Posted on 07/10/2011 3:47:00 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
If Rick Perry does mount a successful bid for the U.S. presidency, it will be interesting to see whether he can translate his past and present criticisms of the federal government into concrete changes to the sprawling bureaucracy.
Perry has yet to say he will or won’t toss his hat into the Republican race for the right to square off against President Barack Obama in 2012. He is, however, making all the moves of a potential candidate testing the waters. Insiders are mixed on the odds. Some say he’s definitely in; others put the odds at 50-50.
But the mere possibility the longest-serving Texas governor will join a party battle featuring hopefuls who conservatives and the tea party are not particularly excited about has pundits of all stripes from coast to coast offering their views of how a Perry candidacy would play out.
Perry, who’s never lost an election, has a good chance of rising quickly to the frontrunner position against Mitt Romney, Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain, Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman. His unabashed conservative message puts him at or beyond Bachman’s position on the far right end of the political spectrum. His executive experience compares well to Romney, Pawlenty and Huntsman.
And, like him or not, there’s little denying Perry knows how to campaign, raise money and deliver rousing speeches.
While polls show Obama in danger of losing to a generic Republican candidate — and the prevailing wisdom in the punditry sphere is the 2012 race is the GOP’s to lose, there is a real question whether a candidate who energizes the conservative base can do so without having his or her far-right stances turn off center-right independents, pushing them into Obama’s column.
But should Perry manage to keep his perfect election record intact and find himself in the White House, we’ll find out whether his Washington walk matches his Texas talk.
Assuming the GOP holds its House majority and gains control of the Senate, we can imagine Perry’s to-do list starting with the repeal of Obamacare and ending with a full makeover of the Environmental Protection Agency. In between, he’d likely put a host of agencies to work shredding scores of regulations he’s railed against. He’d also likely push Congress to end or redesign a variety of federal programs he views as overreaches in violation of state rights laid out in the Tenth Amendment.
Perry’s real test would be border security. He’s decried the federal government’s failure to secure the border, but the problem has stymied presidents from both parties for decades. Perry might be able the change that, but the odds are he’d merely find himself transformed from the critic to the criticized.
While some pundits question whether voters will back another Texas governor so soon after George W. Bush’s divisive two terms at the helm, others see Perry as a different sort of conservative. Unlike “compassionate conservative” Bush, some see Perry as more like Ronald Reagan.
But unlike the easy-going, grandfatherly Gipper, Perry is more like the Texas A&M yell leader he once was.
“Our loudest opponents on the left are never going to like us, so let’s stop trying to curry favor with them,” he said in a recent speech.
We’ve agreed with Perry, and we’ve disagreed with him. He’s certainly not perfect, but no candidate is. But if sending Perry to Washington would balance the budget, address the debt and rein in over-regulation, it would be a welcome change from the current state of affairs.
I listened. He states that his only goal was to clear up congestion within Texas, talking about how long it took to get between metropolitan areas mostly mentioning Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. He said that "Texas is building highways" and did not acknowledge any of the issues surrounding the TTC. He disingenuously (IMO) states that his efforts have only been about companies moving product from Texas "to where they will sell their product," at which point he mentions Mexico, Houston, and Corpus Christie. No mention of massive toll roads. No mention of the public private partnerships. No mention of Cintra and other interests. No mention of Nasco or Nafta, or long term objectives.
What do you think he accomplished in that interview?
We also weren’t too happy about him using executive fiat, having to be among the first users (just a bit after Los Angeles), and having revolving-door links to the company involved.
...and the opt-out provision was a big-deal and he should have WANTED it fixed. As I’m sure you know, the drug was required just like any other for kids going to school and the only way to opt out, for any vaccine, was to swear that your religion prohibited the use of vaccines...something conservatives would rather not have to do.
But in the end, we’re simply PERPLEXED. Why the hurry? And given the dozens of deaths from the drug, perhaps he should have taken a bit more time, and brought the public along, in some way.
I don’t understand your problem with a toll road?
I pay tolls in Houston. I get where I want to go.
I pay tolls in other states to get where I want to go.
How do you expect these new roads to get built?
With Obama’s stash?
The toll road through Texas is a Gateway project that was being promoted by Kaye Bailey Hutchison.
Not all Gateway projects are bad, but the connection to the Agenda 21 Wildlands project makes them all suspect.
