I was so glad to see the opinion column about Rick Perry. As a resident of Texas, let me tell you what Rick Perry doesn't want you to know: Rick Perry's claim on Texas jobs is not true. Texas jobs, mostly in Houston, have largely come from the oil and gas industry. Perry has had nothing to do with that — Houston's economy has historically been boom or bust, depending on oil and gas. Additionally, the state and federal government is responsible for creating a large portion of jobs. How interesting that Perry claims these jobs as his "miracle" while bashing government.
Also, you should know he tried to mandate the HPV vaccine for all 12-year-old girls. Is that supposed to be less government in our lives? Even the legislature shot down that one. It all made sense when Texans learned that one of Perry's top aides used to work for Big Pharma.
His claim to less government in our lives is even more ridiculous when you look at the number of toll roads in Texas. Perry can't get enough of them. He was willing to sell Texas land to a foreign country in order to build a ‘Trans Texas' toll road. Thank goodness, the legislature stopped him on that one, too.
Furthermore, his association with evangelical pastors, several of whom are extremists (Rev. Hagee called the Catholic church a ‘whore of Babylon'), is offensive. All you have to do is look to the Middle East for the result of that kind of behavior. Do we really want a candidate who aligns himself with such divisive radicals? Hence, there is talk in my local parish about forming a group, "CATHOLICS AGAINST RICK PERRY."
His record on education is dismal: Texas SAT scores rank 49th nationally in verbal skills and 45th in math.
Perry doesn't care about Texans who are out of work, and we have more than eight percent. He took TARP money, but turned down the federal unemployment money, then borrowed it from his buddies at Frost bank, costing the state more in interest charges. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face — this man is as sneaky as he is deceptive. We certainly don't need his brand of government for the rest of America.
Susan Knapp
parent of 2007 grad
Aug. 30
