|
|
| Line 15: |
Line 15: |
| | }} | | }} |
| | | | |
| − | '''James Richard "Rick" Perry''' (b. March 4, 1950) has served as the [[Republican]] Governor of [[Texas]] since December 2000, when he succeeded then-Governor [[George W. Bush]] and was elected to full four-year terms in 2002 and 2006. He easily won an unprecedented third full term in November 2010, after defeating by a wide margin U.S. Senator [[Kay Bailey Hutchison]] in the GOP primary in March and then the [[Democratic]] former mayor of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], Bill White, in the general election. | + | '''James Richard "Rick" Perry''' (b. March 4, 1950) is a stupid politician that likes to say "oops". |
| − | | |
| − | In August 2011, Perry entered the [[presidential election 2012|2012 race for President]]. Perry dropped out of the race in January 2012, and supported [[Newt Gingrich]].
| |
| − | | |
| − | ==Career==
| |
| − | A native of rural Haskell, Texas, north of Abilene, Perry obtained a degree in animal science from [[Texas A&M University]] in College Station. He is a former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, having been first elected in 1984. He switched to Republican affiliation in 1989. The next year, he was elected Texas Agriculture Commissioner, having narrowly unseated the two-term populist Democrat Jim Hightower, a vocal supporter of [[Jesse Jackson]] in Texas. Perry won his first full term as governor in 2002, when he defeated the wealthy Laredo businessman A. R. "Tony" Sanchez by a three-to-two margin. He was reelected to another full term in 2006 with only 39 percent of the vote because the other 61 percent of the ballots was split among four rival general election candidates, including a former Repubican state comptroller, Carole Strayhorn of [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], who ran as an independent.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Perry's brother-in-law, the brother of [[Anita Thigpen Perry]], is Joseph E. Thigpen (born ca. 1946), a former district attorney and county attorney in West Texas. In 1994, Perry, reelected as the agriculture commissioner, asked incoming Republican Governor [[George W. Bush]] to name Joseph Thigpen to a vacancy on the state appeals court in Eastland County, Texas. Acting on a check into Thigpen's record by political advisor [[Karl Rove]], Bush declined to appoint Thigpen to the bench. As a county attorney, Thigpen had been criticized for not being available when the commissioner's court needed his counsel. In 1998, Rick Perry became lieutenant governor in the second George W. Bush gubernatorial term. The Thigpen appointment controversy has been mentioned as a possible cause of a potential breach between Governors Bush and Perry.<ref>Will Weissert, "Perry-Bush camps still feel old dispute", ''Laredo Morning Times'', September 19, 2011, p. 8A</ref>
| |
| − | | |
| − | | |
| − | ==Controversies==
| |
| − | | |
| − | In 2007, Perry attempted to mandate by executive order a requirement that the [[HPV vaccine]] be administered to young girls as a condition of entering school. Defiant, Perry then felt he had no choice but to sign a bill overriding his mandate because it had been passed by a huge majority in both houses of the legislature.
| |
| − | | |
| − | He was criticized by the ''Dallas Morning News'' for traveling to Turkey in early June 2007 to give a speech to a "secret forum" on the topic of [[federalism]], a topic on which Perry has little established expertise.<ref>http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-perry_31tex.ART.State.Edition1.43b926a.html</ref>
| |
| − | | |
| − | On June 15, 2007, Perry vetoed nearly fifty bills in one day. He also asked that legislators to pass more conservative bills, especially restricting freedom of movement for radical homosexual activists, in order to prevent harm to young people from their vile liberal propaganda.<ref>http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/138969.html here</ref>.
| |
| − | | |
| − | The vetoed House Bill 2006 would have added protections to property owners facing eminent domain proceedings.
| |
| − | | |
| − | In 2009, Perry drew fire for numerous statements that suggested Texas' legal right to secede from the union if it wanted to.<ref>[http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/04/17/0417gop.html "Governor says Texas is one state that could leave union, though he's not pushing it"]</ref> While such statements were viewed with favor by the Texas Republican Party and helped him win the 2010 gubernatorial election, they were supposed to haunt his 2012 election prospects.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Perry's prayer rally scheduled for August 5, 2011 was strongly attacked by the left as a violation of the so-called "separation of church and state," which is actually a liberal misreading of the [[United States Constitution]].<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/opinion/how-to-respond-to-rick-perrys-response.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fopinion%2Findex.jsonp "How to respond to Rick Perry's 'Response'"]</ref> According to investigative reports by the ''Houston Chronicle'', Perry's tithing and charitable giving combined make up a paltry 0.5 percent, or $750 of annual gubernatorial compensation of $150,000 annually, excluding his generous housing allowance.<ref>[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/new/7607414.html "Perry puts faith on display but offers little for collection plate"]</ref>His office's response to the report is that "he refuses to talk about his faith."
| |
| − | | |
| − | == Political positions ==
| |
| − | His key positions include rejection of the theory of man-made [[global warming]], equal time for [[creationism]] and [[evolution]] in schools, pro-[[Second Amendment]], skepticism about the sustainability and constitutionality of [[Social Security]], and [[pro-life]] with exceptions, although he ended up opposing exceptions for rape and incest. Perry supports [[death penalty]] and the decriminalization of [[marijuana]]. <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/01/23/rick-perry-urges-move-toward-marijuana-decriminalization/?tid=pm_politics_pop]</ref> He supports educating the children of [[illegal aliens]].<ref>http://cnsnews.com/news/article/rick-perry-those-against-state-tuition-illegal-aliens-dont-have-heart</ref> Perry signed a law, that opposes [[Homosexuality]].<ref>http://cnsnews.com/news/article/perry-signs-pledge-opposing-gay-marriage</ref>
| |
| − | | |
| − | === Foreign Policy ===
| |
| − | After his statement that [[Turkey]] is ruled by Islamist terrorists, [[NATO]] criticized him.<ref>http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-5D8C28F1-AD467F93/natolive/opinions_83444.htm?selectedLocale=en</ref> During the [[Syrian Civil War]] Perry supported a No-Fly Zone.<ref>http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/rick-perry-calls-for-syria-no-fly-zone/</ref> He is a strong defender of [[Israel]].
| |
| − | | |
| − | == References ==
| |
| − | <references/>
| |
| − | | |
| − | ==External Links==
| |
| − | *[http://www.governor.state.tx.us/ Official Website]
| |
| − | | |
| − | {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Rick}}
| |
| − | | |
| − | [[Category:Republican Governors]]
| |
| − | [[Category:Texas Governors]]
| |
| − | [[Category:2010 Midterm Elections]]
| |
| − | [[Category:Conservatives]]
| |
| − | [[Category:The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most]]
| |
| − | [[Category:Former Democrats]]
| |
| − | [[Category:Republicans]]
| |
| − | [[Category:Texas]]
| |
| − | [[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]
| |
