How Perry Could Prove Patriotic Immigration Reform Credentials—Recall TX Legislature
09/20/2011
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The Perry people must have been whooping it up in Austin at the end of June. Despite coming into town with towering Republican majorities and clear mandates to act on the Texan immigration disaster, the legislature adjourned having done - nothing! Even “Sanctuary Cities” were saved. (The pleasant-sounding term masks the evil of local jurisdictions willfully blocking the enforcement of Federal immigration laws.) Nothing like the Arizona legislation  - mandating that local law enforcement  officers enforce the Federal laws - got anywhere near passage.

Perry’s wealthy supporters were happy and so no doubt was he, a situation I discussed in Texan Plutocrats Nullify State Election, Protect Sanctuary Cities: Where Was Governor Perry?

But running for President creates problems. Politico did a fine job of discovering the smoking guns in this squalid transaction: Rick Perry's pro-immigration Texas base By Maggie Haberman 9/2/11; and his opponents noticed and began to speak up.

Now an enterprising Texan Tea Party group is calling Perry’s bluff

"Tea Party leaders confronted Rick Perry in his own back yard Monday, calling on him to use his power as Texas governor to crack down on illegal immigration.


The activists, representing Tea Party groups from around the state, want Perry to either sign an executive order or call the Legislature back into a special session to enact a ban on so-called sanctuary cities…


"Gov. Perry needs to clarify his position on illegal immigration, and he needs to come back to Texas and to finish the people's unfinished business," said JoAnn Fleming, chair of the Tea Party Caucus Advisory Committee of the Texas Legislature."

 Tea Party Presses Perry on Immigration The Texas Tribune by Jay Root Monday September 19, 2011

Tea Party To Perry: Recall Legislature, Pass Promised Legislation

 

Why not a special session? Perry likes flamboyant gestures, doesn’t he? And he claimed he was serious about curbing the “Sanctuary City” scandal.

Well, a key reason is probably that the check has been cashed. The Daily Kos has an informative piece on how Perry’s Texas works: Rick Perry is for sale, but he’s not cheap by Mark Sumner Sun Sep 18, 2011

"Half of Perry's contributions have originated with only 204 people. So many dollars coming from so few sources means that Perry's team is extremely aware of who puts the butter on their toast. This isn't twenty bucks from a million people. It's closer to a million bucks from twenty people, and when someone contributes at that level they don't do it because they like a candidate's haircut, or even his ideology."

Sumner is so incensed by this he almost breaks the Matt Taibbi rule of Leftwing journalism and discloses to how this actually effected immigration legislation, citing

"...Bob Perry (no relation). Not only did Bob Perry hand out $2.5m to namesake Rick, he also passed along another $7 million to Karl Rove's Crossroads PAC. For this, Bob was well rewarded. To help out his pal Bob, Rick Perry shepherded through legislation forcing home buyers who were taken in by incomplete or shoddy work to go to an industry-dominated commission for "justice" rather than a judge. For his contributions, Bob Perry got to have his lawyer design the legislation, which Rick Perry then signed. A very good deal for Bob, and that's even before you get to his role in passing anti-immigrant regulations."

More accurately, not passing anti-immigrant regulations. Builder Bob Perry featured prominently in Politico’s article.

These are terrible stories. Happily for Perry, he can easily disprove them.

All he has to do is recall the Texas legislature (who, as JoAnn Perry points out in the video above, are still being paid) and pass some solid patriotic immigration legislation. The votes are there.

And he can stop being silly about the Border Fence while he is at it.

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