The city of Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world and it has a new defender: Texas Governor Rick Perry. In August, Perry was given the "Defender of Jerusalem" award. So Perry and his wife flew first class to Israel at more than $5,000 per ticket. The governor's security detail of four Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers was also along for the trip. They all took the 7,000 mile journey to accept the award at a time when the governor was asking everyone else in state government to cut back on travel. During a speech in Houston, Perry directed state agencies to "curtail taxpayer funded travel." According to state documents, the taxpayers' bill just to take Perry's security officers on the 5-day trip was more than $70,000. The breakdown includes $17,000 for rooms at the swanky King David Hotel, nearly $13,000 for food and more than 350 hours of overtime. The specific price tag for the governor and his wife are secret. So when CBS 11 asked to see the governor's expense records for the trip, we received four pages and no specifics. Perry refused to do a formal interview with us and would only say, "Going to Israel or other countries is a wise investment for the state of Texas." Keith Elkins is executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. Elkins and his organization fight for government transparency. Elkins says, "This Governor operates under the premise of 'believe what I say, not what I do.'" While Elkins suggests, "There is something else going on here," he doesn't know what that 'something' is. Records obtained by CBS 11 show the governor's airfare and trip costs for he and his wife were paid for by Irwin Katsof, a financier for energy companies around the world. And the man who presented Perry with the Defender of Jerusalem award, Guma Aguiar, owns a company that made billions of dollars in the Texas natural gas industry. Aguiar also created the award given to Perry. Just two weeks before Aguiar and Perry posed for pictures in Israel, Aguiar posed for a mug shot in Florida. He was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana. Aguiar pleaded no contest. Sheila Krumholz is the executive director of the Washington D.C. based Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks the effect of money on public policy. She says, "There is just too much of a potential for a conflict of interest with these trips particularly with privately sponsored trips." Krumholz also wonders, "Is this the real deal or a sleight of hand to provide political cover of those attending?" CBS 11 obtained a list of people on the trip. The organizers describe those attending as "an elite cadre of 20 executives in, gas and oil, biotech, finance and technology." The list includes an out of state Congresswoman and Texas Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo, whose agency regulates the oil and natural gas industry in Texas. Carrillo says he paid his own way but refused to show CBS 11 any of his expenses. Also on the list of travelers: a host of energy executives, the governor's family -- which included his son's fiancée -- and a member of the State Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Juan Hinojosa of McAllen. Hinojosa told us the trip was not about energy. "I don't recall discussions about oil and gas with the business people there," he said. The governor and others met with the President of Israel, the Prime Minster and Israeli soldiers. They toured the old city of Jerusalem and snapped photos of Aggie souvenirs (the governor is a graduate of Texas A&M). Perry even took time to do an interview with an Israeli TV station. Remember, the governor is doing all this while asking other state employees to "curtail travel." Like the governor, State Senator Hinojosa's entire trip was paid for by Katsof, the financier. Hinojosa also received the Defender of Jerusalem Award. But unlike the governor's four pages of documents, Hinojosa gave us everything he had -- fully disclosing the nature of the trip. Hinojosa maintains there was no conflict of interest by accepting the trip. "We as public officials have to make decision on public policy. Not who contributes money or pays for a trip," he explained. But Krumholz disagreed, saying, "This trip raises real concerns for the potential for a secret junket." The trip also had its share of perks. CBS 11 obtained private emails and found the organizer, Katsof, asked attendees what kind of scotch they preferred for a "scotch and cigar bar" where they would admire "a starry Jerusalem." Krumholz says trips like this "can be a lucrative way to conduct business. You pay for vacation and in return you may get contracts or government brokered deals worth millions of dollars." In late May a Texas appellate court ruled that all DPS expense reports for the governor's security detail were to be made public. A few days later, the state legislature passed a bill to get around that court ruling, allowing DPS to hide the expense reports of the governor's security detail from public view. The law took effect immediately.
http://cbs11tv.com/local/Rick.Perry.Texas.2.1280352.html BY:Bennet Cunningham
Guma L. Aguiar is a Brazilian-born Jewish-American-Israeli energy industrialist and millionaire "BRAZILLIANAIR"[1] businessperson who splits his time living between the United States and Israel. Guma Aguiar is recognized as a leading philanthropist who has supported a variety of Jewish causes including Nefesh B'Nefesh and the March of the Living. In July 2009, Aguiar invested over US$4 million in support of the Beitar Jerusalem Football Club.
Contents[hide]
1 History
2 Philanthropic Activities
3 Beitar Jerusalem
4 References
//
[edit] History
Guma Aguiar was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in to a Jewish family. His family moved to the United States when Aguiar was two years old, though he now lives in the Yemin Moshe quarter in Jerusalem for most of the year.[1]
Aguiar is the vice chairman and chief executive officer of Leor Energy. Aguiar began his career as a clerk on the floor of the NYMEX in 1999 where he focused on the energy markets, with particular emphasis on natural gas. Transitioning from daily trading activity to the long-term physical markets, Aguiar joined with his uncle, Thomas Kaplan, in 2001 to manage a portfolio of family investments ranging from venture capital to private equity and debt. During this time, he served as a director of several public and private companies and was given responsibility for creating a U.S.-based energy company focused on aggressive early-stage oil and gas exploration. After assembling a diversified portfolio of energy properties in Louisiana and Texas, ranging from unconventional natural gas to shallow oil, Aguiar identified and executed Leor’s acquisition of its flagship property in the Deep Bossier of East Texas in 2003.
By late 2004, Leor had amassed the largest land position in the heart of the Deep Bossier, which is one of the most important domestic discoveries in recent history. Under Aguiar’s executive management, Leor successfully engineered the series of financings which fully capitalized the projects in the company’s portfolio including the company’s industrial alliance and joint venture partnership with Encana, which was a mezzanine financing with one of the largest hedge-fund groups, Amaranth Capital LLC; and, most recently, Leor’s financial alliance with its first strategic equity partner, Goldman Sachs & Co.
[edit] Philanthropic Activities
Aguiar is the chairman of the Lillian Jean Kaplan Foundation and is involved in numerous philanthropic activities. He has donated more than US$8 million to fund the activities of Nefesh B'Nefesh, a Zionist organization which promotes mass Jewish immigration from North America and the United Kingdom to Israel. He is also a leading supporter of the March of the Living, which organizes educational programming in Poland and Israel to enable students to better understand the Holocaust and the rebirth of Zionism and the creation of the modern Jewish state of Israel.
For his philanthropic activities, Aguiar was recognized as one of the 36 most influential Jewish leaders under the age of 36 by the New York Jewish Week.[2]
[edit] Beitar Jerusalem
On July 21, 2009, Aguiar announced an investment of over US$4 million to support the Beitar Jerusalem Football Team which despite a massive fan following had grown into financial distress and was on the brink of collapse prior to the investment. A lifelong die-hard sports enthusiast who has played soccer and tennis at competitive levels, Aguiar was motivated to purchase the team out of his love for the sport combined with a passion for Jerusalem and Israel.
Contents[hide]
1 History
2 Philanthropic Activities
3 Beitar Jerusalem
4 References
//
[edit] History
Guma Aguiar was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in to a Jewish family. His family moved to the United States when Aguiar was two years old, though he now lives in the Yemin Moshe quarter in Jerusalem for most of the year.[1]
Aguiar is the vice chairman and chief executive officer of Leor Energy. Aguiar began his career as a clerk on the floor of the NYMEX in 1999 where he focused on the energy markets, with particular emphasis on natural gas. Transitioning from daily trading activity to the long-term physical markets, Aguiar joined with his uncle, Thomas Kaplan, in 2001 to manage a portfolio of family investments ranging from venture capital to private equity and debt. During this time, he served as a director of several public and private companies and was given responsibility for creating a U.S.-based energy company focused on aggressive early-stage oil and gas exploration. After assembling a diversified portfolio of energy properties in Louisiana and Texas, ranging from unconventional natural gas to shallow oil, Aguiar identified and executed Leor’s acquisition of its flagship property in the Deep Bossier of East Texas in 2003.
By late 2004, Leor had amassed the largest land position in the heart of the Deep Bossier, which is one of the most important domestic discoveries in recent history. Under Aguiar’s executive management, Leor successfully engineered the series of financings which fully capitalized the projects in the company’s portfolio including the company’s industrial alliance and joint venture partnership with Encana, which was a mezzanine financing with one of the largest hedge-fund groups, Amaranth Capital LLC; and, most recently, Leor’s financial alliance with its first strategic equity partner, Goldman Sachs & Co.
[edit] Philanthropic Activities
Aguiar is the chairman of the Lillian Jean Kaplan Foundation and is involved in numerous philanthropic activities. He has donated more than US$8 million to fund the activities of Nefesh B'Nefesh, a Zionist organization which promotes mass Jewish immigration from North America and the United Kingdom to Israel. He is also a leading supporter of the March of the Living, which organizes educational programming in Poland and Israel to enable students to better understand the Holocaust and the rebirth of Zionism and the creation of the modern Jewish state of Israel.
For his philanthropic activities, Aguiar was recognized as one of the 36 most influential Jewish leaders under the age of 36 by the New York Jewish Week.[2]
[edit] Beitar Jerusalem
On July 21, 2009, Aguiar announced an investment of over US$4 million to support the Beitar Jerusalem Football Team which despite a massive fan following had grown into financial distress and was on the brink of collapse prior to the investment. A lifelong die-hard sports enthusiast who has played soccer and tennis at competitive levels, Aguiar was motivated to purchase the team out of his love for the sport combined with a passion for Jerusalem and Israel.
Multimillionaire who claimed deputies beat him takes plea deal in drug case
Israeli-U.S. businessman accused officers of anti-Semitism.
Israeli-U.S. businessman accused officers of anti-Semitism.
