Tag Archives: Rick Perry

national news, political news

Jeb Bush says ‘I told you so’

Dear Jeb,

OK. You win. Sort of.

You’re saying you warned us about Donald J. Trump becoming a “chaos president.” Now you’re crowing a little bit too loudly about the prediction that has come true.

Let me admonish you, though, on a key point: You were far from being the only observer to make such an observation.

Granted, many of us didn’t precisely use the term “chaos president,” as you claim to have done. A lot of pols around the country — especially some Republicans just like yourself — used some quite harsh language to describe the fellow who won the election this past year.

Mitt Romney warned of electing a “phony” and a “fraud”; Rick Perry called Trump a “cancer on conservatism”; Ted Cruz, another Texan, described Trump as “amoral.” There were others, but you get the point.

A lot of us out here in Flyover Country referred to Trump’s unfitness for the office. The implication, although not stated explicitly, was that his absolute ignorance about public policy, politics, public service and government would lead to the kind of chaos that has erupted in just the first 100-some days of his presidency.

It’s all coming to pass.

Will it doom this guy? Will it result in impeachment and conviction in the Senate? Will it force him to quit before the House impeaches him?

I am not going to bet the farm on any of it. He should have been toast while running for office when he said Sen. John McCain wasn’t a real “war hero,” or when he mocked that New York Times reporter’s disability, or when he acknowledged grabbing women by their private parts, or when he disparaged the Gold Star couple who spoke against him at the Democratic National Convention.

Jeb, he not only withstood all of that tempest, he parlayed it in some perverse fashion to shore up his standing among your party’s “base.”

Yep, he’s the “chaos president,” just as you said it would be.

Make no mistake, Jeb. I detest the guy as much as you do. Maybe more. It is appalling in the extreme that he managed to win the election.

I now plan to wait for the special counsel to do his job. We’ll get to hear from James Comey shortly when the former FBI director tells the Senate Intelligence Committee what it needs to hear.

And we’ll all get to watch as the chaos continues — and you’ll get to gloat some more.

national news, political news, State news

Trump and Perry: national security BFFs?

How in the world do these things happen?

Political foes say some amazingly harsh things to and about each other. Then when the fight is over, they declare a winner, all is forgiven and forgotten. It’s just politics, man. Which means that we didn’t really mean all those angry things we said to the other guy.

I just caught up with a story published in the Texas Tribune that seems to illustrate all of that quite nicely. Former longtime Texas Gov. Rick Perry — who now serves as secretary of energy in the Donald J. Trump Cabinet — is now joining the National Security Council. Perry has become one of the president’s more trusted national security advisers.

Did they cure the ‘cancer on conservatism’?

Rick Perry once challenged Trump for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. He was one of a thundering herd of GOP hopefuls seeking to succeed President Obama.

Perry didn’t make the grade — again! But before he stepped off the stage, he did manage to launch a scathing, blistering attack on Trump, whom he called a “cancer on conservatism.” He said the cancer needed to be “excised” from the party, meaning, I suppose, that Republicans needed to do all they could to avoid nominating Trump.

Lo and behold! Trump wins the election and then selects Perry to run the DOE, which in itself is soaked in irony. You’ll recall that Perry ran for president in 2012 and during a primary debate sought to name the three federal agencies he would eliminate. He mentioned the departments of Education and Commerce, but then forgot the Energy Department, producing that infamous “oops” moment that likely will live forever.

I get that energy policy is a national security matter and that the energy secretary deserves to be included in national security discussions on the NSC.

It still does boggle my mind to see Rick Perry — of all people — elevated to this exalted place during this troubling time.

It makes me ask: Did he really mean that stuff about curing the conservative movement of its “cancer,” or was he making it all up?

How will we know when he’s speaking from the heart or whether he is merely pandering?

education news, national news, State news

Stick to energy issues, Secretary Perry

Count me as one of those who is astonished at comments from Energy Secretary Rick “Oops” Perry.

What got the new energy boss’s dander up? Get a load of this.

