Free Republic

Texas’s attorney general wants the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a five-year fight over specialty Confederate flag license plates. The plates were sponsored five years ago last month by the Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a nonprofit group that describes itself as “neither political nor sectional” and “strives to honor and keep alive the memory of the Confederacy and the principles for which Confederates fought.” Supporters of such groups say they are simply celebrating those who fought for state’s rights, while critics say doing so ignores the involvement of those states in slavery. The specialty...

In Dallas at an Americans For Prosperity event, Heritage Foundation president and former-Sen. Jim DeMint put his thumb firmly on the scale for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over fellow Texan Gov. Rick Perry for the coming 2016 presidential contest. “I think Cruz even more than Perry right now,” DeMint told the Associated Press. “Ted has become really the national conservative leader.”(continued)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Two Texans, one White House. Is the 2016 Republican campaign trail big enough? After plummeting from prime contender to political punchline three years ago, Gov. Rick Perry is gearing up for a second run for president. And he's turned his recent indictment on felony abuse-of-power charges into a campaign rallying cry.

Indictments have consequences. Democrats are still smiling over the recent felony indictment of Rick Perry, even as the Governor’s legal team is taking steps in court to reveal the spurious nature of the charges.One consequence of the indictment, however, has thrown conservatives in Texas for a loop. Texas media began reporting last week that because of the charges against him, Governor Perry’s concealed carry license has been suspended by operation of law. §411.187 of the Texas Government Code states that the Department of Public Safety shall suspend (not revoke, as it has been reported) a concealed carry license if the...

Republican strategist and former John McCain consultant Steve Schmidt has joined the team helping Texas Gov. Rick Perry with the strategy around his indictment, POLITICO has learned. Schmidt is the latest addition to a team that Perry has been expanding with legal hands. The Republican governor, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, has been indicted for allegedly abusing his power by vetoing funding to the office of a Democratic prosecutor who wouldn’t resign after a drunken driving arrest. “We’re bringing in the best of the best to help us handle this … this is serious, we’ve got to handle it with...

What is the alternative to the rule of law? We may be on the verge of re-learning that ancient lesson the hard way. Of course, those of us who is served in places where there was no law, where leftists and other aspiring totalitarians ignored the rules and norms of civil society, already know. The alternative to the rule of law is the rule of power. And the rule of power is always the rule of men with guns. The disgraceful indictment of Rick Perry in Texas is just the latest example of this trend, albeit one that carries the...

This past week an Austin Grand Jury indicted Governor Rick Perry (R) for abuse of power. The offending act was his veto of the budget containing funds for the salary of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. Perry took this action when Lehmberg refused to resign after her arrest for drunk driving. In April 2013, Lehmberg was hauled in for DUI. Tests showed her blood alcohol level to be more than three times the legal limit. Lehmberg threatened the arresting officer and deputies at the sheriff's office with the loss of their jobs for deigning to interrupt her travels. Thinking...

Update, August 19: On ABC “World News with Diane Sawyer” on Aug. 18, Senior National Correspondent Jim Avila included a soundbite from Texans for Public Justice Director Craig McDonald in his story. McDonald was merely introduced as a “critic,” with no ideological label, and Avila never verbally said the name of his group. The Soros connection and the group’s involvement in Perry’s indictment charges were not addressed. NBC and CBS still have not mentioned the group. Sometimes it seems like there isn’t a single political issue that a Soros-funded group isn’t involved in. Texans for Public Justice, one of the...

Tuesday night the Houston Chronicle published a story about the grand jury that indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Those grand jurors who spoke with the Chronicle broke the law to do so, and they knew that they were breaking the law. They claimed that they were speaking to the newspaper to counter Gov. Perry’s “spin” on the case. That’s not the job of a grand jury, by the way. One of them is a woman named Rho Chalmers. Chalmers tried to get around her lawbreaking by attempting to build this wall of implausible deniability. Rho Chalmers, who name matches that...