In this case it looks as though it might not be such a bad idea, but only if the local people want the road, not if it is to benefit THROUGH Texas traffic rather than intra-Texas traffic.
No mention of that anywhere is there?
So because we’re near Mexico we’re not allowed to build road infrastructure! Really!
25, 000,000 people live in Texas. Have you witnessed the dead stop back-up on major Texas freeways as people were fleeing the coast and approaching hurricanes?
Dallas to Austin – 4 hour drive (takes longer than pre interstate days due to congestion)
As Gov. Perry stated, Texas needs a bigger interstate highway footprint; we need more lane highways between major cities.
Houston’s Port ranks with New York and Los Angeles ports. We need to be able to move products and people.
I added a bit in Post # 105.
You want me to think you're a doofus, then you come in here with this circuitous route trying to trick me. (laughing) You're good out there, Kendall. You're good, and it mighta worked with another host. My congratulations to you. It's a good effort. I like your technique out there. Pull the other one
In the grand scheme of things you should research donations made to political action committees (PACs) and direct contributions that companies like Merck make to ALL politicians. That’s what lobbyists do. They prowl the halls of government buildings across the country. (Where do you think Barack Obama’s $1Billion is coming from, the poor?)
Lobbyists start out in government—where they build up their rolodex. Then they move on to represent businesses who know it is required that they come hat in hand to pay tribute to the legislators who will be passing or not passing legislation that will be levying taxes and regulations upon them.
It is the nature of the beast — why we need to have elected officials spend less time on the job and go home to work a real job. The Texas legislature meets every 2 years for 140 days (additional days if special sessions are called).
Rick Perry’s platform in brief:
1. Don’t spend all the money.
2. Have fair and predictable tax and regulatory policy.
3. A legal system that doesn’t allow for over suing (lawsuit abuse) and make loser pay (no more jackpot justice).
With that as Rick Perry’s platform and political ideology, I conclude that Merck contributed to Rick Perry’s PAC to have less government entanglement in their business, which would do considerably more for their bottom line than what you are suggesting.
That’s what I mean about the Gateways not being all bad. The bad part comes in when they limit access to the highways by not adding local access in more rural along the route, which would be the true goal of the Wildlands Gateways, to limit access to rural areas.
“Texas is the only state where Merck hired the Governor’s former chief of staff and friend to be a lobbyist. “
That’s what worries us. Any normally corrupt politician would still have enough common sense to not get bought out by something that goes TOTALLY AGAINST his purported ideology - so when Perry was ready to sell control of our highways to private companies for unrestrained tolling, we understood that)...just the symptoms of a typical corrupt politician (since one can claim that allowing private companies to charge people 30 cents per mile to drive is some form of capitalism, weird capitalism, but still capitalism).
But when Perry bucks conservatives to this extent (as in the case of Gardasil) just because he’s easy to buy - that gets VERY SCARY. At least most corrupt politicians still try to maintain a semblance of ideology, as that usually works in their favor, over the long term.
You're a typical dirty tricks campaigner.
You're "confused?"
No, you're trying to confuse.
Rick Perry was a conservative Democrat and Al Gore was a different Democrat in 1988.
Rick Perry and Al Gore took different paths.
I hope that helps your "confusion."
Go ask Tipper about Al Gore. I imagine she could fill you in on Al.
“You should be a lot more confused about Perry supporting a pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, and pro-gun control Presidential candidate in 2008 than supporting Gore in 1988.”
I agree. Gore doesn’t confuse me - Perry was a Democrat and he wanted a second coming of Jimmy Carter - clearly. The real question there is whether a person can change that much in ideology as an adult. I don’t think so...but we may find out.
Giuliani can be explained by the above paragraph...perhaps he hasn’t become as conservative as all would like him to be (or that he wants us to believe). 2008 was a really weak field, but still...
I think you’re the one that’s confused. I’m willing to cut Perry some slack on 1988 - as you said, he was a conservative democrat as was Al Gore and I completely concede that. But in 2007-2008, I can’t cut Perry too much slack - he supported a pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, and pro-gun control candidate for President, and he did so because that candidate was trying to help him get his corridor built. It’s also why my wife will never support Perry - she’s far more concerned about abortion than I am and she will not forgive Perry for campaigning for a pro-abortion candidate.
:)
I hear you. It really seems that Perry is convinced that he’s bullet-proof. Considering that Obama even wants him to run (aka, that death penalty thing this week), there must be some weaknesses in his armor.
