealing with urgent issues like water shortages, funding of education at all levels, and the fact that Texans pay the highest home insurance rates in the nation; digging their own political graves.
We had this problem in Canada a few years ago, Quebec wanted to separate. Unfortunately they wanted to separate with a zipper. They wanted sovereignty but wanted to be financed in part by the Federal Government because their Province would have had financial difficulties on their own. There are still some who want to separate "Separatist Party". Most of us wish that they would but it would create a big hole in the centre of Canada. They are seeing the possible problems that would have caused now.
What Perry is doing is trying to get attention. It worked, unfortunately for him, it quite possibly has ended his career. Looks good on him. Dont feel sorry for him one bit.
Rick Perry is an embarrassment and he certainly doesn't represent my views at all! I do think he was grandstanding politically, because Kay Bailey Hutchison (while I don't support her) will more than likely kick us butt in the gubernatorial race. He knows it. He had a big audience of rednecks and went for the jugular. What an ass he made of himself and of our great state. I absolutely cannot stand this guy. God Bless Texas, please....
co-sign
At this moment, Gov. Perry is not seriously considering secession. He is, however, succeeding marvelously in his real purpose, which is to get the attention of spendocrats. The libs surely have their panties in a wad.
So its a good strategy to make yourself seem foolish and unserious at the cost of your state and constituents in order to get some media attention? That's some A1 strategy there Einstein
Rick Perry needs to give up his party status as republican and a governor. Republicans have enough problems from Steele thinking he is on the same level as the President. And Palin supporting members of hate groups cause she is mad at america for not voting for her and her family in my opinon. How can these people run for office and hate the office they occupied. Texas is beautiful country regardless of what comes out in the day time.
Gov. Perry isn't embarrassing me at all. In fact, I am proud of the independent nature of Texans. Now if Texas had just elected Al Franken to ANY office, then I would be horrified.
Every lefty who has a Republican Congressman or Senator, should demand that they take a public position repudiating Perry's threat of secession.
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