Rick Perry Tactics & Politics of the Texas Republican Taliban
Letters to the Editor - Fort Worth Star Telegram
Posted on Fri, Jun. 10, 2005
Politics and religion
When Gov. Rick Perry appeared Sunday at Calvary Christian Academy to sign legislative measures, the news reports suggested the event was about morals. This wasn't about morals! It was about furthering the political career of a weak and hypocritical governor.
We should all be appalled that he would travel to a church school to conduct our state business. Calvary Cathedral should be especially appalled that he would use its facilities in such a shallow way. He tried to make his efforts seem to be good vs. evil.
Perry should realize that many good people of this great state are very hurt and disappointed that he would be so concerned about one little slice of life that he would ignore the urgent needs of our 4.4 million public school children. When will the "good" politicians of the far right begin to care about the big picture?
It's time we opted out of the useless No Child Left Behind Act and put the joy of learning and respect for our hard-working teachers back into our schools. I say our schools because our tax dollars pay for them and they're our best great hope for the future.
God help Texas!
Sara R. Fulks, Fort Worth
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Thanks to Bud Kennedy for the concise, well-written June 2 column about "Pastor" Perry and his shameful antics at the Calvary Christian Academy ("Perry taking politics through church doors.")
Bring on Kinky Friedman. Where's Ann Richards when we really need her? And all this coming from a registered Republican.
Seriously, I feel sorry for the confused flock that bought into this bit of chicanery and just hope that its members don't spend all their hard-earned money on the discounted books and DVDs that were so graciously offered.
I'm sure that these literary gems will be registered in the Library of Congress, except I'm not sure what category they would be under - maybe the P.T. Barnum section.
I guess if this country survived Prohibition and Jimmy Swaggart, we'll survive our current state of self-righteous euphoria.
Sorry about my own small diatribe, but it's much less expensive than my therapist and certainly more beneficial.
Brian Rutledge, Fort Worth
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On Sunday, Perry signed into law a bill that will require minors to obtain parental consent before having an abortion.
This law needs an additional clause - parents who refuse to consent to their daughter's abortion must make an 18-year financial commitment to financially support their grandchild. Also, make parents liable for any physical, emotional and financial damages that an unwanted pregnancy may incur.
Of course, we could avoid all this by letting young women control their own bodies, but Perry would rather cater to mush-headed religious fanatics.
Rebecca A. Morris, Fort Worth
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Although I don't share Bud Kennedy's embrace of the activist homosexual agenda, I do share his revulsion over Perry's decision to shamelessly exploit the fervor of Christian believers to his own political advantage. In truth, the Christian community has only itself to blame.
By allowing one or two issues to dominate believers' thinking, the Christian voice has unwittingly allowed itself to be manipulated by political operatives.
Rather than being salt and light in a culture that desperately needs both, the Christian community is reduced to caricature, and deservedly so.
Wake up, fellow believers, and hold your elected officials accountable. That's your God-ordained responsibility.
Chris Brammer, Austin
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The governor and his party didn't accomplish anything in the 79th Legislature on auto, home and health care insurance, education or other important issues. So now they fall back on scare tactics - that homosexuals are the main concern of this state.
President Bush used the same tactic in the 2004 election.
The protesters fall into the same trap. They give these unscrupulous politicians a free publicity stunt.
These politicians who accomplished nothing in the 79th Legislature need a smoke screen to divert our attention away from their failure by using religion to gain votes.
I hope the people of Texas see through this smoke screen and vote these rascals out of office.
Gaetano Mezza, Fort Worth
for background information on Perry's Pandering to the Texas Taliban
What are the Texas Taliban Tactics and who are using them in the Texas Republican Party ? See what former Texas Lt Governor (Republican) Bill Ratliff - Mt Pleasant had to say about them and their tactics.
Look at the comment below Representative Randy Neugebauer (Republican-TX 19th) tried to delete from his site
(censorship ?) as it relates to the comments from a fellow Republican !
