Not with a bang but a whimper
And so ends, for all practical purposes, the long Perry governorship. In an article I posted on Saturday, previewing the State of the State address, I asked, “Is it his last?” The tenor of his speech yesterday affirms that it is. Perry spoke mainly about the state he loves: “It is my pleasure to report that the state of our state is stronger than ever,” he said. “We led the nation out of recession and into recovery.”
“Big and small, dreams become reality in Texas,” he went on. “Texans have succeeded to the tune of more than half a million private-sector jobs added over the last two years alone, a total of nearly 1.4 million created in the private sector over the last 10 years. Now, there are those who insist our job creation stat doesn’t mean much, because they say we are only creating entry-level, low-paying jobs.”
“We should put in place a stronger constitutional limit on spending growth, ensuring it never grows more than the combined rate of inflation and population,” he continued. This was a rare applause line in his speech. He called for tax relief and said that the state will not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. (“Texas will not drive millions more into an unsustainable system that will drive this state into bankruptcy,” he said.) That he called the law by its formal name rather than “Obamacare” was a signal that he was not inclined to forge into partisan politics this day, and he did not do so.
“We need to address our state’s infrastructure needs in water and transportation,” Perry said, adding that the Rainy Day Fund would soon reach $12 billion. He said he would earmark $3.7 billion from the fund for a one-time investment in infrastructure, but $3.7 billion won’t stretch very far when Tx-Dot alone is asking for $4 billion for maintenance and congestion relief.
What is interesting about this speech is that Perry himself, in earlier years, spoke often about the need for infrastructure improvements in power, water, and transportation. He has been governor since December 2000, and he could have put that money to good use for much of that period. Why didn’t that happen? The answer, I believe, is that two political battles changed Perry and made him less inclined to take chances. One was over HPV vaccinations of young girls; the other was over the Trans-Texas Corridor. He lost both. What Perry learned from those fights is that his constituency was more conservative than he was. Facing a looming primary battle with Kay Bailey Hutchison, he turned sharply to the right and embraced the Tea Party (and, famously, hinted at secession). That gave him a new lease on his political life and won him his third term as governor.
I think it’s worth pointing out what he didn’t say in his speech. He didn’t mention abortion, after saying recently that he hoped to end the procedure in Texas. He didn’t propose emergency legislation. He didn’t blast Washington and the federal government. But one thing came out of nowhere: “During his second inaugural address, President Obama called on us all to work together and do our part to secure a brighter future for America. Mr. President, Texas stands ready to do our part!” Huh? Where did that come from? Rick Perry harkening to the words of Barack Obama? Did the message of the election and the troubles of his party outside of Texas come through to him? Has he realized that the world of politics has changed? That came as a complete surprise.
By any political standard, Perry has been a highly successful governor. He had a vision for Texas that had at its center a policy of building a strong economy by attracting jobs to Texas with state funds. He now has the good fortune of serving during a magical oil boom that is transforming not only Texas but America and the future of energy. As a chief executive, he has changed the nature of the office that he held. The framers of the Texas Constitution intended to establish a government with a strong legislative branch and a weak and fragmented executive, but Perry has used his longevity in office to establish a cabinet form of government, one in which he appointed the heads of all the executive agencies and ran them from the governor’s office. He controlled the regents of every college and university system. His style of governing is not unlike a game of monopoly, in which his opposition had no safe place on which to land. He controlled the entire board of state government. Perry understood power as few Texas chief executives ever have and knew how to use it. That was his genius.
Of course, the story does not yet have an ending. Perry’s term as governor extends through January 2015. What we do know is that Perry overreached when he ran for president. It didn’t appear to be a mistake at first, but it soon became obvious that he had started too late and his staff (until Joe Allbaugh came along) was not up to the job, and he was battling fatigue from painful back surgery. By the time he returned to Texas, Perry had lost his aura of invincibility, and the Legislature had lost its fear of him. The fact is, Perry has always enjoyed the campaigning part of the job more than the governing part. Whether he will try again to run for president (or governor) is known only to Perry. What else is there for him to do? But in the end, he has made the fatal mistake of staying too long.
Tagged: rick perry
anon-p says:
Burka> But in the end, he has made the fatal mistake of staying too long.
Fatal how?
Are you suggesting that he would have had more influence if he stepped down earlier? Or that perhaps he would have performed better during his presidential run if he had resigned his governorship or not reran in 2010?
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 9:10 am
Anon-P, Perry was allowed to run again in 2010 because he had already beaten KBH in the GOP primary, which was all he needed.
