2012: Rick Perry's Baggage Part I

We all knew this was coming. You can't expect to declare you're running for president of the United States and not have your dirty laundry aired out for the whole world to see. 

Now I'm all for taking a good, hard look at the candidates you're faced with. I'll be ripping into Romney on a regular basis. In fact, I openly invite them to take a close look at the primary candidates so we can pick the right one. But it didn't take long for the bloom to come off the rose for this candidate.

Texas Governor Rick Perry (who I've been writing about a lot, I'm realizing. I'll try to fix that someday soon.) has taken heat from certain conservative writers for actions his administration has taken. Over the next few days I'll take a crack at some of the accusations and, in my humble opinion, see if he stands up to the scrutiny. Especially now that he's become the party frontrunner.

First there's Michelle Malkin. Based on the tone of her posts and columns about Perry, you'd think he backed over her dog, put the car in drive, driven over its corpse, and barreled off laughing. Needless to say, she's not a fan.

In February 2007, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a shocking executive order forcing every sixth-grade girl to submit to a three-jab regimen of the Gardasil vaccine. He also forced state health officials to make the vaccine available “free” to girls ages 9 to 18. The drug, promoted by manufacturer Merck as an effective shield against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) and genital warts, as well as cervical cancer, had only been approved by the Food and Drug Administration eight months prior to Perry’s edict.

The vaccine, Malkin goes on to say, was still being tested and its long-term effects were "in doubt." She scoffs at Perry's argument there was an opt-out in place. Politifact offered some information on the opt-out procedure.

The order included an opt-out "in order to protect the right of parents to be the final authority on their children's health care." Perry ordered the Department of State Health Services to allow parents dissenting for philosophical or religious reasons to request a conscientious objection affidavit form. That form, which has been available since 2003, enables parents to enroll their children in public school even if they lack state-required immunizations. It's automatically granted as long as parents provide all required information.

According to the Department of State Health Service's 2008-09 immunization report, which uses data from kindergarten and seventh-grade students at 1,300 independent school districts and 800 private schools, 0.28 percent of the students filed conscientious objection forms.

Parents must renew exemption affidavits every two years to maintain their validity, according to Allison Lowery, assistant press officer at the Texas Department of State Health Services.

We thought the opt-out form for public-school students proved Perry correct until we learned that not all private schools accept the affidavit. That means some private schools may not allow their students to exempt themselves from any state-required vaccinations. Some 15 percent of more than 1 million Texas girls in fifth through 12th grade in 2008 were enrolled in private schools, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

 According to a 2006 Texas Attorney General's opinion: "A private school that does not accept state tax funds is not required to accept for enrollment a child who has received an exemption from the immunizations required by the Texas Health and Safety Code."

Really? That's the big grief with Perry? I'm from California, where a vaccine for whooping cough is now required for students 7-12th grade before they can even walk onto a school campus. Is there an opt-out? Yep. I use Facebook, with a ton of annoying features. You have to opt out of them too.

Why?

Because if they set it up the other way around, no one would opt-in.

Yet Malkin says the opt-out was "bogus," despite the fact anyone applying for an exemption was automatically granted one if their paperwork was in order.

Maybe if I was a mother of three I would be more bothered by this. I suppose I can see her point. But even the Perry campaign has said they realized the policy was a bad one and dumped it.

Perry told an ABC Houston affiliate:

 “I obviously made an error in not having a conversation with the people of the state of Texas rather than just kind out of the blue an executive order. There was a better way to do that, I realize that now. One of the things I do pride myself on, I listen. When the electorate says hey that’s not what we want to do. We backed up, took a look at what we did. I understand I work for the people, it’s not the other way around.”

He also admitted to a backyard of supporters:

"I signed an executive order that allowed for an opt-out, but the fact of the matter is that I didn’t do my research well enough to understand that we needed to have a substantial conversation with our citizenry..."

A friend of mine and I were discussing this over lunch the other day, and both of us came to the same conclusion. Perry, being, as my friend who I'll call James, mostly cause that's his name, is a "Christian cowboy." He thought that by mandating this vaccine he would be helping keep people--especially children--safe. It didn't really bother James or me. His response, and one I wholeheartedly endorse, was: "meh."

Malkin's not accepting any admission of guilt, or an apology, from Perry.

While Perry and his campaign staff have now paid lip service to making a “mistake” in shoving the executive order down families’ throats, they remain defiant in defending the decree and Perry’s zealous, big government overreaching. From the latest story on Perry’s “reversal” in theWashington Post: “Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner dismissed the criticism. Governor Perry has always stood on the side of protecting life, and that is what this issue was about…”

Couldn't agree more...with Mark Miner.

Don't get me wrong. I love Michelle Malkin.I grew up reading her and learning from her. And I must admit I feel bad challenging her. I'm sure she'd have a brilliant response if she read this. But nevertheless, I think she's wrong. To sum up--Perry vaccine: dumb, but not disqualifying.

TAXES: Now Accepting Donations

Dear Warren Buffett,

You're an idiot.

Love,
A Young American

I mean, the guy's an investing genius. But when it comes to politics, he should get his butt out. In case you didn't catch it, Buffett wrote an op-ed in the New York Times basically saying all the "superrich" should be taxed.

Our leaders have asked for "shared sacrifice." But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checkedwith my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to makeends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billionsfrom our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as "carried interest," thereby getting a bargain 15percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they'd been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protectus, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It's nice to have friends in high places.

