By Jim Hightower
http://www.nationofchange.org/
GOP-land is all a twitter, now that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has announced that he's ready to ascend to the White House.
His candidacy was actually launched at a Prayer-A-Palooza in Houston the week before he formally announced. While only about 30,000 evangelicals and Republican faithful showed up at the 72,000-seat football stadium rented for his public prayer spectacle, he was given saturation coverage by the corporate media, which has gone gaga over yet another small-minded, right-wing, Texas governor.
If the fawning reporters had any real journalistic curiosity about what kind of national "leader" this guy would be, they could have slipped away on that same day to the city's convention center. There, 100,000 Houstonians gathered in bleak testimony to his gubernatorial leadership. They were some of Houston's many low-income children and parents who're struggling to make ends meet in Perry's hard-scrabble Texas economy.
These needy families had come to a citywide, back-to-school event where backpacks, school supplies, uniforms, haircut vouchers, immunizations and bags of food were being provided by the school district. Officials expected 25,000 to show up, but four times that number came. Some families camped out for hours before the doors opened, and many were turned away as supplies were exhausted by 10 a.m. "It shows the need," observed a
solemn school spokesman.
Perry is known in Texas as "Governor Supercuts," not only for his spiffy hairdo, but also for cutting the budgets of schools, poverty programs and holding down wages. In his 10-year tenure, Perry has created more minimum wage jobs than all other states combined. His superrich state now has more families in poverty and more families without health coverage than any other. He proposes to bring his "Texas Miracle" to the nation as President Supercuts.
With Perry, you get the two basic political strains of today's Republican Party in one suit. On the one hand, he has carefully posed himself in the past couple of years as the farthest out of Tea Party Republican's far-out right-wingers.
Think Michele Bachman with better hair: Perry called the BP oil disaster an "act of God." His response to the drought that's devastating Texas was to pray for rain (God did not oblige). He's a "tenther" who angrily asserted state's rights to nullify Obama's "socialist" schemes (until he needed federal cash to fix his state's bankrupt unemployment fund). He hates government-financed health care — except for himself and his family. He loudly decries big government intrusion into people's lives, but enacted a law this year to require any woman considering an abortion to have a grossly-invasive probe inserted up her uterus to make her see a sonogram of the embryo. If elected, he would also try to scuttle Social Security, Medicaid and the federal income tax. All this, he warns, or else Texas might secede from the Union — an idea lustily applauded by the other 49 states.
On the other hand, Perry is an exuberant corporate Republican, unabashedly hugging any big business lobbyist bearing a campaign check and a wish list. Although he dresses alluringly for the right-wing extremists, the corporate powers are his true love — and vice versa. Even though he's entering the GOP primary late, with little time to put together a national campaign, The New York Times notes that Perry has, "a vast network of wealthy supporters eager to bankroll his presidential ambitions."
Why? Because he's already proven to be a trusted peer of the corporate-political establishment. For example, Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons invested $500,000 in Perry's politics last year, and this year the grateful governor rammed a special favor into law that lets a Simmons corporation reap a fortune by dumping nuclear waste from 38 states in West Texas.
Among the 204 donors who've invested $100,000-and-up in Perry's give-and-get governorship are AT&T, Wal-Mart, the Koch brothers, Dell Inc., Clear Channel, T. Boone Pickens, Time-Warner Cable, James Leininger, TXU Energy, TRT Holdings (Omni Hotels, Gold's Gym etc.), Bob Perry, Friends of Phil Gramm (who knew he had any!), Bank of America, Valero Energy, Burlington Northern, Harlan Crow, H.B. Zachry, FreeportMcMoRan, Union Pacific Railroad and Exxon Mobil.
When Perry promises to do for America what he's done for Texas, pay attention — it's no idle threat.
http://www.nationofchange.org/
GOP-land is all a twitter, now that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has announced that he's ready to ascend to the White House.
His candidacy was actually launched at a Prayer-A-Palooza in Houston the week before he formally announced. While only about 30,000 evangelicals and Republican faithful showed up at the 72,000-seat football stadium rented for his public prayer spectacle, he was given saturation coverage by the corporate media, which has gone gaga over yet another small-minded, right-wing, Texas governor.
