It hardly came as a surprise when Governor Rick Perry declared Saturday that he’s running to become the next President of the United States of America.
For over a decade, we Texans have witnessed firsthand what Perry’s done to our state. And it’s not a pretty picture. We’ve watched him threaten secession and rail against Washington while using federal stimulus money to cover up his own billion dollar budget shortfall.
Perry bragged to the national media about shooting a coyote, but we watched him do more lasting damage to public education by shortchanging schools, knocking 100,000 kids out of full-day Pre-Kindergarten, and crowding more kids into classrooms. He brags about the Texas economy, but his budget proposal would have destroyed hundreds of thousands of Texas jobs from both the public and private sectors.
Still, he didn’t do it alone. Perry couldn’t have been such a “catastrophic success” without 101 Tea Party-controlled Republicans in the Texas House.
This session, when Perry’s focus was clearly the national stage, he set an agenda meant to appeal to the most extreme faction of his party. That presented House Republicans with a choice: focus on the priorities of Texas families or empower Rick Perry as he geared up for his presidential campaign.
Clearly, House Republicans chose Perry over Texas families.
Texans care about their children, their education, and about the health of our families and neighbors. Their budget cuts do not reflect the priorities of real people. We care about the future of our state. We know that the surest way to threaten that future is to quit educating our children, leaving our state without a workforce that can compete amidst the challenges of a more global economy.
Get involved by helping us spread the word. Encourage your friends and family to join us on the front lines today. With your help, the Texas HDCC will recruit and support candidates with the same priorities as most Texan families. Together, we can show the rest of America that most Texans have not bought into Rick Perry’s extreme and destructive agenda.
Sincerely,
Cliff Walker
Executive Director, Texas HDCC