He’s angry that Texas A&M University’s Student Government Association has elected its first openly gay president.

Wow! Um, Secretary Perry, you have a full plate of national security and energy issues that deserve your attention. I get that you’re a dedicated Aggie grad, a former yell leader at A&M and former Texas governor.

But holy crap, dude!

Perry said Bobby Brooks’ election was “stolen” from another candidate who was disqualified on technical grounds.

Gig ’em, Rick?

“The desire of the electorate is overturned, and thousands of student votes are disqualified, because of free glow sticks that appeared for eleven seconds of a months-long campaign,” Perry wrote to the Houston Chronicle. “Apparently glow sticks merit the same punishment as voter intimidation.”

I am not going to get into the details of a student body government election. I have no dog in that fight. Nor do I have any particular interest in it.

It astounds me, though, that Secretary Perry would even decide to weigh in on this matter. Of all the things that should occupy the secretary’s attention now that he has a new job in the Trump administration, one would think that a Texas A&M University SGA election would barely appear on his radar screen.

According to the Houston Chronicle: “Mark Jones, a Rice University political science professor who has watched Perry political career rise and fall for years, said he, too, was surprised by Perry’s intervention into the A&M election.

“‘This must be his inner Aggie speaking, because this is certainly not something you expect a cabinet secretary to weigh in on – actually, probably not even a governor,’ Jones said. ‘It’s strange. Of all the things he could have an opinion on, this is probably not the smartest move for a cabinet secretary. He must really be upset about it.'”

Yep. He’s mad and he’s going to throw the weight of his office behind some real or feigned outrage over Bobby Brooks’ election as student body president.

C’mon, Mr. Secretary. Let the new SGA boss do his job … whatever the heck it is. Brooks’ first priority, after all, ought to focus on his studies.

I think it’s reasonable to ask: Would the energy secretary be as hopped up over this if Bobby Brooks weren’t gay?

State news

State takes step toward motor vehicle sanity

Texas is one step closer to joining several other states in doing something all states should do.

They should issue statewide bans on using handheld telecommunications devices while operating a motor vehicle.

The Texas House of Representatives has voted in favor of such a ban. It now goes to the state Senate. If it clears the Senate, it goes to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

It’s not the first time a Texas governor has seen this kind of legislation. Abbott’s predecessor, Rick Perry, vetoed a statewide ban in 2011.

The dummy. He said the bill constituted a government intrusion.

https://highplainsblogger.com/2009/03/multi-tasking-at-the-wheel/

Please! The issue is public safety.

Fortunately, the Panhandle’s House delegation — all Republicans just like Abbott and Perry — is on board with this bill.

If we adhere to Gov. Perry’s logic, then we wouldn’t have laws mandating seat belt use, or banning drinking and driving.

Let’s finish the task, Texas senators and send it to Gov. Abbott’s desk. And let’s make the bill a state law that provides a uniform code for all motorists driving along every mile of Texas streets, roads and highways.

State news

‘Yes’ to statewide cellphone-driving ban

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I just got caught up a bit with some news out of the Texas Legislature.

It is considering a bill that would impose a statewide ban on the use of cellphones by drivers operating a motor vehicle.

How about approving this bill and sending it to the governor’s desk? And how about this governor, Greg Abbott, doing what his predecessor failed to do, which is sign it into law?

Former Gov. Rick Perry received a cellphone use while driving bill in 2011. He vetoed the bill, calling it a government intrusion. Let me count the ways that such a supposed “reason” doesn’t make sense, given all the ways that government “intrudes” into people’s lives with certain rules.

Speeding? Drinking while driving? Mandatory seat belts?

Don’t those laws “intrude” on Texans’ private lives? Oh, sure. They protect public safety. Well, so does a ban on cellphone use.

Even the Amarillo Globe-News has endorsed this bill, which is a bit of a surprise given the newspaper’s tendency to lean against so-called “government intrusion.” I’m glad to see the newspaper continuing the fight we used to wage against this kind idiocy by motorists back when I was working there.