We’re going to have to be the skunk at the party, the rain on the parade – again. Our mission necessitates – absolutely requires – that we raise issues certain politicians and some of their supporters don’t want raised. This will no doubt make some people angry, but we invite then to review the facts, which are a matter of public record. This is a time for clear-headed thinking – not lemming-like “over the cliff” emotion and reaction. While many have rushed to defend Governor Rick Perry on the surface matter of the indictment alone, we are compelled to talk...

With the news of Governor Perry’s indictment going viral, the Public Integrity Unit (PIU) of the Travis County District Attorney’s office is once again shaking up Texas politics, though more indirectly than it has in the past. The agency has been the bane of politicians for 30 years, and routinely comes under fire from Republicans for its supposed partisanship. How did this branch of municipal law enforcement in a deep sea-blue Democratic county come to carry such influence in a ruby-red state? Is it time, as many conservative say, to rein in the rogue outfit and place its duties somewhere...

For those of you who’ve been sleeping since it happened Friday, Travis County grand jurors indicted Perry on charges of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. The first count carries a possible prison term of five to 99 years. The second, two to 10. I’m no expert on law or math, but I believe those potential sentences each exceed one year. And there’s more. As an indictee, Perry’s state-issued Concealed Handgun License, assuming he still has one — his office didn’t know as of Tuesday afternoon — will be suspended until the case against him is...

Should the grand jury have been transparent or secretive --- concerning the evidence presented by the district attorney, etcetera? Once again, we have a Travis County grand jury indicting yet another high-profile Republican. One was Tom Delay (then House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005) and now presidential aspirant Rick Perry, governor of Texas. The evidence that is presented is under the discretion of the district/prosecuting attorney. This attorney has strong control over the process and the room itself, and there is no one present to provide counter argument(s), and, finally, there is no judge present. If you are a...

“We will continue to aggressively defend the governor’s lawful and constitutional action…”

Rick Perry booking photo:

Live stream after turning himself in.

I wrote this parody, sung to the tune of MTA by the Kingston Trio. Sing it yourself and enjoy, or better yet get some guitar pickers and singers and have a jam session. Rosemary Lehmberg song Let me tell you the story of Rosemary Lehmberg The Travis County DA Pulled over by the cops for driving drunk And they hauled that woman away Did she ever resign No she never resigned Though she got a DWI (She had vodka in her car) She will drive forever through the streets of Austin She's the drunk who wouldn't resign Well all night...

Seems like global-socialist Mac daddy George Soros has his evil paw in the sketchy Rick Perry indictment right from the start- the more you dig into these stories these days, the more poop you find. I used to hate conspiracy theory, but these days you can't be suspicious enough. And as you know, this 'Godfather of the Left' has got his tentacles in most every socio-political issue being debated in the United States today- it's unreal.  Now the Texans for Public Justice -one of the groups behind Rick Perry’s indictment charges- is part of a “progressive” coalition that has received $500,000 from hyper-liberal, hyper-rich...

Less than a week after Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) was indicted by a grand jury on two felony counts, he may be in an even stronger political position than he was before the charges hit. Several prominent Republicans have spoken out on Perry's behalf. Conservative activists in Iowa and New Hampshire aren't shying away. Even a well-known Democratic strategist has suggested the case against him may be flimsy. For a politician who is openly weighing another run for president, it's a welcome turn of events: While politicians embroiled in legal fights of this magnitude typically find few public allies,...

Drunk, Belligerent, Threatening Officers And Kicking The Door To Her Cell: The ugly video of Texas district attorney's DWI arrest that's behind Governor Rick Perry's indictment (Pics in URL) Rosemary Lehmberg, Austin's top prosecutor, was arrested for drunk driving in April 2013 and later pleaded guilty Video from her arrest and booking shows her being abusive toward officers and repeatedly demanding they call the sheriff Perry demanded Lehmberg step down after the arrest and said he would veto funding for her office, but Lehmberg refused Lehmberg ran a public corruption unit that pursued charges against Republicans Perry is charged with...