Has Rick Perry Become A Liability To The GOP?
Put forth on October 30, 2009 by XicanoPwr
Posted in Elections, Republican, Texas
The volatile 2010 Republican Primary race for governor in Texas is starting to play out and it does not look good for Gov, Rick Perry.
This week, it seems like the Republican inner circle is sending Gov. Rick Perry a clear message – he is too much of a liability. This week, former Vice President Dick Cheney has endorsed and will campaign for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s bid to unseat Perry in the Republican Primary. Cheney will officially endorse Hutchison at a Houston fundraiser on Nov. 17.
Cheney’s endorsement comes right after Rick Perry has come under fire for a 2004 execution cover-up that has made national news. The controversy that is now plaguing Perry’s re-election bid is the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham in 2004 after being convicted of setting a house fire in Corsicana that killed his three children.
The Texas Forensic Science Commission hired a nationally recognized arson expert, Craig Beyler, to examine the fire science used to convict Willingham. Just as the commission was set to hear from Beyler’s report, Perry abruptly removed three of its members, including the chairman. The new chairman, Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley and conservative ally of the governor, says he needs time to study the Willingham arson report.
The report that was made public in August found:
The investigators [in Willingham's case] had poor understandings of fire science and failed to acknowledge or apply the contemporaneous understanding of the limitations of fire indicators. Their methodologies did not comport with the scientific method or the process of elimination.
To make matters worse, the Houston Chronicle and Hearst Newspapers are now suing Gov. Rick Perry for not releasing a clemency report that could have stopped the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. The report was used by Perry to decide whether to give Willingham a 30-day stay of execution.
More evidence the GOP inner circle are cutting their ties with Perry, there are other high profile Republicans – particularly those close to former GOP President George W Bush – who have publicly endorsed Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. A couple of those Republicans have close ties with the Bush family, Karl Rove, Karen Hughes and former Bush fundraiser Jim Francis.
Earlier this month, I mentioned Gov Rick Perry was trying to pull a Rove by trying to get the media to focus on something else – possible hacking of campaign website – other than the 2004 execution cover up. It seems it has backfired.
It would be wise for Hutchison to finally set a date for her resignation is she truly wants to take full advantage of her support. Although she is not required to resign from the Senate to run for governor, she did publicly state she intended to resign in October or November. Now that she has backed out, her creditability certainly can become an issue.
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Tags: governor, Kay Bailey Hutchison, primary elections, Rick Perry, Texas | 
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This is the blog of Edmundo "XicanoPwr" Rocha, a social worker, an activist, freelance writer and founder and editor of The Sanctuary. My interests include: immigration reform, critical race theory and it's interaction with equality/inequality and freedom/oppression as they relate to the experiences of people of color in the Americas.
Para Justicia y Libertad is a Latino-centered political blog focusing on the humanistic perspective of politics, history, and society as they relate to the Latina/o community throughout Texas and the United States.
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Whenever I see Gov. Rick Perry on TV or in clips on youtube, he reminds me of a shitkicker gone amok. He also speaks in a way that makes it sound like Texas is an island unto itself.
Funny. I am pretty sure you can find some Texans here who will agree with you.
Interestingly, I noticed on Sunday, some talking heads mention a civil war within the Republican Party. It seems, this is not an isolated incident.
If the State of Texas and our governor were more concerned about reducing property taxes to an acceptable level, the hazardous effects of gas drilling on our neighborhoods and the effects on ground water supplies, I would feel more confident we are not just a state full of big business puppets residing in Austin.
If county property taxes aren’t rolled back and budgets controlled or adjusted to a reasonable level, none of us will remain in our homes in retirement because, we won’t have the personal finances or income to remain in our homes.
If drilling safety measure are not put into place today we are facing a state healthcare crisis in a few years for the people of Texas to deal with financially.
We need Austin leadership that will focus on the people and long term interests of the state, not their own financial interests. I’m afraid our state government resides in the same slot with our Washington politicians. We need change for the better and limitations on term of service on state and federal levels, that allows implementation of fresh ideas, not Business As Usual and Let Them Eat Cake mentality.
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