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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Rick Perry's Offensive Charm

Nov 10th, 2010
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by James Hayford

This past Monday night, Texas Gov Rick Perry (R) appeared on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show.
 
Apparently, he is on a national media tour after once again winning the governor’s seat. He looked like he’s feeling pretty good right about now, smiling and hamming it up while pushing the conservative message of less government and more freedom. It also is probably in his mind, looking toward 2012, that he is a popular governor of a state with 34 Electoral College votes. 
 
I think it helps his 2012 prospects that he can come on The Daily Show and have a debate with Jon Stewart and charmingly pass off trite talking points as if they were substantive, and without seeming combative or moronic in an obvious way. Hard to imagine Sarah Palin ever making a Daily Show appearance…

 
I thought it worthwhile to remind everyone, in light of this charm offensive, what the “freedom” the Texas governor and the GOP really means:

 
It means
freedom for polluters to continue polluting.


But no freedom for gays and lesbians to marry, or even have sex in the privacy of their own home.
 
It means extremely harsh criminal code and incarceration policies (with plenty of freedom for privately owned prison corporations to make profits). 


The over zealous nature criminal justice system of Texas culminates in it’s love of the death penalty. The fact that the GOP, who claim to stand up for “freedom” and “limited government”, should support the State’s right to take a life, when the justice system has so many documented faults is scary enough.

But  scariest of all, is the fact that Rick Perry’s office and the Texas Board of Paroles and Pardons, ignored scientific analysis of the case of Cameron Todd Willingham. Scientific analysis that invalidated all the physical evidence against him, allowing the State to execute an innocent man.

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