RINO TX Gov. Perry trashes GOP Platform, disagrees with 50% of planks, supports only 7

Austin American Statesman ^ | July 12 | Ken Herman

[Freee-dame]

How many people write the Republican party platform? It seems so right wing that no candidate espousing all of it would ever be elected to statewide office. Candidates do have to run in the real world.

[motexva]

The reason I'll vote for Perry is this - the vote will be close and I don't know what Sanchez really stands for. I have heard people like you intelligently argue that he is a left wing extremist. Several of my friends who work on congressional staffs in Austin thought argue intelligently that he far to the right of Perry. None of us can figure out where he is coming from. Perry is what he appears to be - A country club Republican. I'll take that over Sanchez's unknowns.

[lodwick]

No flames here. Excellent report. Thanks much. bttt

[deport]

Good, bad or indifferent here's the choices of candidates... to which I gues you can add a 'write in' or choose to sit it out.......

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Statewide Candidates for 2002 General Election

I = Incumbent

Governor
REP - I Rick Perry	DEM - Tony Sanchez	LIB - Jeff Daiell	GRN - Rahul Mahajan

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[MissAmericanPie]

They certainly slipped that Constitutional amendment through without any press. If we ever hope to bring D.C. to heel maybe we should see if it's possible to start small and control the State government.

[deport]

Without a doubt it is the pro-Israel rally. Perry had that choice. He skipped the Israel rally and he went to the Mosque. Now what would you guess any old average Bubba voter out in rural Texas thinks of that?

Just a guess but, me thinks the "any old average Bubba voter out in rural Texas" doesn't even know of or heard of what you speak.

[PhiKapMom]

You are so right! Since when did Freepers start quoting the bird cage paper, The Austin American Statesman? For as long as I can remember, the Republicans running for office haven't run on the arch conservative Republican Party of Texas platform.

Where do they find these guys that write it?

[olliemb]

This weekend Sanchez and Perry spoke at the hispanic chamber of commerce. Like day and night. Sanchez read from his notes, has lots and lots of money to spend on lawn signs, handouts, etc. while Perry had a terrific without notes speech, got 3 standing ovations but unfortunately does not have the moola like Sanchez.

[olliemb]

And you got to compare him with John Sharp. Any stats on these two candidates how they rate. Sharp is very liberal I am told (what has he done that makes him very liberal?).

[deport]

Hell the average "old Bubba voter out in rural Texas" has never heard of the platform and don't give a hoot about it either, imo. .... Unless it's the diving platform at the creek swimming hole.

[PhiKapMom]

LOL!!! You got that right! That platform has never been followed by a Republican that I can remember that was elected.

[GOPcapitalist]

How many people write the Republican party platform? It seems so right wing that no candidate espousing all of it would ever be elected to statewide office. Candidates do have to run in the real world.

I don't intend for candidates to espouse it all and agree that such a position would be unrealistic. However I do believe that they should agree with it more than they disagree with it. Perry just showed that was not the case with him. He disagreed with 23 out of 46 planks, partially agreed with 16, and fully agreed with only 7. That is appalling for a person running under the GOP banner.

After all, did not Phil Gramm get elected statewide for all those terms? He didn't have to support affirmative action to do it. So why should Perry?

[GOPcapitalist]

This was a HUGE victory for the politically-correct, and a big disappointment for many of us.

Agreed completely. I was in my car on the way to Republican Party headquarters when the word came over the radio announcing he had just signed the thing. I pulled into the nearest gas station, ripped the Perry for Governor bumper sticker off my car, and deposited it into a nearby drainage gutter. When I got to the party headquarters the phones were going nuts...all from pissed off Republicans who had heard the news. They were vowing to never campaign for Perry again. That was over a year ago and to date, I have not met one Texas other than the NAACP crowd who would even willingly defend Perry's signature of that piece of garbage much less agree with it. And the NAACP crowd that did support it has thanked the governor ever since by trashing his name at every opportunity they can get.

[GOPcapitalist]

Can't the republican party find another candidate to run? Why should the party support candidates who are not compatible with it's mission.

Our primary is already decided and the INCOMPETANT state GOP leadership pretty much made sure to it that none of the top-of-the-ticket races were contested. In the big 4 slots (senator, governor, lt. gov., and attorney general) the candidates were already chosen. Though Perry is the only really bad one out of that crowd, only one out of the remaining three is something to be excited about as a conservative. That's Greg Abbott, the AG nominee.

After Perry signed Hate Crimes, there was an effort from some of us trying to recruit Kay Bailey Hutchison to challenge him. That alone speaks volumes about Perry's non-conservative credentials, as Hutchison herself isn't exactly a right winger. I probably would have supported her though had she done it as the way things stand now, anything except for somebody from the John McCain or Arlen Specter wing of the party would look conservative next to Perry.

[GOPcapitalist]

We control 19 of 21 precincts in the county and I'm afraid we will lose half of them with Perry. It's determined by votes for governor.

That's a huge problem that will effect us negatively for the next four years thanks to Perry. Republicans control a huge number of precincts right now due to Bush's 98 landslide giving the GOP dibs of the election judge job. I'd be surprised if Perry tops about 54% statewide this November and he may not even make it above 50%. That'll throw a lot of our precincts to the Dems. They'll get to run the election job slot and we get stuck as alternates. And we all know what that means: 4 years of increased voter fraud by corrupt Democrat poll workers.

[Richard Kimball]

This article explains why a sitting governor only has around 50% approval rating. I can't believe the slate of candidates the Texas GOP has offered this time around.

[GOPcapitalist]

This article explains why a sitting governor only has around 50% approval rating. I can't believe the slate of candidates the Texas GOP has offered this time around.

I agree completely. It is poor to say the least. The only two statewide non-judicial candidates I consider myself to firmly support and tend to agree with politically are Greg Abbott for AG and Jerry Patterson for Land Commissioner. Patterson especially - his politics are about the next best thing to Ron Paul. But the rest I'm either sick of or unenthusiastic about. Perry's an embarrassment. Dewhurst and Cornyn are ok, but nothing spectacular and definately not the best we have to offer. Rylander and Combs are ok, but they're northing more than incumbents seeking reelection this time around.

I'm also sick of a couple of our statewide court candidates. Tom Price is a squishy RINO and Tom Phillips could accurately be called the David Souter of the Texas Supreme Court. Others are better esp. Steven Wayne Smith who is very conservative, but he's an outsider to the party leadership. He successfully challenged an establishment backed RINO incumbent in the primary, and I fear the party leadership and esp. Perry are still mad at him over it.

[Squantos]

Voting for Perry .........nuff said.

Stay Safe !

[HalfIrish]

Look how many people around Bush that are "former" democrats. Then look around Gore to see if you can find any "former" republicans.

That's because the empty suit Algore actually understands better than GWB that "inclusiveness" dilutes your agenda. It's pathetic that any Republican can be outfoxed by Algore.

[Flyer]

He isn't a very attractive candidate

Says who?