Free Republic

Now it's not just Texas watching to see what Governor Perry does with the TSA bill.

What's it going to be, Governor? Are you going to add the TSA anti-groping bill (and preferably also the campus carry bill) to the special session, or are you going to wimp out and start trying to market yourself as a centrist?

Perry did not call a special session to abolish sanctuary cities. The special session was called because the Democrats filibustered the budget. Perry just added sanctuary cities to the session because he knew it would look good on his resume and because he knew that the sanctuary cities bill being pushed by Texas Republicans doesn't have any teeth--it makes a statement but doesn't actually do anything.

Of course "makes a statement but doesn't actually do anything" pretty accurately sums up Perry's style of governing. He talks like a conservative but seldom backs up that talk with real action. He's a master of verbal slight-of-hand. He gets everybody talking about his sanctuary cities bill so that nobody's looking at the fact that he supported in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. He gets everybody talking about his day of prayer so that nobody's looking at the fact that he issued an executive order requiring sixth-grade girls to be inoculated against a sexually transmitted disease. He gets everybody talking about the fact that he said Texans might someday want to secede from the union so that nobody's looking at the fact that he folded like a cheap suit as soon as the TSA started talking tough about a Republican-backed "anti-groping" bill (which he now refuses to add to the special session). He gets everybody talking about how he (supposedly) shot a coyote (that nobody ever found) on an Austin jogging trail so that nobody notices that he let the Democrats (in a legislature that's 2/3 Republican) block a popular (supported by 90% of Republicans) gun rights bill (which he now refuses to add to the special session).

Perry is a moderate who wants to look conservative, as long as that's what the voters want to see. If and when he runs, he'll play an uber-conservative during the primaries and a moderate alternative to Barack Obama during the general election. And if elected, he'll be whatever the highest bidder wants him to be.

To: ngat

Here”s a hypothetical for you to consider: Suppose both Gov. Palin and Gov. Perry are running Primary campaigns, and by the time the Texas Primary Election rolls around, all the other candidates have withdrawn besides Palin and Perry. Who do you think would win the popular vote in Texas?

No clue, I'd defer to Texas FReepers for that kind of information and insight. My only point was that I think if Perry jumps in the race he would be an immediate 1st tier candidate with a fairly strong base of conservative support and LOTS of money.

If Perry enters the race, he wins Texas, hands down. Texans (particularly conservative Texans) love a hometown hero. But those Texans who really follow politics and realize that what Perry says and what Perry does are two different things may cause some wave for him in other states.

He's trying to make up for his previously weak stance on immigration by adding sanctuary cities to Texas' current special session. But the bill he's pushing doesn't come anywhere near the type of reforms that are actually needed.

The Trans-Texas Corridor issue ruffled a few feathers but not nearly as many as the Gardasil debacle. A whole lot of parents felt that forcing their daughters to be inoculated against an STD sent the wrong message, and the "opt-out for religious reasons" compromise did little to quell their outrage.

Finally, his failure to follow through on a lot of his conservative posturing regarding the Second Amendment, states' rights, etc--particularly in relation to the campus carry and TSA anti-groping bills he's refused to add to the special legislative session--has a lot of Texans (like me) wondering if they were duped.

I don't think there's any way he could lose Texas, but I think it's very possible that Texas could lose him the nomination.

My comments from another thread:

From what I’ve seen as a lifelong Texan who’s voted for Perry in three general elections (because he was better than the Democratic alternatives), Governor Perry is just another good looking, smooth talking politician who pays lip service to conservative ideals while pushing his own left-of-center agenda. He’s built a reputation as a supporter of state sovereignty by making comments about secession and as a supporter of Fourth Amendment rights by suggesting that TSA agents would better serve this country by guarding our borders rather than our airports, but he didn’t lift a finger to support the TSA anti-groping bill during the regular session (where it had strong support but was killed by the TSA’s strong arm tactics), and he’s refused to add it to the current special session. He’s built a reputation as a Second Amendment supporter by saying that CHL holders should be able to carry their guns everywhere and by claiming that he shot a coyote on an Austin jogging trail, but he’s never thrown his weight behind a gun rights bill, he’s refused to add the campus carry bill (which was killed on a parliamentary point of order during the regular session) to the special session, and it looks like he’s not going to sign the bill that prevents employers from firing somebody for keeping a firearm in their car. In fact, during the past ten years, the only time I can remember him going out on a political limb was when he tried to enact an executive order that would have required 12-year-old girls to be inoculated against sexually transmitted diseases.

