Small Town News

A businessman as governor? Yes

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EDITORIAL COMMENT

It's time to end the chaotic and frequently embarrassing reign of Rick Perry. A career politician who has capitalized on an overabundant supply of audacity, guile, and lots of luck, he now holds the Texas record for length of occupancy of the governor's chair.

An undistinguished former Democratic state representative who opportunistically switched horses to become a Republican agriculture commissioner and lieutenant governor, Perry inherited the governorship when George Bush resigned in 2000 to successfully seek the presidency.

Then he won the top spot on his own in 2002 by a comfortable margin, downing the flawed candidacy of Democratic banker Tony Sanchez.

Four years later he was the beneficiary of events that any politician lusts for but seldom experiences. Prognosticators were convinced, correctly as it turned out, that he was vulnerable in his quest for a second elected term.

Fortunately for Perry, no one important took him on in the Republican primary. State Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander, who had already switched from Democrat to Republican, swerved again and filed as an Independent, as did entertainer-politico gadfly Kinky Friedman.

With little known Congressman Chris Bell as the Democratic nominee, Perry stumbled into another term with only 39 percent of the vote. His winning vote total was more than 900,000 less than he had received four years earlier.

It was the lowest gubernatorial winning statewide vote total in 20 years. Although his handlers claim that Governor Perry is a powerful political juggernaut, his last general election contest proves overwise.

Happenstance has made him the longest serving governor, but it is high time Texas voters cleaned house. Oops, we forgot, we can't clean house. It's gone! The Governor's mansion once occupied by the Texas political giant Sam Houston, burned to the ground on Perry's watch while he was off on one of many foreign jaunts, traveling on the hard pressed taxpayer's dollar.

The Gov isn't exactly living on poverty row while slow moving reconstruction is underway. Unlike his fellow Republican Mike Huckaby, the Arkansas governor and later presidential candidate who experienced a similar mansion loss while in office, he isn't living in a trailer house during reconstruction. Instead, he and his family happily reside in an expensive $9,000 a month abode in a ritzy part of Austin.

It gets worse. Our current governor's long tenure means he has appointed every one of nigh on to a thousand state boards and commissions. It's a lucrative sideline enterprise for Governor Perry. Magically almost, millions of dollars in "contributions" have been raised for his re-election campaign from scores of these same appointees. His total take from these sources, according to verified analysis, is $17.1 million.

It's a sophisticated method of funding political campaigns that is sleazy at its worst and just plain cronyism at its best.

Most fortunately for those who have rightfully had it with a governor who flaunts and abuses the power of the political pulpit he occupies, there are several alternatives to re-electing the pride of Spanish toll-road promoters.

The most electable, by far, is Bill White, a highly successful businessman who was an extremely popular mayor Houston for six years. He is the Democratic nominee and has a moderate political philosophy - a throwback to past Democratic governors like Dolph Briscoe and Mark White (no relation).

White's personal background is that of a businessman. He has met private business payrolls and has life experiences that resemble those of most Texans who have held real jobs and spent most of their lives in dealing with the vagaries of economic ups and downs.

The Governor, on the other hand is a career politician who has been feeding at the governmental trough for more than 20 years. Almost his entire life has been enmeshed with the unreal world of special interests, self-serving politicians and lobbyists seeking special favors for their clients.

We should and can do better.

Texas is in for a budget shortfall of more than $21 billion. Yeah, billion. We face a tough two year budget cycle and some difficult times. There is absolutely no evidence that Rick Perry has any cogent answers to the problems we face.

Bill White, to his credit, offers no easy solutions. However, his background is rock solid and he is by far the best man to lead our state in this time of economic crisis.

We strongly recommend a vote for Bill White for governor of Texas.



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© 2010 The Free Press Buda, Texas. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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