The need for a law to allow Texans to recall a governor
posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 @ Texas Monthly blog
The Need For Gubernatorial Impeachment Legislation In Texas. Why Gov. Rick "39-percent of the votes" Perry Should Teach Political Science 104: "How to Lie to Texas Voters."
From the "git-go" Gov. Rick Perry has lied to Texas voters and has pushed the legislature to approve special interest bills and actions.
Never in the history of Texas politics has a smooth-talking governor "pulled the wool over the eyes" of taxpayers and voters the way Perry has. In the last election Perry was reelected by 39 percent of the votes cast for governor and won simply because Texas law doesn’t require a run-off.
Some of Perry’s sleight of hand:
Perry provided a sample state budget filled with zero’s to help guide legislators; it took 3 tries for the lege to get the budget approved by the Comptroller
He campaigned hard state-wide to eliminate "frivolous" medical liability lawsuits
Perry "turned the other cheek" when the home insurance industry doubled premiums overnight; months later he and the Tx Dept. of Insurance promised to return a piddly 10 percent back to customers — that never happened and the premiums remain doubled and the highest in the nation
He wanted to finance public education by charging taxes at Gentlemen Clubs — that didn’t catch on even with his party
Perry cut various vital social services including children’s health care and one year later returned some of those dollars, all the while crusading that he had championed and financed those needed programs and services
Perry stepped away from the limelight to let D.C. Congressman Tom "the Hammer" DeLay into the state capitol to brandish the sword for redistricting
Perry promised to provide relief to homeowners for 6 years of astronomical property taxes, crusaded for a 13-percent reduction after three years — after which property taxes rose again and canceled out the relief promised
The governor crusaded to deregulate higher education tuition after which UT and other institutions raised costs 3 different times
Perry pushed to deregulate electric companies after which many increased their rates to customers
Perry accepted special interest money and perks, e.g., trips to the Caribbean, which influenced his decision-making
Perry touts he created thousands of new jobs, but the truth remains that millions of Texans are without work
The governor used his Executive Authority to force sixth grade girls to receive vaccinations against cervical cancer even though doing so won’t necessarily prevent the disease — the serum manufacturer is Merck, a large contributor to Perry’s campaign.
All in all Gov. Perry has been pro his special interest campaign contributors and against Texans and their families. Seldom are the actions of the governor in the best interests of the Texas community at-large.
Currently Texas law does NOT permit voters to impeach the governor. The people must pressure the legislature to provide the legislative means to do so to ensure that the interests of the Texas community prevails against special interest unethical gubernatorial behavior and actions. The legislation is needed to protect Texans from scoundrels like Rick Perry.