Posted on 03/28/2005 11:05:40 PM PST by YCTHouston
AUSTIN - A week after Gov. Rick Perry's campaign tried to link one of his potential GOP primary rivals to U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a 1993 letter emerged in which Perry called Clinton's efforts at health care reform "commendable."
Perry's Republican allies circulated a videotape last week that has a shot of Clinton with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, at a nonpartisan event on historic preservation.
The videotape played up a brief hug and air kiss between the women and featured then-first lady Clinton, now the Democratic senator from New York, saying she is "delighted that Kay is my partner on so many fronts."
On Monday, Hutchison's campaign aides said the Perry letter to Clinton showed he was a hypocrite in making the videotape.
"It's a double standard. It's the ultimate in hypocrisy," said Hutchison campaign manger Terry Sullivan.
"I'm glad to see in at least some instances the governor is willing to reach across party lines," he said. "Unfortunately, it's for Hillary Clinton's socialized medicine plan."
Perry campaign manager Luis Saenz said there is no comparison between Perry writing a letter on behalf of his constituents in 1993 and Hutchison accepting praise in person from "a rather liberal New York senator."
Perry's letter falls far short of actually being an endorsement of Clinton's health care proposal. But it was written at a time when some commentators already were describing her plan of government-sponsored HMOs and health care cooperatives as "socialism."
Perry was state agriculture commissioner at the time, a position he had won in 1990 after switching from the Democratic to the Republican Party.
"I think your efforts in trying to reform the nation's health care system are most commendable," Perry wrote.
Perry asked Clinton to take special notice of the health care needs of farmers, ranchers and people in rural areas as she worked on trying to overhaul national health care.
"Again, your efforts are worthy, and I hope you will remember this constituency as the task force progresses," Perry said.
Clinton's efforts at health care reform failed. Perry has since described her plan as "a government-run, one-size-fits-all health system."
Saenz said the letter is just evidence that Perry will work with Democrats and Republicans in trying to do what is best for the state.
"In March-April of '93, I don't know that anybody knew what the final efforts were going to be," Saenz said. "That someone would try to improve health care is commendable. To have someone try to have the government take it over, as they ultimately advocated, is not."
Hutchison has said she will not announce her political plans until this summer. She previously has promised to serve only two full terms in the U.S. Senate, a period of time that will conclude at the end of her current term.
Sullivan criticized Perry's campaign for shooting the video of Hutchison and Clinton and circulating it when Hutchison is not an announced candidate.
"It shows they want to drag people down in the gutter with them," Sullivan said.
Saenz said Perry's campaign wants to act aggressively against any potential opponent.
Texas politics ping. Hit anybody I missed.
Texas ping! RINO Rick strikes again!
Texas ping!
RINO Rick alert!
Perry might not be flash, but, by all reports, Hutchison is another Arlen Specter.
Thanks for the sane post. This letter was 12 YEARS ago.With Hutchison AND Strayhorn poising to challenge Perry in the primary, this may be an ugly campaign.
While Perry is no Dubya, he is our governor. Some posted recently that the last 2-term Governor before Bush was THIRTY YEARS ago? Well, Perry will get MY vote.
Sounds polite. Pointing out that one-size-fits-all won't cut it in a very "politic" way.
In the meantime Kay Bailey is supported by the WISH List (Women In the Senate and House), an organization that fights for abortion "rights" supporters in the Republican party.
http://www.thewishlist.org/Hutchison.htm
"WISH is America's largest fundraising network for pro-choice Republican women candidates!"
http://www.thewishlist.org/FAQs.htm
But, Kay Bailey did not sign on with Spector, Hatch, Feinstein and Kennedy when they re-introduced the clone and kill bill that she co-authored in the US Senate last session. She may be learning that pro-choice Republicans can't elect her.
Republican Bill Clements served 2 terms, 1979-83 and 1987-91! Mark White was Gov. for the term between Clement's. Ma Richards served 1 term, then Bush was ELECTED twice but only served part of his second term. (Clements was also the first Republican Texas Governor since Reconstruction!)
Another reason to oppose the rino. FOr him to get my vote he must straighten up and move to the right. Th 3% appraial cap is a good start.
Frankly I would say the trouble started not with the Comical but with the Perry video.
Well then my friend, you're reading the wrong reports! ;-)
Anymouse, I agree with your general sentiments, and have been arguing some of the same points on a different thread. I'm no purist utopian. However, I can't help being amused when Perry puts his boot in his mouth, usually by holding other politicians to unreal standards he himself doesn't live up to.
This letter wouldn't be news if he hadn't sent his roving video crew to stalk Kay.
Kay isn't a vocal pro-lifer, but it's a pretty big streatch of the imagination to compare her with Specter.
That letter date from when Perry was a Dim?
Difference is, that was then, and this is now!
Perry left the Democrats in 1989, after having worked for the Al Gore, Jr., campaign of 1988.
Nope. It was 4 years after he supposedly made the switch. The problem is he's never completely made the switch.
Polite and noxious to any true conservative.
"I think your efforts in trying to reform the nation's health care system are most commendable." - Rick Perry praising Hillarycare to Hillary Rodham Clinton, 1993
And no, responding to this story by trashing Hutchison will not make it go away. Perry and Perry alone is to blame for this coming forward after he sent his video crews after Kay last week.
108th Congress: 90%
107th Congress: 100%
106th Congress: 100%
105th Congress: 100%
Source: http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/home/
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