Rick Perry: Rhinestone Cowboy

08/12/2011 | Brices Crossroads

[Brices Crossroads]

Rick Perry is rapidly becoming known as a politician who talks a good game, but whose actions belie his words. Last year, he waved the bloody shirt of secession, which horrified the New York Times...until they dug deeper and found that Perry wasn't just talking about seceding. He was aiming to hook up with Mexico in order to fulfill his "shared with [Mexican President] Vincente Fox for open borders." Seriously, though, Perry is becoming a caricature of himself. He first waved the tenth Amendment on gay marriage and abortion, first supporting the interpretations that states should be responsible for defining marriage and related issues, and in a flip-flop worthy of Mitt Romney, came out in favor of a federal constitutional amendment to ban both.

Perry's open borders positions tell us that he is not a conservative. His political pan-gyrations on gay marriage, abortion, and the Tenth Amendment suggest he is not reliable there either, but would trim his sails at the slightest pressure.

Well, he must be good on something. How would he handle judicial appointments, for example. Bear in mind that in Texas, in contrast to states such as Alaska (where a Commission presents the Governor with three choices from which he or she MUST select a Judge), the Texas Governor has pretty much unfettered control of the appointments process to fill judicial vacancies. In a conservative state like Texas, it would be easy to remake the courts in a conservative mold. In fact, it would almost follow de facto, since the appointed justices must face election state wide. No doubt Perry will try to take credit for the relatively conservative state of the Texas judiciary as he has done with the Texas economy when the relative health of both has been more in spite of, than because of, Rick Perry.

I have not done an exhaustive study of Perry's judicial appointments, although undoubtedly conservatives in Texas would have done so. I found one particular judicial appointment, the subsequent election, and Perry's reaction to it to be most instructive about his orientation toward strong judicial conservatives.

In 2001, one of Perry's first selections to succeed the staunchly conservative Greg Abbot (who had been elected Attorney General) was Xavier Rodriguez, a self-described moderate. In trying to move the Texas Supreme Court to the left, he drew the ire of conservatives in Texas. An up and coming young conservative, Steven Wayne Smith stepped forward to challenge Rodriguez. Smith, who was superbly qualified, had argued and won the landmark 1996 case of Hopwood v. Texas which successfully challenged affirmative action at the University of Texas Law School. In effect, he was a hero to conservatives in Texas and an anathema to the Establishment. The Establishment, including Perry and John Cornyn, no doubt detested Smith for dismantling affirmative action at the UT Law School. But when Smith stepped forward to challenge a self proclaimed moderate appointment of Perry, who happened to be Hispanic, that was the last straw. Perry and his cronies in the Establishment did all they could to stop Smith but he prevailed over Rodriguez easily and was in stalled as a justice of the Texas Supreme Court.

In 2004, Perry encouraged a challenger to run against Smith. The Establishment lined up with Cornyn and Perry on one side and the Texas Eagle Forum,Kent Hance and Ward Connerly on the other. This time the Establishment prevailed and Smith was defeated. He attempted a comeback in 2006, but Perry recruited another challenger, less conservative than Smith, and he lost by less than 1%.

Perry's actions, and his vindictive crusade against an up and coming conservative legal superstar, suggest that a Perry Presidency would be more likely to yield David Souters and Harriet Miers than Antonin Scalias and Clarence Thomases. When it comes to Rick Perry, the message to the Federalist Society and constitutional conservatives is caveat emptor.

[EternalVigilance]

I’ll boil it down for you: Perry is Huckabbe God-word frosting on Romney cake with Texas bravado candles.

A Republican Bill Clinton, minus the people skills, charm and the ability to fake sincerity.

[Mase]

And Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor. So what?

Who's your candidate at this point in the cycle? If it comes down to Perry or Obama, what would you do...go third party?.....stay at home?

[SoConPubbie]

And Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor. So what?

And how does that exonerate Perry for bad decision making and supporting a moderate over a conservative?

[Nervous Tick]

>> unabashed Palinite

Has anyone broke the news to them that Sarah Palin isn’t running?

[SoConPubbie]

Has anyone broke the news to them that Sarah Palin isn’t running?

Not yet, and still the question goes unanswered, what does any of this have to do with Perry's checkered history where judicial appointments are concerned?