If the fawning reporters had any real journalistic curiosity about what kind of national "leader" this guy would be, they could have slipped away on that same day to the city's convention center. There, 100,000 Houstonians gathered in bleak testimony to his gubernatorial leadership. They were some of Houston's many low-income children and parents who're struggling to make ends meet in Perry's hard-scrabble Texas economy.
These needy families had come to a citywide, back-to-school event where backpacks, school supplies, uniforms, haircut vouchers, immunizations and bags of food were being provided by the school district. Officials expected 25,000 to show up, but four times that number came. Some families camped out for hours before the doors opened, and many were turned away as supplies were exhausted by 10 a.m. "It shows the need," observed a
solemn school spokesman.
Perry is known in Texas as "Governor Supercuts," not only for his spiffy hairdo, but also for cutting the budgets of schools, poverty programs and holding down wages. In his 10-year tenure, Perry has created more minimum wage jobs than all other states combined. His superrich state now has more families in poverty and more families without health coverage than any other. He proposes to bring his "Texas Miracle" to the nation as President Supercuts.
With Perry, you get the two basic political strains of today's Republican Party in one suit. On the one hand, he has carefully posed himself in the past couple of years as the farthest out of Tea Party Republican's far-out right-wingers.
Think Michele Bachman with better hair: Perry called the BP oil disaster an "act of God." His response to the drought that's devastating Texas was to pray for rain (God did not oblige). He's a "tenther" who angrily asserted state's rights to nullify Obama's "socialist" schemes (until he needed federal cash to fix his state's bankrupt unemployment fund). He hates government-financed health care — except for himself and his family. He loudly decries big government intrusion into people's lives, but enacted a law this year to require any woman considering an abortion to have a grossly-invasive probe inserted up her uterus to make her see a sonogram of the embryo. If elected, he would also try to scuttle Social Security, Medicaid and the federal income tax. All this, he warns, or else Texas might secede from the Union — an idea lustily applauded by the other 49 states.
On the other hand, Perry is an exuberant corporate Republican, unabashedly hugging any big business lobbyist bearing a campaign check and a wish list. Although he dresses alluringly for the right-wing extremists, the corporate powers are his true love — and vice versa. Even though he's entering the GOP primary late, with little time to put together a national campaign, The New York Times notes that Perry has, "a vast network of wealthy supporters eager to bankroll his presidential ambitions."
Why? Because he's already proven to be a trusted peer of the corporate-political establishment. For example, Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons invested $500,000 in Perry's politics last year, and this year the grateful governor rammed a special favor into law that lets a Simmons corporation reap a fortune by dumping nuclear waste from 38 states in West Texas.
Among the 204 donors who've invested $100,000-and-up in Perry's give-and-get governorship are AT&T, Wal-Mart, the Koch brothers, Dell Inc., Clear Channel, T. Boone Pickens, Time-Warner Cable, James Leininger, TXU Energy, TRT Holdings (Omni Hotels, Gold's Gym etc.), Bob Perry, Friends of Phil Gramm (who knew he had any!), Bank of America, Valero Energy, Burlington Northern, Harlan Crow, H.B. Zachry, FreeportMcMoRan, Union Pacific Railroad and Exxon Mobil.
When Perry promises to do for America what he's done for Texas, pay attention — it's no idle threat.
15 comments:
Jim Hightower is a long time Yellow Dog Democrat and would do and say anything to damage Perry. He will spin and skew Perry's record in every negtive way he can dream up.
His comments need to be placed in the context of his extreme partianship.
WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME THE GOVERNMENT TIT DRIES UP. WHY SHOUD THE TAX PAYERS BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FAILURES 0F WOMEN CAN'T AFFORD THE BABIES THEY CREATE. WHAT HAPPEN TO "PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY" LET ME REPEAT MYSELF "PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY"!!!!!!!
Hightower is still pissed that Perry kicked his ass.
I give you the Boss. One of them at least. There's a reason he's running for President. Power brings protection.
Hightower's rheteroic has some truth in it, but he doesn't seem to get it. Perry's small town mentality is what is missing in Washington. Government was meant to be small, not the monster we have today. Just to put you in perspective, for every govt. job created, it takes the taxes paid by 12 taxpayers paying $6,000 or ten percent of their salary. The average private sector job pays $48,000. The average govt. job pays $70,000. Where is the balance approach to our problems? Oh yea! Half, 125 million working people, do not pay one penny of income taxes. Where is the balance in solving our defecit problems?