FORT LAUDERDALE - A Fort Lauderdale multimillionaire has quietly taken a plea deal in a misdemeanor drug case after telling Israeli media that Broward sheriff's deputies beat him and made anti-Semitic remarks during his arrest.Guma Aguiar, the main sponsor for a popular Israeli soccer team, warned in August that sheriff's deputies "should be shaking in their pants" because he would make them answer for abuse he suffered after being pulled over while at the wheel of his Bentley.A Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman dismissed his accusations as "ludicrous." After he told Israel media the same thing, spokesman Jim Leljedal said, Aguiar telephoned him to demand a public retraction."[Aguiar] tried to intimidate me and said that he had money, he would fight and he would embarrass us," Leljedal said.Despite his public claims and threats, Broward court records show that Aguiar, 32, has pleaded no contest to possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, avoiding any jail time or probation.Once he pays $536 in court costs, the charges, both misdemeanors, will be wiped from his record."[The plea] was in his best interest," said Michael Dutko, Aguiar's attorney. He said he was unaware if his client still plans to file a complaint against the Broward Sheriff's Office for his treatment in custody.Aguiar was not available to comment.He told the popular Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot that Broward deputies broke his fingers and punched him after stopping his 2009 Bentley last June 19 on North Dixie Highway in Oakland Park.According to a police report, Aguiar was pulled over after his car repeatedly drifted across the double-yellow center line. Aguiar admitted he had been smoking marijuana, the report says.He was arrested and taken to Broward County Jail, where according to an internal sheriff's department memo, he threatened other inmates and told a guard, "I have money and could buy you, Mr. Deputy."He also tried to head-butt a deputy and repeatedly resisted staff, the memo says.Aguiar accused jail staff of brutally mistreating him and said that when he left the jail, he looked like he had been in a cage match with boxers Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.The Sheriff's Office memo says that while in custody, Aguiar was treated by medical personnel for bruises to his head and elbow and redness to his wrist.Aguiar, who made his fortune in the oil and gas business, became the sponsor this summer of the Israeli Premier League soccer team Beitar Jerusalem and has given millions to Israeli and Jewish causes within the past few years. That includes an $8 million donation to Nefesh b'Nefesh, an organization that helps Jews move to Israel.Leljedal said Aguiar's claims against the Sheriff's Office are baseless."Obviously we will accept the plea and just hope if he comes back, he drives safely and we don't have any further contact," Leljedal said.
James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is a Republican politician and the current Governor of Texas.
Elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998, he assumed office as governor in December 2000 when Governor George W. Bush resigned before his inauguration as President of the United States. Perry was elected to two full terms in 2002 and 2006.
Perry served as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008, succeeding Sonny Perdue of Georgia. He now serves as Finance Chair.
Perry has broken all prior records in terms of Texas gubernatorial tenure, breaking Allan Shivers' consecutive service record of 7 1/2 years in June 2008 and Bill Clements' total service record of eight years (over two non-consecutive terms) in December 2008. As a result, according to the Dallas Morning News, Perry has had the distinction of being the only governor in modern Texas history to have appointed at least one person to every possible state office, board, or commission position to which a Governor of Texas can appoint someone (as well as to several elected offices to which the governor can appoint someone to fill an unexpired term, such as five of the nine current members of the Texas Supreme Court). Should Perry complete his current term in January 2011, he will become the first Governor of Texas to complete two consecutive four-year terms. He is also the second longest-serving current Governor in the United States (North Dakota Governor John Hoeven is the longest-serving, having taken office a mere six days before Perry).
Perry has announced his intention to run for an unprecedented third consecutive four-year term in 2010. He faces a challenge in the Republican primary election from U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison[1][2] and Wharton County Republican Party Chairwoman Debra Medina.[3]
Contents[hide]
1 Early life
2 Texas Legislature
3 Agriculture Commissioner
4 Lieutenant Governor
5 Governor
5.1 Fiscal issues
5.2 Social conservatism
5.3 Perry's Christian faith
5.4 HPV vaccine
5.5 Record use of vetoes
5.6 Supreme Court Justice Steve Smith
5.7 Trans-Texas Corridor
5.8 Death penalty
5.9 Cameron Todd Willingham
5.10 Pardons and commutations
5.11 Environmental issues
5.12 Inauguration concert controversy
5.13 Bilderberg Group meeting
5.14 Fire at Texas Governor's Mansion
5.15 Comments on the sovereignty of Texas
5.15.1 Resolution
5.15.2 Tea Party protest
5.15.3 Responses
5.16 Response to H1N1 influenza pandemic
6 Political future
7 2008 presidential endorsements
8 Publications
9 Electoral history
10 References
11 External links
//
[edit] Early life
A fifth-generation Texan, Perry was born in tiny Paint Creek, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Abilene in West Texas, to ranchers Joseph Ray Perry and the former Amelia June Holt. His father, a Democrat, was a long-time Haskell County commissioner and school board member. Perry graduated from Paint Creek High School. As a child, Perry was in the Boy Scouts (BSA) and earned the rank of Eagle Scout, as his son, Griffin, would also later become an Eagle Scout.[4][5] The BSA honored Perry with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.[6]
Perry attended Texas A&M University where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets and one of A&M's 5 male cheerleaders[7] (called "yell leaders" at Texas A&M). He graduated in 1972 with a degree in animal science. While at Texas A&M University Perry successfully completed a static line parachute jump at Ags Over Texas (a United States Parachute Association dropzone), the dropzone that was then in operation at Coulter Field (KCFD) in Bryan, Texas, just north of Texas A&M (in College Station, Texas).
Upon graduation, he was commissioned in the United States Air Force, completed pilot training and flew C-130 tactical airlift in the United States, the Middle East, and Europe until 1977. He left the Air Force with the rank of captain, returned to Texas and went into business farming cotton with his father.
In 1982, Perry married Anita Thigpen, his childhood sweetheart whom he had known since elementary school. They have two children, Griffin and Sydney. Anita Perry attended West Texas State University and earned a degree in nursing. She has spearheaded a number of health-related initiatives such as the Anita Thigpen Perry Endowment at the San Antonio Health Science Center, which focuses on nutrition, cardiovascular disease, health education, and early childhood programming.
Perry has said that his interest in politics probably began in November 1961, when, at the age of eleven, his father took him to the funeral of the legendary Sam Rayburn, who during his long public career served as speaker of the Texas House and the U.S. House of Representatives. Dignitaries from all over the nation came to the small town of Bonham, the seat of Fannin County, for the official farewell to Rayburn.
[edit] Texas Legislature
In 1984, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat from a district (64) that included his home county of Haskell. He served on the important House Appropriations and Calendars committees during his three two-year terms in office. One of the freshman legislators that he befriended was Lena Guerrero of Austin, a staunch liberal Democrat who endorsed Perry's reelection bid in 2006 on personal, rather than philosophical, grounds. Perry was part of the "Pit Bulls", a group of Appropriations members who sat on the lower dais in the committee room (or "pit") who pushed for austere state budgets during the lean 1980s.
In 1989, The Dallas Morning News named him one of the most effective legislators in the 71st Legislature.[citation needed] That same year, Perry announced that he was joining the Republican Party.[citation needed]
[edit] Agriculture Commissioner
In 1990, he challenged incumbent Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower. Hightower had worked on behalf of Jesse Jackson for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, while Perry had supported U.S. Senator Al Gore of Tennessee. Perry narrowly unseated Hightower, even as the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Clayton Williams, went down to defeat at the hands of Ann Richards.[8]
As Agriculture Commissioner, Perry was responsible for promoting the sale of Texas farm produce to other states and foreign nations and supervising the calibration of weights and measures, such as gasoline pumps and grocery store scales.
In 1994, Perry was reelected Agriculture Commissioner by a large margin, having polled 2,546,287 votes (61.92 percent) to Democrat Marvin Gregory's 1,479,692 (35.98 percent). Libertarian Clyde L. Garland received the remaining 85,836 votes (2.08 percent).[9]
[edit] Lieutenant Governor
In 1998, Perry chose not to seek a third term as Agriculture Commissioner, but instead ran for lieutenant governor to succeed the retiring Democrat Bob Bullock. Perry polled 1,858,837 votes (50.04 percent) to the 1,790,106 (48.19 percent) cast for Democrat John Sharp of Victoria, who had relinquished the comptroller's position after two terms to seek the lieutenant governorship. Libertarian Anthony Garcia polled another 65,150 votes (1.75 percent).[9] Perry thus became the first lieutenant governor of Texas elected from the Republican Party.
[edit] Governor
Perry assumed the office of Governor late in 2000 when George W. Bush resigned to prepare for his presidential inauguration, becoming the first Texas A&M graduate to serve as Governor.
Perry won the office in his own right in the 2002 gubernatorial election when he defeated Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez, polling 2,632,591 votes (57.80 percent) to Sanchez's 1,819,798 (39.96 percent). Four minor candidates shared 2.21 percent of the vote.[9]
The 2006 gubernatorial election proved to be a stiffer challenge. Though he easily defeated token opposition in the primary election, Perry faced a six-way race involving former Democratic Congressman Chris Bell, Libertarian candidate James Werner (a sales consultant); and three independent candidates – outgoing Republican state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn (who chose not to face Perry in the primary race when early polling data suggested she would lose badly), well-known Texas country music singer Kinky Friedman, and write-in candidate James "Patriot" Dillon. Perry won the race in a plurality, polling 1,714,618 votes (39 percent) to Bell's 1,309,774 (29.8 percent), Strayhorn's 789,432 (18 percent), Friedman's 553,327 (12.6 percent), and Werner's 26,726 (0.6 percent). Dillon garnered a mere 718 votes. Perry became only the third governor in state history to have been elected by a plurality of less than 40 percent of votes cast (the 1853 and 1861 races also featured plurality winners carrying under 40 percent).
