In 1990 after my husband was transferred to Kelly AFB, San Antonio, Texas, we moved to a small town outside of San Antonio in the Texas Hill Country. Kendall County is a very Republican County and has the reputation as a county for never voting for LBJ. In fact the Sheriff who protected the ballot boxes along with his sons with shotguns when LBJ's 'supporters' tried to take them as they were doing all over Texas was still the Sheriff. Would LBJ cheat by sending out thugs to take the ballot boxes? Absolutely! Dead people voting in Texas was legendary along with stuffed ballot boxes by Democrats.
My husband had been in and out of Kelly AFB for a year before our move because there was a freeze on permanent change of station moves from the Clinton Administration. He knew me well enough that when he heard that Kendall County was so Republican that he recommended we live there even though he had a long commute to Kelly AFB. After doing the research on schools, we thought that the small town of Boerne, known as the Key to the Hills, would be perfect for our children to grow up. The realtor was correct as it turned out as the County was a hotbed for Republicans because the Democrats were vastly outnumbered and the schools were very good. It was a very conservative German town in a county of around 15,000 in 1990.
Soon after we arrived, I remember stopping in the local Republican County office to get a feel for candidates so I would know who to support. One older gentleman told me that his number one candidate was that newcomer to the Republican ranks, Rick Perry, for Agriculture Committee. He went on about how well liked he was in Austin in the Legislature. He said that Perry had become too conservative for the Democrat Party in Texas and the National Democrats who were going left.
Found his explanation for Perry being Al Gore's campaign person in Texas against Dukakis in the 1988 primary very interesting and paralleled what I knew about Dukakis. Having lived in MA for a very long nine months when my husband was on an Industry Assignment for the Air Force, I understood how a Texas Democrat could support Al Gore who was much more conservative at that time in 1988 versus the extreme liberal Dukakis. After those nine months in MA, I vowed to never support anyone from MA for President. If you were a Republican who was elected MA Governor, you definitely were not a conservative and not pro-life because there is no way they would have elected a Republican Conservative Pro-Life Governor in that state.
The older man had the whole background on Rick Perry as he talked about him growing up in Paint Creek, a very small town in West Texas. He asked if I had been in West Texas and told him we had driven through Abilene, Midland and Odessa on I-20 when we were transferred to Norton AFB, CA, from Beavercreek, Ohio. He told me that Paint Creek was located north of Abilene where the wind never stops but they keep right on farming their wheat and cotton along with ranching despite the droughts and then torrential rains that break the drought. He explained that he had grown up in a small town outside Lubbock and places like Paint Creek are the backbone of the American West where kids grow up learning the value of hard work and a love of Texas and America. Rick Perry took the path of becoming an Eagle Scout while growing up in Paint Creek which required that same hard work to complete all the steps to join the ranks of Eagle Scouts.
I had never heard of Paint Creek, Texas, in Haskell County (Population 6,000+ in 2000) but that was nothing new as I never heard of half the places in Texas that people would bring up. At least I could pronounce Paint Creek unlike some other places in Texas. Now I laugh when I hear people say 'Born' Texas without sounding the 'e' at the end. That is a sure sign someone has never been in the Texas Hill Country.
Remember to this day, the older gentlemen giving me a lesson in college athletics in Texas. He said we had moved to a town that was about 40% Longhorn supporters, 40% Aggie supporters, and the rest split among the other major universities like Texas Tech, Baylor, and TCU. He was a graduate of A&M and very proud of the fact that Rick Perry had been an A&M Yell Leader and explained what that entailed -- someone with a boisterous personality who could yell loud and get the fans excited. He said Perry has that same yell leader personality to get people motivated that he had at A&M. Over the years since then, I have seen it come out in speeches and events. He loves being Governor of Texas and selling Texas to the world. He would do the same thing for America.
It took a lot of courage and faith in 1990 for Perry who had recently switched from Democrat to Republican to run against the 'popular' incumbent Ag Commissioner Jim Hightower. Conventional wisdom from the media and Democrats was that there was no way that Rick Perry was going to beat Jim Hightower. I remember getting a call from that gentleman who had recommended Perry telling me he was going to win. He was so excited. As it turned out, Perry was one of the few bright spots of the night after Ma Richards took over the Governor's office.
