 As we've all heard on Monday and again yesterday, this Saturday Rick Perry will make some sort of announcement that he's basically probably actually running for President. The timing seems intended to invalidate Saturday's Iowa Straw Poll, in which he is not included, and also take advantage of a potentially weak GOP field on display during last night's debate (in which Perry, naturally, did not participate).
It's time to put Perry under the national microscope, and find out how he survives in a broader electoral environment, not just among Texas Republican primary voters. And it's time to make sure that everyone in America knows the real Rick Perry that we've been dealing with for nearly 11 years.
Over the coming months, the media's going to talk a lot about whether Perry can unite the evangelicals, secessionists, and let-them-eat-cake corporate fat-cats like his Texas predecessor George W. Bush. What they might NOT talk about as much are the horrifying statistics and human costs of Perry's record, including high rates of poverty and uninsured children, a relentless attack on teachers and public education, escalating costs of college attendance, and an evisceration of the social safety net here in Texas.
And while the media might rave about his record of "job creation," they might not remember that the vast majority of those jobs are minimum-wage jobs that don't help working-class folks escape the cycle of poverty or create sustainable economic growth for the middle class. They might give some quick lip-service to his flirtation with secession, or his comments that he wants to put major policy decisions in God's hands. But they probably won't get down into the weeds - not just yet, anyways - of the real Rick Perry, the man who politicized the forensic science commission to cover up for executing a potentially innocent man; the man who cares more about shoving a vaginal probe in every abortion-seeking woman than funding public schools and employing teachers; the man who in eleven long, long years has done an awful lot of harm to an awful lot of people. And while many of us are proud of Texas, proud of our history and heritage, of the many great folks we've produced, we're not proud of Rick Perry or what he's done to our state.
So as America begins to give Rick Perry a closer look, here at Burnt Orange Report we're more than happy to oblige, and make sure voters know the truth about Rick Perry's so-called Texas Miracle. Yep, Rick Perry's really made magic happen here in Texas: it's a miracle that he's been able to do so much damage in under 11 years. You think George W. Bush was bad? Wait until you see what his successor's capable of.
Don't let Rick Perry do to America what he's done to Texas!
As we get ready to shine a light on the atrocities of his administration, now's a really important time to make sure the people of Texas weigh on in his time as Governor. It's a big project, one your friendly kid bloggers can't do all on our own. Burnt Orange Readers, you tell us: what's the worst thing Rick Perry has done, and why does it scare you so much that he's running for President?
After all, as the great Texan Molly Ivins once said, "Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention." |