As a result of his office and his political alignment, Perry is a member of the Republican Governors Association, the National Governors Association, the Western Governors Association, and the Southern Governors Association.
Early in his term as governor Perry worked to make health care more accessible. He pushed through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) designed to insure 500,000 children[citation needed] and convinced the state Legislature to increase health funding by $6 billion.[citation needed] Some of these programs have since faced funding reductions and Governor Perry has refused to resume funding to previous levels even though Federal Matching Funds for Healthcare above and beyond the amount dedicated by the legislature would be available. He also increased school funding prior to the 2002 election and created new scholarship programs to help needy children, including $300 million for the Texas GRANT Scholarship Program.[citation needed] Some $9 billion was allocated to Texas public schools, colleges, and universities and combined with a new emphasis on accountability for both teachers and students.[citation needed] Public schools in Texas are funded primarily by local property taxes thus creating a heavy burden on the local community to pay for their own schools, thereby creating inequities between rich and poor school districts.
Perry's lieutenant governor and governor campaigns focused on a tough stance on crime. In June 2002, he vetoed a ban on the execution of mentally retarded inmates. He has also supported block grants for crime programs.
Another element of Perry's platform has been tort reform; as lieutenant governor he had tried and failed to place a limit on class action awards and allowing plaintiffs to distribute awards among several liable sources. In 2003, Perry sponsored a controversial state constitutional amendment to cap medical malpractice rewards;[citation needed] this proposal was narrowly approved by voters.
This legislation not only caused a decrease in malpractice insurance rates, but caused a significant uptick in the number of doctors seeking to practice in the state. [10]
Recently, Rick Perry has drawn attention for his criticism of the Obama administration's handling of the recession, and for turning down approximately $555 million in stimulus money for unemployment insurance. Perry was lauded by the Texas Association of Business[11] for this decision and his justification—that the funds and the mandatory changes to state law would have placed an enduring tax burden on employers. In September 2009, Perry declared that Texas was recession-proof: "As a matter of fact...someone had put a report out that the first state that's coming out of the recession is going to be the state of Texas...I said, 'We're in one?'"[12]
In response to Perry's remarks, Paul Burka, senior executive editor of Texas Monthly, wrote, "This gaffe...will come back to haunt him in a campaign spot...You cannot be callous and cavalier when people are losing their jobs and their homes. I don't care how ideological the Republican base is. Unemployment in Texas just reached the 8% mark. Everybody knows someone who is suffering in these times. Everybody has lost part of their life savings. It could cost him the race."[13]
[edit] Fiscal issues
Perry, a proclaimed proponent of fiscal conservatism, has often campaigned on tax reform and job growth. Perry resisted creating a Texas state income tax and sales tax increases, protected the state's "Rainy Day fund", balanced the state budget as required by state law, and was reelected on a platform to reduce property taxes that exploded with the inflation of property values in the late 1990s and the 21st century. However, shortly after taking office, he backed down from the reduction of residential property taxes.
In early 2006 Perry angered many fiscal conservatives in his own party by supporting an increase in the state franchise tax alongside a property tax reform bill. Many organizations within the Republican Party itself condemned Perry's tax bill, HB-3, and likened it to a "back door" state income tax.[14] Perry claimed in a statewide advertising campaign that the bill would save the average taxpayer $2,000 in property taxes. Critics contended that Perry inflated these numbers. The actual tax savings, they said, would average only $150 per family.[15]
In 2003, Perry signed legislation that created the Texas Enterprise Fund to enhance the development of the economy of Texas a top priority. In 2004, Perry authorized the Enterprise Fund to make a $20 million grant to Countrywide Financial in return for a promise "to create 7,500 new jobs in the state by 2010." The grant is one of the largest made from the fund in terms of the size of the grant and the number of jobs promised. In the fall of 2007, while slashing jobs and with its stock price plummeting, Countrywide assured Perry's office that the company "believed" it would meet its 2010 commitment[16] only to be acquired in a fire sale two months later by Bank of America.
His sales tax cuts have attracted new retail businesses to Texas,[citation needed] but in recent years his tax cuts have come under scrutiny for having sapped strength from government programs, particularly education. In 2004, Texas ranked 49 in percentage of residents having completed high school[17] and number 42 in physical exercise.[18]
Perry has faced considerable resistance in balancing fiscal conservatism, education equity, and the politics of school finance. As lieutenant governor, he initially sponsored a controversial school vouchers bill as an alternative to the "Robin Hood" school finance proposal. In 2004, Perry attacked the same "Robin Hood" plan as detrimental to the educational system. He attempted to get the legislature to abolish the system and replace it with one that he believed would encourage greater equity, cost less, hold down property and sales taxes, and foster job growth. Perry objected to the legalization of video lottery terminals at racetracks and on Indian reservations as well as increases in cigarette taxes.
In 2003, Perry called three consecutive special legislative sessions to procure a congressional redistricting plan more favorable to Republicans. The plan finally adopted, supported by then U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Sugar Land, brought about a five-seat Republican gain in the delegation. In 2006, however, the five-seat edge was reduced to three seats. Spokesmen for minority groups claimed that the plan was designed to reduce the legislative clouts of African Americans and Hispanic voters.
A special session of the legislature was convened on June 21, 2005, to address education issues, but resistance developed from House Speaker Tom Craddick, a Republican from Midland. Perry's proposal was attacked by members from property-poor districts and was rejected. During the session, Perry became involved in a heated debate with Comptroller Carole Strayhorn about the merits of his school finance proposal. Strayhorn initially planned to oppose Perry in the 2006 Republican primary but instead ran as an independent in the general election.[19] Another special session was convened on July 21, 2005 after Perry vetoed all funding for public schools for the 2007-2008 biennium. He vowed not to "approve an education budget that shortchanges teacher salary increases, textbooks, education technology, and education reforms. And I cannot let $2 billion sit in some bank account when it can go directly to the classroom."
Perry's campaign office in 2006 declared that without the special session, some "$2 billion that had been intended for teacher pay raises, education reforms, and other school priorities would have gone unused because House Bill 2 [the public school reform package] didn’t pass."[20] The bill failed to pass in the first session, and was refiled in a second session, in which the bill was defeated 62-79, after 50 amendments were added without discussion or debate.[21]
Late in 2005, as approval of his governorship sunk to all-time lows in public opinion polls, Perry requested assistance from his former lieutenant-governor rival, John Sharp, who is a former Texas State Comptroller and a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, Texas State Senate and Texas House of Representatives, to head an education task force charged with preparing a bipartisan education plan. The special session convened on April 17, 2006. Sharp accepted Perry's offer and removed himself as a potential candidate for governor in 2006. The task force issued its final plan several months later, and the legislature adopted it.[22] For his successful efforts, Sharp was later nominated by the Dallas Morning News for the "Texan of the Year" award.[23]
[edit] Social conservatism
In 2005, Perry, a social conservative, signed an abortion bill that limited late term abortions and required girls under the age of eighteen who procure abortions to notify their parents. Under criticism from advocates of choice, Perry signed the bill in the gymnasium of Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Worth, an evangelical Christian school.
Perry is also known for his socially conservative views on homosexuality. He condemned the United States Supreme Court decision in Lawrence vs. Texas striking down sodomy laws and called Texas' last such law "appropriate."[24]
[edit] Perry's Christian faith
In what was described as a "God and country" sermon at the Cornerstone church in San Antonio, attended by Perry and other mostly Republican candidates, the Rev. John Hagee stated, "If you live your life and don't confess your sins to God Almighty through the authority of Christ and His blood, I'm going to say this very plainly, you're going straight to hell with a nonstop ticket." Perry was asked if he agreed with those comments and said, "It is my faith, and I'm a believer of that."[25] Perry went on to say that there was nothing in the sermon that he took exception with. Perry said he believes in the inerrancy of the Bible and those who reject Jesus Christ as their Saviour will go to hell. Condemnation from his opponents was swift. Kinky Friedman, the Jewish independent candidate for governor said, "He doesn't think very differently from the Taliban, does he?" Carole Keeton Strayhorn disagreed with Perry's comments, and Democrat Chris Bell said that one who is in public office should "respect people of all faiths and denominations." Fundamentalist conservatives then responded, arguing that Perry had a right to his faith, and that he was not disrespecting Americans of other religious convictions.[26] While on tour in August 2009 interview with Israel's Jerusalem Post newspaper Perry affirmed his support for Israel from his religious background, "I'm a big believer that this country was given to the people of Israel a long time ago, by God, and that's ordained."[27]
[edit] HPV vaccine
On February 2, 2007, Perry issued an executive order mandating that Texas girls be vaccinated with Gardasil, a newly approved drug manufactured by Merck that protects against some strains of the human papilloma virus which causes cervical cancer. The move made national headlines.[28]
Perry's move has been criticized by some social conservatives and some parents due to concerns about the moral implications of the vaccine and safety concerns. On February 22, 2007, a group of families sued in an attempt to block Gov. Perry's executive order.[29] Several financial connections between Merck and Rick Perry have been reported by news outlets, such as a $6,000 campaign contribution, as well as Merck's hiring of former Perry Chief of Staff Mike Toomey to handle its Texas lobby work.[30]
Adding to the criticism of Perry's order is what is viewed by some as a high price of the vaccine which is approximately $US360 in Texas.[31] Gardasil is a patent-restricted vaccine and Merck is the sole producer.
On May 9, 2007, Perry allowed a bill to go into law that would undo his executive order.[32]
[edit] Record use of vetoes
Perry set a record in the 2001 legislative session for the use of the veto: he rejected legislation a total of eighty-two times, more than any other governor in any single legislative session in the history of the state since Reconstruction. Perry's use of the veto drew criticism from both parties in the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, having used the veto only nine fewer times than preceding Governor George W. Bush had during three legislative sessions and twenty-two more than Ann Richards cast in two sessions.[33] In the two legislative sessions since the 2001 session, Perry was more conservative in his use of the veto, employing it only fifty-one times.[34] However, as of 2005, he has used the veto more than any other Texas governor in a continuous administration; the only governor who exceeded Perry's total was Bill Clements, who faced a heavily Democratic legislature. Clements vetoed legislation 184 times in eight years: Perry, 132 times in five years.
