“Rick switched, and I don’t know him anymore,” Stenholm said. “He recognized that if you were going to be ambitious on a statewide level, the GOP was the way to go in Texas.”
I'd hardly call this admiration, grudging, or otherwise. Stenholm is confirming what most of us already know. Perry is an untrustworthy opportunist who will do what is conveninet and expedient to advance his ambitions; not necessarily what's best for state/country.
If that's the part of the article you wish to highlight, you have helped the Dallas Morning News push the point that they fail to make with the rest of their article.
Charlie Stenholm lost his seat to redistricting. He lost by 18 percentage points in the November 2004 election. Now he's a D.C. lobbyiest.....“Rick is the governor who called three special sessions on redistricting to get rid of me and others,” Stenholm said. “They took my farm and my home out of my district.”
As Phil Gramm is accurately quoted in the same piece, “Rick didn’t lose anybody who was a real friend.”
Ricky has been called "the human price tag." He will sell himself to anyone---and will do and be whatever is necessary to climb the political ladder. He manages to stay in the 2012 race despite sinking to the bottom of the pack----b/c he has millions and millions of special interest dollars. Ricky can get millions more by making a few calls to Mexico and to his wealthy Islamic friends----who are hellbent on seeing Ricky in the WH.
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BACKSTORY Ricky has an odd unbroken string of elections---two-time AG commisioner, then Lt governor, then three-time governor. Candidate Perry makes sure he "looks" like the most conservative candidate.
Many Texans never caught onto his tricks----Perry talks "conservative" but when it comes time for the vote, he cues in his Big Money buddies to lobby against "conservative reforms." Trusting Texans never knew what him 'em---except that the "poor governor" was "betrayed" by the Republican controlled legislature.
He's doing poorly in the 2012 race b/c many many people outside Texas are onto him.