From what I’ve seen as a lifelong Texan who’s voted for Perry in three general elections (because he was better than the Democratic alternatives), Governor Perry is just another good looking, smooth talking politician who pays lip service to conservative ideals while pushing his own left-of-center agenda. He’s built a reputation as a supporter of state sovereignty by making comments about secession and as a supporter of Fourth Amendment rights by suggesting that TSA agents would better serve this country by guarding our borders rather than our airports, but he didn’t lift a finger to support the TSA anti-groping bill during the regular session (where it had strong support but was killed by the TSA’s strong arm tactics), and he’s refused to add it to the current special session. He’s built a reputation as a Second Amendment supporter by saying that CHL holders should be able to carry their guns everywhere and by claiming that he shot a coyote on an Austin jogging trail, but he’s never thrown his weight behind a gun rights bill, he’s refused to add the campus carry bill (which was killed on a parliamentary point of order during the regular session) to the special session, and it looks like he’s not going to sign the bill that prevents employers from firing somebody for keeping a firearm in their car. In fact, during the past ten years, the only time I can remember him going out on a political limb was when he tried to enact an executive order that would have required 12-year-old girls to be inoculated against sexually transmitted diseases.

TSA and campus carry. If Governor Perry walks out on his commitment to the people of Texas without at least making an effort to pass those two bills to which he’s paid so much lip service, he’s going to leave a lot of Texans with a bad taste in their mouths.

As I’ve made abundantly clear, I’d need to see both the anti-groping bill and the campus carry bill added to the special session. After all the lip service he’s paid to state sovereignty and concealed carry rights, and after he made such a big a deal out of how he was going to make the Democrats pay for causing gridlock during the regular session, if he doesn’t add those bills to the special session, I’m going to have trouble believing anything he says from now on.

"Not to mention presiding over one of the few states without budgetary woes..."

Are we still talking about Texas?

I'm glad to see he's given us one out of three, but as I said in another thread, I'm withholding judgement until I see what he does with the TSA bill and the campus carry bill. If he backs up all of his strong talk with action, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he's sincere in his beliefs and that he has the courage to lead. But if he takes the politically expedient route and lets those two crucial issues die, I'm going to have a hard time seeing him as much more than a political opportunist. Sanctuary cities is an important bill, but it's definitely the least-controversial of those three conservative agenda items.

It's good to see grassroots politics at work:

http://www.campuscarry.com/home/texas-call-to-action/#content (Not a lot of information here, basically just contact info for the governor and lite governor, but it’s still good to know that others are active on this.)

http://tagtexas.org/208-grassroots-action-phone-calls-emails-and-office-visits-to-support-dignity-in-texas (TAG is hosting a lobby day tomorrow, to support the TSA anti-groping bill. I won’t be able to make to the capital, but my senator and rep will definitely be getting phone calls from me.)

Gov. Goodhair (that name is starting to grow on me) just added sanctuary cities and "driver license security" (not quite sure what that means) to the agenda. I'm hopeful that this means he's about to add the TSA anti-groping bill and the campus carry bill, but I'm a little worried that he may be hoping to placate his conservative base (and get us to forget about the kids being molested by federal airport agents and the students dying in classroom massacres) by throwing us some sort of watered-down, symbolic immigration bill. We'll see.

At least I now have a little hope. He may win me over yet.

Sam, I’m not sure if you’re a big Perry supporter or if you’re just naturally suspicious of newcomers, but I’m not going to get sucked into defending my motivation for posting here. As I’ve suggested in my other posts, I don’t think Perry is the worst possible choice for governor or president, but his failure to follow through on some of his own rhetoric gives me pause for concern that perhaps he’s just an opportunist in conservative clothing.

Honestly, of the handful of problems I have with Rick Perry, the fact that he's a former Democrat isn't one of them. After all, Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat, and he turned out okay.

I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.

My friend said I'd better be ready for the onslaught if I decided to post over here. I guess this is what he meant. My agenda is that I'm sick and tired of empty promises from a governor I've voted for three times (in fact, I'm pretty sure the first vote I ever cast was for Rick Perry). If he ran for president, I might vote for him, depending on who he was running against (I'd definitely pick him over Barry Obama), but right now I'm ticked off that he seems to be putting his presidential aspirations ahead of the needs of his state. He needs to do the job he has before he turns all of his attention to the job he wants.

The way I hear it, he pushed for the sanctuary cities bill because it would give him conservative street cred without actually rocking the boat the way Gov. Brewer’s bill did. And after threatening Senate Democrats with the promise that he’d include the sanctuary cities bill in the special session, he’s yet to do so.

Not only didn’t we get Vermont-style carry; we didn’t even get open carry. A bill that would have brought Texas into line with 44 other states (that currently allow concealed carry) never got a vote. And Perry has yet to sign the “employee protection act,” or whatever they’re calling it, that would prevent an employer from firing somebody for leaving a gun in his or her car. It looks like maybe he’s decided that all of the pro-gun stuff won’t play quite as well on the national stage as it does here in Texas.

I wrote this last night and sent it to a few friends/colleagues. One friend responded that I should post it on Free Republic. This is my first time posting here, so I apologize in advance if I picked the wrong sub-forum or somehow broke protocol.