[edit] Supreme Court Justice Steve Smith
Perry has made numerous appointments to the Texas courts, the Texas Railroad Commission, as secretary of state, and to other boards and commissions during his tenure as governor. Two of the three Railroad Commissioners, Victor G. Carrillo and Elizabeth Ames Jones, began their service as Perry appointees. The third, Michael L. Williams, started in 1999 under appointment from George W. Bush. He has named six short-term appointments as secretary of state, including two of his former legislative colleagues, Henry Cuellar and Gwyn Shea.
One of Perry's first selections was the appointment of Xavier Rodriguez to succeed Greg Abbott on the Texas Supreme Court. Rodriguez, who called himself a moderate, was quickly unseated in the 2002 Republican primary by conservative Steven Wayne Smith, the attorney in the Hopwood v. Texas suit in 1996, which successfully challenged affirmative action at the University of Texas Law School. Hopwood, however, was overturned in a 2003 decision stemming from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Steven Smith was elected by a comfortable margin over Democratic opposition in the 2002 general election.
Perry objected to Smith's tenure on the court and refused to meet with the new justice when Smith attempted to mend fences with the governor. Perry encouraged Judge Paul Green to challenge Smith in the 2004 Republican primary. Perry raised funds for Green,[citation needed] who defeated Smith in the primary and was then elected without opposition in the general election. Smith attempted a comeback in the 2006 Republican primary by challenging Justice Don Willett, another Perry appointee who was considered a conservative on the court. Smith polled 49.5 percent of the primary vote, but Willett narrowly prevailed.
[edit] Trans-Texas Corridor
As a way to meet the transportation needs of a population that grows by roughly 1,000 Texans per day[35] , Perry proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor, a $145+ billion-dollar project that would encompass multi-lane highways, rail and utilities, speeding the movement of people, products and power across the state. Instead of raising taxes to pay for the project, the project was proposed to be partially financed, partially built and wholly operated by private contractors who, in exchange for a multi-billion dollar investment, would receive all toll proceeds, notably Cintra, a Spanish-owned company, and its minority partner, San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corporation, one of Texas' largest road construction companies.[36] Some of the more controversial aspects of the project include tolls, private operation of toll collections (at rates set by local municipalities), and extensive use of eminent domain (or the option for landowners to maintain a lucrative equity stake in the project) to acquire property.
Perry has come under fire for opposing the public release of the actual terms of the 50-year deal with Cintra to the public for fear they would chill the possibility of the company's investment; Perry's former liaison to the legislature and expert in public-private partnership, former State Senator Dan Shelly, returned to his consulting/lobbying work with Cintra after securing the TTC deal while on the state payroll. All of Perry's gubernatorial opponents opposed the corridor project. The 2006 state party platforms of both the Democratic and Republicans parties also opposed the current corridor legislation.[37][38] In August, 2008, Perry co-signed a letter indicating his interest in exploring a variety of approaches to meeting the state's transportation infrastructure needs.
In 2001, Perry appointed Ric Williamson of Weatherford, an old friend, former legislative colleague and innovator, to the Texas Transportation Commission. Williamson became the commission chairman in 2004 and worked for TTC until his sudden death of a heart attack on December 30, 2007.
In 2007 Governor Perry endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. Many found this to be strange considering the two differed on many issues, but Perry stated he chose Giuliani for his fiscal conservatism and intention to appoint ideologically conservative judges to the Supreme Court.
[edit] Death penalty
Rick Perry supports the death penalty.[39] Perry has been criticized by anti-death penalty groups including some human rights organizations worldwide. On June 2, 2009, Texas carried out the 200th execution since Perry assumed the office of governor. [40] Under Texas law, the Board of Pardon and Parole must make a recommendation to commute such a sentence, which the Governor is free to ignore, but the reverse is not true – if the Board does not make such a recommendation the Governor cannot then commute the sentence. The only power the Governor has is to issue one, 30-day reprieve.
However, the chairman of the board is appointed by the governor, and serves at his pleasure.[41] Also, all the members of the Parole Board have been appointed by the incumbent Governor of Texas.[42] The mission statement for the work of the board is laid down after consultation with the Governor and the procedures and policies of the Board are to a great extent decided by the chairperson the Governor has chosen; the chairman also decides which Board members are to serve when an individual case is decided.[41][43]
[edit] Cameron Todd Willingham
Questions were raised in 2009 by a report from an investigator hired by the Texas Forensic Science Commission that an innocent person may have been executed in Texas while Perry was governor. The report concluded that a fire allegedly set by Cameron Todd Willingham in 1991 to murder his three daughters could not have been arson. Willingham said that he was asleep in his house when the fire started and denied that he deliberately killed his children.[44] He was executed in Texas on February 17, 2004. Prior to his execution Dr. Gerald Hurst, an Austin scientist and fire investigator, reviewed the case and concluded there was "no evidence of arson, the same conclusion reached by other fire investigators. Hurst's report was sent to governor Rick Perry's office as well as Board of Pardons and Paroles along with Willingham's appeal for clemency.[45] Neither responded to Willingham's appeals. "The whole case was based on the purest form of junk science," Hurst later said. "There was no item of evidence that indicated arson."[46]
The Texas Forensic Science Commission agreed to investigate in 2008 after defense attorneys claimed that Willingham was wrongfully convicted on the basis of flawed scientific evidence. Dr. Craig Beyler, a nationally recognized fire investigator in Baltimore, was commissioned by the state panel to conduct an independent review. He submitted a 55-page report, saying methods used in the investigation could not fully support a finding of arson.[47]The report, written by Dr. Beyler, found that "a finding of arson could not be sustained". Dr. Beyler said that key testimony from a fire marshal at Willingham's trial was "hardly consistent with a scientific mind-set and is more characteristic of mystics or psychics.” [48].
But Perry later expressed skepticism of findings by fire experts. He stated that regardless of findings by arson experts, court records showed evidence of Cameron Todd Willingham’s guilt in charges that he intentionally killed his daughters in the fire. Perry is quoted in the report as stating of Willingham, “I’m familiar with the latter-day supposed experts on the arson side of it” however court records provide “clear and compelling, overwhelming evidence that he was in fact the murderer of his children.” [49]
On October 2009, Perry replaced three members of Texas Forensic Science Commission just two days before it was to hear from Dr. Beyler, the author of the latest of three reports to conclude that arson was not the likely cause of the 1991 fire. As a result, the hearing was postponed indefinitely, and critics of the governor accused him of trying to quash the Willingham probe.[50] The three ousted members said that their abrupt removal by Gov. Perry could slow the panel’s efforts to determine if a flawed arson investigation led to the execution of an innocent man five years before. Perry said the commission’s inquiry will continue, saying that his decision to replace the three commission members was part of the normal appointments process. [51]
Ousted head of the forensics panel, Samuel Bassett, has stated he felt pressure from Perry's office and that they felt the Beyler report was a "waste of State money" and that the Willingham investigation should be a lower priority. He went on to say that they indicated they were not happy with the course of the Willingham investigation and hinted at reducing the commission's funding.[52]
[edit] Pardons and commutations
Under Texas law, the Governor is not permitted to grant pardon or parole, or to commute a death penalty sentence to life imprisonment, on his own initiative (the law was changed after former Governor James Ferguson was charged with selling pardons for political contributions). Instead, the Board of Pardons and Paroles will recommend to the Governor whether or not to grant such. If the Board recommends such, the Governor is free to reject the recommendation, but if the Board chooses not to recommend such, in the case of a death penalty sentence the Governor can only grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve. However, it should be noted that due to Perry's long tenure in office, every member of the Board is a Perry appointee.
In 2005, Frances Newton's appeal for a commutation of her death penalty was declined, although some allege that there was insufficient evidence to convict. Her attorney had also argued Newton was incapable of standing trial. The Board of Pardon and Parole did not recommend a commutation, and Perry chose not to grant the one-time reprieve. Newton was executed on September 14, 2005.
Tyrone Brown was an African-American who was sentenced to life in a Texas maximum security prison in 1990 for smoking marijuana while on probation. Texas Judge Keith Dean had originally placed Brown on probation but changed the sentence after Brown tested positive for marijuana. After being defeated in the last Dallas election, Judge Dean requested the governor pardon Brown. On March 9, 2007, Perry (after receiving a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles) granted Brown a conditional pardon.[53]
On August 30, 2007, Perry commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Foster, an accomplice in a 1996 slaying, doing so three hours before Foster was to die by lethal injection. Evidence had shown that while Foster was present at the scene of the crime (transporting the individual who actually committed the crime away from the scene in his car), he had nothing to do with the actual commission of the murder, and, for that matter, may not have even been aware that it had been taking place, as he was outside in his car at the time. Again, the Board of Pardon and Parole recommended the commutation, and Perry chose to accept the recommendation, thus converting the sentence to life in prison with a possibility of parole in 2037.[54]
[edit] Environmental issues
Texas-based TXU is planning a $10 billion investment in eleven new coal-fired power plants over the next several years. In 2006, Perry fast-tracked the permitting process and limited the time frame for public comment on this proposal.[55]
Perry rejects regulation of greenhouse gas emissions because he says it would have "devastating implications" for the Texas economy and energy industry. Many environmentalists consider this position to be shortsighted and alarmist.[56]
[edit] Inauguration concert controversy
Perry invited his friend, rocker Ted Nugent, to perform at a black-tie gala hours after Perry's second inauguration ceremony. Nugent appeared onstage during the inaugural ball wearing a cutoff T-shirt emblazoned with the Confederate flag and shouting offensive remarks about non-English speakers, according to press reports.[57] The NAACP condemned Nugent's flying of the Confederate flag as a symbol of "the enslavement of African-Americans and more recently the symbol of hate groups and terrorists".[58][59] Nugent denied making any racial comments.[60]
[edit] Bilderberg Group meeting
Perry attended the 2007 meeting of the Bilderberg Group in Istanbul, Turkey.[61]
[edit] Fire at Texas Governor's Mansion
On June 8, 2008, the 152-year-old historic state governor's residence was swept by a fire the local authorities suspected was a result of arson. The mansion, which was undergoing planned maintenance, had no occupants at the time; Perry and his family had been living elsewhere since the previous fall. Because the fire occurred outside of working hours, no workers were inside, although much of the building was badly damaged.[62] At the time of the fire, Perry himself was in Stockholm, Sweden, on an economic development tour to encourage investment in Texas.
