What we all should know about Governor Rick Perry is summed up rather nicely in the video below.
This is brought to us by a Republican Libertarian radio talk show host in Austin.
Mr. Jones seems to know a thing or two about Rick Perry and Karl Rove. Maybe he can shed some light on the rumors about the Governor's life style that have been swirling around Texas for decades.
Mr. Jones presents a pretty chilling picture about the state of the Republican Party.
Who was it that said fascism would come to the U.S. wrapped in a flag while carrying a cross?
Cross posted at Texas Kaos.
Meanwhile back at Rick Perry's Austin ranch, lobbyists for a prominent Houston home builder, 2004 Presidential Smear Artist and Swift Boater for John Kerry, Bob Perry (no relation to the Governor) and San Antonio grocery store magnet Charles Butt interfered with a Texas Sanctuary Cities bill that had gathered momentum in the special legislative session. This bill is widely supported by tea party and Republican voters. But according to today's news reports the Sanctuary Cities bill is apparently all but dead. The lobbying efforts to kill the bill have been successful so far.
The Sanctuary Cities legislation would have banned local governments from disallowing police and law enforcement officials from inquiring about one's immigration status. In other words, it would be very similar to the Arizona "show me your papers" police state law.
It should also be noted that Bob Perry and Charles Butt are among the biggest employers in the state. Both men very likely rely on cheap labor to keep their profits high.
What a surprise that lobbyists for Messrs. Butt and Perry have more influence over Rick Perry and Texas Republican lawmakers than their constituents. It must give the tea party people great comfort to know that two lobbyists have more clout with the Governor and Texas Republican lawmakers than the entire base of GOP voters. In the ongoing battle for the soul of the GOP between the Republican Money Bags vs. the Tea Bags it is obvious that the money bags have all of the clout.
Money and greed trumps tea party ideology and racism.
One has to hand it to Rick Perry. For he is a master at fooling folks with his home spun rhetoric about Texas values. Silly voters have been buying into Rick Perry's lies about the Texas Miracle for the last ten years.
Another reason why the Swift Boating merchant of hate, Bob Perry and Charles Butt felt the need to kill the immigration bill is because both men apparently believe the Sanctuary Cities bill would hang an inhumane albatross around Rick Perry's neck in a Presidential election. What may play well to misguided and manipulated conservatives in Texas and in the South could be viewed as right wing authoritarian police state tactics in the rest of the U.S.
Houston and the state of Texas has a huge immigration issue that few politicians here will touch with a 10 foot pole. All, including Rick Perry, will wink and nod at the problem at home while blaming it on Washington D.C. Meanwhile, U.S. Republicans won't address the immigration issue either. One can only imagine the tantrums and hissy fits that would be thrown by the Republicans if Democrats in the Senate were to introduce immigration reform legislation. The American people would undoubtedly have to suffer through another summer of Fox Fixed "News," Americans for Prosperity, i.e. the Koch brothers, and Dick Armey led town hall hate fests.
Speaking of the Koch brothers, it seems that our Governor spent some time with the merchants for plutocratic interests and self-serving free market greed mongers on Sunday. Apparently Slick Rick tried really hard to dazzle and charm the fat cat billionaires so just maybe they will support Slick for his Presidential run.
Charles and David Koch of Koch Industries, an energy conglomerate based in Kansas, are among the country’s leading financial backers of conservative candidates and causes.
The Denver Post has more on the gathering: “The meetings are organized by two of the nation’s most powerful conservative political donors, Charles and David Koch of the privately held energy giant Koch Industries. Their brother, William Koch , who on Saturday paid $2 million at a Denver auction for a tintype image of Billy the Kid, also is a conservative political donor, but he does not participate in his brothers’ activities. The guest list is kept secret, and organizers won’t say where the four-day retreat is being held beyond describing it as in the Vail area. … On Friday, a spokeswoman for Koch Industries said, ‘The purpose of this conference is to develop support for the kind of free-market policies and initiatives that can get our country back on the path to economic prosperity and sustained job creation.’”
It’s not entirely clear how Perry got to Colorado, but a plane owned by aircraft dealer Goldsmith Team LLC flew from Aspen to Georgetown on Sunday, flight records show.
In 2010, Goldsmith made more than $25,000 worth of in-kind contributions to Perry’s re-election campaign. And now that the legislative session and veto period are over, Perry and other state officials can again accept in-kind contributions.
This is what Slick Rick does best. He raises money for himself while his state goes straight to hell.
The plutocrats must be most pleased with Rick Perry's ruthless and cruel budget cuts to Texas children, schools, teachers, librarians, hospital workers, state workers and the elderly who rely upon Medicaid. The less for all of the above, the more for the likes of the Koch boys. And with all of the cheap labor provided by a undocumented work force that politicians continue ignore, Texas would be a dream come true, no doubt, for Libertarians like the Koch brothers. They must be licking their chops knowing they can run roughshod over the state with few if any consequences. There are few labor unions and very little regulation and oversight of the banking, energy and insurance industries. Taxes are low. There is no state income tax. Rick Perry and his Texas Republicans have cut social services down to the bone. The Governor likes to brag about Texas as a great place to live but the reality is that it is not for the poor and those struggling to stay afloat in the middle and working classes. For the Governor and the GOP has ripped just about every social safety net right out from under those who need it the most.
This free market madness means Rick Perry helps the Koch brothers, Charles Butt and Bob Perry get the lion's share of the profits while 98% of the American people might get a crumb or two. The plutocrats in turn contribute to political tools like Rick Perry so he and they can get richer every day.
Rick Perry has certainly had no problem with driving an even bigger wedge between the haves and the have nots. But no worries for Rick. For the Governor intends to hold a big prayer rally in order to pray for better times for all. The Governor is not at all bothered that his prayer fest has the support of the American Family Association, an organization that has been labeled as a hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
From Houston area clergy:
Our deepest concern, however, lies in the fact that funding for this event appears to come from the American Family Association, an organization labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The American Family Association and its leadership have a long track record of anti-gay speech and have actively worked to discriminate against the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. The American Family Association and its leadership have also been stridently anti-Muslim, going so far as to question the rights of Muslim Americans to freely organize and practice their faith. We believe it is inappropriate for our governor to organize a religious event funded by a group known for its discriminatory stances.
Rick Perry is another typically ruthless and self-serving Republican Governor that has been very successful at fattening up his fat cat donors while shrinking the livelihoods and future opportunities for everyone else. Make no doubt about it. Rick Perry would be an even worst President than W. He and his Koch funded wrecking ball would devastate and destroy this country as we know it.