I took you up on your offered wager. Are you going to reply?

Originally Posted by RichieLion

Compared to other states Texas is in great shape. Liberal bastions like NY, Rl, CA and IL can only dream of having such a business uptick and similar liabilities. Credit should be given as credit is due.

http://www.americansforprosperity.or...-shines-strong

http://urbangrounds.com/2011/05/texas-jobs/

http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/13/news...tune/index.htm

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=43525

Not so fast.... This became longer than planned...
Let's respect the personal strain running for office plays on the candidate and their family. I respect our current president and his predecessor. We live in difficult times. We need to support our leaders and not hope for our country's demise for political gain.

Everyone protects their vested interest and turf to protect. The congressmen from Iowa supports tax subsidies for ethanol. The senator from Michigan supported the auto loans. I don't see this guy or this party supporting my vested interests. His interests are big oil and big business. Big tax cuts for loss of services such as public safety, cutting tsunami warnings to folks on the coast need to be well thought out. Federal funding leads to cuts in your state and community. Hopefully we might learn more about his positions.

Jon Huntsman might be a better choice as he has more varied background as both a governor and ambassador. Perry has no experience in foreign policy.

I wouldn't quote Americans for Prosperity...FAR Right wing Koch funded anti-union mouthpiece. But I did find something later in this post. Not as bad as saying there are 57 states.
I think both George W and his mentoring student as VP, Rick Perry come across like something out of a John Wayne movie. You know the image of chopping wood and cutting brush on the ranch in Crawford. So the western boots are part of his image. Ok. His choice.
Texas was once an agrarian state. Today 6 of the largest 25 cities in the country are in Texas. Houston, Dallas, SanAntonio,Ft Worth, El Paso... From what I've read there is a technology center near Austin. Dell makes PCs in Red Rock. Petrochemical plants abound in Houston. I still envision miles of nothing from SanAntonio to ElPaso.

I really didn't know much about him other than he replaced GWB. Perry was a Texas A&M grad and was in the Air Force. After leaving the military worked in the cotton business with his father. He was elected to the Texas House as a Democrat. He was Al Gore's Texas campaign manager in the 88 primary. He switched parties in 89.Re won the Agriculture Commissioner seat, ran and won as the 1st Republican VP in 98. We succeeded GWB in 2000.
In 2010 he wrote a book called Fed Up! (didn't read it) in which he takes issue with the 16th Amendment which allows Congress to levy an income tax. He talks about state's' rights and keeping the money in the pocket of the taxpayer. He vehemently opposes gay rights and recognition of same sex marriages. He is pro life. He signed a bill that pregnant girls under 18 who decide on an abortion must notify their parents. He also believes that intelligent design should be taught alongside evolution. He supports the death penalty as Texas carried out 200 executions while he has been governor.He does not believe in climate change.He opposes greenhouse gas regulation. He did collaborate with T. Boone Pickens for alternative wind energy. I guess T.Boone has had a change of heart since. (It doesn't mean I disagree with all of these positions.)

He is a man of Christian faith. Two recent events were a state prayer service for rain in April. Since then fires in Texas and the southwest have worsened. He (Perry) tried. The Big Guy didn't intervene. Maybe it is climate change. Perry has also proposed and will host a Governor's prayer service this fall. Are these events sincere or to draw attention to himself and his campaign? GW relied on prayer and divine guidance too. I am not discounting this, but you need a plan of action and good advisors. Move quickly and decisively. Think Katrina and 911.
So Perry has been governor of Texas for 10 years. 26 years as a politician holding office since 1984. State rep, Ltnt. Gov, Agriculture Commissioner, and now Governor. He is the longest serving current governor in the nation. Another Texan, LBJ was a politician longer. So he's a lifer. For a party that wants less government that is a long time to be in government.
Some more stats...
The May Texas unemployment rate in May was 8%. Prior it was 7.7%. PA was 7.4, IL 8.9, NY 7.9,RI 10.9, MI 10.3. Texas ranked 23rd. Is that fantastic? Source Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/lau/

On the AFP site he accepts the Boot Up Texas award in Minneapolis. He mentions some new online thing at the 2:30 mark in the video.Have any of you ever heard of Tweeter? Must be a teleprompter error. Maybe that Texas drawl? Or clueless. Who came up with that award? Why accept it in Minnesota? Why didn't they edit a gaffe?

