Posted on 07/30/2011 1:04:11 PM PDT by freespirited
Gov. Rick Perry, a no-apologies conservative known for slashing government spending and opposing all tax increases, is about as Republican as you can get.
But that wasn’t always the case.
Perry spent his first six years in politics as a Democrat, in a somewhat forgotten history that is sure to be revived and scrutinized by Republican opponents if he decides to run for president.
A raging liberal he was not. Elected to represent a slice of rural West Texas in the state House of Representatives in 1984, Perry, a young rancher and cotton farmer, gained an early reputation as a fiscal conservative. He was one of a handful of freshman “pit bulls,” so named because they sat in the lower pit of the House Appropriations Committee, where they fought to keep spending low.
But Perry cast some votes and took a few stands that seem to be at odds with the fiscal conservatism he champions today. The most vivid example is Perry’s support of the $5.7 billion tax hike in 1987, signed by Republican Gov. Bill Clements but opposed by most of the GOP members...
Almost a quarter century later, Perry, as governor, was faced with a similarly sized budget shortfall. But he took a markedly different tack in 2011: He opposed any new taxes, and signed a budget that made the first reduction in overall spending on public education since at least 1949.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.chron.com ...
It's more the perception than anything else.
In 1992, Clinton and Gore were able to carry 4 Southern states and all the old "Border states." By 2000 Gore had lost all of them.
While he wasn't a conservative Southern Democrat of the old school, he also wasn't quite what he became in later years.
Al Gore registered pro-abortion votes during the '80s.
If so, it was after he caught the presidential bug. Gore's record up to 1984 was more pro-life than pro-abortion.
I don't disagree with you guys. I just don't like how quickly everything degenerates into abuse. Can we disagree with someone like Perry and still recognize his positive qualities and achievements?
What was the name of the closest little town where your Dad grew up?
I’m not sure. The name “High” comes to mind, does that ring a bell? I looked at a map, and I remember Roxton, but that is further south. they lived along the highway there. For some reason I can’t remember the name of the little town a couple of miles away.
Just looked at a google map and there is a “High” listed on old hwy 56....but there are so many little wide spots in the road scattered around that it’s hard to keep up with all of them...it now has been bypassed by Rte 82.... I live just west of Bonham.. I expect their mailing address was Honey Grove...”The sweetest little town in Texas”!
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
their farm was just south of the highway and to the left of the county road.
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