Rick Perry has been the Governor of Texas for the past ten years. Perhaps it is time to take a look at the Governor's greatest accomplishments and achievements while serving the great state of Texas.
Whether or not Rick Perry will run for POTUS or not, the Governor continues to brazenly boast about the vibrant Texas economy. Rick Perry stops short of taking personal credit for the thriving economy here, though its successes have little if anything at all to do with Rick Perry. An economically diverse state that includes agriculture, high technology, medical research institutions that bring in millions of dollars in federal grants and one that pumps oil like there is no tomorrow, the Texas economy thrived before Rick Perry arrived in the Governor's mansion and it will continue to do so after Perry leaves office.
Like most right wing conservative Republicans Rick Perry will shamelessly take credit where credit is not due. At the same time the Governor categorically refuses to acknowledge his reckless and irresponsible fiscal decisions, his anti-education and people bashing policies. Given his recent policy decisions most of us get it that Rick Perry has nothing but unbridled contempt for impoverished children, their parents, public schools, teachers, state workers and the elderly.
Governor Rick Perry, once an Al Gore Democrat, earned a D in The Principles of Economics while an undergraduate at Texas A&M University. As the Governor of Texas for the past ten years his so called fiscal conservative economic policies managed to rack up a $27 billion budget deficit.
His campaign donors and Republican supporters don't seem to mind such an extraordinary shortfall and yet hypocritical GOP leaders in Washington rail 24/7 against spending and deficits. These are the very same spending and deficits that somehow did not matter to the Republican majority in 2005, at least according to then Vice President Dick Cheney.
Rick Perry excels as a skillful politician because he is unapologetic about his willingness to serve the needs and desires of his wealthy donors. Conscience free, the Governor obviously has no problem whatsoever with throwing the poor into the streets of abject poverty if need be. This is why some of us refer to Rick Perry as Third World Rick.
His brilliance also lies in the Governor's ability to fool voters by whipping them into frenzies about secession, bashing the "evil doing" government and by fomenting fear, unrest and anger over social wedge issues and culture wars that have absolutely nothing to do with the complex financial challenges that continue to undermine the U.S. economic security.
The D student in economics, Governor Perry, is on record as having said the fears surrounding a U.S. default are mostly overblown. Is that so Governor considering that Standard and Poor's cut our credit rating? Indeed, the stock market reactions to the downgrade certainly tells us what we need to know about the importance of credit ratings.
Besides, what on earth would a life long politician who never held a job outside politics know about U.S. and global defaults and credit ratings? After all Rick Perry himself ran his own state's fiscal house into the ditch. And the Governor essentially outsourced his fiscal responsibilities and duties to the next legislative session. After the 2012 elections of course.
If elected POTUS Perry would no doubt sell off/privatize the federal government to his fat cat donors in order to keep his sugar daddies happy and rich. The Governor would not hesitate to empty the federal government's coffers into the pockets of Wall St. and every other money making industry that would fund his campaigns. This is how Rick Perry has operated as Governor of Texas and this is how he would, God forbid, operate as POTUS.
Rick Perry certainly deserves an A+ for having successfully delivered everything that his puppet masters demand.
Maybe Dylan Ratigan should have visited Rick Perry's Texas some time ago. Perhaps he would have understood the undemocratic and un-American ramifications of right wing extremist conservative and libertarian policies that have been percolating in our society since well before 2008. The libertarian agenda erupted in the summer 2009 with the so-called tea party movement's war against health care reform. Maybe Mr. Ratigan should give the tea party's puppeteers, the Koch brothers, Dick Armey and Karl Rove a call.
Perhaps Mr. Ratigan should also interview Rick Perry and ask him about the personal rumors that continue to haunt him. I am not sure why these rumors continue to resurface year after year but maybe one day they will be revealed or put to rest for good.
I think we can safely give the Governor an A+ in his ability to deliver the goods to his fat cats donors but he gets a F- in taking care of the needs and interests of the vast majority of Texas voters. Many if not most of Texas voters would consider the Governor an unfit candidate for President of the United States.
As much as we'd like to get rid of the Governor sooner than later, the interests and financial security of the United States would be best served if Rick Perry were to stay right here in Texas.
Texas, it is our job to keep the Governor right here. Let's make him stick around to clean up the messes he made in our own backyard before we let Rick Perry prance off into whatever sunset suits him.