25.4 % of state residents in Texas have a BA or higher, US average 27.5%, percent of population below poverty level in Texas 17.1%, US 14.3 (2009 stats) US Census Bureau This sounds like quite a few poor without much going for them.

How is Texas getting jobs? Port traffic, trade with Latin America, Oil and energy sector growth, and taxpayer funded incentives and subsidies to reel in businesses from other states. Two of the funds are the Texas Enterprise Fund
$412 million and $320 million with the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. Even if things are big in Texas that is a load of money. Maybe it was a good move. The question is will those businesses relocate again when the incentives run out?
One of his points of pride is job growth in Texas. Massachusetts had a higher rate.
More importantly, what kind of jobs are we talking about? Well Texas is tied with Mississippi with the largest percentage of workers on minimum wage. In 2007 Texas had 221,000 folks earning $7.25 an hour. Three years later 550,000 folks fit in that category. I know it is a big state, but that is a big jump.
A recent article in the WSJ praised Texas for job growth.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...710070472.html It didn't mention that the 2010 median hourly earnings per hour was $11.20 an hour while the US national average was $12.50.
As far as the budget being so great in Texas, he used the 2009 Recovery Act money to balance the budget. Not roads and infrastructure, money to schools, etc. At the same time he was touting no recovery act money and no government bailouts. Actually he didn't by himself. The legislature had to approve. We are talking about a $6.6 billion shortfall in 2010-2011 bailed out by $6.4 billion from the Recovery Act. They still have a $9.1 billion rainy day fund.

What do I think of him? He is a conservative Republican. Pro business. Not pro environment. No help for the average worker. Look how many folks earn low wages in Texas. It is tied for last place with Mississippi. Are these numbers distorted from low paying farm jobs? Or are adults trying to live on a wage of $1100 a month? Think of your adult children having a family with that kind of income. Imagine if their chid gets ill. Texas has one of the lowest rates of health insurance coverage. In 2007 the state of Texas ranked 50th in the nation with 25% of the population uninsured.The national average is 16%. Stats from Texas Medial Association.

Rick Perry should hide parts of his record. He better have good spin doctor. He will need them with the holes in his record. He runs a diverse state with climatic and environmental issues. Yet he stands behind big corporations at the expense of the average person. Hold your breath near the refineries. His state has a huge hispanic community. I know he proclaims no tax increases and less government. Yet he took the Recovery Act money. As a 51 year old male he has been in government over half of his life.
Regarding immigrants, what is the track record of controlling borders under his stewardship as governor?
I like the idea of less government waste and better efficiency. I want to see business flourish and folks keep decent paying jobs. I want to see affordable health insurance.
Maybe someone can shed light on how we would fund our country including our military with collecting income tax. Would there be a national sales tax and big business would pay their part through corporate tax?

American demographics have changed with an influx of Hispanics outnumbering the black population. White Americans are or close to being the minority. We don't see this living in a retirement community. The GOP better adapt or be left behind. A bad economy helps their chances. That is their best hope for 2012.

Finally, why do folks who want less government run if they don't like it? Then have to hire staff if elected. That creates more government.

Way too much verbiage to seriously address. My short answer is I disagree with most all your assessments and your predictions. It's the Democrats who are out of touch, and that will become evident really quickly.

Short and to the point, Richie. Blame the Democrats. Why not?

Originally Posted by Tbugs

Short and to the point, Richie. Blame the Democrats. Why not?

