Rick Perry Indictment is Another Case of the Democrat Party Criminalizing Opposition

Rush Limbaugh.com ^ | August 18, 2014 | Rush Limbaugh

[Kaslin]

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Mr. Snerdley walked in and said, "Boy, this thing with Rick Perry, can you believe what a farce?" It's not a farce, folks. Now, I'm not gonna be getting to Rick Perry right off the bat here, but I wanted to mention something about it to get it on the table. It's not a farce. It isn't a joke. Sadly, it's not even a laughing matter. This is dead serious. Not that he's done anything wrong. What's dead serious about this is the Democrat Party and their ongoing effort to criminalize political differences or opposition.

All the governor did -- and it's spelled out in the indictment -- this is the stupidest, weakest indictment, probably gonna be thrown out by the judge and they know that, but that doesn't matter. Because now for the rest of his life every time Rick Perry's name appears in the headline, so does the word "indictment" or "indicted." And the purpose of that is to taint and damage any political aspirations he has. It's no coincidence that he's been at the forefront of the anti-illegal immigration movement in the past couple of months.

This is Travis County, the same place that went after DeLay. The difference between DeLay and Perry is that they'd spent years demonizing Tom DeLay so that when their indictment finally came with the well-known Ronnie Earle prosecutor it was no big surprise, it was just the next shoe to drop. This came out of the blue. And if you've seen the videotape of the Democrat Party official drunk driving, abusive to the cops, it's astounding. It's not a joke, and it isn't a farce, and it's not a laughing matter. It is exactly what the Democrat Party is. It is exactly what the Republican Party's been up against for years and refuses to recognize, push back against, or do anything.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Now to Rick Perry. When I first heard this over the weekend, I can't tell you how outraged I was. Scott Walker, Chris Christie, and now Rick Perry. Three potential Republican presidential nominees, all smeared, all targeted via indictment and criminal charges simply because of political differences. I don't care what happens here.

The media will see to it that from now on, for the rest of his life, every news story featuring Rick Perry will have the word "indicted" in it. In the first paragraph. Every story, for the rest of his life! Every other headline: "The indicted governor, formally indicted. Acquitted, yes, but still indicted." Remember, now, we're talking presidential candidate.

I don't care how far gone we are with low-information voters, they are never gonna support an indicted Republican. They'll support indicted Democrats left and right. So it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter the outcome here. You want to talk about a smear? This is a smear. This is character assassination. But I want to tell you a little bit about who did it. It's not just Travis County. It's not just the DA and the grand jury in Travis County.

This all started with a report by a group called Texans for Public Justice.

It's a report that claims to document "100 wealthy donors who 'have sought corporate welfare, relaxed regulatory rules or other government favors' in exchange for their political largess in Texas gubernatorial races. Texans for Public Justice dubs these individuals the 'Profiteers' and notes that 'The ranks of the … Profiteers include corporate welfare kings, snake oil salesmen, money launderers, tax evaders, tort dodgers, tobacco hacks and toxic waste dumpers.'

"According to TPJ director Craig McDonald, 'A disturbing number of these profiteers made a fortune off government handouts or by bending or breaking regulatory rules.' The report was published more than a decade ago, on Jan. 20, 2000. It’s target? Another Texas governor, George W. Bush," who had just launched his campaign for president. Texans for Public Justice. "Bush and Perry are not the only Texas conservatives seeking higher office who have been charged with 'crony capitalism' by Texans for Public Justice. TPJ also leveled similar charges against John Cornyn in January 2002, while Cornyn was serving as Texas attorney general preparing a campaign for United States Senate. Texans for Public Justice issued a scathing report entitled 'Cornyn’s Corporate Sponsors.'"

Now, "Texans for Public Justice," according to Marc Thiessen, "is a left-wing attack group that seems to issue scathing 'crony capitalism' attacks on Texas conservatives just as they prepare to run for national office. It has received funding from George Soros and other left-leaning foundations." They're not even from Texas. Texans for Public Justice is not even Texas, and nothing about them is public. And they're not interested in justice.

