Replies

Do you think that when Texas allows oil companies, who contributed much more than the .00017% of Perry campaign donations that Merck gave, to drill in Texas that it means he is on the take with them also? Do you think “real” conservative candidates should just take no contributions because every donation has a possible conflict of interest attached to it, no matter how inconsequential that donation may be? How many elections do you suppose conservatives would win with zero dollars from any business? I think people are overlooking the possibility that perhaps he is telling the truth and he thought it was the right thing to do, as he thinks it is right to let oil companies drill in Texas regardless of who contributes to his campaign. I think it is important to note that when his constituents expressed their extreme displeasure with his decision, he dropped it. That incident showed me that he pays attention to what his constituents want. On the other hand our current president and the ‘Rats in DC don’t care a hoot what we think. Just look at all the garbage that Obama and the ‘Rats in DC shoved down our throats even when it was very clear that a majority of the voters opposed them on issues like bailouts and Obamacare. I like politicians who listen to the people that elected them and actually bend to their will at times.

Can Governor Perry give permission for oil companies to drill? I do know that windmill farms have been mandated to catch the wind for energy in Texas. But I really am not sure that any state could allow drilling without approval from EPA or some other federal agency.

What I am trying to discern by any and all of the candidates is do they know who government is. Does the candidate understand who they work for, and do not view US as working for them.

I have NO doubt that Governor Perry believed he was doing the right thing by issuing that executive order. But I also think it was not politically astute the way he did it. So good on him admitting he was wrong. BUT has he learned his lesson and will not repeat a good idea because he thinks he is 'right'. I do not know that answer.

I think the governor could exert some influence over any business that happens in our state. I know that Texas had some exemptions from the EPA and was pretty much running their own show for 10 years or so and Obama was trying to rescind them earlier this year. I have no clue why Perry signed the EO. I don’t know if he will be able to anticipate everything that people want but as long as he is willing to listen and do what the people who elected him want him to do, that is what matters to me. I like Perry a lot. I met him in Baghadad and he impressed me. I like Palin a lot too, but I have never met her. I would not be unhappy with either of them as President. I just think it is ludicrous when people throw around a $5K donation as the reason he issued an EO.

But I really am not sure that any state could allow drilling without approval from EPA or some other federal agency.

On private and State land, the permits for drilling oil wells here come from the State (ND). On Federal Land, from the Feds and the State. There are regulatory hoops to jump through on both levels in general, but far more so on Federal Leases.