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paulburka Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 11:03 am
Re anon-p
I’m not saying either one. I’m saying that you can overstay your welcome, and it has cost him support in the Legislature and in the state generally.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 11:05 am
Burka, Perry had every right to serve 3 terms in office, so what do you think he could have done differently ?
Try to work with the Legislature and not be focused on campaigning for President in 2012 ? He got Voter ID passed and signed into law and Loser Pay approved in 2011 and he still ran for the White House.
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Indiana Pearl Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 2:52 pm
Voter ID is on hold . . . I didn’t have show a photo ID when I voted for Obama last Nov.
Texian Politico says:
It seems increasingly clear that AG Abbott is running for governor. At the Williamson Co Republican precinct chairmen’s meeting last night there was a gentlemen with the Abbott campaign who spoke and was collecting sign-up information on clipboards. He said that no decision has been made on what office Abbott is running for in 2014 and said the campaign right now is just “for Texas”, but that if you signed up you’d be among the first to know of his decision. It looks like a gubernatorial campaign to me.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 9:10 am
Texian, I think Abbott and Perry made a secret deal years in advance and Perry had NO intention of running again in 2014 anyway.
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Secret Deals Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 4:51 pm
Was it similar to the “Hey, Kay, if you don’t run in 2006, I’ll stand down in 2010″ secret deal.
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Anon says:
Don’t let the back door hit cha where the good lord split ya.
Leave, and go run A&M into the ground.
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Distinguished Gentleman Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 12:03 pm
And not only that, Anon at 8:39 a.m., but institute term limits on how long one person can “serve” as Governor so that we will never again be burdened with a situation like Rick Perry.
While term limits should be placed on ALL elective positions in Texas, I would consider it a huge victory if it were implemented only on the position of Governor.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 4:22 pm
Distinguished Gentleman: Many times you have posted your support for term limits. On the surface that sounds like a great idea, but if you have a revolving door of elected officials you give State Agencies the upper hand with long tenured staff. They have the institutional knowledge and there will be no one able to keep the agencies in check session after session. Some Freshmen, Sophomores and even Juniors, at little fault of their own, do not know all that is in the budget much less understand how the state works. You might can argue the Governor having term limits, but House Member and Senators should have tenure. Just my thoughts.
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Distinguished Gentleman Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 12:22 am
Anonymous at 4:22 p.m., I would give any elected official 12 years in that one particular office. I believe that 12 years is quite reasonable for one person to hold one specific office.
After that, if that individual is so gosh darn great and wonderful, then he or she may run for some OTHER office and continue to serve the people albeit in a somewhat differing capacity.
Besides, I certainly DON’T see Rick Perry as having “kept the agencies in check session after session” anyway. So much for Perry’s longevity in office holding the bureaucracy at bay. What a joke.
We need term limits on all offices, but I would be delighted if we can have it exclusively on the position of Governor.
Blue Dogs Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 1:14 pm
Distinguished, I strongly prefer TWLEVE YEARS: 3 terms for the office of Governor with a sitting out period of 4 years then come back.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 3:02 pm
uh, yeah, he’s run A&M right into the ground alright… Billion dollar research awards, Heisman trophy, SEC producing tens of millions in revenue…
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Huh? Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
Tell me how Rick Perry should be credited for the Heisman?
Don’t get me wrong, I am sure he will take credit for it, but I don’t understand how his involvement one way or the other in the operations of A&M influences who gets the Heisman. And if the Governor does control that, why didn’t he get more Heismans for A&M?
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Anonymous says:
As all know who’ve watched him, the man has no core principles. He’s just like Charles Durning in “Best Little Whorehouse.”
http://youtu.be/NJG75FJkjr8
If he were suddenly a young man again, he might well begin considering switching back to the “Democrat” Party. That’s what I took from his conciliatory statement toward Obama. Perry is for whatever issue or party wins him the next election.
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Anon Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 9:32 am
He has defined the modern Texas Republican party in word, ethic and deed.
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Anonymous says:
Does a speech calling for reduced taxes and and an end to “budget gimmickry”, as yesterday’s DMN piece calls it, more pandering from Perry?
The article points out that this would basically eat up all the $5.5B general purpose tax money that the legislature has not already spoken for.
What about education? Roads? Do you think that most Texans, businesses included, want a tax break while our schools turn out more illiterates, and the average speed on our interstates is reduced to about 35 mph? How about keeping the money in the safe that is supposed to help the elderly keep their a/c’s on in the 100 degree heat? Would we really rather have a tax break than keep Grandma nice and comfortable?
