Rick Perry For President? Meet 24 Billionaires Who've Backed Him

Forbes ^ | July 20, 2011 | Clare O'Connor

[Clairity]

In a federal race like the presidency, each donor can only give $2,500 per candidate. However, there's nothing stopping powerful 'bundlers' from collecting checks from their rich friends. President Obama is already taking advantage of these super - donors: billionaire Democrats including Penny Pritzker and Marc Benioff have already raised hundreds of thousands for the reelection campaign. Perry must be hoping his past billionaire donors will do the same. Per Texas state disclosure records:

[editor-surveyor]

Crickets...

[af_vet_rr]

We’re in a time where more people care about who wins the American Idols show than Obama dragging us into a war with Libya. You should be worried.

[af_vet_rr]

Their ROI with Perry is the ability to be able to NOT have Obama take away their money and “redistribute” it.

Their ROI with Perry is an unwavering support of a guest worker program for many years - They were giving money to Perry years before anybody had ever heard of Obama.

There was a FReep thread discussing an open letter that some major Perry donors signed. That letter and article has mysteriously disappeared from the Dallas Morning News, but thankfully many people on the web, including FReepers, saved it, and saved the names of those who signed it.

Now that Forbes article that kicked off this thread, they seemed to be kind of selective, leaving off Bob Perry, along with Bo Pilgrim and a few others. Not surprising.

Who heads the top of Forbes' list though? Harold Simmons.

What does he have in common with Bo Pilgrim and Bob Perry, besides all three donating to Rick Perry. That letter I mentioned, the first three signers of that letter were Bo Pilgrim, Harold Simmons, and Bob Perry.

What is the full letter from that FR thread you might ask? Let me repost it:

Often, in the middle of a heated debate, people forget exactly what they're arguing about. But we employers on the front lines of American business cannot forget -- we know why the nation must come to grips with illegal immigration. We know that Americans must face up to the reality of the foreign workers we need to keep the economy growing and bring them under the rule of law, for their sake and ours.

We own and run a variety of businesses: agriculture, food processing, hospitality, construction, banking and more, mostly but not exclusively in Texas. And we know, if not firsthand, certainly at close reach, just how much the economy depends on immigrant labor.

It's not that Americans don't work hard. They do. But the native-born workforce is changing rapidly. In 1960, half of all American men dropped out of high school and looked for unskilled work; today, less than 10 percent do. Baby boomers are retiring. Fertility rates are declining. Yet every year, the economy creates hundreds of thousands of new jobs that require few if any skills, and in the next decade, we will be millions of workers short.

Not all employers mean well, of course. Some companies exploit illegal immigrants. But most who turn to foreign workers do so out of necessity. We aren't looking for "cheap labor." We're looking for available labor, period -- and for some businesses, the choice is to hire immigrants or close shop.

Think for a minute about one Texas sector that relies heavily on immigrant workers: construction. A typical Texas construction worker earns more than $50,000 a year if he regularly works overtime. Employers say they do everything they can to attract native-born workers. But few young Americans want to do hard physical labor, particularly in our climate. And in the less-skilled construction trades -- masonry, concrete, drywall, tile -- more than 80 percent of Texas' workforce is Latino.

Meanwhile, sectors like farming, which compete with construction and pay less, often can't find workers. Things have gotten so bad this year that one Rio Grande Valley farmer had to stand by and watch as $400,000 worth of cantaloupes rotted in the fields because he couldn't find workers to pick them.

These immigrant laborers aren't just the backbone of their companies; they're also the backbone of the regional economy. Out in the Rio Grande Valley, at least a dozen other local businesses -- from grocery stores to companies that supply fertilizer and farm machinery -- see their profits rise and fall with those of the local farm. And scores of native-born workers would be out of work if the farm closed or moved across the border.

As for construction, Dallas-area school systems alone underwent $750 million worth of construction this summer. According to industry executives, without foreign-born workers, few of those new or renovated classrooms would have been ready when school opened this month.

You hear the same story across the U.S. A relatively small number of foreign workers keeps millions of native-born Americans employed. This, in turn, keeps the economy growing, and we all share in the prosperity that results.

Not only that, but immigrant workers renew and reinvigorate America. They remind us what it's like to give a job your all. We talk about old-fashioned family values; they live them. And those of us who cherish our faith and love our country can only rejoice at their devotion to both.

Not only that, but immigrant workers renew and reinvigorate America. They remind us what it's like to give a job your all. We talk about old-fashioned family values; they live them. And those of us who cherish our faith and love our country can only rejoice at their devotion to both.

We understand that this will include workplace enforcement. In fact, we welcome reform that gives us the tools to stay on the right side of the law. The important thing is that this vital part of the economy be brought under the rule and protection of the law.

Neither the immigrants here today nor those we will need in the future should have to live in the shadows. These are good people with good values doing work that we need done, reaching for the American Dream and helping make it a reality for all. As we value the work, let us value the worker -- and let's fix the law so that it serves all Americans.


A year later, in mid-2007, Rick Perry was telling reporters that those illegal immigrants, I mean undocumented workers, were needed, quote "We need those individuals to continue to grow our economy" and that securing the border with fences or walls was "idiocy". That bit about growing the economy, Perry lifted that right out of his donors' letter, and that makes for a powerful argument, because after all, who are we to argue with something that grows our economy, right? It's also interesting to note that Perry says that people who are breaking the law should have the book thrown at them and yet he's against mass deportation.

