Republican Rick Perry a Supersized Embarrassment
I've had enough of Rick Perry.
At least the Perry who stood on the steps of the Texas Capitol today bashing our federal government and talking openly about Texas seceding from the United States.
This isn't the Perry I knew 25 years ago, when he first ran for the Legislature from my part of West Texas, and it's not the Perry who earned the respect of his colleagues and most Capitol reporters in the late '80s for his work on the House Appropriations Committee.
Perry's always been a conservative, but that isn't the issue. He's a demagogue now, and every single newspaper in Texas with a decent editorial page should denounce these remarks and call for him to retract them publicly or resign.
I mean that. This isn't a joke.
Partisanship and political philosophy aside, I can think of few things more irresponsible in this economy than the governor of Texas speaking freely about secession. What business is going to relocate to Texas with him talking like that? Who wants to come to a state to do research at its large land grant universities with a governor who sounds like George Wallace or Lester Maddox naming the regents.
The reality is that few if any Texans believe he is serious, and Texas isn't going to secede. Most Texans just pass this off as Perry pandering to a crowd of right-wing malcontents to whip up support for his upcoming re-election.
*more at the link
