I really don’t like this guy (he’s my governor)...so I’ll keep posting essentially the same thing:
It’s a bummer. Perry has been very effective in KILLING the more conservative stuff before it gets to his desk, by using surrogates in the state legislature. In fact, he allowed a liberal to run the State House, even though we have a greater-than two to one majority over there...he could have pressed for a more representative leader...but didn’t seem to be interested.
Give the Republican majority in our State House and Senate, we should have turned this state into a right-wing utopia by now...but a certain governor did not really have that as an objective - rather he more wanted to sign a few token token pieces of legislation and be able to say the big stuff (like Arizona-type immigration laws, taking on the unions, taking on Big Education, for example) never made it to his desk...just conveniently died in the legislature...
Mine, too. And I'll take a crack at why you don't like him.
Rick Perry is a consummate politician. He will do what he needs to do to get elected. And, otherwise, he's not going to upset any applecarts.
The man doesn't have an ideological bone in his body. He governs conservatively only because Texas is a conservative state. He will avoid controversy like it is a rattlesnake.
All of this makes him a serviceable governor in a conservative state. It would make him a fatally weak leader at a time when we need a president with rock-solid conservative principles that is unafraid of controversy.
It’s a bummer. Perry has been very effective in KILLING the more conservative stuff before it gets to his desk, by using surrogates in the state legislature. In fact, he allowed a liberal to run the State House, even though we have a greater-than two to one majority over there...he could have pressed for a more representative leader...but didn’t seem to be interested.
Give the Republican majority in our State House and Senate, we should have turned this state into a right-wing utopia by now...but a certain governor did not really have that as an objective - rather he more wanted to sign a few token token pieces of legislation and be able to say the big stuff (like Arizona-type immigration laws, taking on the unions, taking on Big Education, for example) never made it to his desk...just conveniently died in the legislature...
Thanks for your comments. I saw Governor Perry on Greta the other night and did like what he said. However, I want to learn more about Governor Perry. I heard Rush seems to favor him, and Rush made the comment that the GOP elite “inside the beltway” Republicans don't like Perry. That just made me want to hear more from Texas Freepers about how they feel about Rick Perry running for President.
Doing a Texas Freeper Ping to see more comments from Texans.
As always, if you wish to be off my Texas Freeper ping list, just let me know through FreepMail. Thanks!
Thanks Bob, I’ve just in the last couple of days starting paying attention to the Perry chatter. One thing that really stands out is the number of Texas freepers who don’t like him, I mean REALLY DON’T LIKE HIM.
What if the other choice is Romney?
Dang, when folks could not see the choice was McCain or Romney, we ended up with McCain. As much as I hate Romney now, I loved him compared to McCain.
It is not that clear yet, but when it comes down to two names, don’t be wishing for some Huckabee. Either bite down & swallow the medicine, or go all the way... third party. All the way to nowhere.
The only good thing that would come from electing perry to the presidency is that it would get him out of the Texas government.
I really don’t think he’ll fly nationally as a candidate either. Not sure why he’s the flavor of the week.
And, given that the cost of medical treatment for illegals pretty much caused the closings of a lot of more rural health clinics...Texans outside the big metro areas have paid a big price for Goodhair to cater to his open borders patrons.
I can not percieve any circumstance in which I would even consider voting for him in a national election.
Did Perry lobby behind the scenes for Joe Straus to continue to be the Speaker of the House? I'm serious -- I do not know if he did or not. The House members themselves vote on who is the Speaker. Perry can't veto their decision on Speaker.
Texas has a weak governor system instituted many, many years ago. From Link 1, paragraph breaks mine:
Due to perceived abuses during Reconstruction by Governor E.J. Davis, the Texas Constitution provides for a weak governor with little formal power. The governor had a two-year term until the constitution was amended in the 1970s, changing the term to four years. There is no limit on the number of terms a governor can serve.
The governor's appointive and executive powers are limited by the plural executive, which forces the governor to share the running of the executive branch with independently elected department and agency heads. Unlike the president and governors in some states, the Texas governor has very limited removal powers. The governor has very little budgetary power in the formation, development, and execution stages. However, the governor's item veto powers over the state budget can have an impact on the final budget signed into law.
It is in the legislative area that the Texas governor possesses the most significant powers. The governor's veto is rarely overridden due to the short biennial legislative session, and the governor does have the power to set the agenda for any special sessions. Both of these powers can be used as bargaining tools.
Because of a misuse of the pardon power by Governor Miriam Ferguson, the governor's judicial powers are limited today. Comparing the Texas governor to the other 49 on four indexes of power--tenure of office, appointive powers, budgetary powers, and veto powers, finds that Texas governor is comparatively weak in formal powers. Only in the areas of tenure and veto authority does the Texas governor rank strong.
As a result of the few formal powers, the informal powers determine how successful the Texas governor is. The governor's lack of formal power makes the job of governing Texas--a large, diverse, economically important state--extremely challenging. Although current and future problems seem to cry out for stronger and more effective leadership from the governor's mansion, the traditionalistic/individualistic political culture of the state makes it unlikely that the necessary changes will be made to significantly increase the powers of the Texas governor.
Let's look at some news items about Perry.
Here is an article (from the anti-Perry Houston Chronicle no less) where Perry makes statements against what Straus is endorsing re the state budget: Link 2. Perry is advocating for less use of the rainy day fund than what Straus did. The article basically says that Perry's statements left the House leadership "no cover" and earlier that he had lobbied against using so much of the rainy day fund to cover budget shortfalls as the legislature proposed.
Here is a 2011 Perry speech against sanctuary cities: Link 3.
My impression is that Perry talks conservative (necessary to be elected in Texas and maybe if he wanted to be considered for president on the Republican ticket) but doesn't always follow through. If he were elected president, I would expect more of the same behavior. However, I don't think Perry would be as bad as Bush in that regard. W disappointed me greatly by not vetoing McCain-Feingold, not vetoing budget busting spending, advocating tax cuts that greatly expanded the number of people who don't pay income tax (very dangerous to the future of the country).
Perry is a political opportunist, but in any event would be a great improvement over Obama. Who wouldn't be?
Why do I keep getting the feeling that deep in the bowels of the RINO bunker, the real plan is to run Willard Romney as a stalking-horse for Rick Perry? Could it be that they will keep propping up Willard until the last minute, then pretend to select Perry as a “concession” to the conservatives and tea party people? Inquiring minds want to know...