Let's Talk About Rick Perry: Former Democrat and Al Gore Campaign Chairman

(From last years race for Texas governor:)

Debra Medina claims Rick Perry was a Democrat and Al Gore's campaign manager
Politifact on Thursday, January 14th, 2010

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Debra Medina, a Wharton businesswoman, started a question to Gov. Rick Perry during Thursday night's GOP gubernatorial debate by pointing out he hasn't always been a Republican.

Medina said: "Governor, you were a Democrat, having worked for Al Gore as his campaign manager..."

The Gore-y chapter of Perry's political life hasn't come up in a while.

We decided to explore Medina's two-part claim.

Perry didn't — and couldn't — dispute Medina's reminder that he was once a Democrat. Perry, whose father was repeatedly elected as a Democrat to the Haskell County Commission, won his first election, to the Texas House in 1984, as a Democrat. He won re-election in 1986 and 1988 before switching parties to challenge Democratic Agricultural Commissioner Jim Hightower in 1990 — a race that Perry won in an upset.

In the debate, Perry didn't answer Medina's charge that he was Gore's campaign manager.

In fact, according to news accounts and Perry's campaign, Perry served as Gore's Texas campaign chairman in 1988. 

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There was a mass exodus from the Democratic Party in Texas in the 1980s, among them Senator Phil Gramm, Congressman Kent Hance, and Governor Rick Perry.

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(Perry broke the law as Texas governor by blocking an investigation into an excution:)

Texas Governor Rick Perry’s CrimeBy: Glenn W. Smith Friday October 2, 2009



When Gov. Rick Perry obstructed an investigation into the 2004 execution of a man, Cameron Todd Willingham, that experts say was innocent, he committed a crime against all of us. State executions are carried out in our names, collectively and individually. Subverting the truth in such a matter is a betrayal of the public trust that is difficult to describe or comprehend. Willingham was convicted of the arson deaths of his three daughters.

Now experts say the evidence was deeply flawed.

But Perry may have also committed a crime against the U.S., and I’m not talking about his secession threats. He may have violated federal law, U.S.C. 18.1001. This is no trivial matter. An innocent man was executed. Federal laws and guidelines are in place to keep that from happening. Perry may well have violated those laws and guidelines, for which there are criminal penalties.

CNN commentator and political strategist Paul Begala wrote me with the following observation about my post earlier yesterday:

Let’s see if I get this straight: Perry and the teabaggers don’t trust the government to write an insurance policy, but they do trust the government to lock a man in a cage for years, to strap that man down on a gurney, and fill his veins with poison – in the case of poor Mr. Willingham, for a crime he did not commit. I know a lot of principled conservatives who oppose the death penalty, based on their distrust of government. Perry, of course, is neither truly principled nor truly conservative. He is a small man, a moral coward, and a political opportunist of the worst sort. Thank you for calling this to my attention.

There oughta be a law against hypocrisy such as Perry’s. It turns out there might be. Follow us on the jump for details on the statutes and guidelines Perry may have violated.

§ 1001. Statements or entries generally

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully— (1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; (2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or (3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry; shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both. If the matter relates to an offense under chapter 109A, 109B, 110, or 117, or section 1591, then the term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be not more than 8 years.

Doesn’t the language seem like it was written with Rick Perry in mind: “falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact”? But there’s even more to it than that.

Texas receives millions of dollars in crime-fighting money from the Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program of the U.S. Justice Department. To receive that money, Texas had to create the Texas Forensic Science Commission. The applying and receiving agencies, including the governor, certify that an independent, external agency exists that will investigate “negligence or misconduct substantially affecting the integrity of forensic results.”

Now, read this special note attached to the Justice Department’s application guidelines, because they specifically invoke U.S.C. 18.1001 cited above:

Note: In making this certification, the certifying official is certifying that these requirements are satisfied not only with respect to the applicant itself but also with respect to each entity that will receive a portion of the grant amount. Certifying officials are advised that: (1) a false statement in the certification or in the grant application that it supports may be subject to criminal prosecution, including under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and (2) Office of Justice Programs grants, including certifications provided in connection with such grants, are subject to review by the Office of Justice Programs and/or by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General.

In other words, the United States Justice Department tells its Coverdell Grant recipients that they’d better have an independent forensics agency of the highest integrity, and they’d better not falsify, conceal, or cover up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact.

If firing three members of the commission and bringing to a screaming halt an investigation and hearing about the execution of an innocent man is not a trick to cover up material facts, nothing is.