[edit] Comments on the sovereignty of Texas
Main article: Texas Secession Movement
[edit] Resolution
In April 2009, Perry endorsed a resolution supporting state sovereignty as reserved by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[63] On April 9, 2009, Gov. Perry said, "I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state. That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states' rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union."[63]
[edit] Tea Party protest
At a tea party protest held on April 15, 2009, Perry said, "Texas is a unique place. When we came into the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that...My hope is that America and Washington in particular pays attention. We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that."[64][65] This has been regarded by some as a strong suggestion by Governor Perry about his thoughts on secession of Texas from the Union.[66] In reference to Perry's comments, a spokesperson said that Perry "never advocated seceding".[64] According to Time magazine, experts say that Texas cannot legally secede but it may split into five states.[67] In an op-ed piece[68] distributed on May 17, 2009, Gov. Perry stated "I have never advocated for secession and never will."
[edit] Responses
On April 19, the Amarillo Globe-News posted an editorial[69], writing that Perry "uttered some words that take that discussion to a level not heard since, oh, 1861 - when Texas in fact did secede and joined the Confederate States of America. We all know what happened next."
State representative Jim Dunnam (D-Waco) said:
"Talk of secession is an attack on our country. It can be nothing else. It is the ultimate anti-American statement... We all knew he wanted to be president. I just didn't know it was president of the Republic of Texas."
State senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) said that Perry
"is taking a step down a very dangerous and divisive path encouraged by the fringe of Texas politics."[70]
Rep. John Carter (R-TX) said:
"It is a Texas myth that we obtained the right to secede... It's not the kind of thing the governor ought to say without checking his facts."
U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said:
"Well, I don't think it's particularly useful. The legal response is 'You can't do it.' We fought a Civil War. You can't do it... I think it's a distraction. We have a lot of serious issues. This is not one of them."
Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX) said:
"I think the governor got carried away. You see posturing in preparation for the Republican primary. It serves no useful purpose."
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) said:
"It's known as a joking matter up here. It doesn't present Texas in the best way."
Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) said:
"That's not going to happen. We are interdependent. To secede; it's the wrong thing. Politically, it's going to hurt him."
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) said:
"I'm receptive to the principle of secession. You should have the right to leave."[71]
[edit] Response to H1N1 influenza pandemic
Governor Perry asked for federal assistance in fighting the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.[72]
[edit] Political future
Main article: Texas gubernatorial election, 2010
Should he complete his current term, Perry will have been in office for over ten consecutive years (the remainder of George W. Bush's second term after he left to become President, plus two elected full terms). He is currently the longest serving Governor of Texas in terms of both total time in office and continuous time in office. (Bill Clements previously held the record for total time in office, having served two non-consecutive four-year terms; Allan Shivers previously held the continuous time record at 7.5 years.)
Texas does not impose term limits on its governors; thus, Perry is free to run for a third full term in 2010, and in April 2008, Perry announced his intent to run for reelection.[73] Perry will face a challenge in the primary from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has announced she is running for governor and wil leave the Senate in October or November 2009 to run. Other candidates include Texas secession candidate Larry Kilgore, and Wharton County Republican Chair Debra Medina. Cathie Adams, chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, had already commited her support to Perry prior to her election as chairman, but under party rules, she must remain neutral in the primary contest. Adams succeeded Tina Benkiser, who resigned to party post to work actively in the Perry campaign.
Perry has never publicly indicated aspirations to the Senate or any other higher office. In April 2008 while appearing as a guest on CNBC's Kudlow & Company he specifically stated that he would not agree to serve as Vice President in a McCain Administration, stating that he already had "the best job in the world" as Governor of Texas.
Perry was originally included on the 2012 Presidential Straw Poll ballot at the Values Voter Summit in September 2009, but his name was removed at his request.[74]
[edit] 2008 presidential endorsements
In October 2007, despite their political differences on many social issues, he endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. "Rudy Giuliani is the most prepared individual of either party to be the next President... I'm not talkin' about any mayor, I'm talkin' about America's Mayor," Perry said.[75] Many conjectured that, if Giuliani were elected, Perry might have been considered for a position in the new President's cabinet, or perhaps the Vice Presidency.[76] However, Giuliani withdrew from the race on January 30, 2008 after failing to gain support in early primaries.
Both Giuliani and Perry immediately endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain for President.[77] Shortly after Mitt Romney's somewhat unexpected withdrawal from the race in early February, the Governor reportedly[63] called McCain rival Mike Huckabee and suggested that he withdraw as well to clear the way for McCain to secure the nomination. Huckabee declined this request and made it clear publicly that he would only abandon his presidential bid if McCain secured enough delegates. Huckabee withdrew his presidential bid on March 5, 2008 after John McCain won the Texas and Ohio primaries.
[edit] Publications
Rick Perry's first book, On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Worth Fighting For was published in February 2008 while he was serving his second term as governor.[78] In his book, he criticized the ACLU for its legal actions against the Boy Scouts of America.[79]
Elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998, he assumed office as governor in December 2000 when Governor George W. Bush resigned before his inauguration as President of the United States. Perry was elected to two full terms in 2002 and 2006.
Perry served as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008, succeeding Sonny Perdue of Georgia. He now serves as Finance Chair.
Perry has broken all prior records in terms of Texas gubernatorial tenure, breaking Allan Shivers' consecutive service record of 7 1/2 years in June 2008 and Bill Clements' total service record of eight years (over two non-consecutive terms) in December 2008. As a result, according to the Dallas Morning News, Perry has had the distinction of being the only governor in modern Texas history to have appointed at least one person to every possible state office, board, or commission position to which a Governor of Texas can appoint someone (as well as to several elected offices to which the governor can appoint someone to fill an unexpired term, such as five of the nine current members of the Texas Supreme Court). Should Perry complete his current term in January 2011, he will become the first Governor of Texas to complete two consecutive four-year terms. He is also the second longest-serving current Governor in the United States (North Dakota Governor John Hoeven is the longest-serving, having taken office a mere six days before Perry).
Perry has announced his intention to run for an unprecedented third consecutive four-year term in 2010. He faces a challenge in the Republican primary election from U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison[1][2] and Wharton County Republican Party Chairwoman Debra Medina.[3]
Contents[hide]
1 Early life
2 Texas Legislature
3 Agriculture Commissioner
4 Lieutenant Governor
5 Governor
5.1 Fiscal issues
5.2 Social conservatism
5.3 Perry's Christian faith
5.4 HPV vaccine
5.5 Record use of vetoes
5.6 Supreme Court Justice Steve Smith
5.7 Trans-Texas Corridor
5.8 Death penalty
5.9 Cameron Todd Willingham
5.10 Pardons and commutations
5.11 Environmental issues
5.12 Inauguration concert controversy
5.13 Bilderberg Group meeting
5.14 Fire at Texas Governor's Mansion
5.15 Comments on the sovereignty of Texas
5.15.1 Resolution
5.15.2 Tea Party protest
5.15.3 Responses
5.16 Response to H1N1 influenza pandemic
6 Political future
7 2008 presidential endorsements
8 Publications
9 Electoral history
10 References
11 External links
//
[edit] Early life
A fifth-generation Texan, Perry was born in tiny Paint Creek, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Abilene in West Texas, to ranchers Joseph Ray Perry and the former Amelia June Holt. His father, a Democrat, was a long-time Haskell County commissioner and school board member. Perry graduated from Paint Creek High School. As a child, Perry was in the Boy Scouts (BSA) and earned the rank of Eagle Scout, as his son, Griffin, would also later become an Eagle Scout.[4][5] The BSA honored Perry with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.[6]
Perry attended Texas A&M University where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets and one of A&M's 5 male cheerleaders[7] (called "yell leaders" at Texas A&M). He graduated in 1972 with a degree in animal science. While at Texas A&M University Perry successfully completed a static line parachute jump at Ags Over Texas (a United States Parachute Association dropzone), the dropzone that was then in operation at Coulter Field (KCFD) in Bryan, Texas, just north of Texas A&M (in College Station, Texas).
Upon graduation, he was commissioned in the United States Air Force, completed pilot training and flew C-130 tactical airlift in the United States, the Middle East, and Europe until 1977. He left the Air Force with the rank of captain, returned to Texas and went into business farming cotton with his father.
In 1982, Perry married Anita Thigpen, his childhood sweetheart whom he had known since elementary school. They have two children, Griffin and Sydney. Anita Perry attended West Texas State University and earned a degree in nursing. She has spearheaded a number of health-related initiatives such as the Anita Thigpen Perry Endowment at the San Antonio Health Science Center, which focuses on nutrition, cardiovascular disease, health education, and early childhood programming.
