Posted on 05/18/2004 10:14:38 PM PDT by lewislynn
Texans grow less fond of governor Perry's not only GOP lawmaker slipping in public approval poll
11:09 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 18, 2004
By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry's approval rating has tumbled to a new low.
More than half of Texans disapprove of the job he's doing, according to a Texas Poll released Tuesday. That compares to Ann Richards' negative reviews in November 1994, when 48 percent gave a thumbs-down to the governor who had just been defeated.
"He is in trouble," Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University, said of Mr. Perry. "He's seen as more partisan than thoughtful."
Also Online
Texas Poll results: Politican approval Kathy Walt, the governor's press secretary, said Mr. Perry has tackled tough issues – such as a $9.9 billion, two-year budget shortfall; high property taxes; and the "Robin Hood" school-funding system.
Although a special session he called to overhaul school finance and reduce property taxes ended in failure this week, Mr. Perry will press ahead, Ms. Walt said.
"The governor will continue to make difficult leadership decisions on issues important to Texans based on principles and not polls," she said.
Mr. Perry hasn't had a victory since October's redrawing of congressional districts, which "was appealing to Republicans until they noticed all the blood on the floor," Dr. Jillson said.
"But now they're the ones who have left him, which accounts for most of his drop and is the more ominous thing for him," he said.
Among Republicans, the poll showed, Mr. Perry is struggling – 51 percent approve of his performance.
Also dropping were the job-approval ratings of the Republican-controlled Legislature and other GOP leaders Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Speaker Tom Craddick.
E-mail rtgarrett@dallasnews.com
Texas? How can this be?
Perry must have the record for special sessions. Sessions we don't need and are mostly a waste of time and money.
These polls are so damn stupid. I think that Perry is doing a marvelously horrible job. The school finance session was stupid and his traitorous action during the primary election are enough to make anyone sick. But when it comes down to it, Perry versus a Dem (Sharp, Turner, and so on) Perry is about a thousand times better than they would be and I would vote for him and seeing that it will probably be either Perry versus Strayhorn or Hutchinson in the primary Perry looks like the better of those as well. He would also get a large majority of the GOP vote (85%+) in any general election.
I know, check this out too.
What a dumb comparison -- she lost the election, so obviously more than 50% of the voters gave her a "thumbs-down" rating at the only poll that matters, the voting booth!
Texas? How can this be?
Immigration of course, right?
We only meet every two years...Special sessions were ecessary...Don't forget our Runaway Dem crybabies and their tantrums...
BTW, I have a friend who's a Austin lobbyist. He says that Bush and Rove think Perry is a dumba$$.
He is what we have....I am not bowled over ..but the lady constantly attacking him hasn't endeared herself to me either...the name escapes me.
Since nearly half of the population has its collective head up its a** at any given time,............
Perry is'nt one of those colorful, personable characters with the witty remarks and funny one liners like Ann Richards...Thank heavens. My opinion of him goes up with every *ss he doesn't kiss.
I am not buying that Bush and Rove have that opinion of Perry. I think your lobbyist is full of bull. Maybe you too. Which party do you support?
Perry tried to do something about property taxes --- which are destroying parts of Texas.
I have known Governor Perry from day one and he has this household total support.If you ran a democrat against the yellow dog I would vote for the dog.
Sorry there bud. This lobbyist knows everyone in Austin and all he does is play politics. He's a friend and I'm just passing on what he said. Personally, I believe him about Rove and Bush. Because Perry has never seemed to be the brightest bulb to me. He has been thrown around by the Democrats like a rag doll.
As far as which party do I support? Odds are I was supporting George W. Bush way before you ever heard of him. I started posting about him here a long time ago. We are very proud of Bush here in Texas. Don't ever play poker or chess with him. You will lose.
I presume you have never been in the Texas state capitol building wil the Texas legislature is in session. It's scary sometimes how they do things. It's hardly ever a good thing for Texans when they are in session. We are lucky they meet ever two years. The federal gov't should work the same way.
Ever have a meeting with someone in the Texas legislature? They only make a few grand a year. But some of them have no other job and are very well off. And every one of them is hooked up to something with a name like "Texas Eagles for Freedom" or such. Wanna make a donation?
I've been following the Texas legislature for many years. When I was a kid I had a girl friend who's dad was the guy that organized the "Killer Bees". He and his gang were a bunch of damn Democrats hell bent on stealing everything they could get their paws on. They used to sit around and joke about it. Bunch of drunks. But that's another story.
Special sessions should only be held for crisis situations. Why? Because a special session is not for just "robin hood" or this or that. It's a mini-session and it's so short and crazy that they can really fleece the public in the midst of all the chaos.
Thank goodness we can access a lot of Texas legislative data over the Internet. It helps to watch them.
Texas is the best state in America. One reason is that the numbnuts in Austin are not in session all the time. We need to keep it that way.
School funding may be a mess, but all of Perry's proposals were guaranteed to make a bad situation worse:
Legalizing gambling!
12% or higher sales tax!
A defacto income tax!
Perry's an idiot;
Unfortunately, alternatives like Kay Bailey would be even worse.
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