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(And finally, Perry's biggest campaign "boosters" are the big pharma corp, Merck & Co. To see how he "repaid" them , read below:)

June 4, 2011
Rick Perry's Gardasil Problem 
By Tom Bevan

Last Wednesday, Perry conceded to Fox News' Greta van Susteren that he was "tempted" by a run for the White House. Two days later, in response to a question about a 2012 bid, Perry told the Austin American-Statesman, "I'm going to think about it."

But if Rick Perry does step under the bright lights, there's at least one question that has the potential to hinder his pursuit of the GOP nomination: Why in early 2007 did he sign an executive order mandating that 11- and 12-year-old girls in Texas be given the vaccine Gardasil?

Gardasil was developed to prevent the human papillomavirus (HPV), the most commonly transmitted sexual disease in the United States. In June 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, which is made by the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co.

The treatment was initially hailed as a breakthrough in protecting against four strains of HPV that are responsible for some cervical cancer cases and 90 percent of genital warts.

In January 2007, Gardasil was put on the "recommended" immunization schedule issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control. Merck immediately mounted a massive lobbying effort of state legislatures around the country to get Gardasil added to their respective lists of state-mandated vaccines.

But in Texas, Gov. Perry chose to bypass the legislature and on Feb. 2, 2007, he issued an executive order making Texas the first state in the country requiring all sixth-grade girls to receive the three-shot vaccination series (which cost about $120 per shot). The move generated a fierce public debate. Conservatives slammed Perry for promoting what they saw as an intrusion by the state into private health decisions of parents and their children. Some also complained that the mandate would encourage promiscuity among teenagers.

Many doctors, including Bill Hinchey, the president of the Texas Medical Association at the time, questioned the wisdom of rushing to mandate a drug that had been on the market for less than a year. Hinchey told the Houston Chronicle, "There are issues, such as liability and cost, that need to be vetted first."

The controversy over Perry's decision deepened as it came to light that his former chief of staff was a lobbyist for Merck and that his chief of staff's mother-in-law, Rep. Dianne White Delisi, was the state director of an advocacy group bankrolled by Merck to push legislatures across the country to put forward bills mandating the Gardasil vaccine for preteen girls.

Roughly 60 state lawmakers called on Perry to rescind the order. He refused. Just six weeks after Perry put pen to paper, the Texas House rebuked him on March 14, 2007, passing HB 1098, overturning his executive order by a vote of 119-21. The Senate followed suit the following month by a vote of 30-1.

Realizing both chambers had large enough majorities to override a veto, Perry opted to let the bill become law without his signature.

The sponsor of HB 1098, Republican state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, blasted Perry for "using cancer victims as his backdrop for an issue that he has grossly misjudged. Just because you don't want to offer up 165,000 11-year-old girls to be Merck's study group doesn't mean you don't care about women's health, doesn't mean you don't care about young girls," Bonnen added.

And, in fact, two years later the National Vaccine Information Center issued a report raising serious questions over the harmful side effects of the drug. A few months after that, an editorial on Gardasil in the Journal of the American Medical Association declared that "serious questions regarding the overall effectiveness of the vaccine" needed to be answered and that more long-term studies were called for.

If Perry runs for president, the fight over his decision will be waged anew in places like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

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(The irony shouldn't be lost on anyone that a guy who 2 years ago wanted Texas to secede from the USA now wants to be president of the USA. If it weren't for the reality that he is considered a GOP frontrunner, it would be funny. 

Gov. Rick Perry is a corrupt governor and a politician who does the bidding of the highest bidder once he's elected. In a time when Republicans are more concerned about cutting spending and taxes at the same time (which cannot be done in a reasonable manner) while fighting wars in 5 countries, Perry is yet another product of the GOP that benefits the rich at the extreme cost to the poor. Perry's Texas is a mirage for job creation when you consider that 165,000 lost good paying jobs were replaced by 200,000 minimum wage jobs. He and other Texas Republicans call that progress. And we thought GW Bush was dumb.

By the way, if you bring home the troops and end the wars, allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, and end the unconstitutional domestic spying program, the savings put us at a budget surplus by 2016. If Republicans were really interested in controlling the deficit, they would do it. That's why it isn't about the deficit for them at all. Dick Cheney said "deficits don't matter," and that's the true line of the GOP. It's all about tax cuts and military spending for them and when you vote for them, you vote for that. period.--jef)