Democrats were wrong when they thought he was going to be one of theirs. He has that West Texas independent streak that has stayed with him his whole career. No one buys Rick Perry -- if they try they are in for a rude awakening. Having grown up in farm/ranch country in West Texas, he was the perfect fit to be Ag Commissioner of Texas. For the first time in years, farmers/ranchers no matter how small had a friend as the Ag Commissioner and were treated with respect. In the past, the only voices heard were from the wealthy owners of the big ranches. He changed a whole climate as Ag Commissioner to be responsive to the agriculture community as a whole not just a few big donors like the previous commissioners. In 1994 he was reelected Ag Commissioner which is a testament to the job he did in his first term.
In 1998, when George W. Bush was getting ready to run for President, he was also running for Texas Governor. Perry decided to run for Lt Governor which led to the falling out with Rove. Kept hearing from people I knew that Rove was secretly backing John Sharpe, the Democrat, against Perry. Turned out that Perry and Sharpe were old friends from their days at Texas A&M so the race was on issues not personalities between the two men in spite of Rove. Perry went on to win the Lt Governor's seat and then became Governor in January 2001 when George W Bush became President. That race in 1998 was the first time I had heard about a Republican trying to shut down fundraising for one of our own -- have heard a lot more of the same since those days including this election. Guess Rove learned in 1998 that Rick Perry was not going to be a puppet for him and the establishment Republicans.
Perry pretty much got a free pass from Rove in 2002 when he ran for his first full term as Governor, then in 2006 and 2010 Rove actually helped get candidates in the race to take out Perry. First it was getting Carolyn Rylander to run as an Independent in 2006 when she had been in the Perry Cabinet. Rylander was the mother of Scott McClellan, the worst press secretary who worked for Pres Bush.
Then in 2010, Kay Bailey Hutchison decided to run at the urging of Bush 41 and other moderate Republicans in Texas. Rove got Romney to back her in the primary giving her his endorsement. Didn't work as Perry won the primary outright in a three person race and went on to win another term as Governor in spite of Karl Rove and his dirty tricks. Yet some members of the media question why Perry doesn't like Romney (expect the feeling is mutual because Romney doesn't like conservatives). They never bother to say that Romney endorsed Perry's opponent in 2010 and in 2006 Romney went out of his way not to support Perry when he (Romney) was head of the Republican Governor's Association. Looks like Rove has been pulling Romney's strings for years.
There are days I cannot believe some of the lies and spin I am seeing on-line about Governor Perry. All I know is that some of the stories like the rock at the hunting camp have the fingerprints of Karl Rove on them. There are a few candidates who stand out over the years who have earned my support and would go to any length to make sure I vote for them. One of those is Rick Perry, another is Ronald Reagan, and last but not least is my Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn.
If there is one candidate I trust to do the right thing for the people of American people and our military, it is Captain Rick Perry who served in the US Air Force as a pilot for the C-130's flying around the world after his graduation from Texas A&M.
Rick Perry is honest to the core, is not afraid to admit if he makes a mistake, and tough as nails when he has to be. He is a gentlemen and someone you would want for your next door neighbor. Rick Perry believes in that old fashioned American ingenuity and hard work to help right this ship called America. These are some of the reasons it has made it so hard to see some of the comments I have seen against the Governor knowing full well they are not true. Cannot even fathom what his wife, children, and parents are going through with the unjustified attacks and falsehoods that have been out there for weeks not to mention the lack of coverage by the media. The campaign against Governor Perry is one of the dirtiest I have witnessed, but in the end Rick Perry is the winner no matter what because he refuses to stoop as low as his opponents. A very admirable trait out of a honest person.
How Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and others can go after the ONLY conservative in the race with a lot of executive experience as Governor of Texas which is larger then some countries is beyond me. He makes a mistake in what he says, and it is the end of the world for him according to the pundits. Other candidates flip flop on key issues, make mistakes, lie, and spin and that's okay because they are not the Texas Governor. Who really is pulling the strings to keep Rick Perry down and give him little to no coverage? We know Karl Rove is the architect -- even Jeb Bush threw him under the bus. My bet is that Rove is doing the work of the Republican establishment led by Bush 41 who by any definition is not conservative. They prefer the elitist New Englander Romney.
