One of these guys is Bob Perry.
Posted on 12/05/2004 6:05:36 AM PST by AmericanMade1776
Dec. 13 issue - In the closing weeks of the campaign, a reclusive Texas home builder pumped nearly $7 million into two "independent" political groups to help finance TV ads against John Kerry. The builder, Robert Perry of Houston, got attention in August when he gave $200,000 in seed money for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth—the so-called 527 group that attacked Kerry's war record. Campaign records examined by NEWSWEEK show that, in October alone, Perry gave $3.8 million more to the Swift Boat vets and $3 million to Progress for America, a separate 527 organized by a GOP consultant with close ties to the Bush campaign. Perry's total donations to GOP-oriented 527s—$8.1 million—made him the biggest single donor for Republican 527s this year. That's still behind big Dem 527 donors like financier George Soros ($27 million to groups such as MoveOn.org) and Hollywood producer Steve Bing ($13 million).
Perry has given to GOP groups for years and is a big supporter of curbs on lawsuits—a top priority of the home-building industry. But a spokesman said Perry wanted nothing for his 527 gifts other than to help conservatives. One side benefit of Perry's largesse: Progress ended the campaign with $1.5 million in the bank and may use it to run ads in support of President George W. Bush's judicial and cabinet picks; the Swifties plan to stay active on homeland-security and veterans' issues.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Does anyone have a pic of Bob Perry?
Early years
In 1932, in the heart of the Depression, Bob Perry was born in a one-room, threadbare house in Bosque County, northwest of Waco.
Bobby, as he was known, grew up in communities so rural that his first pet was a pig. It was a childhood played out in small Central Texas towns where everyone knew him. His father, W.C. Perry, was principal and later school superintendent.
The elder Perry eventually worked his way up to Baylor University in Waco, where he retired in 1980 as vice president of student affairs.
It was W.C. Perry who in 1967 asked undergraduate student Tom DeLay "not to re-enroll" at Baylor because of some pranks. The current U.S. House majority leader transferred to the University of Houston.
Any difficulties eventually were put aside. W.C. Perry supported Mr. DeLay's run for Congress, and in 2001, the younger Perry gave $95,000 to Mr. DeLay's political committee, Republican Majority Issues Committee, federal records show.
Mr. Perry's early years are documented in the book The Grand Prairie Years – A Biography of W.C. Perry, published in 1987 and backed by the W.C. Perry Foundation, founded the same year by Bob Perry.
The book's author, Ron Arnold, said he met Bob Perry at a conservative issues conference in the mid-1980s attended by some of President Ronald Reagan's Cabinet and other administration officials. Mr. Perry liked a book Mr. Arnold had written on Interior Secretary James Watts.
The two met, and Mr. Perry arranged for a book about his father.
"He seems very determined and persistent," Mr. Arnold said of the younger Perry. "There's an astuteness there that's almost uncanny."
He said Mr. Perry was always quiet and gracious, never showy. "I could never imagine this guy blustering," he said.
The other thing that comes across is his Baptist faith, Mr. Arnold said.
"He would say something like, 'The Lord's been good to me,' or about a near family tragedy that turned out well because God protected him," he said.
The book describes Mr. Perry's father in similar terms, and in ways that reflect on Mr. Perry's penchant for remaining behind the political scene. It was a trademark of the elder Perry, according to the book, "to make much over others but not over himself or his own."
Mostly Republicans
Of the 160 state campaigns that received money from Bob Perry in the last three years, 90 percent were Republican. But nestled amid those names, with slightly fewer 0s on their checks, were about 15 Democrats, mostly from the Houston area.
In total, Mr. Perry's $5 million in contributions eclipses the state's other large givers in the same period: Republican and school voucher advocate James Leininger of San Antonio has given more than $2 million, and trial lawyer John O'Quinn of Houston has contributed just over $1 million.
"I think I've met him," said Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, who has received $26,000 of Mr. Perry's money.
"A group of businessmen came to my office. I don't think he said a word," Mr. Whitmire recalled. "He's never asked me to support any particular issue."
Correspondence in the governor's office shows he has never written the governor about a public policy issue or to pass along an invitation.
He has hired others to speak for him. Neal "Buddy" Jones, arguably the state's top lobbyist, works for him, and Bob Perry supplied Mr. Jones' political committee $200,000 to spread around as campaign donations.
This year, the Legislature did two things of keen interest to Mr. Perry: It clamped down on civil lawsuits, limiting damage awards and how they could be filed, and it created the Texas Residential Construction Commission.
Many lawsuits
Court records show that Mr. Perry has been sued about 20 times since 1985 in Harris County alone. Most of the suits were settled.
The largest suit, known as the Brio case, involved 1,700 plaintiffs in hundreds of homes built in the 1980s over a toxic waste dump in southeast Houston. Perry Homes was one of more than a dozen defendants sued, including chemical companies and a variety of developers and home builders.
Mr. Perry said through a spokesman that his company was responsible for only 11 home sites along the periphery of the affected developments.
An insurance consortium settled for the home builders in the area, paying out more than $200 million in 1992, lawyers for homeowners said.
The corporate counsel for Perry Homes, John Krugh, declined to discuss the Brio lawsuit.
The second legislative triumph was the Residential Construction Commission, which backers say will establish minimum requirements for home builders, certify them and create an arbitration process for homeowners who have complaints.
Consumer groups have criticized the measure for imposing what they say could be costly and time-consuming arbitration on aggrieved homeowners, who are forced to use the system before they can sue in court.
The man who crafted much of the legislation and who was appointed by Gov. Perry to the new nine-member commission is Mr. Krugh, the lawyer for Perry Homes.
