It's obvious that you fail to see it because you obviously haven't read the indictment or even any of the news articles about it in much detail. Combine that with your breathless reportage to us about Benghazi and it becomes even more obvious. Like Dirk style.
Typical Texas Democrat small ball politics. Really bottom of the barrel stuff here, with a wild drunk front woman in Lehmberg (very damaging to their cause). Perry is quite strong and this will almost certainly backfire on the democrats in Texas. Democrats have been looking to go after the brash Perry for a long time, to avoid him leaving office on the high note that is the Texas economic boom. Unfortunately, in our society, an indictment is viewed by the general public as a guilty charge. The court of public opinion doesn't allow for due process -- which is exactly what is behind the Democrats' dirty tactic. Tom Delay was completely exonerated from his "charges" yet it took a long time and the stain doesn't get fully removed. I'm not a major fan of Perry, and I do not think he's the best GOP 2016 candidate by a mile, but this is politics at its worst. Asking a drunk to step down from her position and vetoing bad spending bills is not a crime, regardless of what a partisan Austin grand jury thinks.
THE story is, the Governor is trying to de-fund a unit that is assigned the task of investigating government corruption. It has been uniquely beyond the governor's control because it is a County office and only has it's power over State government because Travis County is the location of the Capitol... where State government corruption might occur. What is the Public Integrity Unit? http://kxan.com/2014/08/15/what-is-the-public-integrity-unit/ It has been a very useful check and balance to abuses in office in what is essentially a one party State. Entrenched politicians like Tom Delay who control patronage and appropriations have the ability to suppress opposition, even within their own parties to become a self-perpetuating dictators (as in he gets to tell everyone else what to do) of public policy. It one of the great reason we have no Democratic Party in Texas, you can't run as a Democrat without getting crushed by PAC money, you can't serve in a lower office as a Democrat to move up because you can't get elected in the first place. County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg should and probably would resign this office, but in Texas, it would be like a Supreme Court Justice resigning when the President will appoint a new Justice of a different philosophy. The implications of their appointed replacement overrides any consideration of their personal weakness. You know, it's the whole staff of the office he is withholding funds from, rendering the whole unit powerless until he can control it.
And to reply to a point above, Rick Perry's economic successes are about as relevant and Mr. Clinton's. In a time where billions and billions of new money is being created from nothing, it would be pretty hard not to look like an economic success. But just like Mr. Clinton in the dotcom boom, Mr. Perry has had very little to do with the current Texas oil and gas boom.
So does Perry have to give up his guns or just not allowed to purchase any more? Another felon gun owner..SMH
buying a gun, gloves and a ski mask - not illegal. buying a gun, gloves and ski mask with the distinct impetus to rob somebody - conspiracy to commit burglary - illegal.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Unless he was demonstrably trying to scrap the ethics unit for other than his stated reason, Perry indictment seems pretty sketchy.</p>— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidaxelrod/statuses/500634429367533568">August 16, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The veto threat came as the Public Integrity Unit was looking into the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the creation of which was championed by Perry. The institute had been hit by a scandal regarding the inadequate review of grants, and grants going to those who made contributions to support the agency and political donations to officials. The agency's former chief commercialization officer was indicted after being accused of withholding information that an $11 million grant had not been reviewed as required. Critics had accused Perry of trying to defund the Public Integrity Division to undermine its investigation of CPRIT. http://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/Perry-indicted-on-two-felony-charges-5691872.php A chronological review: http://watchdogblog.dallasnews.com/tag/cancer-prevention-and-research-institute-of-texas/
Axelrod probably could have provided better commentary than that ... tsk tsk. "Unless he's guilty of the alleged crime, he's innocent."
The indictment bar in Texas is pretty low, all you basically have to do us show probable cause. I guess it sucks to be on the business end of Texas justice. My money - Perry gets off better than Cameron Todd Willingham, whom he had killed.
Democrats are already in back-pedal mode as more information becomes known about this sham, revenge indictment. Despite their wishful thinking, they know this is going nowhere. If they can get the mugshot prize they are looking for, then it's a win for them. That's the petty nature of this ordeal.
Sure - it's exactly what he did. Nevertheless, it's not what he was indicted for. If that's all he did, he wouldn't have been indicted.
I don't think Perry did anything at all wrong, but I still think he should immediately resign.....of course I thought he should immediately resign from day one in office.
A man who willfully ignores the plight of millions of uninsured Texas citizens just to score political points.
So Rick Perry's pet project is getting investigated for corruption and the DA gets a DWi, and Perry then threatens to defund the entire department unless she steps down and lets him appoint a new DA that presumably would drop the investigation, and when she refuses, he defunds the entire department and wallah - no more investigation. Interesting.