Perry is a joke.He's a flavor of the day politico.I contacted his office last year in regard to the border violence. I was appalled @ the stray bullets hitting the UTB Texas campus.To this day no response. I contacted Ron Oliviera from 42 News in Austin to ask what the Governor's stance was.He ran for office on Securing the Border.The only border Perry was at was Border Book Store promoting his new book. Perry can' t secure Texas Border .He's delusional to think he can go Global.Hairspray has made a whole on his head.
Hightower did get his ass kicked. No one knows Perry as Governor Supercuts. He's Governor Goodhair.
Hightower still can't get over the shalacking Perry gave him when he was defeated for AG Sec'y. I am not a Perry supporter but I would rather vote as an independent then vote for anyone running as a Dumbokrat. Just look at all the corruption which has been exposed involving our illustrious democrat party leaders. Da asco!
Give away free shit, and everyone will show up to put in their pockets. That doesn't impress me one bit!
If four more years of O'frauda is the consequence of not electing Perry, Perry wins hands-down every time!
Rick Perry is a DICK! He has made many claims about his leadership and his accomplishments in Texas....but the Texas Constitution mandates a balanced budget, we have too many poor people and the oil and gas industry has kept the state afloat financially for many years. He is just a "cutsy" Aggie Yell Leader who has lived off the public tit for his entire career. As a Republican, I could never vote for his "far right" religious position. Its time to get religion and religious radicals out of Americaqn politics. The radical right that Perry has embraced are Christian jihadists.
anon 8/29/11 @10:40AM
YOU "THING" IS NO REPUBLICAN!!!!!!!
ONLY THE LEFT MAKE PERSONAL ATTACKS NEVER ATTACK THE "ISSUES"
ONLY THE LEFT ATTACK OUR CHRISTIAN JUDEO VALUES AND KISS ASS ISLAMIC TERRORIST
ONLY THE LEFT ACCUSE CHRISTIANS BEING "JIHADIST."
YOU "THING" IS SO BLINDED BY YOUR LEFTIST/SOCIALIST IDEOLOGY THAT THE REAL RADICALS ARE YOUR KIND!!!!!
YOUR KIND HAVE MURDER OVER 40 MILLION UNBORN BABIES, THAT'S UP THERE WITH WHAT THE NAZIS DID OR CHAIRMAN MAO, OR SADDAM HUSSEIN!!!!!!!!!!!
To the 10:40 poster, your a village idiot. Look around you fool, we're the armpit of the country. We're the poorest region in the USA! Who do you have to blame for this dubious distinction? The democratic party of south Texas. Now if you listen to talk radio, which you probably don't, you would find out that millions of dollars were sent to Hidalgo county to hire 70 plus people to create a Hurrican Ready Dept. Who are the first to get the bulk of a hurricane? It isn't Hidalgo county! I wonder if Cameron didn't get a penny because of our Republican County Judge or our Repubican Rep.? That is what the left does to the right, get a life you screwball idiot. All of us got the shaft from Obama on this deal and your complaining about Rick Perrys religous leanings! What a maggot!
What do we have to do as a community or a valley to make things better for everyone? That is what we have think about. As long as we are liberals, we are not going to be listened to. Texas is a conservative state and we need conservative people. We need some common sense people in Austin and Washington. We don't need the losers we've been sending for the past 20 years.
Women who can't pay for their babies? Wonder why that is? No jobs maybe? Less pay for harder work? Hmmmmmmm.
>Among the 204 donors who've invested $100,000-and-up in Perry's give-and-get governorship are AT&T, Wal-Mart, the Koch brothers, Dell Inc., Clear Channel, T. Boone Pickens, Time-Warner Cable, James Leininger, TXU Energy, TRT Holdings (Omni Hotels, Gold's Gym etc.), Bob Perry, Friends of Phil Gramm (who knew he had any!), Bank of America, Valero Energy, Burlington Northern, Harlan Crow, H.B. Zachry, FreeportMcMoRan, Union Pacific Railroad and Exxon Mobil.
When Perry promises to do for America what he's done for Texas, pay attention — it's no idle threat. >
Can you tell me where you got this info? I would love to look it up. Thanks.
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