"Texans for Public Justice first appeared in Texas in 1997," when veteran operatives from groups like Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen came to Texas to set up the organization. Now, there may or may not be something to the crony capitalism charges against Rick Perry. We're gonna found out more as the presidential campaign unfolds. But what we have here is a group of left-wing activists, much like Media Matters goes after media people, here's a group not even of Texans, not even from Texas, that attempts to smear conservatives in Texas who are on the verge of seeking higher office, either the Senate or the presidency.

You throw this in with what happened with Rick Perry and you can see that the Democrat Party is doing its level best to criminalize what are essentially political differences. And this is not new. The attempt to criminalize the opposition has been a tactical effort of the Democrat Party and the American left for the last 25 or 30 years. It is done in large part because the left knows they cannot defeat conservatives and Republicans in a, quote, unquote, fair fight in the arena of public ideas. They just can't do it. And it is an ongoing thing. At this point some people are hoping, "Gee, maybe people will finally find out what the Democrat Party is really all about." I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

The indictment of Rick Perry is two counts. It's all of two pages. It charges Rick Perry with abusing his office by "threatening to veto legislation that had been approved and authorized by the legislature of the State of Texas to provide funding for the continued operation of the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney's office unless Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg resigned from her official position."

That's it. That is the indictment. That's it. That Rick Perry threatened to veto legislation funding that office unless they got rid of her. And the reason he did so, and he says he would do it again, over and over, is because this woman is a drunken fool, and all aspects of her drunken foolness have been on tape, have been captured. She blew three times the legal limit of alcohol in a breathalyzer. She was abusive. She was threatening, ugly. When they dragged her into the police station (imitating Lehmberg), "I'm a Democrat! I'm the DA! You can't do this to me." And it was just ugly. It was ugly all the way around, and Rick Perry said (paraphrasing), "I am not gonna fund an office with somebody like this running it. Ethics and public integrity mean more than this, and I'm not gonna do it."

He was simply exercising a constitutional provision, the veto. It would be no different here if the Republicans tried to indict Obama for vetoing something. It would never happen. Folks, it is not funny and it is not a farce. It is deadly serious because you never know where this could go. If they're able to criminalize a line item, and this is a line-item veto, if they're able to criminalize this? And you just never know. Once it gets into a legal system that's been populated by leftists everywhere in the judiciary. This is a grand jury that handed up this indictment. Same office that indicted Tom DeLay, again for political purposes. In his case it was fundraising.

But that's all they've got, threatening to veto legislation that had been approved. The veto is a constitutional power, and now every news story about Rick Perry is gonna carry the word "indicted." And you know as well as I do that in this country everybody believes law enforcement, except in Ferguson, Missouri. And LA if OJ's involved and Wisconsin when Scott Walker's involved. But for the most part, everybody believes the prosecutor, everybody believes the cops. Why would they waste their time on people who aren't guilty? Just law and order and justice and the uniform people that stand for it, they always are believed.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Roswell, Georgia, and Bob, great to have you, you're next on the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER: Hey, Rush. Longtime listener, first-time caller. My wife is gonna be really upset because she has tried to call you over and over again, and the fact that I got through, she is just gonna be floored.

RUSH: And she will be envious as she can be.

CALLER: She certainly will. I called about something I saw on television this morning, but I was gonna make a quick comment about what you were just talking about as far as the indictments on the three gentlemen, you know, the GOP candidates. Isn't this the same thing that President Obama did to his competition as he came up through politics in Illinois? I mean, he would file a lawsuit. He'd make allegations and then the things would not get resolved until after the election and by then it was too late?

RUSH: Well, he would engage in character assassination. What Obama was famous for doing was having secret court documents unsealed and released, divorce records and other such things, which ended up besmirching the character of his opponents. They oftentimes just resigned and he didn't have any opposition.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: This is Thomas, south side of Chicago. Great to have you on the program. Hello.

