Patterico's Pontifications

7/1/2009

Texas Governor Rick Perry on How to Run a State

Filed under: Government,Politics — DRJ @ 2:18 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

PJTV’s Instapundit interview of Texas Governor Rick Perry includes Perry’s four simple rules for a healthy economy:

“You keep your taxes low, keep your regulatory climate fair and predictable, a legal system that doesn’t allow for oversuing, and keep a skilled workforce in place. Then get out of the way and let the private sector do what the private sector does best and create jobs and wealth.”

Texas has a balanced budget with $9B in a rainy day fund, a legislature that only meets 140 days out of every 2 years, and low taxes.

— DRJ

104 Responses to “Texas Governor Rick Perry on How to Run a State”

  1. He and Gov. Daniels in Indiana sound quite a bit alike.

    JD (241e9b)

  2. California had a similar situation 30 years ago, then Jesse Unruh got us a full-time legislature. The rest is history. Actually, I think it was closer to 40 years ago. Time flies.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  3. I hate to badmouth Rick Perry, partly because it’s so fashionable to do so, and partly because he’s one of the few governors who have done a great job (and the numbers don’t lie… Texas has been run very well for a long time).

    But man, he does come across as a Mitt Romney with a slower wit. I am very glad Texas is run well, but I wish the GOP had a deeper bench of people with ‘it’.

    Juan (81687c)

  4. But man, he does come across as a Mitt Romney with a slower wit. I am very glad Texas is run well, but I wish the GOP had a deeper bench of people with ‘it’.

    I wish voters would wake up to the fact that “it” isn’t it. Substance has to become the new “it”. I think it will.

    MayBee (f4849e)

  5. I am very glad Texas is run well

    And the crux of that is enough voters of Texas, when it comes to their political preferences, haven’t been idiots and fools. By contrast, we in California have been pulling the lever, or punching out the chad, for “D” over and over again, favoring the notion that “I’m liberal, therefore I am.”

    And, so, we in America’s largest state reap what we sow.

    Mark (411533)

  6. I nominate DRJ and MayBee. I would love to have them in elected office 😉

    Bro Bradley – Thanks to fiscal prudence and …. me 😉

    JD (241e9b)

  7. But man, he does come across as a Mitt Romney with a slower wit. I am very glad Texas is run well, but I wish the GOP had a deeper bench of people with ‘it’.

    Listen, we in Cali have the star with the “it”, and it isn’t all it’s chalked up to be. Gimme someone steadfast, reasonable and unwavering. It lasts longer.

    Dana (8d88ef)

  8. Those who write about Texas “being well run” are missing the point: It’s not government’s job to “run the state,” it’s government’s job to do a limited number of functions and then get the hell out of the way of the people running their own lives.

    And damn that typo in the State Constitution! (It’s supposed to read: “2 days every 140 years.”)

    Beldar (dab658)

  9. And damn that typo in the State Constitution! (It’s supposed to read: “2 days every 140 years.”)

    Comment by Beldar — 7/1/2009 @ 3:17 pm

    Truly, I laughed out loud. I’m still laughing.

    nk (218382)

  10. I’ve lived in Texas for 47 of my 60+ years and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else (well, my wife’s ‘ancestral’ home in Bermuda would be nice). One other hand, we in Texas have only an 8.5 percent sales tax and no income tax. Plus, before school starts, we have tax holidays so that school supplies and clothing aren’t taxed like they normally are.

    So, for all you folks in the land of almonds, oranges and crushing debt: YeeeeeeHaaaaaa!

    GM Roper (85dcd7)

  11. Not mentioned here, but equally amazing — I believe Texas is the only state to have actually added jobs over the last year, rather than lost jobs.

    Shipwreckedcrew (7f73f0)

  12. Yeah, not like HI, which has a job-creation record over the last decade or so rivaling Japan’s Lost-Decade.

    AD - RtR/OS! (5fd0fb)

  13. Not letting the voters vote themselves new spending is a good idea, too.

    Let’s face it: Californians are too stupid to be trusted with that power through the initiative process.

