My Perry Problem

          Despite the shift to the right caused by the Tea Party, the economy and conservatives in general, the Republican Party remains of two minds.  Opposite of the Tea Party conservatives is the country club set.  These good old boys may be fiscally conservative, but they thrive in the big government world of favoritism where regulators become lobbyists and business leaders become regulators.  In such a crony capitalism environment, government will never shrink and liberty will never grow.  Those thoughts bring me to my Perry problem.    

          Governor Rick PerryOver the last few years, Perry repeatedly denied any interest in higher office.  However in May he said he was “going to think about” it and on August 13^th, Perry officially announced he was a candidate.  Why would he wait so long to join the race?  Who would be hurt the most by his announcement? 

          Perry announced his candidacy on the day of the Ames, Iowa, Straw Poll.  Of course, Perry wasn’t on that ballot and neither was the current Republican front runner, Mitt Romney.  The winner of the poll was Michele Bachmann.  Perry took much of the spotlight Bachmann would have had that day.  Was this just good campaign strategy or one wing of the Republican Party attempting to cut off the other?

          Perry talks the conservative Tea Party talk.  He supports the second amendment, is pro-life, pro-business, and opposes embryonic stem cell research but, as they say, the devil is in the details.  During his tenure as governor, state spending has nearly doubled from 49 billion to 90 billion dollars and that compels me to ask, is Perry a true conservative or a big government good old boy?

Small Government & Individual Liberty   

          We are a nation founded on the idea of individual liberty.  When a leader is confronted with a possible new law, regulation or mandate, a supporter of liberty and small government should pause and consider.

          As governor, Perry issued an executive order on February 2, 2007, mandating that Texas schoolgirls receive the newly approved HPV vaccine Gardasil.  The drug, manufactured by Merck, protects against some forms of sexually transmitted cervical cancer.  Conservatives opposed the requirement because of safety concerns with the new drug, because of the implication that young girls would, or should, be sexually active and because, as a mandate, it infringed on parental rights. 

          Perry was unmoved by these arguments.  As the debate continued, ties between Merck and Perry came to light.  According to press reports at the time, Perry’s former Chief of Staff, Mike Toomey, worked as a Texas Lobbyist for Merck.  It was also revealed that Perry had received $6,000 campaign contribution from Merck’s political action committee.  In May of 2007, the Texas legislature passed a bill revoking the executive order and Perry did not veto it.

         While Perry has said that his Gardasil executive order was a mistake, I can’t help but wonder why someone who says they believe in limited government and individual liberty would issue such an order in the first place.

Borders & Immigration

          Perry continues to support the Texas version of the Dream Act, which permits illegal aliens who came to this country as children to pay in-state college tuition.  My problem with this and similar laws is that my U.S. born children cannot get in-state tuition to Texas schools, but this law allows illegal aliens that option. 

          Perry does not support the border fence with Mexico, instead he gives verbal support to federal “boots on the ground” and technology to improve safety, but not harm trade.  He has also said that Arizona’s SB 1070 law would “not be the right direction for Texas.”  SB 1070 makes it a misdemeanor to be an illegal alien in Arizona and cracks down on those sheltering, hiring and transporting illegal aliens.  I’m not sure why that would be the wrong direction for Texas but, if he were president, I cannot see him suddenly proclaiming it is the right direction for America.   

          Governor Perry is soft on illegal immigration and we should not expect any better from him if he is elected President. 

Justice and Judges

          Early on in his administration, Governor Perry signed a Hate Crimes bill that, among other things, expanded penalties for crimes based on sexual orientation.  In 2007, he vetoed Eminent Domain legislation that would have made it dramatically more difficult for state and local governments to seize private property for commercial use.  Two months before he announced his presidential bid, Perry signed similar eminent domain legislation.

          Governor Perry’s first appointment to the Texas Supreme Court was Xavier Rodriguez, a self-described progressive Republican.  I would just call him a RINO.  In Texas, Supreme Court appointees must be confirmed by election.  In 2002 Rodriguez was defeated by a conservative, Steven Wayne Smith, the attorney in the Hopwood v. Texas case that successfully challenged affirmative action at the University of Texas Law School.  Perry was so upset by the successful challenge that he refused to meet with Smith.  Perry encouraged another judge to run and with support from the governor, Smith was defeated.      

          The more I dig the more I see that Governor Perry talks the conservative talk, but how can I trust a man who has so often said the right thing, but done the wrong?