If Perry's backers got their way, how many "guest workers" would come out of the woodwork looking for both jobs that Perry's backers say Americans can't or won't take, and jobs that many Americans would jump at?

And does anybody else wonder just how close to an open borders scenario a "guest worker" program like what Perry has talked about for years is? He wants a program where people can crossover and work without dealing with citizenship, implying that they would cross back over or go to their native countries at some point. Easy moving of workers who keep their national citizenship across our borders. It feels pretty open borders to me.

[Clairity]

You need to get to the bottom line:

Perry or Obama.

[af_vet_rr]

You need to get to the bottom line:

Perry or Obama.

Are you saying we should ignore all other candidates who aren't named Rick Perry?

If we reach the point where we are stuck with a Giuliani-supporting, illegal immigrant/guest worker supporting Rick Perry, we are screwed. Perry will get his guest worker program that he was so angry at Congress for rejecting - he's got allies in the Senate and I'm sure there are enough RINOs in the House to help the Dems pass it.

[SoConPubbie]

Bookmarked that sucker. Thanks for the great work.

Yes, thanks af_vet_rr.

[Clairity]

Obama is beating all Republican potential candidate by very healthy margins. (Perry is not included in the poll — but he is the only one who can go toe-to-toe with Obama on his record of job creation vs. Obama’s)

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/president_obama_vs_republican_candidates.html

[SoConPubbie]

Obama beats Palin with a larger margin than he beats anyone else. (Perry vs Obama was not polled)

Wake up to reality, otherwise we’ll end up with 4 more years of Obama.

With less than a year to the 1980 general election, after the primaries, Carter led Reagan by more than 30%.

You wake up to reality and learn a lesson from history, you do not have to settle for 2nd best because of a poll or so-called conventional wisdom. You fight for the best candidate until the primaries are over. You sound like an establishment type. Who are you really working for?

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

You need to get to the bottom line:

Perry or Obama.

Palin or Obama.

Fixed.

[wolfcreek]

Don’t give me the crap. Provide a link/source or STFU!

[GlockThe Vote]

I would vote for joran vandersloot over obama.

[isthisnickcool]

I was amazed that the person who wrote this piece did not even mention Houston Homebuilder Bob Perry. Bob has given Rick Perry MILLIONS and MILLIONS. Bob owns Rick. This was shown in the most recent legislative and special sessions on the sanctuary city issue.

Rick Perry has been and will be for sale. He has always been focused on getting cash in his pockets first. Whether it be from Bob, or Merck or behind the doors or down the road from the Spanish company ala TTC. That is Perry. He is a guy that has few skills that would make hime a dime outside politics. There is no way he would have been able to make the kinds of money he has in office outside of office. The guy just isn't that sharp.

What we have in Rick Perry is another human that has no regard for the money he controls. If you look at the Guardasil thing that alone would have cost the state millions. At the stroke of a pen? Via executive order going around the Texas voter, taxpayer, legislature?

The ONLY good thing about Rick Perry is that he is not Obama. The same was true when Perry ran for every re-election. He was the douche and the people that were running against him were t@rd sandwiches. So many of us held out nose and voted for the RINO.

Rick Perry is a politician. One in it for the power but mostly for the money. He and his wife live in high style. Or rather more precisely, they have been forced to. LOL!

Don't be fooled by his talk and his phony book. He is no conservative when it comes to handling our money. And also note that Perry has essentially sealed the financial records of all his activity when he travels. The Texas taxpayer pays for this and we should have access to the data.

Perry has been on the public dole too long and like many of these people no longer has a clue about real life and the struggle to make a buck. Hopefully we can elect someone that understands the concept of buy low, sell high, collect early and pay late. Someone that knows what they have in their pocket, what is going out of that pocket and what is coming in and is a maniac about protecting our money. That person is not Rick Perry. He is a lightweight RINO.

We cannot stand to have another spender in the White House. We cannot stand to have another person in the White House that has not been fully vetted by the American people. We need to know the next president inside and out. So if Perry does become a candidate people know what he is about.

[af_vet_rr]

Obama is beating all Republican potential candidate by very healthy margins. (Perry is not included in the poll — but he is the only one who can go toe-to-toe with Obama on his record of job creation vs. Obama’s)

Texas thrives because of it's natural resources, location, industries that were around for decades before Perry entered office, and many other factors.

But tell me something, when did it become the responsibility of the government to create jobs? I see this sentiment expressed quite often these days from conservatives, and it's rather confusing.

[LADY J]

"Thank you, thank you. Perry is NOT the man that America needs now. There is this woman from Alaska, though....."

From what I've discovered - Perry would make a great President - FOR MEXICO!!!

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/07/rick-perry-illegal-immigration_n_872872.html

Looky here! Perry has the Huffpost foaming at the mouth! (Must be because he is such a “rino”.

You must be one of those “Cherry Picking” spammers who leaves out as much positive information as possible, at all times.

[Sarabaracuda]

So you are saying the rich are evil???

[Sarabaracuda]

The fence is a waste of time and money. Perry is right.

[Sarabaracuda]

If Sarah endorses Rick will you change your tune?

[Sarabaracuda]

If Sarah endorses Rick will you change your tune?

[Sarabaracuda]

So you are saying you won’t vote for Perry?