Rick Perry - Monster or Savior?

[Lust4xxxLife]

Last night's GOP Tea Party debate. Fascinating.

Rick Perry - Says preservation of life is paramount in Texas in defense of his HPV vaccination mandate.

Rick Perry - Proud of Texas human execution record (2nd only to China).

What do you guys think?

- I think the HPV mandate was a good thing. The risks are outweighed by the benefits, especially in a southern state that pretends kids don't have sex.

- I think Rick Perry is a dangerous religious zealot that we do NOT need in Washington. Just as dumb as GWB but more passionate. Worst case.

L4L

[TexTushHog]

I'm a Democrat and I think he's the devil incarnate. A fool and a buffoon of the highest order. As Sam Houston once said about a political opponent, Perry has all the qualities of a cur dog except fidelity.

But, if you take away the fact that he has no fixed principles and that the ones he is borrowing for the moment are morally reprehensible (yeah, I know, other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?) let's look at him purely from a technical polticial point. He's good at staying on message. He is moderately bad to just God awful once he has to think on his own. But he is fairly skilled at avoiding situations where he actually has to think. But his campaign discipline is really incredible. And the team that he has is very good and highly data driven. They spend a fortune on polling and use it very wisely. And if the polling doesn't jibe with what their gut tells them, they don't let their gut fuck the deal up. They go with the data all the time, which is usually the right call. So he's a formidable candidate. But even I don't think the Republican electorate is dumb enough to nominate him. He will absolutely turn off independent voters.

The real question if he wins the primary is whether the economy will be so bad that it just won't make any difference and the people would basically elect Hitler if Obama was the other choice. I don't think that has happened yet. The few true swing voters seem to understand that Obama didn't create the mess and that other than fucking up and having a poorly designed and too small stimulus, it's not Obama's fault that he can't get anything done. But holding on to that for another 14 months is going to be tough.

[TheWanderer]

He's the epitome of a politician.
In fact, if you looked up politician in the dictionary, he would be good to use as a picture.
Good looking, charismatic, perfect hair, able to speak out of both sides of his mouth, has millionaire and billionaire friends and associates that he is in bed with.

[Sasquatch]

As a moral liberal ( as a hobbyist, could I be a moral conservative?) but conservative for just about everything else, I think that Obama and Company are wrong for this country. Perry would have to be an improvement. He is a politician, far from perfect, but you must say that we here in Texas have enjoyed more prosperity than folks in far more Democratic states.

The government's job is to maintain an environment for prosperity. The government cannot create jobs. They have to allow companies to run without regulating them to death. I'm tired of hearing of stimulus programs that waste billions and produce nothing.

We could do a lot worse than Perry. I run a company that does business with various government agencies. The current federal policies want to make me shutdown my operations and hide. Doing business with state agencies has been fruitful. I am able to employ Texans with a generous compensation plan.

[cheatercheater]

Rick Perry has always had smart people in the background telling him what to say. It obviously is what the voters of Texas have wanted to hear in that he has served for so many terms. He does indeed please the bible thumpers. Will he make a good president? I don't think so. If he is elected, will he be able to do any more than any president in recent history? I don't think so.

Has Obama done anything to right the conceived wrongs of his predecessors? I don't think so. Will his latest plan for creating new jobs via tax changes for the wealthy be his greatest success? I don't think so.

Is there a better choice other than Obama or Perry? I haven't seen one yet.

What are the fundamental differences in the beliefs of a Democrat versus a Republican? I personally don't have a label affixed to myself as being either one.

[durango95]

Obama and the democratic congress created this mess, dont blame anyone else. Take responsibilities for your actions. The democrats raised minimum wage three times which crushed many small business owners. Small business in this country make up 60% of our gross national product and when that slipped everything started to unravel.

Congress forced easy loan restrictions for banks to make home loans, and then look what happened. Housing will need another 5 years to recover.

The demcrats also voted for both wars, this has been a drain on the economy.

During the Clinton years, he destroyed our CIA and other intellegence groups, so along comes 9-11.

More people on poverty, bigger deficits, higher unemployment, Obama has been there for more than two years, his policies, laws, and taxes have all kicked in and put us on the road to economic ruin. A lot like Jimmy Carter.