I also ought to point out that a statewide ban — with signs posted at every border — would alert every motorists entering Texas that the ban covers even those vast expanses of rural highways that do not pass through incorporated cities and towns.

Amarillo has a cellphone ban for motorists to obey. So do many other cities. Not all of them have such ordinances on the books. A statewide ban gives consistency across the state and puts motorists on notice that they’d better be using a hands-free device while talking on someone as they sit behind a moving motor vehicle.

Pass the bill, legislators. Sign it into law, Gov. Abbott.

local news, political news, State news

Election runoff: a waste of valuable public money

I’ll admit right up front that this rant isn’t terribly important, what with Russian influence on our electoral process and the possibility that the president of the United States colluded with the former (or current?) Evil Empire.

I see all those “Ginger Nelson for Mayor” signs around our southwest Amarillo neighborhood. I hope she wins against her two opponents. As much as that, though, I hope Nelson wins outright on May 6 — and avoids having to campaign again against the second-place finisher, whoever it might be.

State law requires runoff elections when candidates fail to reach an outright majority the first time around. It’s true in our partisan primary elections, although not in our general elections; Rick Perry, you’ll recall, was re-elected Texas governor in 2006 with about 39 percent of the vote in a three-way contest.

These municipal and county elections require candidates to obtain majorities. Pluralities — even healthy ones — aren’t good enough.

The way I see it, if we can elect presidents of the United States without clear majorities, surely we can elect lower-level politicians with them, either.

I do understand that presidents need a majority of Electoral College votes to win, so perhaps this particular comparison isn’t entirely appropriate. We still elected a president in 1992 who received 43 percent of the popular vote.

Runoffs end up costing the public a bundle of money, particularly when the turnouts are beyond abysmal. It’s insulting enough in Texas and many other states — primarily in the South — where turnout is pitiful in these local and/or partisan primary contests.

To add insult to it all, we have runoff elections where the dismal turnout declines even more while saddling taxpayers such as you and me with the bill.

I get that we seem to love elections in Texas. If only we would participate in numbers that testify to such affection. So, let’s not do it quite so often.

Get rid of runoffs.

environmental news, national news, political news, State news

Oops! Perry now leads Energy Department

Rick “Oops” Perry is the new secretary of energy.

The former Texas governor is now in charge of formulating U.S. energy policy and is in charge of managing the nation’s still-massive nuclear arsenal.

He also is another one of Donald J. Trump’s Cabinet appointments who — if you ponder it — is patently unqualified for this job.

He once wanted to get rid of the Energy Department. Do you remember that? He stood on that 2012 Republican Party presidential primary debate stage and said he intended to get rid of three federal agencies if he was elected president.

Except he couldn’t remember the Energy Department, prompting the infamous “oops” response from the governor.

I think I have figured out why the president picked him for this post: His brain freeze amnesia excuses him and gives him license to run the agency he wanted to abolish.

Let us not forget also that the new secretary of energy once said of the president that he is a “cancer on conservatism” that needed to be excised.

Gov. Perry must have been kidding.

national news, political news

Trump’s ‘fine-tuned machine’ needs help

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I found myself somewhat amazed as I read a story in the Sunday New York Times about Donald J. Trump’s apparent inability to get his administration fully staffed.

The article talked about Trump’s insistence on loyalty. Those who say negative things about The Boss are fired; those who fall into that category are disregarded as potential new hires.

I totally understand the president’s desire to have loyal team members on board. The head of our government is entitled to insist that his lieutenants follow the policies set at the top.

Still, Trump crowed this past week about the “fine-tuned machine” that is his presidential administration. Except that he hasn’t hired a whole lot of assistant secretaries or deputy secretaries to assist his Cabinet picks.

But here is where the amazement kicks in.

Loyalty hasn’t been Trump’s No. 1 requirement in filling at least two Cabinet places.

Can you say “Ben Carson” and “Rick Perry”?