When in doubt, stick to the classics

mitchbr47, I applaud you for the homework you did in creating this post. It was a lot of work and there is a great deal to agree with as well as a great deal to disagree with. You put so much out that I feel like I’m trying to contend with a broadside from the USS Missouri.

Let me start with your statement that Governor Perry is, “Not pro environment.” Have you ever met anyone who is anti environment, standing for polluted water, dirty air, the spreading of carcinogens, etc.? I have not and am sure neither you nor Governor Perry is in favor of this either. Is there climate change? Yes. Is it anthropogenic in nature? We do not know.

I realize that there are greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, cause many people who believe we are experiencing global warming and that it in particular. I also realize that there are many intelligent scientists that do not buy into this idea.

I can provide many sources that question the idea of anthropogenic global warming, but suggest we go with the metrics to prove or dispute this theory:

1. Myth, global polar sea ice is vanishing. Fact, global sea ice is essentially unchanged so long as we have been able to measure it. The opening of the Northwest Passage is nothing new. The Chinese under the leadership of Admiral Cheng Ho mapped the NW passages as well as the Atlantic coast of much of North and South America during the 15th Century.
2. Myth, global temperatures have been rising as a result of increased CO2. Fact, global temperatures decreased from the ‘40s to the ‘70s provoking concerns about a coming ice age, they then rose through the mid ‘90s provoking our current scare about AGW. In the last few years they have begun to fall again.
3. Myth, sea levels are rising and soon the sea will flood Manhattan, Shanghai and all major coastal cities. Fact, sea level is still rising but at a rate much slower than that observed in the last 500 years. Sea level is expected to rise in an interglacial period. We need to be truly concerned not with the rise of sea level, but with its fall. That would be the beginning of a new glacial period with solid sheets of ice 3 miles thick lying over the American Midwest.


http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosph...thtrend.jpging new

Originally Posted by RichieLion

Way too much verbiage to seriously address. My short answer is I disagree with most all your assessments and your predictions. It's the Democrats who are out of touch, and that will become evident really quickly.

Nothing like avoiding any specificity in favor of general broadbrush soundbite type analysis.

If that's the way you want to make your voting choices, Richie, I hope you're offset by others who think about who they'll vote for and why somewhat more deeply. The whole concept of simply declaring ones self of one political ideology or another doesn't seem to have served the country well in recent elections.

We've elected people who have said and promised things across a wide array of the political spectrum in the last twenty years or so. Only one that I can think of has delivered much of what was promised. But none of them have provided any kind of leadership that has re-galvanized the American spirit.

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

Nothing like avoiding any specificity in favor of general broadbrush soundbite type analysis.

If that's the way you want to make your voting choices, Richie, I hope you're offset by others who think about who they'll vote for and why somewhat more deeply. The whole concept of simply declaring ones self of one political ideology or another doesn't seem to have served the country well in recent elections.

We've elected people who have said and promised things across a wide array of the political spectrum in the last twenty years or so. Only one that I can think of has delivered much of what was promised. But none of them have provided any kind of leadership that has re-galvanized the American spirit.

Again, you on your high horse. You are one self righteous piece of work.

I didn't delve into all the aspects of that humongous post because there was so much mis-information and wrong headed thinking in it, in my opinion, that I thought it ridiculous to try to debate every point made, if you must know the truth, and I just didn't have the motivation to attempt it.

BBQ took a great stab at that leviathan post and I commend him and agree with the environmental points he made, but I didn't want to take all the time necessary to answer and locate and post pertinent site links to back up what I say, all to have it be dismissed by those on their high horse, anyway.

The posts back and forth with Bugs was humor between friends. Take a chill pill big guy. It had nothing to do with anything serious. Just some common, run of the mill silliness.

And as far as your personal insulting comments alluding to a supposed lack of scholarship in my conclusions and my political ideology, I think you can take your overblown sense of superiority and "shove it". You get my drift?