And you also want the government to run health care?????? The government could not run the postal system, nor VA, nor other programs. Less government, more private business to take things over and it will get bettter.

[slowmover]

"And you also want the government to run health care??????"

The military health care system is government run. Most retirees in this country don't have anything close to it!

[durango95]

Did you see Walter Reed a few years back? Nasty, horrible conditions for our troops. Most VA Hospitals are really great facilties, but the medical staff is poor at best and the way the VA administers the hospitals is almost criminal. The government cant run anything efficiently or in a reasonable manner, I dont want them running my health care.

[Oppa]

The government's job is to maintain an environment for prosperity. The government cannot create jobs. They have to allow companies to run without regulating them to death. I'm tired of hearing of stimulus programs that waste billions and produce nothing.

We could do a lot worse than Perry. I run a company that does business with various government agencies. The current federal policies want to make me shutdown my operations and hide. Doing business with state agencies has been fruitful. I am able to employ Texans with a generous compensation plan.

I'm amazed that Rick Perry gets a free pass when it comes to being the governor that raised taxes on businesses in the state of Texas.

It was Rick Perry who designated a Democrat, John Sharp, to revise the franchise tax laws in the State of Texas. Now, thanks to Perry, we have a corporate tax based on net revenue (income) rather than a true capital-based tax.....the company for which I work is now paying on average about $500,000 more per annum in "franchise tax."

What's interesting is that the Comptroller at the time, Ms. Rylander, notified Rick Perry that she believed the tax to be unconstitutional in the state of Texas. The letter fell upon blind eyes, and now there is finally a case in front of t he Texas Supreme Court.

How Perry gets away with raising taxes in his home state while the Tea Party and others foam at the mouth over him is beyond me.

[durango95]

The state of Texas Franchise Tax is an income tax which is against the Texas Constitution, not sure how that got passed. But the franchise tax is not based purely on income. Its revenue less cost of good sold, which is things like food cost and labor. Only buinesses with more than 399,000 annually pay the franchise tax.

[Oppa]

But the franchise tax is not based purely on income. Its revenue less cost of good sold, which is things like food cost and labor.

Agreed it's not based on net income in the traditional sense....they exclude a lot more! It's still a revenue-based tax, which most practitioners will agree is an income tax.

The old franchise tax had an income-based component, but it also had the capital-based component....it also did not tax partnerships, which the current tax does.

I'm interested to see how the Texas Supreme Court rules on this case, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Something tells me the fix is in....and Governor Great Hair probably has something to do with it.

[cookie man]

It's early in the process, but I'm not a big fan of Perry. He appears very "Presidential" and a lot of the ultra conservatives will like him. He's just a loose cannon in my book. I agree that he is a true politician, but he still makes bold statements that could get him in trouble on the national stage. He needs to be better prepared to handle the heat.
I'm hoping Romney will win the nomination. He's more business minded and middle of the road in his thinking.

I think the idea of mandated HPV innoculations for young girls was boneheaded.

[Lust4xxxLife]

Originally Posted by cookie man

I think the idea of mandated HPV innoculations for young girls was boneheaded.

Why?

[Sierra977]

Originally Posted by Lust4xxxLife

Why?

+1

[cookie man]

Originally Posted by Lust4xxxLife

Why?

Perry issued an "executive order" mandating HPV vaccinations for girls by age 12. I don't believe there was an "opt out option". It definitely undermined parental control. Conservative groups were shocked and pissed. He now admits he should have gone to the legislature.

This vaccination more or less addresses a behavioural disease. It's not like polio or smallpox mandated for the general good. The Supreme Court has ruled that "there has to be little practical alternative to avoid contracting a dangerous disease or from being a disease risk for a vaccination to be required."

Merck received approval for Gardasil in 2006. The next year Perry issued an executive order mandating all girls to be vaccinated by age 12. At the time Gardasil was the only drug on the market.They stood to make a buttload if this order had become law. Mike Toomey, Perry's former Chief of Staff, was a lobbyist for Merck.

Merck had donated $380,000 to the Republicans Governor's Association since 2006. Perry has chaired this group twice. This group is one of Perry's biggest donors. Although Perry conceiveably meant well, I think a large part of his decision was based on years of donations from Merck.

In my opinion...don't play politics with my kids.