CALLER: How you doing, Rush? This whole thing with Perry, it's unbelievable. The whole Democratic Party, they're all crooks, they're all corrupt, they're all criminals. I'm from Cook County, and that's where they learned it. So whether it's Travis County or Cook County or Dade County, and I forgot to tell your screener, you can throw in Hennepin County in Minnesota, they're all the same. They use and recruit their prosecutors based on their political bent. It's used as a weapon. It's the tip of the spear, and they use an indictment instead of the ballot, you know, and I'm an ex-precinct captain for the Democratic Party. I've recovered.

RUSH: Right.

CALLER: I've seen the light.

RUSH: Well, you can bet if the Republicans ever tried something like this to indict a Democrat governor for exercising a veto, I shudder to think what the news would look like that day. I don't think you could bottle the rage. I don't think you could keep it contained on TV. I think your TV would be smoking. Your TV might catch fire. The rage of commentators would be so uncontrollable. But when this happened, why, this is a smart, smart move, 'cause they got Perry when he wasn't looking.

Here's Perry, he's really feeling his oats. He's thinking he's scoring some major points, and he's also helping the state. He's taking on Obama and the left on this illegal immigration business. He's doing his best to represent not only the people of Texas, but he's representing a majority of Americans. He's feeling really good and he's got a lot of media attention, and he's on a comeback trail from his previous presidential campaign, where he didn't shine so well, according to some. But now he's putting it all together, he's coming back for a new run, and out of the blue comes this. Governor of Texas indicted.

Forget what follows. The low-information crowd isn't gonna hear or care. All they're gonna do is hear that a governor has been indicted. Meanwhile, people like Ted Kennedy walk free. Bill Clinton gets a standing ovation wherever he goes for whatever it is. He is celebrated for getting away with it. Make no mistake, that's why they love him. 'Cause he got away with it. Dan Rather is given a journalist award after making up a totally phony story about George W. Bush that was to take Bush out in 2004, Bush and the National Guard. They have been on this road of criminalizing conservatism for as long as this program has been on the air.

They have never, in these past 26 years, had the kind of success with it that they've had over the last five. Look at Chris Christie and Bridgegate. Whatever you think, I mean, that was just preposterous. Scott Walker, look at what they tried in Wisconsin with him. And he beat it all back. He ought to be one of the biggest Republican stars out there. The Republican Party itself should have made him one. But he's too conservative for them, I guess. I know, it's outrageous. I don't know how you go about informing low-information people. Hell, even people that aren't low-information. The group of people paying for this are not even from Texas. Texans for Public Justice and all these efforts to criminalize Republicans in Texas for crony capitalism, in addition to this thing, in addition to this indictment from the Travis County DA.

It is clear, I'll tell you one thing. The Democrats are playing a different game than the Republicans are. I don't think the Republicans even know which field to take. And it doesn't matter, really, because whatever field they end up on, the Democrats own it. The aggressor always sets the rules in any conflict.

Here's the story out of Detroit. This is from the UK Guardian. "Detroit police chief James Craig -- nicknamed 'Hollywood' for his years spent in the LAPD and his seeming love of being in front of the camera -- has repeatedly called on 'good' and 'law-abiding' Detroiters to arm themselves against criminals in the city. His words have not fallen on deaf ears.

"Patricia Champion, a 63-year-old lifelong Detroiter, a grandmother and retired educator, decided to get her concealed pistol license -- a CPL -- two years ago after her son said he was increasingly worried for her safety. Champion, a resident of northwest Detroit, mostly keeps her gun, a 9mm Glock 19 ... in her house."

Imagine this. You think the Democrats are fit to be tied on the Second Amendment. Police chief in Detroit urging people to buy guns? It's also, I would think, a bit of an admission that the cops cannot totally defend people and protect people. Isn't it? They're pretty much saying, "Hey, look, don't count on us. We may not be able to get to each one of you in distress. You better arm up."

Who runs Detroit, by the way, and who has run Detroit for all these years? That would be Democrats. And where are all these white cops that are killing black people in Detroit? Where is all that happening, if this myth, if this is so common in America, when is the last time it happened before Ferguson?

END TRANSCRIPT

[Mr. K]

If they want to play this game then INDICT EVERY F*ING LIBERAL IN THE STATE!!!!!!!!!