Perry has been bragging for years about how low our tax rates are compared to other states. Can we not just keep them where they are and use the surplus to help all Texans and not just a chosen few through give-a-ways?
One of you staunch Repub’s please tell me that you understand why some like me might ask this question after listening to his speech. I would also like to know if Abbott agrees with him.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 9:35 am
10 years in and he calls for an end to budget gimmickry. Yeah, he’s a sincere guy, that Rick Perry.
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Blue Dogs says:
Burka, staying too long ?
Hmmm, Terry Branstad of Iowa has in his FIFTH term as governor there and he’s likely to get a 6th term.
Perry is all but NOT running again and will retire gracefully, so don’t be shocked if a secret deal was made years in advance with Abbott.
I also see Abbott serving 2 terms as governor.
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Kenneth D. Franks says:
Perry has used the office of Texas Governor in a historic way. His long tenure though has not been the best thing for Texas in my opinion.
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Tom Barry says:
I’ll believe Perry is through as governor when someone else is sworn in as governor, not before.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 9:40 am
Tom, Perry’s 3rd full term ends on January 20, 2015.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Texas
Texas Governors and Lieutenant Governors are both sworn-in on the 3rd Tuesday every 4 years in January.
Perry’s long tenure is historic, he surpassed his predecessors to serve longer than anyone in TX history: 14 years.
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Distinguished Gentleman Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 1:36 pm
I agree with Tom Barry.
The January 2014 filing deadline is about a year from now.
If that day comes and goes WITHOUT Rick Perry submitting paperwork for re-election as Governor, THEN and ONLY then, will I believe that we are finally rid of Rick Perry.
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Johnny Comment says:
He has done more to lower the collective national opinion of our state and citizens than anyone in recent memory.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 9:39 am
Yes, but Ted Cruz…and Greg Abbott (if he continues to hang his hat on the “Stupid Party” constituency) will ensure that the slide continues. Cruz and Cornyn voting against Kerry for SOS, with one Oklahoman…says it all. Perry couldn’t have done it without the people that vote to reward such nonsense.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 9:40 am
Anon, it will ensure the TX GOP controls the Governor’s Mansion in Austin until 2030.
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Johnny Comment Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 10:07 am
True, this. Ted Cruz has the ability to surpass Perry as the nations laughingstock politician. And Cornyn knows better. His BS about Kerry and Hagel are laughable.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 11:06 am
Kerry and Hagel are military veterans UNLIKE Cornyn and Cruz, who never served in the armed forces and Phil Gramm never served in the military either.
paulburka Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 11:08 am
Ted Cruz is a serious politician. I disagree with him on just about everything, but a laughingstock he is not. He is going to be very prominent in Republican politics in the next.
Texian Politico Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Blue Dogs, you think because Cornyn and Cruz aren’t veterans that they should have voted for Kerry and Hagel? That’s absurd. I’m a veteran and I oppose each of them.
John Johnson Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 10:06 am
I agree that our recent choices don’t project the Texas image I would hope they would be imparting.
A question…why was Cornyn not one of the Senators credited with putting together the bi-partisan immigration reform plan? We have the most miles of border adjoining Mexico; more NAFTA traffic than anyother state, I believe, and he is not in the mix. Arizona and Florida senators are. Seems a bit strange to me…but California senator not in the group either.
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paulburka Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 11:09 am
Cornyn was very involved in the immigration bill four years ago. You can’t do that when you are one of the leaders of your party.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 11:44 am
Not so, Paul. A Party leader would do exactly that. You just can’t do it when you are up for re-election in the Texas GOP primary next year.
And Cruz is a laughing stock. The sooner he goes the way of Jim DeMint the better!
Anonymous says:
We’ll see how this goes. The tone of the speech at the very least sounded as if he plans to tactically, if not openly, support the Joe Straus wing of Republicans in the Legislature during the current session. Which would be good for getting things done, bad for running for re-election next March if you’re trying to get the core fired up for you and against Greg Abbott.
But the tax cut give-back does leave Perry an opening to create an issue during the current session where he can get at least to the right of the Leg and veto bills this spring under the budget cutting label, if he decides at that point he’s going for full term No. 4 (and he did seem to recognize the strategic aspect of spending in areas some of the GOP primary voters would want — the people in Midland may want Rick to be a budget hawk, but not giving TxDOT at least some funds to fix their oilfield truck-shredded roads would be road overkill in their minds as far as fiscal frugalness goes and would lose more votes for any fourth-term gambit than it would gain).
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 11:07 am
Anon, Perry wore out his welcome after his 2012 presidential campaing imploded for everyone to see, so he’s NOT running again for 4th full term because folks want new blood.
