Posted on 08/12/2011 6:56:23 AM PDT by Kaslin
Move over Mitt Romney. Rick Perry has a bigger problem to defend from his tenure as governor. Remember the NAFTA Superhighway project? It was to consist of a two-mile wide $184 billion transit system of toll roads, rail lines and utilities from the Texas-Mexico border all the way up to the Minnesota-Canadian border, to make it easier to ship foreign goods from China and other countries into North America. It became so unpopular in Texas that the Texas portion of it, called the Trans-Texas Corridor, was renamed and mostly disbanded a couple of years ago. Perry was the only gubernatorial candidate in 2006 of four major candidates who supported it. Even the Democratic candidate opposed it.
Perry’s campaign website lists the Trans-Texas Corridor as one of his accomplishments, “Rather than taking decades to expand these important corridors a little bit at a time, Governor Perry developed the Trans-Texas Corridor plan.”But is it something Perry really wants broadcast as an achievement? The Texas Republican Party’s 2010 platform includes a plank specifically opposing the Trans-Texas Corridor. Some of the opposition to the NAFTA Superhighway has been dismissed as conspiratorial, but loud objections also came from people concerned with border security and one million rural interests and farmers that stood to lose their land to eminent domain.
Construction of the Trans-Texas Corridor began in 2007. Perry received substantial campaign contributions from the companies expected to benefit from the construction, Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transport and Zachry Construction Company. Cintra is a Spanish-owned company that would own the toll roads. This arrangement has been accused of being a hidden tax payable to a foreign corporation. Zachry was selected by the Texas Department of Transportation to construct the Trans-Texas Corridor. Perry initially opposed efforts by the Texas legislature to impede the construction, vetoing several bills. As opposition increased, the legislature was finally able to repeal the section of the Transportation code dealing with the Trans-Texas Corridor and pass an eminent domain bill protecting property. The TTC-35 project, a privately built multi-lane toll road, railway and utility line network that was to run parallel to Interstate Highway 35, was canceled. Perry finally backed down in the 2010 Republican primary for governor running against Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and opposed construction of the TTC-35.
NAFTA and expanding free trade sounds good superficially. Unfortunately, it has turned out to be considerably less than free. New York Times best-selling author Jerome Corsi, known for orchestrating the Swift Boat ads targeting John Kerry, wrote a book exposing the NAFTA Superhighway in 2009 called “The Late Great USA: The Coming Merger with Mexico and Canada.” Corsi’s efforts, as well as exposure by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) and the website Corsi writes for, WorldNetDaily, may have contributed more to getting the Trans-Texas Corridor shut down than anything else.
Corsi explains in his book that the U.S. is at a disadvantage with “free trade” because unlike most of the world’s international trading countries, we do not charge a value added tax (VAT) to imported goods. This makes our products much more difficult to sell overseas, and other countries’ products much cheaper than ours. The price of union labor drives the costs up even more, making our own products less competitive here as well. This results in a trade imbalance leaving us heavily in debt to other countries, and part of the reason we have a debt ceiling crisis today.
With the economy currently in the tank and nine percent unemployment holding steady, the last thing Americans want is enabling China to sell us more products using cheap exploited labor. Corsi writes that the average age of a worker in a Chinese toy factor is between 12 and 15. The CANAMEX Corridor Coalition, a trade association that supports a transportation super corridor, reports that the average hourly manufacturing wage in the U.S. is $17.20. In Mexico it is $2.10, and in China and India it is $.25.
Furthermore, Corsi has put forth a compelling amount of information in his book showing how the plan to create a North American Union goes well beyond simple free trade agreements and purposely disguises efforts to subvert U.S. sovereignty to an entity that would operate much like the European Union.
Perry is hoping the NAFTA Superhighway quietly fades away. But has it really gone away? The controversial financing mechanism behind it that leases right-of-way to a private company – often Cintra – is still being used for freeways. That funding, known as Comprehensive Development Agreements, was recently used to build a toll road bypass to the Austin area, SH 130, considered part of the Trans-Texas Corridor. Trucks on Interstate 35 are still a big problem during rush hour in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, so eventually a separate road will need to be built for them similar to what the Trans-Texas Corridor called for. On July 6, the Obama administration struck a deal with Mexico to re-open access to the U.S. for certified Mexican truckers.
Perry already has a record that hurts him with voters concerned about illegal immigration. In April, he stated that he would not support a version of Arizona’s SB 1070 for Texas. In 2001, he signed a bill allowing the children of illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition at Texas universities. He opposes using E-Verify, the federal electronic system for verifying prospective workers’ immigration status.
Unlike Romney, Perry has not completely disavowed his controversial history as governor. Romney distanced himself from Mass-Care by promising that the first Executive Order he would sign upon becoming president would be a waiver to all 50 states from Obamacare. Perry, on the other hand, proudly lists Trans-Texas Corridor as one of his accomplishments on his website. The state of Texas, multiple factions within the Republican Party, and significant numbers of Democrats oppose the Trans-Texas Corridor. They are not going to sit back and risk repeating an “accomplishment” like this on a national scale. Former president George W. Bush, who was also a Texas governor, was one of the biggest proponents of the NAFTA Superhighway. Voters have the hindsight now to realize that the NAFTA Superhighway is the wrong direction for our country.
There is no such thing as a perfect candidate. I wish Freepers would lighten up on killing off their own candidates and go positive!!
Was I the first to remark that Rick Perry is an INTERNATIONALIST????????????????????????
He is NOT a Conservative and any so-called conservative who supports him is deluded.
Do your homework ........ don’t accept the Media Spin ...... don’t be Alinskyed into supporting a dhimmicrat disguised as a RINO.
