Burnt Orange Report

Statement By the Texas Democratic Party

By Byron LaMasters

Statement by Charles E. Soechting, Chair, Texas Democratic Party:

For more than two months now, rumors about Rick Perry's personal life have run rampant in the political community from Washington to Austin. The Democratic Party didn't start them, nor did we coordinate any personal attack on Rick Perry.

In fact, the rumors have been passed around by lobbyists, Republicans, and Democrats - as the Governor knows full well. This is not the first time in the Governor's long political career that personal rumors have surfaced. The Governor's attack on Democrats and his plea for sympathy is nothing more than a political tactic - designed to obscure the bankrupt policies and corrupt practices that have marked his administration.

Just two years ago, Rick Perry earned a reputation for running the most negative smear campaign in modern Texas history, and now he has decided to lash out and falsely blame Democrats in general and me in particular for these rumors.

Whenever it benefited him politically, Rick Perry has injected his mean-spirited politics into the lives of others. He is a man who approved millions of dollars of TV ads that falsely implied his opponent was responsible for murder and drug trafficking.

But what is truly indecent about the Governor's administration has nothing to do with the rumors about his personal life. The real damage being done to people can be seen in homes where children are denied health care, where students can no longer afford college due to skyrocketing tuition rates, and where teachers are laid off and school programs are cut because the Perry administration has put his extreme partisan agenda ahead of the interests of Texas families.

What is truly indecent is the Governor and his staff going scuba diving with his right wing millionaire contributors and holding secret meetings to develop policies that are not in the best interest of Texas families.

Like all Texans, I hope the Perry family is able to put the rumors and personal politics aside and go on with their lives. But we must also ask that the Governor show his future political opponents - and the people of Texas - that same respect.

The Governor can start that process by cleaning up his administration and starting work for the people instead of his millionaire right wing cronies, because the policies of the Perry administration have harmed more families in more ways than any rumor ever could.