Congress.Org -- Elected Officials
... of the skinheads; this type of hate mongering is now being practiced by the al Qaeda
and the Taliban." Republican Texas Lt Governor Bill Ratliff Source: The ...
www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/ userletter/?id=141060&letter_id=111849936 - 38k - Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages
source: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?id=141060&letter_id=111849936
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Waco Tribune Herald
Young: You might say stakes were more than political
John Young
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Opinion page editor
The story on Page 2B was tragic. The story on Page 3B was just sad.
Not surprisingly, the tragedy got the smaller headline, being in the obituaries.
The story on the opposite page? Some will say it's about morality. Actually, it's about power, and not a higher one.
A higher power wouldn't be concerned with raw politics. That higher power would be intent on caressing and comforting those who hurt, and who cry out, someone like Bruce Ball.
Unfortunately, the story placement demands that we discuss politics first under the heading: “Perry backs anti-gay marriage group.”
That's Rick Perry, Texas governor. The story told about two men, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, helping set up the Texas Marriage Alliance. The two recently were indicted on charges of money laundering on behalf of a political action committee set up by U.S. House Speaker Tom DeLay.
Perry had filmed a testimonial for the Texas Marriage Alliance, saying a constitutional amendment on the Texas ballot is “your chance to protect marriage from fringe groups and liberal judges . . .”
Gee. I wonder if they'll be raising money.
Analysts call this “securing the base,” as was Perry's appearance at an Austin church for a bill-signing on the amendment (the signing signifies nothing; voters will have to make it law).
At the event, Ohio evangelist Rod Parsley made disparaging remarks about homosexuals and got a squeeze on the shoulder from Texas' chief executive.
You might call that inspiring. Then again, you might have agreed with Bruce Ball and me on the matter. It was just sad.
I can't know, but I cringe to think that such sadness is what overwhelmed Ball. On May 31 in Texas' lovely capital city, he took his life. Ball, a longtime Waco florist, had moved to Austin two years ago to work at the Planned Parenthood clinic.
No one who knew Ball will remember him as unhappy. Among friends, like the organization he helped found, the Waco chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Ball was very much the jester.
But if you are homosexual in Texas, sadness comes with the territory.
“He was tired of fighting,” said Valerie Fallas, co-founder of PFLAG in Waco. Like many gays and lesbians, Ball took personally the slights aimed at a class of people. “The constant negative comments, he was tired of that.”
Friends who wrote his obituary, there on Page 2B, included some of his anger:
“His dream was of a human race that respected and honored ‘infinite diversity with infinite combinations,' ” they wrote, “but [he] yet left this planet disheartened, watching ‘Liberty die to the roar of thunderous applause.' “
As to that story about politics on the page opposite Ball's obituary: It's a sad specter when leaders who have important things to do for us instead lead us on side-road parades.
I can understand people's angst when on top of the personal issues of being marginalized, it becomes clear that the most convenient way a leader can find of “building the base” is to further marginalize people like you.
As many friends as Bruce Ball had, he apparently died alone. Call the matter moot, but I wonder: If a marriage, or civil union, had conferred a lifetime bond on him and a partner, would the angst of the moment that took him away have passed without event?
Another point: Rev. Parsley, the governor's rostrum partner, called gay sex “a veritable breeding ground of disease.” (Yes – and males and females don't share diseases, right?) In the age of AIDS, if you were concerned about disease, you'd promote laws that promoted monogamy, wouldn't you? Ah, but maybe the reverend's appearance with the governor wasn't really about public health.
Maybe it was about power, at other's expense.
Morality? You have your followers, Reverend. But I see the mirthful and inclusive Bruce Ball modeling it for me.
John Young's column appears Thursday and Sunday. E-mail: jyoung@wacotrib.com.
source: http://www.wacotrib.com/opin/content/news/opinion/stories/2005/06/19/20050619wacjyoung19.html
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