| It has been a long seven years since we first started writing about Texas politics here at Burnt Orange Report. Founded during the apex of Republican power in Texas in 2003 we have seen countless scandals, budget cuts, and naked power grabs at the hands of the GOP, too many to begin to name or list here. During this time, one man has come to embody the Republican Party of Texas- Rick Perry.
There are many things we could say about Rick Perry and his failures of leadership. We could cite examples of his failure to support basic preventative health care to children, failure to deliver justice in the Todd Willingham saga, failure to assist the unemployed, failure to control the outrageous growth of Texas health insurance premiums, failure to protect our precious and diverse Texas environment, failure to solve our state's transportation problems by any means other than tolling roads and selling our public infrastructure to foreigners, failure to do anything about the fact that we have the highest rates of uninsured citizens in the nation, or failure to keep tuition costs for higher education from spiraling out of control.
After 10 long years, it almost feels like we have become accustomed to and almost desensitized by his failure to lead. We have fallen so far as to accept open talk of secession as acceptable political discourse.
Texas cannot afford 4 more years of Rick Perry's crippling assaults on the public good.
That's why today, our staff offers its unanimous and unqualified endorsement of former Houston Mayor Bill White in his bid to become the next Governor of Texas.
Describing Bill White can be difficult. Unassuming and quiet at first glance, his vast intellect, intense curiosity, and diverse life experiences provide a powerful force in solving problems as he has in Houston for the past decade. His ability to command a room is uncanny and one he has used direct the attention of private industry to improve the good of the public as he did after Hurricane Katrina.
In his three terms of service to Houston, Bill White has been a strong mayor- not because of the powers vested in him by Houston's "strong mayor" system of governance, but by the initiative he has taken to lead his city forward. White has taken science seriously and has set Houston on a path to retooling its energy economy in preparation for the next generation of energy production post-petroleum (all while reducing energy consumption as the city has grown). White took on polluters and won. White experimented with educational reforms that have become a model for other school districts to follow. And as a numbers driven policy wonk, he retooled Houston's finances to free up money from paying debt to parks and libraries.
The difference in leadership between Bill White and Rick Perry is clear.
Bill White has chosen to engage the interconnected societal challenges of public health, educational access, and economic opportunity in preparation for the next generation. Rick Perry has chosen to mortgage Texas' future for short term political gain and a blind adherence to a failing ideology that looks back, not forward.
It's time to move forward. It's time for Bill White.
On the Web: www.billwhitefortexas.com
On Facebook: /BillWhiteTexas
On Twitter: @billwhitefortx
Burnt Orange Report Reader Poll Results
|