“I don’t know that Perry wanted another Jimmy Carter. Texas was still a Democratic state when Perry entered politics, and Perry has always been a climber and an opportunist. “
On this it really doesn’t matter what Perry wanted...if Al Gore had won in 1988, with the huge Democrat majorities, this whole Obama socialism would be 20 years further down the road. I got to live out much of my adult life in a still relatively free country...but not if Perry had gotten his way.
I’m not planning to support Slick Perry.
I find it interesting that you chose to pick out one comment of my post, stating only that Perry didn't mention the issue of tollroads, to question why I had a problem with them while at the same time ignoring the other comments and the direct question to you. Regardless, here goes:
Roads can get built the way they always have - floating bonds, tax money, etc. T This push for toll-roads, run by foreign interests, is a relatively new phenomena. The "public private partnerships" being used are nothing more than state sanctioned monopolies, often referred to as soft fascism. Governors have gone along with these schemes because they are offered big cash advances that help erase their deficits and cover up fiscal mismanagement. How many highways have been converted to toll-roads in the past decade? Highways that were already paid for by taxpayer money; highways that were supposed to be maintained and expanded using additional "gas taxes" imposed on the citizens. Instead, those existing dollars have been squandered on other government programs leaving the well dry for transportation. In essence, toll roads and PPPs are being used to raid state assets, increase the size of government, and enrich foreign interests like Cintra and McQuarie. If you have no problem with that, so be it. But it cannot be ignored.
Forgive me. I had thought you wanted comments on Perry's interview and to carry on an adult-like conversation.
I can see by dishonesty of the above comment that you had no such intention.
I'll leave you to spin your propaganda, alone.
I suggest you do a bit more research on that. Houston does not come near the ranks of L.A. ports (about 12 million container capacity) or N.Y. (about 5 million capacity). Houston (less than 2 million) is closer to that of Savannah or Charleston or Oakland, but smaller.
They do want to expand to take advantage of the Panama Canal expansion so Walmart can import even more cheaply. But that is some years away.
Oops - typo. That was supposed to be 15 million.
I just pinged you because of the TTC discussion on Hedgecock’s radio interview with Perry. The interview was a whole new spin, I think.
The Port of Houston
The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located just a few hours’ sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. The port is ranked first in the United States in foreign waterborne tonnage (14 consecutive years); first in U.S. imports (19 consecutive years); second in U.S. export tonnage and second in the U.S. in total tonnage (19 consecutive years).
The Port of Houston is made up of the Port of Houston Authority and the 150-plus private industrial companies along the Houston Ship Channel. All together, the port authority and its neighbors along the ship channel are a large and vibrant component of the regional economy.
More than 220 million tons of cargo moved through the Port of Houston in 2009. More than 7,700 vessel calls were recorded at the Port of Houston during the year 2009. The Houston Pilots navigate each vessel through the Houston Ship Channel.
The Port of Houston has an impressive listing of firsts, from unloading the world’s first container ship to becoming the country’s first port to receive ISO 14001 compliance.
The Houston Ship Channel
The Houston Ship Channel has been a catalyst for growth in Harris County since the first journey of a steamship up Buffalo Bayou in 1837. The ship channel plays a critical role in today’s community as well. It generates jobs and opportunities that allow businesses to flourish.
A 2007 study by Martin Associates says ship channel-related businesses contribute to more than 785,000 jobs throughout Texas while generating nearly $118 billion of statewide economic impact. Additionally, more than $3.7 billion in state and local tax revenues are generated by business activities related to the port. It is projected that the Port of Houston will continue to be an important factor as north-south trade expands.
2008 Port of Houston Ranking:
• 1st in the U.S. in foreign tonnage for 13 consecutive years;
• 1st in imports for 18 consecutive years and
• 2nd in U.S. in total tonnage for 18 consecutive years;
• 7th largest U.S. Container port
http://www.portofhouston.com/geninfo/overview1.html
May 2, 2011 - The Best Cities For Jobs
..........”Once again the best places for jobs tended to be smaller communities where incremental improvements can have a relatively large impact. Eighteen of the top 20 cities on our list were either small (under 150,000 nonfarm jobs) or mid-sized areas (less than 450,000 jobs).