Perry has said that his interest in politics probably began in November 1961, when, at the age of eleven, his father took him to the funeral of the legendary Sam Rayburn, who during his long public career served as speaker of the Texas House and the U.S. House of Representatives. Dignitaries from all over the nation came to the small town of Bonham, the seat of Fannin County, for the official farewell to Rayburn.
[edit] Texas Legislature
In 1984, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat from a district (64) that included his home county of Haskell. He served on the important House Appropriations and Calendars committees during his three two-year terms in office. One of the freshman legislators that he befriended was Lena Guerrero of Austin, a staunch liberal Democrat who endorsed Perry's reelection bid in 2006 on personal, rather than philosophical, grounds. Perry was part of the "Pit Bulls", a group of Appropriations members who sat on the lower dais in the committee room (or "pit") who pushed for austere state budgets during the lean 1980s.
In 1989, The Dallas Morning News named him one of the most effective legislators in the 71st Legislature.[citation needed] That same year, Perry announced that he was joining the Republican Party.[citation needed]
[edit] Agriculture Commissioner
In 1990, he challenged incumbent Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower. Hightower had worked on behalf of Jesse Jackson for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, while Perry had supported U.S. Senator Al Gore of Tennessee. Perry narrowly unseated Hightower, even as the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Clayton Williams, went down to defeat at the hands of Ann Richards.[8]
As Agriculture Commissioner, Perry was responsible for promoting the sale of Texas farm produce to other states and foreign nations and supervising the calibration of weights and measures, such as gasoline pumps and grocery store scales.
In 1994, Perry was reelected Agriculture Commissioner by a large margin, having polled 2,546,287 votes (61.92 percent) to Democrat Marvin Gregory's 1,479,692 (35.98 percent). Libertarian Clyde L. Garland received the remaining 85,836 votes (2.08 percent).[9]
[edit] Lieutenant Governor
In 1998, Perry chose not to seek a third term as Agriculture Commissioner, but instead ran for lieutenant governor to succeed the retiring Democrat Bob Bullock. Perry polled 1,858,837 votes (50.04 percent) to the 1,790,106 (48.19 percent) cast for Democrat John Sharp of Victoria, who had relinquished the comptroller's position after two terms to seek the lieutenant governorship. Libertarian Anthony Garcia polled another 65,150 votes (1.75 percent).[9] Perry thus became the first lieutenant governor of Texas elected from the Republican Party.
[edit] Governor
Perry assumed the office of Governor late in 2000 when George W. Bush resigned to prepare for his presidential inauguration, becoming the first Texas A&M graduate to serve as Governor.
Perry won the office in his own right in the 2002 gubernatorial election when he defeated Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez, polling 2,632,591 votes (57.80 percent) to Sanchez's 1,819,798 (39.96 percent). Four minor candidates shared 2.21 percent of the vote.[9]
The 2006 gubernatorial election proved to be a stiffer challenge. Though he easily defeated token opposition in the primary election, Perry faced a six-way race involving former Democratic Congressman Chris Bell, Libertarian candidate James Werner (a sales consultant); and three independent candidates – outgoing Republican state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn (who chose not to face Perry in the primary race when early polling data suggested she would lose badly), well-known Texas country music singer Kinky Friedman, and write-in candidate James "Patriot" Dillon. Perry won the race in a plurality, polling 1,714,618 votes (39 percent) to Bell's 1,309,774 (29.8 percent), Strayhorn's 789,432 (18 percent), Friedman's 553,327 (12.6 percent), and Werner's 26,726 (0.6 percent). Dillon garnered a mere 718 votes. Perry became only the third governor in state history to have been elected by a plurality of less than 40 percent of votes cast (the 1853 and 1861 races also featured plurality winners carrying under 40 percent).
As a result of his office and his political alignment, Perry is a member of the Republican Governors Association, the National Governors Association, the Western Governors Association, and the Southern Governors Association.
Early in his term as governor Perry worked to make health care more accessible. He pushed through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) designed to insure 500,000 children[citation needed] and convinced the state Legislature to increase health funding by $6 billion.[citation needed] Some of these programs have since faced funding reductions and Governor Perry has refused to resume funding to previous levels even though Federal Matching Funds for Healthcare above and beyond the amount dedicated by the legislature would be available. He also increased school funding prior to the 2002 election and created new scholarship programs to help needy children, including $300 million for the Texas GRANT Scholarship Program.[citation needed] Some $9 billion was allocated to Texas public schools, colleges, and universities and combined with a new emphasis on accountability for both teachers and students.[citation needed] Public schools in Texas are funded primarily by local property taxes thus creating a heavy burden on the local community to pay for their own schools, thereby creating inequities between rich and poor school districts.
Perry's lieutenant governor and governor campaigns focused on a tough stance on crime. In June 2002, he vetoed a ban on the execution of mentally retarded inmates. He has also supported block grants for crime programs.
Another element of Perry's platform has been tort reform; as lieutenant governor he had tried and failed to place a limit on class action awards and allowing plaintiffs to distribute awards among several liable sources. In 2003, Perry sponsored a controversial state constitutional amendment to cap medical malpractice rewards;[citation needed] this proposal was narrowly approved by voters.
This legislation not only caused a decrease in malpractice insurance rates, but caused a significant uptick in the number of doctors seeking to practice in the state. [10]
Recently, Rick Perry has drawn attention for his criticism of the Obama administration's handling of the recession, and for turning down approximately $555 million in stimulus money for unemployment insurance. Perry was lauded by the Texas Association of Business[11] for this decision and his justification—that the funds and the mandatory changes to state law would have placed an enduring tax burden on employers. In September 2009, Perry declared that Texas was recession-proof: "As a matter of fact...someone had put a report out that the first state that's coming out of the recession is going to be the state of Texas...I said, 'We're in one?'"[12]
In response to Perry's remarks, Paul Burka, senior executive editor of Texas Monthly, wrote, "This gaffe...will come back to haunt him in a campaign spot...You cannot be callous and cavalier when people are losing their jobs and their homes. I don't care how ideological the Republican base is. Unemployment in Texas just reached the 8% mark. Everybody knows someone who is suffering in these times. Everybody has lost part of their life savings. It could cost him the race."[13]
[edit] Fiscal issues
Perry, a proclaimed proponent of fiscal conservatism, has often campaigned on tax reform and job growth. Perry resisted creating a Texas state income tax and sales tax increases, protected the state's "Rainy Day fund", balanced the state budget as required by state law, and was reelected on a platform to reduce property taxes that exploded with the inflation of property values in the late 1990s and the 21st century. However, shortly after taking office, he backed down from the reduction of residential property taxes.
In early 2006 Perry angered many fiscal conservatives in his own party by supporting an increase in the state franchise tax alongside a property tax reform bill. Many organizations within the Republican Party itself condemned Perry's tax bill, HB-3, and likened it to a "back door" state income tax.[14] Perry claimed in a statewide advertising campaign that the bill would save the average taxpayer $2,000 in property taxes. Critics contended that Perry inflated these numbers. The actual tax savings, they said, would average only $150 per family.[15]
In 2003, Perry signed legislation that created the Texas Enterprise Fund to enhance the development of the economy of Texas a top priority. In 2004, Perry authorized the Enterprise Fund to make a $20 million grant to Countrywide Financial in return for a promise "to create 7,500 new jobs in the state by 2010." The grant is one of the largest made from the fund in terms of the size of the grant and the number of jobs promised. In the fall of 2007, while slashing jobs and with its stock price plummeting, Countrywide assured Perry's office that the company "believed" it would meet its 2010 commitment[16] only to be acquired in a fire sale two months later by Bank of America.
His sales tax cuts have attracted new retail businesses to Texas,[citation needed] but in recent years his tax cuts have come under scrutiny for having sapped strength from government programs, particularly education. In 2004, Texas ranked 49 in percentage of residents having completed high school[17] and number 42 in physical exercise.[18]
Perry has faced considerable resistance in balancing fiscal conservatism, education equity, and the politics of school finance. As lieutenant governor, he initially sponsored a controversial school vouchers bill as an alternative to the "Robin Hood" school finance proposal. In 2004, Perry attacked the same "Robin Hood" plan as detrimental to the educational system. He attempted to get the legislature to abolish the system and replace it with one that he believed would encourage greater equity, cost less, hold down property and sales taxes, and foster job growth. Perry objected to the legalization of video lottery terminals at racetracks and on Indian reservations as well as increases in cigarette taxes.
In 2003, Perry called three consecutive special legislative sessions to procure a congressional redistricting plan more favorable to Republicans. The plan finally adopted, supported by then U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Sugar Land, brought about a five-seat Republican gain in the delegation. In 2006, however, the five-seat edge was reduced to three seats. Spokesmen for minority groups claimed that the plan was designed to reduce the legislative clouts of African Americans and Hispanic voters.
A special session of the legislature was convened on June 21, 2005, to address education issues, but resistance developed from House Speaker Tom Craddick, a Republican from Midland. Perry's proposal was attacked by members from property-poor districts and was rejected. During the session, Perry became involved in a heated debate with Comptroller Carole Strayhorn about the merits of his school finance proposal. Strayhorn initially planned to oppose Perry in the 2006 Republican primary but instead ran as an independent in the general election.[19] Another special session was convened on July 21, 2005 after Perry vetoed all funding for public schools for the 2007-2008 biennium. He vowed not to "approve an education budget that shortchanges teacher salary increases, textbooks, education technology, and education reforms. And I cannot let $2 billion sit in some bank account when it can go directly to the classroom."