The NBA sure needs NEW BLOOD because I’m sick of the Lakers and Spurs clogging up the Western Conference for years.
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Anonymous Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
I’d agree the odds are better than 50-50 he’s not running again. But the speech does leave him a option to keep anyone from getting to his right as far as the primaries go, if he does decide to run again, and that’s been his strategy since his run against Strayhorn in 2006 (even if he did move left briefly in early ’07, after his 39 percent showing in the ’06 election).
The tax give-back is the foundation for a 2014 run, since it’s something the AG can’t offer Republican primary voters, other than as a “I would have done it, too” campaign claim. That doesn’t mean Perry’s going to run again, just that he hasn’t completely cut off a re-election option.
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Anon Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 1:34 pm
Cruz is a laughingstock to the informed voter. In Texas he will be seen in a positive light.
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Another Wilco Voter says:
I hear the phrase “budget surplus” and it is all I can do not to laugh out loud. There is no budget surplus. The amount that Perry is referring to as a budget surplus is the amount that the state has underfunded all kinds of investment the state should have made: public education, higher education, parks and wildlife, all kinds of infrastructure, Medicaid case load increases, and on, and on, and on…
There is NO surplus.
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Whoa, Nellie! Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 3:50 pm
Must be some of that budget gimmickry he’s been railing against.
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Whoa, Nellie! Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Yes. If I didn’t pay some of my bills in full every month, I could produce a “surplus”, too!
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allmaya says:
Daily Kos reports on a new PPP poll out today (remember, PPP ended up being one of the most accurate pollsters in the last cycle):
“Look out! PPP’s new numbers on GOP Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election chances are grim indeed for the incumbent. His job approval stands at an abysmal 41-54 and his re-elects are a horrific 31-62! I guess that happens when you embarrass yourself before a national audience after hanging on to the governor’s mansion for a dozen years. Even among Republican primary voters, 47 percent want someone else versus only 41 percent who want Perry as their standard-bearer once more.
And in an actual head-to-head versus AG Greg Abbott, things are even worse: Perry has a slim 41-38 lead, but as Tom Jensen points out, Abbott’s name rec is only 59 percent. I’m not sure how Perry can recover from that: Abbott has raised tons of money (thanks to Texas’s virtual lack of state contribution limits, and big business preferring him as their paisan to the spent Perry), and indeed, he leads 55-33 among those who have an opinion of him, whether positive or negative. But interestingly, “more conservative” voters prefer Perry, which gives me hope that he can ride extremist enthusiasm to another nomination.”
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 11:07 am
Allmaya, Perry will NOT run again you can take that to the bank.
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Jerry Only Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 1:02 pm
so youve mentioned
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Jed Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 1:07 pm
yeah, but what do you know about how many terms abbott will serve, blue dogs? let’s stick to the important stuff.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 1:16 pm
Jed, I’m just stating based on Abbott’s age and health, he’s a two termer.
As for the Dew, what are the chances he survives in his re-election bid for LG in ’14 ?
Tom says:
It’s a good thing he is not our Commander in Chief:
“Texas prisons are running low on hygiene products like toothpaste and deodorant. Family members and inmates are frustrated as state officials try to find a contractor. For the roughly 151,000 inmates in the Texas prison system, there are 1,800 units of deodorant and 28,000 units of toothpaste left.”
A well run state we are not.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 11:28 am
Price Daniel wore out his welcome due to the sales tax controversy and got his a** handed to him in 1962.
Shivers’ 3rd term was dominated by corruption scandals and unpopularity over his hostility to allow Black students to attend white public schools and the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court, where Shivers sent the TX Rangers to kick the Black kids out.
Connally had health problems and didn’t want to be governor anymore in 1968.
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John Johnson Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 1:14 pm
HOw high up on your priority list do these prisoners rate, Tom? In my mind, there are only umpteen more important issues when it comes to who has been getting shortchanged in the state of Texas. After all, they didn’t say anything about a soap or hot water shortage, nor have we started making them pay to have cavities filled and teeth pulled.
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Francine Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 1:31 pm
Amen JJ!
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Anon Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 1:36 pm
I love tough guy talk about prisoners. It tells much more than you imagine.
Jed Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 1:08 pm
excellent point, JJ. fortunately for perry’s legacy, nothing else on that long list of priorities amounts to monumental failure.
phew, that was close.
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Coolbaugh says:
The most amazing thing about Perry’s speech was that he called for taking nearly 4 billion out of the rainy day fund and stil got cheers from MQS and TPPF.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
Its official Gov Perry is doing a fantastic job if so many democrats hate the job he is doing.