Mr. Krugh said his boss, Bob Perry, was not directly involved in the legislative efforts.
He also said that while he was willing to talk at length about the public commission, he would not speak of Perry Homes or the man he's worked with for 15 years, saying they are private concerns.
'Mystery man'
Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, which monitors campaign finance laws, called Mr. Perry a "mystery man."
"We never figured out exactly why he gives what he gives. He seems to love all things Republican and conservative," Mr. McDonald said.
Regardless of where the money goes, the sheer volume of it is a problem, Mr. McDonald said.
"It's corrupting to our democracy," he said. "This kind of economic clout puts too much power in the hands of too few wealthy donors."
Mr. McDonald said that Mr. Perry has never granted a one-on-one interview to a Texas newspaper.
While Mr. Perry declined to be interviewed for this story, he did clarify a few personal and business issues through an intermediary. And last year, he responded to some written questions, mostly about his background, submitted by the Houston Chronicle.
Former Texas Democratic Party chairwoman Molly Beth Malcolm said she finds Mr. Perry's contributions troubling.
"After making over $4 million in contributions, Bob Perry is the most valuable player in the far right wing of the Republican Party. The man has literally bought his way into influence and power," she said.
Susan Weddington, who recently stepped down as head of the Texas GOP – which has enjoyed almost $1 million of the Perry largesse – declined to comment. She said she didn't know him well enough to say anything.
In the groove
After graduating from Baylor University with a major in history, Bob Perry followed in his father's footsteps and taught high school students for several years.
In 1961, he married his wife of 42 years, Doylene, and they had four children.
By 1968, he decided to get into home building, starting in Houston with 44 homes.
"I think he found something he had an aptitude for; he was comfortable; he liked it, and he's been in that groove ever since," said his spokesman Bill Miller.
Perry Homes has since expanded into Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin and McAllen. Last year, the company closed more than 1,500 sales with total revenue of $420 million, according to the trade magazine Professional Builder.
It was gruff, self-made oilfield-equipment millionaire Bill Clements who hooked him on state politics. Mr. Clements was running for governor in 1978, trying to be the first Republican to win in more than 100 years.
"He was very active in the campaign in his local area," Mr. Clements said of Mr. Perry. "He just showed up at the events."
Mr. Clements said he didn't know much about him, other than he wasn't one to stick out or voice strong opinions.
"I don't think he's ever been involved as a paint-me-red Republican," Mr. Clements said.
"All he has ever been interested in is just having A-1, first-class government. He's interested in good people. Absolutely in high integrity. He makes that well-known."
By 1986, when Mr. Clements was plotting his comeback to a second term, Mr. Perry served as his campaign treasurer.
They became good friends, and Mr. Perry visited the Governor's Mansion numerous times, Mr. Clements said.
"He's very pleasant. Has a great demeanor. Meets people easily. He does a lot of listening; he doesn't do a lot of talking," the former governor said.
Inspiring loyalty
Most who know Mr. Perry say that he is not thinking about retirement, still enjoys going to the office every day, and devotes time to Nassau Bay Baptist Church, southeast of Houston.
"You would look upon him the first time you met him and you'd think he's a successful man. Whatever he does, he's good at it. But you wouldn't see any pinky rings or flashy jewelry," said state Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson.
He gives to community projects and tries to keep his name out of the charities he sponsors, Mr. Patterson said.
"He's not a knee-jerk, right-wing guy as some might depict him," he said. "He is an ideological conservative who is interested in the big picture."
Mr. Weekley, a home-building competitor, said Mr. Perry is, "soft-spoken, very gracious, distinguished, kind."
He described Mr. Perry as a role model who succeeds and then gives back to his community. "I just got a letter from Bob asking me to contribute to the United Negro College Fund," Mr. Weekley said.
"If he sees there's a need someplace, he has no qualms of doing what he can to help," Mr. Weekley said. "I admire the guy so much; I'll do anything for Bob Perry."
E-mail choppe@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/politics/state/stories/110203dntexbobperry.1aebf.html
The bulk of the SBVfT's impact was felt before the October big bucks infusion. I'll bet Perry looks back at this as the best $200,000 he ever spent; that was the investment of the millenium. Quite frankly, it dwarfs the $3.8 spent in October when the SBVfT were mopping up from their August and September victories.
Soros and Bing are mere footnotes in this article, and Steven Lewis isn't even mentioned at all. Too bad for them that the rest of us have computers and can actually look at www.opensecrets.org to find the real attempts to manipulate the election process by money. The NYS only focuses on Perry because he donated to conservative groups, not the media-anointed ones.
What is this cr@p? Is MoveOn.org a "so-called" 527?
George Soros could not buy America.
One of these guys is Bob Perry.
And how much did George Soros give above and under the table ? Never mind.
More power to him,,, let the demons have their scumbag soros, ,,,who spent millions for no result,,, HA HA HA!!!
Progress for America is the group that did the ad about Ashley Faulkner, the teenager who lost her mother on 9/11.
Progress for America is the group that did the ad about Ashley Faulkner, the teenager who lost her mother on 9/11.
Bob Perry is some kind of a guy! MAYBE HE WOULD CONSIDER GIVING A MILLION $ TO DINO ROSSI, who has won the governorship of Washington State twice since Nov. 2, but is again being challenged with a state wide hand recount by opponent Gregoire. She's been funded by JF Kerry. Things are pretty rotten in the Washington DemonRAT party, so we need all the help we can get.
You can say that again. The Demoncrat corruption in Washington State is overtly outrageous! No more Mr. Nice Guy, Dino! Go get 'em!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.