The Case Against Rick Perry

               

            There has been quite a bit of buzz about a potential Rick Perry candidacy for President in 2012 the past few weeks.  A number of pundits in conservative circles are plenty “jacked up” with the idea including none other than El-Rushbo himself.  If for no other reason than because Little Ricky is governor of the only state in the union that has actually created jobs during the current economic downturn.  They seem to feel that the economy is the best stick to beat Obama over the head with during the upcoming presidential election campaign.  The problem is that these folks are failing to look very closely at their newly anointed “deliverer” and his past record.

                As a resident of the great state of Texas I have had a front row seat to the rule of “Rino Rick” for ten years now.   And for me it has been a classic love/hate relationship.  Mostly hate.  You see, Rick is a pure political animal.  Everything he does or says is calculated for political impact.  His values seem to change depending on who he is currently trying to seek favor with.  Most folks in this state will tell you that Mr. Perry is a really staunch conservative and states rights guy……. During a primary election season.  In fact to listen to him during those times Thomas Jefferson himself would be inspired to shout “HELL YEAH, YOU GO BOY”.  But as most Texas residents have discovered, that Rick Perry only shows up for a little while when facing real conservatives and libertarians for the nomination of the GOP for the governorship.  The rest of the time his squishyness level goes up by a factor of ten.  Here is a short list of reasons to question the choice of Rick Perry as our candidate.

                First of all Rick Perry was a democrat until 1990.  I know, I know, so was Ronald Reagan right.  Well let me explain something for you.  Being a democrat in 1950 and being a democrat in 1990 are two very different things.  Through the 60’s and 70’s the democrat party (I refuse to use the term Democratic party) moved very far to the left.  To almost pure socialism and in some cases communism.  In fact old Ricky was Al Gore’s Texas campaign manager in 1988.  I am still looking for some quotes from him on Ronald Reagan and his presidency during that time.  His job would have almost required him to be critical of Reagan and his policies over  the previous eight years.  Once produced, his candidacy is finished.

Rick signed an executive order mandating that all school girls entering the sixth grade be injected with a drug called Gardasil.   This drug is intended to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.  Parents would have no choice in this matter, it would have been law by executive order.  Does that sound like a conservative to you?  Public outcry was deafening and both houses of the Texas legislature voted to overrule the executive order that Perry refused to resend.  Not a good thing to have on your resume if you are asking to get the job of defender of the constitution.

Let’s talk about illegal immigration.  Rick has not exactly been  inspiring on that issue either.  After the state of Arizona passed it’s landmark legislation on border enforcement, when asked if he backed a similar law for our state, Rick said “It’s not for Texas”. 

 

He also has pushed hard for something called the Trans-Texas corridor.  Basically, this law would use eminent domain to steal a mile wide swath of Texas land from the rightful owners to make a superhighway and railway from Mexico to Oklahoma.  Under this plan that land would be deeded over to a private Spanish company to build the roads and charge the tolls.  Persons leaving Mexico would not have to go through any checkpoint or customs until they get to Kansas.  They would be free to exit the highway at any point along the way and put down roots.  This is not just open borders.  It is a huge welcome sign to terrorists, drug cartels and dregs of society to come in and do as they will.  He has pushed this plan consistently for ten years and renamed the plan several times thinking that a new shade of lipstick would make this pig look a little more desirable.

Rick Perry also backed and signed hate crime legislation in Texas.  Name any national so-called conservative that backs that kind of law and you would automatically consider them a RINO.  I mean this is Olympia Snowe type territory folks.

Perry is a big government guy.  Spending in the state of Texas has ballooned over the past ten years from 49 billion to 90 billion.  In fact the debt to GDP ratio in Texas is 22.9%.  The land of fruits and nuts, also known as California, which everyone knows is a financial basket case only has a debt to GDP ratio of 18.7%.  So if you are looking for that president that is going to submit budgets that slash government spending, you better keep looking.

Perry is fond of saying that he has not raised taxes in Texas.  This is an outright lie.  He has by executive order or by signing legislation raised almost every single fee or tax that Texas has.  When pressed on this issue he states “Well, we still don’t have an income tax in Texas”. 

So obviously Rick Perry’s conservative credentials are in question.   Now lets talk about electability.  I have often stated lately that I think Rick Perry is too closely tied to George Bush.  He served as Bush’s  lieutenant governor and was his pick to succeed him as governor of the state.  No doubt the Obama campaign will revert to running against Bush again and be able to make the logical argument that Perry is just Bush number two.  I am not really sure the country is ready for another Texan to occupy the White House, so this may prove to be an effective strategy on Obama’s part.

Perry is not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.  His debate performances during gubernatorial races show that he is not the greatest orator or very quick on his feet.  My fear is that even the teleprompter reading Obama might make mincemeat out of him during the debates.

While I personally like this, I expect the opposition to make hay over the “Adios Mo Fo” debacle.  After a particularly tough interview by a lefty reporter when he got up to leave and Perry thought his mic was off, he came up with this salutation.  (I would love to hear some of the national media get the same though)

There is also a dashcam video floating around out there (I have seen it but can’t seem to find it now) of Perry when he was Lieutenant Governor and his driver was pulled over by a state trooper.  Perry got out and started throwing his weight around and said to the officer “Why don’t you just let us get down the road”.  Expect that video to make an appearance during the campaign as well.

In summation, it is quite obvious why in a poll conducted June 17^th, only 9% of Texas voters say they support Rick Perry for President.  The reason is simple,  we know him.  If you like him, you must have loved Arlen Specter.

UPDATE


Thanks to the lovely and talented Mrs. Alamo, here is the clip of Rick Perry's traffic stop.