Does the Governor have the chance to win the primary and become our nominee? I believe he does because the voters are going to determine who is our nominee, not Karl Rove, Fox News, Roger Ailes, Dick Morris, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and a host of other Clear Channel pundits. How they can call themselves conservative and support Romney or Gingrich is beyond me. It seems they will say and do anything to tank Governor Perry for Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich so they do not have a conservative in the White House.
Looks like I am not the only one questioning as this author asks the same question I have been asking for weeks:
Why Aren’t We Backing Rick Perry?
Dec 1st, 2011 | By Alex Kauffman |
Ladies and gentlemen: We’re in trouble.
Herman Cain’s campaign- which I contended earlier this week was never going to bear fruit- is all but dead. Cain’s staff were incompetent from the beginning, and his supporters supported him for the wrong reasons.
Newt Gingrich is emerging as the “not-Romney” candidate, and is currently leading the pack, despite the fact that his record closely matches Romney’s on most key issues.
Gary Johnson and Ron Paul- not well-liked by some Republicans- have been marginalized.
Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Santorum were never serious contenders.
Which leaves us one candidate: Rick Perry. He hasn’t gained much support since his “and umm…” flub (which feels like ancient history now). It’s amazing to me that Republicans are willing to ignore his ardently free-market, pro-gun, fiscally-responsible record over that gaffe, and instead back one of two candidates- Gingrich or Romney- who have personally participated in the ruination of our country. This just gobsmacks me!
A refresher about Perry:
So, OK, 23 years ago he worked for Al Gore, back when Texas was the Democrat stronghold. By comparison, Gingrich called Paul Ryan a “right-wing social engineer” six months ago. And Romney’s position on any given subject changes as often as his socks.
- 1) Rick Perry’s state has had the most job growth of any state during the 2000s;
- 2) He signed into law Texas’ ‘castle doctrine law’, solidly cementing Texas as the state with the most permissive self-defense laws in the country; and he isn’t just pro-gun, he has a CHL and carries a handgun regularly;
- 3) Perry’s tax plan mirrors that of Hong Kong, the most economically-free place on Earth, while Gingrich’s tax plan is a virtual carbon-copy of Perry’s, and Romney’s plan is just plain gobbledygook;
- 4) Nobody questions Rick Perry’s sincerity when he speaks. One may not agree with him on a given topic- and I do disagree with him on some things- but when he states his position, there’s no doubt he’s calling it as he sees it. Considering the weasely-ness of Gingrich and Romney, this should be Perry’s greatest selling point.
And on the subject of Gardasil: I was a harsh Perry critic on this subject. But let’s face facts: The program was dead on arrival, and not a single dose was given. Let’s also point out something else: The same governor who came up with this idea, also put more guns and more autonomy to use them into the hands of Texas parents- some of whom, undoubtedly, would have resisted this mandate with force if it had ever seen the light of day.
As for immigration: Unlike the vast majority of us, Perry is the governor of a border state. It’s interesting that the two governors of border states in this election- Rick Perry and Gary Johnson- have somewhat similar immigration plans. On this subject, I agree with Perry. For those who disagree with him on this subject, refer back to Rick’s greatest selling point I mentioned above: He has a consistent position on this issue and doesn’t spin it, something we can’t say for Gingrich and Romney.
Folks, this election is just too important to put it in the hands of either Gingrich or Romney. We on the right need to be putting attention onto Rick Perry, and putting our weight behind him.
He’s the best we’ve got.
Source: Conservative Daily NewsThere is only one candidate who I have no trouble supporting and have a tremendous amount of respect -- that is Rick Perry who is not even close to being part of the inside the beltway or Republican establishment. Is that his main problem -- he doesn't answer to the establishment types but to the people of Texas? He will do the same as President -- answer to only the American people! This is why he has my full support -- he puts Texas and will put America first and will be the best salesman for America that this Country has ever seen.
The Twelve Days of Clarity - Day One
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