| Today was not just the State of the State address, it was also a campaign speech. Ricky Perry used today's speech inside the House chamber to discuss his parties failures in Washington.
The code was obvious. Washington is where the federal government is housed. Kay Bailey Hutchison is part of the problem in Washington. Kay Bailey is a problem.
May seem like an over simplification but within Perry's 9 page 5,000 plus word address, he made 7 reference to "Washington's failures" or the federal government.
In the these times of economic woes, Perry started his critique of Hutchison et al. by referencing our pocketbooks.
It was only six years ago when the 78th Legislature kicked off with a $10 billion budget shortfall.
To our shared credit, we didn't raise taxes like so many other states did then...and are again contemplating today.
Instead, we tightened our belt, made spending cuts where we could and focused on key priorities, never forgetting that it's not OUR money we spend here; it's the taxpayers'.
Many of you remember those fiery spending debates of years past, so you'll be ready for some equally challenging conversations in the days to come.
All across the country, states are hiking sales taxes, they're slashing education spending, preparing to pay state employees with IOUs, and begging Washington DC for a bailout.
Because we took a different approach back then, we know it's better to control spending to make government less burdensome, as a way to free up the economic power of our citizens.
It makes sense. It seems like the Republican Washington establishment is lining up behind Kay even if some in D.C. are urging her to hold her seat and protect them from a filibuster proof majority.
Simply put, Rick's got nothing to lose by running against Washington (especially when you can move to the right).
In these times of global unrest and porous borders, security remains a top priority, especially in light of Washington's ongoing failure to provide the resources necessary to secure our border, or implement a sensible immigration policy.
I'm hopeful that my fellow border governor from Arizona will bring a better approach in her new role as Secretary of Homeland Security.
However, until we see results, Texas will continue filling the leadership void created by Washington DC and investing in the safety of our citizens with our own border security effort.
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I believe we should also require the same identification procedure for voting that we require for voter registration. I commend Lt. Governor Dewhurst for his longstanding leadership on this issue.
A democracy without proper protections against voter fraud cannot preserve the public trust.
We should also track the citizenship status of those receiving state-funded services so we can get our hands around the financial impact of Washington's failure to handle the immigration challenge.
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Our experience in the aftermath is a reminder that we cannot rely solely on the federal government and the good intentions of FEMA, but we know we can move a whole lot faster than they can.
We simply cannot, in good conscience, allow our citizens to shiver in a tent or sweat in the sun as Washington drags its heels on housing and reimbursements.
To that end, let's create and fund a disaster contingency and relief account, that gets locals the resources they need when they need them, so they can respond immediately to storms, wildfires and other disasters.
This fund could also pay for other approaches we have pioneered, like the buses we hire to move thousands of Texans out of the path of approaching storms.
In his not so subtle way, Perry attacked D.C. Republicans on immigration, federal response to FEMA, wasteful spending, poor planning, and agreeing to a $350 billion bailout.
Simply put, the Republican Primary for Governor could be a fun, dirty race to watch. Now all we need is a qualified Democrat who can raise some money. Any takers? |
