Posted on 12/06/2006 10:31:16 AM PST by Dubya
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry, who built his re-election campaign on border security, told a gathering of border mayors today that building a wall along the border with Mexico is a "preposterous" idea.
"Now, strategic fencing in certain urban areas to direct the flow of traffic does make sense, but building a wall on the entire border is a preposterous idea," Perry said.
"The only thing a wall would possibly accomplish is to help the ladder business."
While Perry always opposed fencing the border, his re-election campaign de-emphasized that position.
Perry ran millions of dollars of television advertising portraying the border as an open zone of human and drug smuggling and as a potential pathway for terrorists. He launched a program to put live Internet cameras along the border and said he would ask the Legislature for $100 million for border security.
The campaign was widely seen as an effort to appeal to a Republican voting base angry at the federal government for failing to act to halt illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America.
Perry told the Texas Border Coalition that the national anti-immigrant rhetoric of the political campaigns was not constructive.
"We just concluded an election year that was very heavy on immigration rhetoric, and, I might add, very light on comprehensive solutions," Perry said.
He said the campaign rhetoric did not foster good relations with Mexico.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/html/exec/0303.html
3.3 Removal
As in the U.S. Constitution, the only legal method of removing a governor from office is through the process of impeachment and conviction. Impeachment is the process of accusing an official of misconduct in office and is similar to the process of indictment by a grand jury. Impeachment is only a formal accusation – it is not a determination of guilt or innocence. This judgment requires a trial.
Efforts to remove a governor begin in the Texas House of Representatives, which must cast a majority vote in favor of impeachment. Such a vote amounts to bringing formal charges against a governor. The Texas Constitution, however, does not provide any specific grounds for impeachment, leaving such judgments in the hands of the Legislature. Again, this is similar to the national constitution; impeachment is based on the commission of "high crimes and misdemeanors," but after more than two hundred years there is still no consensus what this phrase means in practice.
James E. Ferguson: impeached in 1917
Impeachment is followed by a trial in the Texas Senate. The House is charged with prosecuting the case, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas (an elected position) presiding over the proceedings (i.e., acting as the judge in the case). Conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the senators present. If convicted, a governor is removed from office and disqualified from holding any other state office. James Ferguson (1915-1917) is the only governor to be impeached and convicted. Any member of the executive or judicial branch can be impeached and tried.
Like the impeachment and removal procedure at the federal level, the state constitution provides for a process that is an amalgam of judicial and political elements. Elected officials initiate and carry out the process, but the procedures have a judicial flavor to them that invites elected officials to sit in objective judgment akin to the role played by a jury in a court proceeding. Given the difficulty political actors may have judging objectively, the Constitution ensures that the process will be used rarely.
"The Republicans want it to continue because it is cheap labor, and the Republicans can thumb their noses at their nemesis, Dem supporting unions. - tom"
Actually the republicans are thumbing their noses at the ones they really despise-conservatives!
I thought Perry would have the decency to wait until after the New Year to bend those "conservatives" who voted for him over the barrel and get on with it....
Guess I was wrong on that one....
Get ready, Texas. The gov's gonna push it right up our TTC....
He lied and led a lot of us to believe he would actually do something. We should immediately recall his sorry behind.
I think the fence is a bad idea. But my opinion is not important. What is important to the politicians here is that big business in Texas does not want a fence. And they give lots more money than I do to the RNC cause.I give only to the candidates directly. Also, the fence idea did not go over with border patrol here either. They said, it is a way to spend over a billion dollars for nothing..and have something on which they can campaign.
Could we have had worse choices for Governor of Texas????
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1749487/posts?page=1
Coming Soon to Your Neighborhood: Deconstruction by Transnationals
The above article sheds some light on why so many politicians both D and R don't mind or actively promote illegals entering our country en masse.
When Rick Perry moved from the Democrat Party to the GOP, the only thing that changed was the letter behind his name.
I agree with Perry. The illegals are by and large industrious, ingenious, and sometimes desperate people. A fence won't keep them out. We must remove the incentives to illegally immigrate. That will not only stem the influx of illegals, but also initiate the repatriation of those here illegally.
"Could we have had worse choices for Governor of Texas????"
Yes, there was Chris Bell, Carol Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman!
Yes..those were the choices to which I was referring. I voted for Perry. But it was painful.
Big Business won't want the illegals once they are given all these "rights" and want to be paid what Americans are paid.
then they'll just want a new batch of illegals, when the Amnestized ones start wanting good pay and maybe even unionization.
I disagree, at least Kinky has not lied to our faces like Gov Goodhair.
Your picture speaks a thousand words.
I guess because Rick Perry thinks something sounds impossible, we shouldn't even try. If morons like this ran NASA back in the 60s we never would have made it to the moon.
"Yes..those were the choices to which I was referring. I voted for Perry. But it was painful."
So YOU'RE the one who foisted Gov. Goodhair on Texas for another six years.....
Give yourself a thousand lashes with a wet toupee & I'll consider you forgiven...
For the rest of you who voted for him....you got the government you deserve. Why drag the rest of us down with you?...
LOL...I am so sorry! But look at the choices. My best friend's husband, a solid conservative, actually voted for Kinky.
"Yes..those were the choices to which I was referring. I voted for Perry. But it was painful."
Well, be thankful that he's a solid conservative (from what I've heard) on the social issues. As a California voter, we had to settle for Arnold Schwarzenegger. There was simply no other viable alternative to protect the state from liberal rampages.
from "THE REST OF THE STORY"
"Perry ran millions of dollars of television advertising portraying the border as an open zone of human and drug smuggling and as a potential pathway for terrorists. He launched a program to put live Internet cameras along the border and said he would ask the Legislature for $100 million for border security."
I found and joined the site where these internet cameras were located:
http://www.texasborderwatch.com/
The test is over now but it looked like a really good idea. Sort of a takeoff on the virtual fence concept. There were 8 to 12 cameras scattered along the Texas/Mexico border with live streaming and an invitation to contact the authorities to report any suspicious activity. It was a lot more involved than I'm able to describe here.
It was entertaining and addictive. I can imagine hundreds of thousands of people watching our border and turning in the bad guys while watching some real reality TV.
It's breaking my heart to learn that this was probably nothing but a campaign stunt by the incumbent governor.
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.