I'm sorry. I really don't want this site to be too political. However I have lived in Texas for fourteen years. As an educator I have seen firsthand how Rick Perry has attempted to dismantle public education in favor of private school vouchers. So many people outside of Texas are ignorant of his record. They are simply impressed by his fiery speeches and good hair. But here are several facts you should know about Rick Perry. These are not simply my interpretations or opinions. These are facts...
1.) Perry wants to repeal the 17th Amendment which calls for the direct election of senators. He believes the federal government had no right to take that power away from the state legislatures.
2.) Perry pushed for a new trans-Texas corridor highway to be built and run by a Spanish company that he was invested in. He was going to force people to give up their private property to make new right of ways for this multi-billion project in which he was personally invested in financially.
3.) Perry ran Al Gore's presidential campaign in Texas in 1988. AL GORE!
4.) Perry has raised taxes twice since being in office.
5.) Perry is in favor or eliminating the federal income tax.
6.) Perry is in favor of eliminating public education in favor of private education. He believes that universal education is not something the government should be involved with.
7.) Perry publicy supported Hillary Clinton's health care plan in the 1990's...while he was a Republican.
8.) Perry endorsed Rudolph Gulliani, a pro-choice, pro-gay marriage Republican candidate for president in 2008.
9.) Perry pushed for federal bailout and stimulus funds.
10.) Perry supported welfare for illegal immigrants.
11.) Perry believed that the children of illegal immigrants should be allowed to enroll in state universities and set up a roadmap for graduates to attain full citizenship.
12.) Perry tried to force 12 year old girls to be vaccinated against the HPV virus by executive order.
13.) State debt in Texas has doubled since he became governor.
14.) Texas now has 25 billion dollar budget shortfall.
15.) Perry is cutting 4 billion dollars in education funding for the next two years...including 3 million dollars for my own school district.
16.) Perry pushed for a law allowing concealed handguns on college campuses (he made the initial statement one month after the Virginia Tech massacre).
Some of these positions I actually agree with (see 9, 10 and 11). But my point is that he's not an authentic Tea Partier. He's a hypocrite. He decried the second bailout as federal overreach but accepted the funds nonetheless. He incorrectly stated that Texas retains the right to secede ( a matter that was settled once and for all by the Civil War ). He simply follows the political winds. And if you ever saw the video of him cussing out a highway patrolman for giving him a speeding ticket you would never vote for the man. The only reason he has been elected and re-elected is because there has been no viable alternative on the Texas ballots. The Democratic Party in Texas is a joke. Perry takes vacations to the Bahamas on the taxpayer dime. Suddenly he's talking about being a Methodist. But his foul language and actions seem to belie his words.
And what does it mean when the governor prays for rain yet we get nothing but fire in Texas. Please Please...vote for ANYONE...ANYONE (even that loon Bachmann would be a better choice) than Rick Perry!