MoveOn was thrilled. They sent out a petition to their members and hailed Buffett as the hero, as if he wasn't a liberal before. The only reason he touts liberal policies and higher taxes for the "superrich" is to keep potential competition away, becuase as he and everyone else knows, those tax increases would hurt "up and comers" more than he.

Dear Warren Buffett
Click this link, moron!
Love,
A Young American

OBAMA: Run Away!

This from Doug Ross guest-blogging on Michelle Malkin's blog:

The term “Fourth Estate” has long been used in reference to the press, but it’s getting a little stale. So, thanks to a little inspiration from the vacationing president, we can now get rid of “Fourth Estate” and replace it with “Eighth Hole”:

Then he provides his explanation, in the form of a news snippet.

But it was later, at the Vineyard Golf Course in Edgartown, where the president’s recalcitrance was most evident. Approaching the eighth tee in a golf cart with friend and frequent golfing buddy Eric Whitaker, the president noticed three TV cameras and a Globe photographer across the street. Rather than stop and be photographed teeing off, the president skipped the hole.

Eighth Hole, Ross says,

should be used whenever a politician is dodging the media during certain situations that could lead to negative public perception during challenging economic times, however inherited they may be.

Remember folks, Obama has played over 75 rounds of golf since he took office. Here's hoping he has more Eighth Hole moments.

A Day Late and A Dollar Short

So there were the finals. And two weeks of camping. And then moving accross the country (literally) in exactly 24 hours after getting back from the Sierras. Needless to say, I didn't blog much over the last few weeks, which stinks, cause whatever little audience I had built up is probably on to greener pastures.

If only I had something to bring them back...

Oh yeah! Riiiiiiick Perry! Now, caveat here. I promise that I will remain as impartial of an observer of the 2012 campaign as my obnoxiously opinionated self can be. If Rick Perry blows it, I'll write about it. I'm not a mindless slave to a particular candidate like some supporters are coughRonPaulcough. But I'm excited about his entry. Primarily because I was right. Although I admit it wasn't hard to do.

It started with June 10, when I blogged about Newt Gingrich's staff abandoning ship.

The exodus has also caused plenty of speculation. Two of the major Gingrich players that walked out on him, a consultant named Dave Carney and manager Rob Johnson both have ties to Perry. Carney was an advisor to Perry for years, and Johnson managed his gubernatorial campaigns. Could they have abandoned the sinking Gingrich ship to get on board with the Perry express?

Then on June 20, I wrote a whole post devoted to Perry, his record, and his potential campaign, concluding with this.

Perry definitely sounded like a candidate at the conference, and his speech was the most electrifying I've seen from any candidate or potential candidate. It remains to be seen, though, whether the late entry will be enough of a buzz to propel him to the top, or if he'll fizzle like Fred Thompson (so sad!) in 2008. Just a college student's opinion: he'll become a frontrunner the minute he steps in.

The conference I was talking about was the Republican Leadership Conference. If you know nothing about the man, you owe it to yourself to watch that speech.

And then on June 28, I wrote about winning combinations for 2012, spending a bit of time on Perry, Bachmann, Palin, and Pawlenty. I also floated the idea of Christie as a VP pick to balance out the ticket and appeal to Northerners.

But all of these candidates are incomplete without New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. He, I believe, more than anyone else, is the key to the White House in 2012. He's managed to get himself elected in the heavily democratic state in 2009, and thus far has been able to get Democrats to work with him to cut taxes and stop spending. His simple message? "We can't do this anymore." Christie is well-liked by the mostly-democrat mayors throughout New Jersey and even some of New York, and he's made friends in high places among the other side of the aisle. He's a little softer on the social issues, but he is strongly pro-life, which is an absolute must for me.

And I then closed out with this short prediction.

For what it's worth? My money's on a Perry/Christie ticket. We'll see what plays out, but I'd be willing to put money on that.

 And then on July 5 I wrote a poll roundup and included this piece on Perry.

If Perry enters in the next few weeks, the buzz could give him the jump to put him neck and neck with Romney. And it would be the death-knell for lesser-known candidates, and a real hurdle for middling ones like T-Paw.

And then, in glorious Texan, Rick Perry fashion, Perry declared the weekend of the Ames Straw Poll, stealing Bachmann's thunder as she became yet another candidate great at winning straw polls and nothing else coughRonPaulcough.

If it seems like gloating, my apologies. It's just my first blogging prediction that has been correct. Now if only the other half would fall into place...

RealClearPolitics average has Perry less than two points away from frontrunner Romney, who won't stand a chance once the campaign is underway (I mean, how on earth is he supposed to stand by Romneycare?)

Rasmussen has Perry up 11 points over Romney. And while Perry is down against Obama, the gap is not insurmountable. Even "foreign observer" and fairly liberal columnist Margaret Wente at the Canadian paper The Globe and Mail sees Perry as a huge threat to Obama.

Mr. Perry “occupies the cultural and intellectually empty heartland of the Republican Party,” wrote Richard Cohen, a liberal pundit, in The Washington Post. “He vows to diminish Washington’s influence – a conservative applause line but a moronic policy.” 

Moronic or not, it’s a message that resonates across America. Most Americans have lost their trust in the folks in Washington. Eighty-five per cent of them think the country is headed in the wrong direction. Seventy-three per cent doubt the government can solve their economic problems – up from 41 per cent a decade ago. In their view, it’s the folks in Washington (and their reckless buddies on Wall Street) who’ve wrecked the country.