This Jackass for President?!

Under Gov. Rick Perry (R) this year, Texas slashed state funding for the volunteer fire departments that protect most of the state from wildfires like the ones that have recently destroyed more than 700 homes....

For that reason, aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could be more important than ever...Perry promised to seek federal disaster relief and said that FEMA would be in the state by Wednesday.

While the Texas governor has been highly critical of FEMA in the past, he told CBS’ Erica Hill Tuesday that now was not the time to worry about reforming the agency

More here.

Draft Rubio now.

He also executed an innocent man after evidence came up indicating he was probably innocent but before he could be proven innocent.

However, that's the kind of man we need as president. It takes guts to execute an innocent man.

A friend of mine in WA told me that they had considered eliminating the firefighting budget and relying entirely on the forest service to fight fires because of limited wildfire activity in the past few years, but the motion did not pass. Quite fortunately, since they are having wildfires in WA now.

As much as I hate Perry, it's silly to try to paint accepting federal aid when you don't think the government should be providing it in a negative light. From the perspective of the state, it would be irresponsible to not accept "free money", even if it is irresponsible for the federal government to give "free money".

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Originally Posted by JStrong

Under Gov. Rick Perry (R) this year, Texas slashed state funding for the volunteer fire departments that protect most of the state from wildfires like the ones that have recently destroyed more than 700 homes....

More here.

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Well you see it is like this. He didn't think there would be a need for a fire department. Here is a link to his official Office of the Governor "Pray for Rain" Proclamation:

http://governor.state.tx.us/news/proclamation/16038/

I mean seriously... I don't have the words... WTF!

I think this highlights the big divide between two blocs of voters in the US. Every politician -- even your favorite guy from your favorite party -- has something you don't like about him, and whether or not you side with a given politician is based on weighing the pros and the cons. I can see why people like and dislike almost all of the politicians who play a large role in national-level politics, and I don't think it's at all strange when another person likes a figure who I don't care for. But there are some figures emerging in the last five or so years, and Perry is one of them, where I personally don't see a ton of upside and have a hard time wrapping my mind around why he's well-received. That is, unless you count some nebulous inkling that "he's one of us" as a substantial upside, which I believe to be a bad way to elect a leader. That fundamental gap, where I can't find commonality with a great many other citizens who I bet money are well-meaning, decent folks... I think that might be a symptom of an ailing political arena.

Interesting stuff about Perry. He's accomplished two things so far since he entered the race. As I predicted, he took the life out of Bachmann's champaign with a number of her advisers like Ed Rollins leaving. No great loss in Rollins' case. I haven't been able to stand his backstabbing bombast for years.

The other thing he accomplished was to bring out a more aggressive, forceful Mitt Romney than I saw last time around. If he'd been as hard charging then as he has shown himself to be in the last week or so, we most likely wouldn't have ended up with that weasel McCain to have to vote for. Then again, Obama might likely have won anyway just as a result of Bush fatigue and that would have put PAID to Romney's future presidential aspirations.

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Originally Posted by mstrofbass

As much as I hate Perry, it's silly to try to paint accepting federal aid when you don't think the government should be providing it in a negative light. From the perspective of the state, it would be irresponsible to not accept "free money", even if it is irresponsible for the federal government to give "free money".

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But isn't it stupid to say you're against big government, and then cut your local programs so that you are dependent on the big gov't you say you hate?

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Originally Posted by Patrick

But there are some figures emerging in the last five or so years, and Perry is one of them, where I personally don't see a ton of upside and have a hard time wrapping my mind around why he's well-received.

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I actually think it's quite simple...it's the exact same reason people fall for good salesmen (something that Obama had going for him), and the fact that he was the governor of a successful state (which would have been successful regardless of who was the governor, as long as they didn't actively try to fuck it up).

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Originally Posted by tertius

But isn't it stupid to say you're against big government, and then cut your local programs so that you are dependent on the big gov't you say you hate?

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You're assuming he intentionally made them dependent on the federal government.