But no place displayed more vibrancy than Texas. The Lone Star State dominated the three size categories, with the No. 1 mid-sized city, El Paso (No. 3 overall, up 22 places from last year) and No.1 large metropolitan area Austin (No. 6 overall), joining Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood (the No. 1 small city) atop their respective lists.
Texas also produced three other of the top 10 smallest regions, including energy-dominated No. 4 Midland, which gained 41 places overall, and No. 10 Odessa, whose economy jumped a remarkable 57 places. It also added two other mid-size cities to its belt: No. 2 Corpus Christi and No. 4 McAllen-Edinburgh-Mission.
Whatever they are drinking in Texas, other states may want to imbibe. California–which boasted zero regions in the top 150–is a prime example. Indeed, a group of California officials, led by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, recently trekked to the Lone Star State to learn possible lessons about what drives job creation. Gov. Jerry Brown and others in California’s hierarchy may not be ready to listen, despite the fact that the city Brown formerly ran, Oakland, ranked absolute last, No. 65, among the big metros in our survey, two places behind perennial also-ran No. 63 Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.
One lesson that green-centric California may have trouble learning is that, however attractive the long-term promise of alternative energy, fossil fuels pay the bills and create strong economies, at least for now. Even outside of Texas, oil capitals did well across the board, not surprising given the surging price of gas. Our No. 2 small metro, Bismarck, N.D., which also No. 2 overall, is the emerging capital of the expanding Dakota energy belt. Also faring well are Alaska’s two oil-fire cities, Fairbanks (No. 10 on our small list) and Anchorage (No. 3 on the medium-sized list)....
http://blogs.forbes.com/joelkotkin/2011/05/02/the-best-cities-for-jobs/
July 6, 2011 - The Next Big Boom Towns In The U.S.
..........”Many of our top performers are not surprising. No. 1 Austin, Texas, and No. 2 Raleigh, N.C., have it all demographically: high rates of immigration and migration of educated workers and healthy increases in population and number of children. They are also economic superstars, with job-creation records among the best in the nation.
Perhaps less expected is the No. 3 ranking for Nashville, Tenn. The country music capital, with its low housing prices and pro-business environment, has experienced rapid growth in educated migrants, where it ranks an impressive fourth in terms of percentage growth. New ethnic groups, such as Latinos and Asians, have doubled in size over the past decade.
Two advantages Nashville and other rising Southern cities like No. 8 Charlotte, N.C., possess are a mild climate and smaller scale. Even with population growth, they do not suffer the persistent transportation bottlenecks that strangle the older growth hubs. At the same time, these cities are building the infrastructure — roads, cultural institutions and airports — critical to future growth. Charlotte’s bustling airport may never be as big as Atlanta’s Hartsfield, but it serves both major national and international routes.
Of course, Texas metropolitan areas feature prominently on our list of future boom towns, including No. 4 San Antonio, No. 5 Houston and No. 7 Dallas, which over the past years boasted the biggest jump in new jobs, over 83,000. Aided by relatively low housing prices and buoyant economies, these Lone Star cities have become major hubs for jobs and families.
And there’s more growth to come. With its strategically located airport, Dallas is emerging as the ideal place for corporate relocations. And Houston, with its burgeoning port and dominance of the world energy business, seems destined to become ever more influential in the coming decade. Both cities have emerged as major immigrant hubs, attracting on newcomers at a rate far higher than old immigrant hubs like Chicago, Boston and Seattle.”........
http://blogs.forbes.com/joelkotkin/2011/07/06/the-next-big-boom-towns-in-the-u-s/
I’m genuinely curious why you feel the need to constantly post feel-good stories about Texas that have nothing to do with Rick Perry. The conditions that exist for a favorable business client in Texas were created decades before Rick Perry ever entered politics, and in some cases before Rick Perry was even born.
If it even matters to you....
“Calcowgirl” and I were discussing the Port of Houston and the need in Texas for infrastructure to move goods and services.
Why are you coming in here to make comments to me for no other reason than to be annoying?
Sorry, I thought that was another attempt on your part to give Perry credit for something that had nothing to do with him. My apologies.
You didn’t have to ping me — I saw your post to BobL
Rick Perry really has you worried.
For you to take so much time trying to get your “talking points” on these Perry threads — even up to adding something after Post #100...when no one has written a comment to you....is truly telling about how unsure you are of your own candidate — that you feel it’s doing some good to try to cut Perry down.
Good luck with that.
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