Gov Perry can be Gof for life if he chooses, and it doesn’t matter what you read on HuffPoo.
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Anon Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 1:37 pm
He will be much better as a Gof than he was as governor. Hey, JBB…there is a customer at the drive thru!
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John Johnson Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 3:00 pm
What’s wrong with working at a drive-thru?
Are you one of those elitest snobs…the ones who made it “uncool” and an embarrassment for kids to work during the summers in a fast food joint, roofing, mowing lawns or cleaning pools because that is “Mexican” work?
We would be much better off if kids coming out of colleges today had the work ethic of a Mexican laborer, and had, at least once in their lifetime, had to earn a dollar at jobs that caused them to sweat and return home sore at the end of the day.
To ridicule such people is ignorant. We need more of them and less attorneys….and, as a whole, I have more respect for them.
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Whoa, Nellie! Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 3:56 pm
Agreed. I would only add that not only is it elitist to look down on those who perform such labor, it is inhumane to pay sub-poverty-level wages to those who have such jobs.
Pay a decent day’s wage for a decent day’s work and we’d go a long way toward building a more just and equitable society. Nobody who works ANY job 40 hours or more a week should be living in poverty.
Distinguished Gentleman says:
JohnBernardBooks writes:
“…Gov Perry can be Gof [sic] for life if he chooses…”
That is precisely why formal term limits are needed.
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vietvet3 says:
In ’06, my grandson and I worked Williamson County for Kinky. We gathered 102 signatures for him. I always felt that he would make a terrible Governor, but that would put him several levels above The Good Hair.
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Whoa, Nellie! Reply:
January 30th, 2013 at 3:57 pm
And the jokes would be better!
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 1:17 pm
Nellie, Kinky was never a serious candidate with tough issues for the state.
Note that 61 percent of Texans voted AGAINST Perry in 2006, which is very embarrassing for an incumbent and in 2010, 42 percent voted for someone else (Perry got 55 percent).
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Whoa, Nellie! says:
I was cut from my university job and have only been able to find temp jobs ever since, paying much less than my former position and offering no benefits at all. My wife, also a university worker (and higher ed workers haven’t been given a COL raise in how long now? Years and years, they have been excluded from state employee COL increases) is effectively making less money than last year thanks to the payroll tax hike. The best she is ever able to obtain in her area is a 2% annual merit raise that amounts to less than what the university admins or athletic coaches wipe off their shoes each day. So how has this exceptional economy benefited me?
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Shhhhh says:
Whoa, Nellie- You heard what he said. The state has never been stronger because he said so.
So there.
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patriotone says:
Can someone share with us how much Texas’ debt has increased since Perry has been Governor? That is just a fancy way to do deficit spending.
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Jerry Only says:
“Rick Perry said Wednesday that he has the following deal with Attorney General Greg Abbott: If Perry decides to run for re-election for governor in 2014, Abbott will not oppose him in the Republican Primary.” – Brad Watson
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Distinguished Gentleman Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 12:36 am
And, Jerry Only, wasn’t there some comment alluding to Abbott claiming to have absolutely no knowledge of such a “deal”?
I remain convinced that Rick Perry WILL run for re-election as Governor in 2014 and, with much regret, the voters WILL give him another four years to embarrass us on the national stage and to just generally further wreak havoc upon Texas.
Sometimes, the voters must be saved from themselves–by means of TERM LIMITS.
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Jerry Only Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 12:32 pm
yeah i read about that later, abbotts playing stupid.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 1:18 pm
Jerry and Distinguished, I am NOT buying what Perry is saying, he’s just throwing the press off to get off his back.
Perry wasted all of that $$$ in a horrible presidential campaign and he should have joined the race in June 2011 after the special session.
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Mark Cohen says:
Did you hear the gov on “Inside Texas Politics”?
The odds just changed on him running again.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Perry’s approval rating never even get close to 55 percent ONCE during his tenure in office.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
Gov Perry has upset the pedants by insisting they lower tuition. But who’s is going to pay for the mandatory girl’s sports programs under Title IX the progressives have saddled us with? Can’t we just raise taxes and pass it along to the low information voter?
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Anonymous Reply:
January 31st, 2013 at 11:31 am
It’s interesting to contemplate the idea of Title IX as a new wedge issue. Wonder how that’ll play out?
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Anon Reply:
February 1st, 2013 at 8:09 am
JBB is a troll. Dont respond or comment.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
February 1st, 2013 at 11:39 am
Texas has deep traditions of whoever wins the primary wins the statewide office of their choice and don’t bother campaigning in the fall.
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