Perry's campaign office in 2006 declared that without the special session, some "$2 billion that had been intended for teacher pay raises, education reforms, and other school priorities would have gone unused because House Bill 2 [the public school reform package] didn’t pass."[20] The bill failed to pass in the first session, and was refiled in a second session, in which the bill was defeated 62-79, after 50 amendments were added without discussion or debate.[21]
Late in 2005, as approval of his governorship sunk to all-time lows in public opinion polls, Perry requested assistance from his former lieutenant-governor rival, John Sharp, who is a former Texas State Comptroller and a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, Texas State Senate and Texas House of Representatives, to head an education task force charged with preparing a bipartisan education plan. The special session convened on April 17, 2006. Sharp accepted Perry's offer and removed himself as a potential candidate for governor in 2006. The task force issued its final plan several months later, and the legislature adopted it.[22] For his successful efforts, Sharp was later nominated by the Dallas Morning News for the "Texan of the Year" award.[23]
[edit] Social conservatism
In 2005, Perry, a social conservative, signed an abortion bill that limited late term abortions and required girls under the age of eighteen who procure abortions to notify their parents. Under criticism from advocates of choice, Perry signed the bill in the gymnasium of Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Worth, an evangelical Christian school.
Perry is also known for his socially conservative views on homosexuality. He condemned the United States Supreme Court decision in Lawrence vs. Texas striking down sodomy laws and called Texas' last such law "appropriate."[24]
[edit] Perry's Christian faith
In what was described as a "God and country" sermon at the Cornerstone church in San Antonio, attended by Perry and other mostly Republican candidates, the Rev. John Hagee stated, "If you live your life and don't confess your sins to God Almighty through the authority of Christ and His blood, I'm going to say this very plainly, you're going straight to hell with a nonstop ticket." Perry was asked if he agreed with those comments and said, "It is my faith, and I'm a believer of that."[25] Perry went on to say that there was nothing in the sermon that he took exception with. Perry said he believes in the inerrancy of the Bible and those who reject Jesus Christ as their Saviour will go to hell. Condemnation from his opponents was swift. Kinky Friedman, the Jewish independent candidate for governor said, "He doesn't think very differently from the Taliban, does he?" Carole Keeton Strayhorn disagreed with Perry's comments, and Democrat Chris Bell said that one who is in public office should "respect people of all faiths and denominations." Fundamentalist conservatives then responded, arguing that Perry had a right to his faith, and that he was not disrespecting Americans of other religious convictions.[26] While on tour in August 2009 interview with Israel's Jerusalem Post newspaper Perry affirmed his support for Israel from his religious background, "I'm a big believer that this country was given to the people of Israel a long time ago, by God, and that's ordained."[27]
[edit] HPV vaccine
On February 2, 2007, Perry issued an executive order mandating that Texas girls be vaccinated with Gardasil, a newly approved drug manufactured by Merck that protects against some strains of the human papilloma virus which causes cervical cancer. The move made national headlines.[28]
Perry's move has been criticized by some social conservatives and some parents due to concerns about the moral implications of the vaccine and safety concerns. On February 22, 2007, a group of families sued in an attempt to block Gov. Perry's executive order.[29] Several financial connections between Merck and Rick Perry have been reported by news outlets, such as a $6,000 campaign contribution, as well as Merck's hiring of former Perry Chief of Staff Mike Toomey to handle its Texas lobby work.[30]
Adding to the criticism of Perry's order is what is viewed by some as a high price of the vaccine which is approximately $US360 in Texas.[31] Gardasil is a patent-restricted vaccine and Merck is the sole producer.
On May 9, 2007, Perry allowed a bill to go into law that would undo his executive order.[32]
[edit] Record use of vetoes
Perry set a record in the 2001 legislative session for the use of the veto: he rejected legislation a total of eighty-two times, more than any other governor in any single legislative session in the history of the state since Reconstruction. Perry's use of the veto drew criticism from both parties in the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, having used the veto only nine fewer times than preceding Governor George W. Bush had during three legislative sessions and twenty-two more than Ann Richards cast in two sessions.[33] In the two legislative sessions since the 2001 session, Perry was more conservative in his use of the veto, employing it only fifty-one times.[34] However, as of 2005, he has used the veto more than any other Texas governor in a continuous administration; the only governor who exceeded Perry's total was Bill Clements, who faced a heavily Democratic legislature. Clements vetoed legislation 184 times in eight years: Perry, 132 times in five years.
[edit] Supreme Court Justice Steve Smith
Perry has made numerous appointments to the Texas courts, the Texas Railroad Commission, as secretary of state, and to other boards and commissions during his tenure as governor. Two of the three Railroad Commissioners, Victor G. Carrillo and Elizabeth Ames Jones, began their service as Perry appointees. The third, Michael L. Williams, started in 1999 under appointment from George W. Bush. He has named six short-term appointments as secretary of state, including two of his former legislative colleagues, Henry Cuellar and Gwyn Shea.
One of Perry's first selections was the appointment of Xavier Rodriguez to succeed Greg Abbott on the Texas Supreme Court. Rodriguez, who called himself a moderate, was quickly unseated in the 2002 Republican primary by conservative Steven Wayne Smith, the attorney in the Hopwood v. Texas suit in 1996, which successfully challenged affirmative action at the University of Texas Law School. Hopwood, however, was overturned in a 2003 decision stemming from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Steven Smith was elected by a comfortable margin over Democratic opposition in the 2002 general election.
Perry objected to Smith's tenure on the court and refused to meet with the new justice when Smith attempted to mend fences with the governor. Perry encouraged Judge Paul Green to challenge Smith in the 2004 Republican primary. Perry raised funds for Green,[citation needed] who defeated Smith in the primary and was then elected without opposition in the general election. Smith attempted a comeback in the 2006 Republican primary by challenging Justice Don Willett, another Perry appointee who was considered a conservative on the court. Smith polled 49.5 percent of the primary vote, but Willett narrowly prevailed.
[edit] Trans-Texas Corridor
As a way to meet the transportation needs of a population that grows by roughly 1,000 Texans per day[35] , Perry proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor, a $145+ billion-dollar project that would encompass multi-lane highways, rail and utilities, speeding the movement of people, products and power across the state. Instead of raising taxes to pay for the project, the project was proposed to be partially financed, partially built and wholly operated by private contractors who, in exchange for a multi-billion dollar investment, would receive all toll proceeds, notably Cintra, a Spanish-owned company, and its minority partner, San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corporation, one of Texas' largest road construction companies.[36] Some of the more controversial aspects of the project include tolls, private operation of toll collections (at rates set by local municipalities), and extensive use of eminent domain (or the option for landowners to maintain a lucrative equity stake in the project) to acquire property.
Perry has come under fire for opposing the public release of the actual terms of the 50-year deal with Cintra to the public for fear they would chill the possibility of the company's investment; Perry's former liaison to the legislature and expert in public-private partnership, former State Senator Dan Shelly, returned to his consulting/lobbying work with Cintra after securing the TTC deal while on the state payroll. All of Perry's gubernatorial opponents opposed the corridor project. The 2006 state party platforms of both the Democratic and Republicans parties also opposed the current corridor legislation.[37][38] In August, 2008, Perry co-signed a letter indicating his interest in exploring a variety of approaches to meeting the state's transportation infrastructure needs.
In 2001, Perry appointed Ric Williamson of Weatherford, an old friend, former legislative colleague and innovator, to the Texas Transportation Commission. Williamson became the commission chairman in 2004 and worked for TTC until his sudden death of a heart attack on December 30, 2007.
In 2007 Governor Perry endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. Many found this to be strange considering the two differed on many issues, but Perry stated he chose Giuliani for his fiscal conservatism and intention to appoint ideologically conservative judges to the Supreme Court.
[edit] Death penalty
Rick Perry supports the death penalty.[39] Perry has been criticized by anti-death penalty groups including some human rights organizations worldwide. On June 2, 2009, Texas carried out the 200th execution since Perry assumed the office of governor. [40] Under Texas law, the Board of Pardon and Parole must make a recommendation to commute such a sentence, which the Governor is free to ignore, but the reverse is not true – if the Board does not make such a recommendation the Governor cannot then commute the sentence. The only power the Governor has is to issue one, 30-day reprieve.
However, the chairman of the board is appointed by the governor, and serves at his pleasure.[41] Also, all the members of the Parole Board have been appointed by the incumbent Governor of Texas.[42] The mission statement for the work of the board is laid down after consultation with the Governor and the procedures and policies of the Board are to a great extent decided by the chairperson the Governor has chosen; the chairman also decides which Board members are to serve when an individual case is decided.[41][43]
[edit] Cameron Todd Willingham
Questions were raised in 2009 by a report from an investigator hired by the Texas Forensic Science Commission that an innocent person may have been executed in Texas while Perry was governor. The report concluded that a fire allegedly set by Cameron Todd Willingham in 1991 to murder his three daughters could not have been arson. Willingham said that he was asleep in his house when the fire started and denied that he deliberately killed his children.[44] He was executed in Texas on February 17, 2004. Prior to his execution Dr. Gerald Hurst, an Austin scientist and fire investigator, reviewed the case and concluded there was "no evidence of arson, the same conclusion reached by other fire investigators. Hurst's report was sent to governor Rick Perry's office as well as Board of Pardons and Paroles along with Willingham's appeal for clemency.[45] Neither responded to Willingham's appeals. "The whole case was based on the purest form of junk science," Hurst later said. "There was no item of evidence that indicated arson."[46]
The Texas Forensic Science Commission agreed to investigate in 2008 after defense attorneys claimed that Willingham was wrongfully convicted on the basis of flawed scientific evidence. Dr. Craig Beyler, a nationally recognized fire investigator in Baltimore, was commissioned by the state panel to conduct an independent review. He submitted a 55-page report, saying methods used in the investigation could not fully support a finding of arson.[47]The report, written by Dr. Beyler, found that "a finding of arson could not be sustained". Dr. Beyler said that key testimony from a fire marshal at Willingham's trial was "hardly consistent with a scientific mind-set and is more characteristic of mystics or psychics.” [48].