[Spok]

If Perry’s conduct is indictable, Obama’s conduct is impeachable.

[daler]

And Republicans always bring a pea-shooter to a gunfight.

Why does the GOP never "find" trunkloads of newly-discovered ballots in a close race?

It's always...ALWAYS...the Dems, laughing while the Republicans whine.

And lose.

[Erik Latranyi]

Remember, folks, that liberals also wanted to put Bush and Cheney on trial for War Crimes after they left office.

If unchecked, liberals would turn this nation into a banana republic in a few short years.

[sport]

I do not see anyone checking them.

[Jane Long]

You’re right about that. My hubby claims that Pubbies don’t want to fight. They like their positions of limited power....they enjoy the “perks” and don’t have to do any tough work. Year after year.

Nice work, if you can get it.

[xzins]

Rick Perry chose not to finance an out of control officer and it’s chief officer.

How exactly is that not in the governor’s purview.

[sportutegrl]

. . . Scott Walker, Chris Chrispy, Rick Perry.

Don't forget Ted Stevens.

[minnesota_bound]

That link to the video of her in jail should be an embarrassment to all democrats. How many innocent people has she railroaded?

[Darksheare]

Exactly.
And the action by the dems is “indict to protect drunken dems”.
Probably can be restated as a snazzier acronym, but it is accurate.
They are only doing thus for two reasons.
One: “ how dare he expect a dem to drive sober/follow the law!”
Two: “we can use this to smear him!”

[Theodore R.]

Rick could have prevented this in 2003, but there would have been a big fight in the state Senate to get the power of the Travis County DA moved to the attorney general’s office. He chose not to fight, and now he must.

[digger48]

Liberals on other sites keep saying that the DA is a Republican appointed by Perry.

Any truth to that?

[ripley]

Democrats are nothing but V.C. dressed up in suits, ties, and skirts. That’s all.

IMHO

[Fred Hayek]

Welcome to the Novaya Sovietskii Soyuz, tovarisch! Opposing Party is mental illness and hooliganism.

Somewhere in the depths of Hell, Stalin, Brezhnev, and Andropov are laugh their @$$es off .

[Theodore R.]

A full-fledged Democrat is incapable of embarrassment.

[Theodore R.]

No, TX DA’s are elected, and Travis County has never had a Republican DA; it has had a Republican sheriff though.

[tillacum]

I read Gov. Perry asked Behmberg to resign and the slot would be filled with the Ass’t. DA. Behmberg wouldn’t leave. I don’t know if he then told he’d veto the money or
if he waited until the funding was placed on his desk for approval.

[digger48]

thank you. It seems to be a Media Madders Talking Point that I've seen from different commenters

[okie01]

TX DA’s are elected, and Travis County has never had a Republican DA; it has had a Republican sheriff though.

Travis County's partisan DAs are just part of the problem.

The other part is Travis County grand juries. They tend to be populated by rabid moonbats who are all too ready to indict any Republican for anything, anytime.

Reportedly, one of the Delay grand juries voted to indict three minutes after the prosecutor brought the case.

[deport]

snip

“Despite the otherwise good work the Public Integrity Unit’s employees, I cannot
in good conscience support continued State funding for an office with statewide
jurisdiction at a time when the person charged with ultimate responsibility of
that unit has lost the public’s confidence. This unit is in no other way held
accountable to state taxpayers, except through the State budgetary process. I
therefore object to and disapprove of this appropriation.”

Earlier this week there were reports that Governor Perry threatened to veto
funding for the Public Integrity Unit, unless Travis County District Attorney
Rosemary Lehmberg stepped down.

The same day he stripped the units funding a complaint was filed against him
alleging Perry may have broken the law.

Craig McDonald, the director of Texans for Public Justice, who filed the complaint
with the Travis County Attorney’s Office said, “It has come to my attention that
Governor Rick Perry has potentially committed one or more criminal offenses
related to his recent threat to use his official powers to provide or withhold
money in a manner intended to allow him to gain the benefit of appointing
a new Travis County District Attorney.”

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