In 2001, Texas became the first state in the country to pass an in-state tuition law. The law created a national movement. Many private universities also now award aid to illegal immigrant students.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20100314-Number-of-illegal-immigrants-getting-in-9925.ece
Study: 70% of Texas’ illegal immigrant families receive welfare In Texas, 54 percent of legal immigrants and 70 percent of illegal immigrants receive welfare assistance Texas showed 61 percent of households headed by an immigrant utilizing at least one program compared to the 42 percent of Texas natives on welfare.
Study: 70% of Texas’ illegal immigrant families receive welfare
http://newmediajournal.us/indx.php/item/1217
There are about 1000 anchor babies per month being churned out at Dallas Parkland Hospital...that’s just one Texas hospital. In Parkland Memorial Hospital Dallas, the second busiest maternity ward in the United States, 70% of the women giving birth were illegal aliens. That added up to 11,200 babies for which Medicaid kicked in 34.5 million dollars to deliver these babies, the feds another 9.5 million and Dallas taxpayers tossed in 31.3 million. The average illegal patient is 25 years and giving birth to her second anchor baby. Dallas Parkland Hospital 70% of the women giving birth were illegal aliens. Almost 1000 per month.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/parkland.asp
Perry actually said he supports this: “ Legislation authored by border legislators Pat Haggerty and Eddie Lucio establishes an important study that will look at the feasibility of bi-national health insurance. “
“This study recognizes that the Mexican and U.S. sides of the border compose one region, and we must address health care problems throughout that region.”
“That’s why I am also excited that Texas Secretary of State Henry Cuellar is working on an initiative that could extend the benefits of tele-medicine to individuals living on the Mexican side of the border.”
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/speech/10849
nice try, but it’s not going to work.
Perry will be our nominee.
Rick Perry’s background is a can of worms.
Trans Texas Corridor
Guardasil
Relatives as lobbyists
DREAM Act
Agreements and Pandering to Muslims
Budget (2001 Tx State was 49 B, 2010 was 90 B or almost 100% in < 10 years!!)
Perry ping!
This, and his related stance on illegal immigration and in-state tuition, are my main objections to Perry.
i remember that; i was living in austin at the time and we discussed this frequently here on free republic.
2005 Houston Chronicle pic depicting Perry sucking up to Obama's strongarm and voter fraud facilitators--ACORN.
Perry is depicted as an advocate for "affordable housing," and "lending law reform" (read sub-prime defaults).
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I guess back then Perry knew all about the$e (/snix):
<><> Dept of Housing and Urban Development: $8.2 million between 2003 and 2006; $1.6 million to ACORN affiliates.
<><> EPA $100,000 grant to ACORN in 2004 for a Louisiana Justice Project, which removed lead from the homes of low income families.
<><> Justice Dept grant in 2005 for a juvenile delinquency program.
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According to later research, 40% of ACORN's operations were found to be funded through numerous grants it receives from various governmental entities. ACORN also receives funding from a variety of tax-exempt private charitable organizations: the Bauman Family Foundation, George Soros' Open Society Institute, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and from corporate foundations, including JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Ben & Jerry's foundation, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, and Citigroup, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and tax-exempt foundations affiliated with the founder of UPS.
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Senate Finance Committee Study (led by Sen Charles Grassley)
ACORN comprises a mind-boggling 94 different affiliates, that amounts to "a big shell game," a biting Senate Finance Committee study shows.
The study, by the staff of Sen Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), reveals four ACORN charity groups give more than half their revenue to taxable entities that engage in "impermissible lobbying and political activity."
ACORN and it’s subsidiaries for decades have moved taxpayer money into their own pockets and into the left-wing Marxist machine.
Sen Charles Grassley's documents show leaders of ACORN community groups transferred several million dollars in charitable and government money-----meant for the poor---- to parts of the group that have political (and sometimes profit-making) missions.
Sen Grassley's documents indicate that ACORN's tax-exempt groups----along with its tangled web of allied organizations---- used more than half their charitable and public money in 2006 to pay other ACORN affiliates.
ACORN also appears to have been involved in improper use of pension funds ..... some of the founder Rathke's embezzlement was apparently taken from the pension fund using ACORN's American Express card.
This displacement of funding led to the creation of a complex repayment system in which accused embezzler Dale Rathke owed ACORN, and ACORN in turn, owed ABA, which, for its part, wrote off part of the money. (Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ........
” There is no such thing as a perfect candidate. I wish Freepers would lighten up on killing off their own candidates and go positive!!”
OK.....I POSITIVELY will not vote for Perry.
Does it get any more PROGRESSIVE than erasing our borders?
Perry has a Texas-sized credibility gap, as far as this conservative is concerned. RINO Ricky - a farce to be reckoned with.
That is a glaring statement on where this guy sees American sovereignty. I know we can go around the mulberry bush by caring all candidates do stupid things, but this one is a doozy.
Planning, talking, arguing, and fighting about the project began when I was in college - and Perry was probably in probably in diapers.
People have known we need a North/South highway that avoids that stink-hole called Austin for over 50 years. And all that has been done is talk. The Trans-Texas Corridor started out as a good idea (sometime in the mid ‘80s) and then got loaded up with every kind of crazy idea imaginable.
Perry thought too much time and money had already been spent and pushed to get it going. Personally I would have dumped it and started over. But I'm not going to criticize the guy for actually trying to get something done after hearing politicians TALK about it for most of my adult life.
We should all support John McCain again /s
This is why we got a nobody like Obama with no record to attack.
” ” There is no such thing as a perfect candidate”
That reasoning is what got us McCain, which gave us the Obammunist.
This would be a good issue for our enemies to push. Exposes a deep rift between isolationist conservatives and free trading conservatives.
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