Carson is the housing secretary who ran against Trump in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primary. He and Trump clashed openly at times on the campaign trail and on debate stages across the country. I recall Dr. Carson saying some pretty harsh things about the president-to-be as his own campaign went down in flames.

But then there’s former Texas Gov. Perry, another former GOP foe. It was Gov. Perry who called Trump a “cancer on conservatism.” He’s now slated to become secretary of energy.

The Times reports, though, that Trump or his senior advisers are nixing appointments because of what individuals have said about the president. Meanwhile, all these posts remain vacant, their offices are dark and top-level administration officials are being denied the kind of help they need in carrying out Trump administration policies — whatever the hell they are.

I love this passage from the Times story: “It is not just Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson who has no deputy secretary, much less Trump-appointed under secretaries or assistant secretaries. Neither do the heads of the Treasury Department, the Education Department or any of the other cabinet departments. Only three of 15 nominees have been named for deputy secretary positions. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has a deputy only because he kept the one left over from President Barack Obama’s administration.”

This is a “fine-tuned machine”? It needs a healthy dose of WD-40.

media news, national news, political news

‘Alternative facts’ will become Trumpster’s new ID

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcBblq-QOo4

Kellyanne Conway parlayed her experience as a public opinion pollster to a successful run as a presidential campaign manager.

She’s now a senior adviser to the new president of the United States.

Conway now has become the face and the voice of one of the more remarkable verbal miscues many of us have heard in some time.

She talked this morning about White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s version of a silly story dealing with the size of the crowd at Donald J. Trump’s inaugural. Then she referred to something called Spicer’s “alternative facts.”

“Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd then sought to clarify what he heard by responding that there are facts and there are falsehoods.

Thus, a punchline was born.

This business of electing a new president is quite serious, indeed. I don’t intend to beat this horse any deader than it is, but in its way, Conway’s “alternative facts” notion seems to be the perfect metaphor for the discussion that prompted it.

Spicer’s angry rejoinder to the media about their reporting of the crowd size was ridiculous on its face. Then came Conway’s “alternative facts” gaffe.

Conway’s role as senior adviser requires her to speak well of her boss. I get it. Honest, I do. I don’t know what she’s thinking privately, of course, but it seems quite reasonable to believe she might be kicking herself tonight for uttering that silly statement.

Maybe she ought to take a page from former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the president’s pick to become energy secretary. Perry said this past week he now regrets calling for the elimination of the Department of Energy when he, too, was running for president.

Conway might consider taking a couple of days away from media representatives and then tell them “I regret” providing so much grist for late-night comedians.

I am one American who would accept her contrition.

environmental news, national news, political news, State news

‘Oops’ Perry now ‘regrets’ earlier call to end DOE

I want to give a half-hearted shout-out to Rick “Oops” Perry for something he said today at his confirmation hearing to become the next secretary of energy.

The former Texas governor said he regrets insisting that the Department of Energy be one of three such agencies he would eliminate if he were elected president.

He tried to say so during a 2012 Republican presidential debate, but suffered a brain freeze at a critical moment. Hey, it’s happened to all of us, right?

He said he’d toss out the departments of Education, Commerce and … then he forgot the third one. He fumbled around before muttering his infamous “oops.”

Why the change of heart? He said he’s learned about the Energy Department and what it does to promote energy policy. I want to presume he also knows about the myriad forms of energy involved in that policy that go far beyond fossil fuel production that, of course, is a big deal here in Texas.

My shout-out would be full-throated if I actually believed he meant the “I regret” statement. I’m not sure I believe much of what Gov. Perry says about anything these days — not that I fully believed him back when he was governor.

I mean, after all, he did call Donald J. Trump a “cancer on conservatism.” He did accuse the president-elect of lacking any ideology. He did say that his party needed to excise that “cancer.” This all came during his second failed effort, in 2016, to become the GOP presidential nominee.

Now, after all that heated rhetoric, he wants to become energy secretary. He wants to run a department he once said he intended to throw into the Dumpster.

I don’t know which Rick Perry to believe.

Or whether to believe a single thing this guy has ever said.