[Springfield Reformer]

the Palinites have decided that bashing Perry is now their new mission instead of defending Palin

Nah, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. I think the real reason this is happeneing is because, well, this is just what happens when you run for president. People challenge your record. It's called vetting, its a good thing, and we needed to do a lot more of it than we did in 2008. Mea Culpa. Not gonna let it go this time. Perry's a big boy, and his followers can muster to his defense, and if it works it works. As for now, maybe I missed it, but I'm still waiting for the first pro-Perry post omn this thread to defend the actual charge laid in the article: Did Perry aid and abet the the leftification of the Texas Supreme Court, or did he not? What are the facts? Inquiring minds want to know....

[drypowder]

Bilderberger folks (One World Government advocates) come in all stripes but they're still Bilderberger folks. Someone needs to ask Mr. Perry, a simple rancher and state governor, what it is that made him worthy of getting invited to one of their meetings.

[deport]

SAN ANTONIO - In the 1850s, on the steps of the Waco courthouse, Wallace Jefferson’s great-great-great grandfather was sold. Today, Jefferson is chief justice of Texas’ Supreme Court. The governor who nominated him also nominated the state’s first Latina justice.

Rick Perry, 61, the longest-serving governor in Texas history and, in his 11th year, the nation’s senior governor, says these nominations are two of his proudest accomplishments.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/editorials-columns/national-columnists/perry-s-boots-cufflinks-1.1166588?localLinksEnabled=false#ixzz1UpufOBip

[Quickgun]

Mostly lies. All5 of the Perry badgers will be here shortly.

[wolfcreek]

Liar!

[ncalburt]

First , Seek mental help .

Tired old Rhino smear has been over used and useless now.

BUT Who are you working for/ astroturfing for ??????

[MestaMachine]

I didn’t dis perry. I asked if the story was true. I don’t know. I will research it, but I thought you guys would have some kind of answer since you jumped on here so fast to take personal shots at brices crossroads.
Is the Smith story true or not? That’s all. Zot your own self. That is ridiculous.
BTW, if and when I decide to dis Perry, you will darn sure know it, and it will be with facts, not innuendo, and it won’t be because he didn’t get his fair hearing either.
Everything that has been said about Perry, pro or con, I have done my own research on and I am still thinking on it. Now go and sin no more.

[wolfcreek]

If you had been keeping up, you would know there have been many refuting the *bucket carriers*

Truth is, this has been going on for some time now and it's getting seriously monotonous.

[Nervous Tick]

Why are you asking me?

[ncalburt]

Didn't you ASTROTURF NON STOP against Meg Whitman and Help Get Jerry Brown and the Dems take over Calif ???

Have you been directed to trash and attack Perry NOW ?

If your trashing him then Perry is a threat to the Dems power grip !

[MestaMachine]

Sarah is, at this moment, attending the Iowa State Fair. Maybe you should tell HER she isn’t running. Hmmm?

[GunRunner]

Perry has some answering to do on immigration, but this "open borders" quote is fast making the rounds for those looking to torpedo Perry before he gets in the race.

The full quote in context means something different altogether:

"President Fox’s vision for an open border is a vision I embrace, as long as we demonstrate the will to address the obstacles to it. An open border means poverty has given way to opportunity, and Mexico’s citizens do not feel compelled to cross the border to find that opportunity. It means we have addressed pollution concerns, made substantial progress in stopping the spread of disease, and rid our crossings of illicit drug smuggling activity. Clearly we have a long way to go in addressing those issues. " Wednesday, August 22, 2001

[Nervous Tick]

>> Sarah is, at this moment, attending the Iowa State Fair.

AWell, Sarah and 10,000 other people are attending the fair. Not sure what you can read into it.

Besides, she’s a political reporter and pundit. Where would you expect her to be?

[MestaMachine]

uh huh. ROFL

[deport]

Analysis: “No question, Perry is shaking up the race”

The Texas governor with fancy boots and a swagger to match has caught the imagination of many Republicans dissatisfied with the longer-standing field of hopefuls, particularly in a year they see as a rare opportunity to take on an incumbent president with voters worried over their jobs, their investments and the country’s economic future.

“No question, (Rick) Perry is shaking up the race,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “Since the beginning of the year, we’ve expected somebody else to jump in since many Republicans were unhappy about the field. Now we know who is filling the void.”
end snip

Perry's boots named "Liberty" and "Freedom"