But Perry later expressed skepticism of findings by fire experts. He stated that regardless of findings by arson experts, court records showed evidence of Cameron Todd Willingham’s guilt in charges that he intentionally killed his daughters in the fire. Perry is quoted in the report as stating of Willingham, “I’m familiar with the latter-day supposed experts on the arson side of it” however court records provide “clear and compelling, overwhelming evidence that he was in fact the murderer of his children.” [49]
On October 2009, Perry replaced three members of Texas Forensic Science Commission just two days before it was to hear from Dr. Beyler, the author of the latest of three reports to conclude that arson was not the likely cause of the 1991 fire. As a result, the hearing was postponed indefinitely, and critics of the governor accused him of trying to quash the Willingham probe.[50] The three ousted members said that their abrupt removal by Gov. Perry could slow the panel’s efforts to determine if a flawed arson investigation led to the execution of an innocent man five years before. Perry said the commission’s inquiry will continue, saying that his decision to replace the three commission members was part of the normal appointments process. [51]
Ousted head of the forensics panel, Samuel Bassett, has stated he felt pressure from Perry's office and that they felt the Beyler report was a "waste of State money" and that the Willingham investigation should be a lower priority. He went on to say that they indicated they were not happy with the course of the Willingham investigation and hinted at reducing the commission's funding.[52]
[edit] Pardons and commutations
Under Texas law, the Governor is not permitted to grant pardon or parole, or to commute a death penalty sentence to life imprisonment, on his own initiative (the law was changed after former Governor James Ferguson was charged with selling pardons for political contributions). Instead, the Board of Pardons and Paroles will recommend to the Governor whether or not to grant such. If the Board recommends such, the Governor is free to reject the recommendation, but if the Board chooses not to recommend such, in the case of a death penalty sentence the Governor can only grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve. However, it should be noted that due to Perry's long tenure in office, every member of the Board is a Perry appointee.
In 2005, Frances Newton's appeal for a commutation of her death penalty was declined, although some allege that there was insufficient evidence to convict. Her attorney had also argued Newton was incapable of standing trial. The Board of Pardon and Parole did not recommend a commutation, and Perry chose not to grant the one-time reprieve. Newton was executed on September 14, 2005.
Tyrone Brown was an African-American who was sentenced to life in a Texas maximum security prison in 1990 for smoking marijuana while on probation. Texas Judge Keith Dean had originally placed Brown on probation but changed the sentence after Brown tested positive for marijuana. After being defeated in the last Dallas election, Judge Dean requested the governor pardon Brown. On March 9, 2007, Perry (after receiving a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles) granted Brown a conditional pardon.[53]
On August 30, 2007, Perry commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Foster, an accomplice in a 1996 slaying, doing so three hours before Foster was to die by lethal injection. Evidence had shown that while Foster was present at the scene of the crime (transporting the individual who actually committed the crime away from the scene in his car), he had nothing to do with the actual commission of the murder, and, for that matter, may not have even been aware that it had been taking place, as he was outside in his car at the time. Again, the Board of Pardon and Parole recommended the commutation, and Perry chose to accept the recommendation, thus converting the sentence to life in prison with a possibility of parole in 2037.[54]
[edit] Environmental issues
Texas-based TXU is planning a $10 billion investment in eleven new coal-fired power plants over the next several years. In 2006, Perry fast-tracked the permitting process and limited the time frame for public comment on this proposal.[55]
Perry rejects regulation of greenhouse gas emissions because he says it would have "devastating implications" for the Texas economy and energy industry. Many environmentalists consider this position to be shortsighted and alarmist.[56]
[edit] Inauguration concert controversy
Perry invited his friend, rocker Ted Nugent, to perform at a black-tie gala hours after Perry's second inauguration ceremony. Nugent appeared onstage during the inaugural ball wearing a cutoff T-shirt emblazoned with the Confederate flag and shouting offensive remarks about non-English speakers, according to press reports.[57] The NAACP condemned Nugent's flying of the Confederate flag as a symbol of "the enslavement of African-Americans and more recently the symbol of hate groups and terrorists".[58][59] Nugent denied making any racial comments.[60]
[edit] Bilderberg Group meeting
Perry attended the 2007 meeting of the Bilderberg Group in Istanbul, Turkey.[61]
[edit] Fire at Texas Governor's Mansion
On June 8, 2008, the 152-year-old historic state governor's residence was swept by a fire the local authorities suspected was a result of arson. The mansion, which was undergoing planned maintenance, had no occupants at the time; Perry and his family had been living elsewhere since the previous fall. Because the fire occurred outside of working hours, no workers were inside, although much of the building was badly damaged.[62] At the time of the fire, Perry himself was in Stockholm, Sweden, on an economic development tour to encourage investment in Texas.
[edit] Comments on the sovereignty of Texas
Main article: Texas Secession Movement
[edit] Resolution
In April 2009, Perry endorsed a resolution supporting state sovereignty as reserved by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[63] On April 9, 2009, Gov. Perry said, "I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state. That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states' rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union."[63]
[edit] Tea Party protest
At a tea party protest held on April 15, 2009, Perry said, "Texas is a unique place. When we came into the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that...My hope is that America and Washington in particular pays attention. We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that."[64][65] This has been regarded by some as a strong suggestion by Governor Perry about his thoughts on secession of Texas from the Union.[66] In reference to Perry's comments, a spokesperson said that Perry "never advocated seceding".[64] According to Time magazine, experts say that Texas cannot legally secede but it may split into five states.[67] In an op-ed piece[68] distributed on May 17, 2009, Gov. Perry stated "I have never advocated for secession and never will."
[edit] Responses
On April 19, the Amarillo Globe-News posted an editorial[69], writing that Perry "uttered some words that take that discussion to a level not heard since, oh, 1861 - when Texas in fact did secede and joined the Confederate States of America. We all know what happened next."
State representative Jim Dunnam (D-Waco) said:
"Talk of secession is an attack on our country. It can be nothing else. It is the ultimate anti-American statement... We all knew he wanted to be president. I just didn't know it was president of the Republic of Texas."
State senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) said that Perry
"is taking a step down a very dangerous and divisive path encouraged by the fringe of Texas politics."[70]
Rep. John Carter (R-TX) said:
"It is a Texas myth that we obtained the right to secede... It's not the kind of thing the governor ought to say without checking his facts."
U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said:
"Well, I don't think it's particularly useful. The legal response is 'You can't do it.' We fought a Civil War. You can't do it... I think it's a distraction. We have a lot of serious issues. This is not one of them."
Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX) said:
"I think the governor got carried away. You see posturing in preparation for the Republican primary. It serves no useful purpose."
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) said:
"It's known as a joking matter up here. It doesn't present Texas in the best way."
Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) said:
"That's not going to happen. We are interdependent. To secede; it's the wrong thing. Politically, it's going to hurt him."
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) said:
"I'm receptive to the principle of secession. You should have the right to leave."[71]
[edit] Response to H1N1 influenza pandemic
Governor Perry asked for federal assistance in fighting the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.[72]
[edit] Political future
Main article: Texas gubernatorial election, 2010
Should he complete his current term, Perry will have been in office for over ten consecutive years (the remainder of George W. Bush's second term after he left to become President, plus two elected full terms). He is currently the longest serving Governor of Texas in terms of both total time in office and continuous time in office. (Bill Clements previously held the record for total time in office, having served two non-consecutive four-year terms; Allan Shivers previously held the continuous time record at 7.5 years.)
Texas does not impose term limits on its governors; thus, Perry is free to run for a third full term in 2010, and in April 2008, Perry announced his intent to run for reelection.[73] Perry will face a challenge in the primary from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has announced she is running for governor and wil leave the Senate in October or November 2009 to run. Other candidates include Texas secession candidate Larry Kilgore, and Wharton County Republican Chair Debra Medina. Cathie Adams, chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, had already commited her support to Perry prior to her election as chairman, but under party rules, she must remain neutral in the primary contest. Adams succeeded Tina Benkiser, who resigned to party post to work actively in the Perry campaign.
Perry has never publicly indicated aspirations to the Senate or any other higher office. In April 2008 while appearing as a guest on CNBC's Kudlow & Company he specifically stated that he would not agree to serve as Vice President in a McCain Administration, stating that he already had "the best job in the world" as Governor of Texas.
Perry was originally included on the 2012 Presidential Straw Poll ballot at the Values Voter Summit in September 2009, but his name was removed at his request.[74]
[edit] 2008 presidential endorsements
In October 2007, despite their political differences on many social issues, he endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. "Rudy Giuliani is the most prepared individual of either party to be the next President... I'm not talkin' about any mayor, I'm talkin' about America's Mayor," Perry said.[75] Many conjectured that, if Giuliani were elected, Perry might have been considered for a position in the new President's cabinet, or perhaps the Vice Presidency.[76] However, Giuliani withdrew from the race on January 30, 2008 after failing to gain support in early primaries.
Both Giuliani and Perry immediately endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain for President.[77] Shortly after Mitt Romney's somewhat unexpected withdrawal from the race in early February, the Governor reportedly[63] called McCain rival Mike Huckabee and suggested that he withdraw as well to clear the way for McCain to secure the nomination. Huckabee declined this request and made it clear publicly that he would only abandon his presidential bid if McCain secured enough delegates. Huckabee withdrew his presidential bid on March 5, 2008 after John McCain won the Texas and Ohio primaries.
[edit] Publications
Rick Perry's first book, On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Worth Fighting For was published in February 2008 while he was serving his second term as governor.[78] In his book, he criticized the ACLU for its legal actions against the Boy Scouts of America.[79]
SECRETLY FLYS TO ISRAEL ON THE PUBLIC DIME TO ACCEPT A "FRIEND OF ISRAEL" AWARD FROM SOME POT SMOKING HEBREW MILLIONAIRE AND THEN COVERS UP THE COST OF HIS ENTOURAGE BY HAVING A LAW PASSED TO DO SO! OY VEY!
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