    We need a revision to our Constitution stripping voters of that power.

    I doubt it would happen, though. Too many special interests on both sides would try to piggyback their own selfish interests onto it.

    Daryl Herbert (a32d30)

  14. we in Texas have only an 8.5 percent sales tax and no income tax.

    This is a key difference and makes illegal aliens a minor irritant. California depends on income tax, which produces periodic gushers and allows the aliens a free ride. The propositions are a mixed bag. Prop 13 saved the housing situation here as, in 1977, a friend had a house with a market value of $250,000, a lot then, and his taxes were $7000/ year. There would never have been the appreciation which helped a lot of people until it ran wild after 2005.

    California got a couple of other things right. MICRA the malpractice reform kept insurance rates low for 34 years in spite of challenges by the lawyers.

    The Gann Initiative, Prop 4, would have kept us solvent except the teachers union got it repealed in one of those “for the children” scams. If it were still in effect, we would have a surplus.

    It was a near thing but Willie Brown basically killed the state by hoodwinking the voters and defeating reform of the redistricting process about 10 years ago. The state has been gerrymandered since then.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  15. Plus, Willie’s greatest crime of all was changing the seat-belt violation in the Vehicle Code from a Secondary (you can add it to a ticket for something more serious) to a Primary Violation (you can be stopped for failure to use a restraint system, even if there are no other appearant violations) after the voters passed term-limits.
    It was his way of getting even.

    AD - RtR/OS! (5fd0fb)

  16. I hate to rub it in, but McAllen, Texas where I live lead the nation for the first quarter in jobs/wealth creation. We ain’t totally out of the woods, but we’re ahead of the pack so far.

    GM Roper (85dcd7)

  17. I hate to rub it in, but McAllen, Texas where I live leads the nation for the first quarter in jobs/wealth creation. We ain’t totally out of the woods, but we’re ahead of the pack so far.

    GM Roper (85dcd7)

  18. Sorry about the double post.

    GM Roper (85dcd7)

  19. Shipwreckedcrew,

    Not quite; TX has lost something along the lines of 205000 jobs from May of ’08 to May of this year. Of course, TX at the time had a South Dakota-like unemployment rate, and even now has only a 7.1% unemployment rate.

    Rick Perry may be slow of wit, but he is TX’s longest-serving governor. When you consider that TX didn’t elect Republicans from Reconstruction up until 1979, that’s an accomplishment. No wonder Sarah Palin endorsed him for reelection.

    Brad S (5709e3)

  20. Brad S, I agree completely. I will vote for Perry in the next primary over Senator KBH in a heartbeat.

    I just don’t think he would make it nationally. Not that he shows interest in that. It’s a shame that completely competent leaders can’t compete with the Obama worship media climate. Abe Lincoln wouldn’t have a showball’s chance in hell of being elected today. Our president didn’t have any statement for Pvt. Long, but sends his most heartfelt to Michael Jackson’s family.

    Juan (cab674)

  21. They should secede before they get ruined by another LBJ.

    imdw (017d51)

  22. Beldar, perhaps I should say it this way: Texas is run less bad than other places.

    Juan (cab674)

  23. Juan, I’m pretty sure Rick Perry is smart enough to realize that it’s going to be another generation before the next President comes from Texas (sorry Beldar).

    Brad S (5709e3)

  24. Great. Now every socialist communist scum from every frigged up state in the Union will rush off to Texas to mess up a good thing. Arizona USED to be nice too…

    DaveinPhoenix (135adb)

  25. #24- Unless, of course, Perry is elected President of the Republic of Texas. His rumblings to have Texas secede from the Union is always amusing and makes for great TV spots. But then the power in Texas lies with the legislature, doesn’t it. Little wonder Palin endorsed him for reelection. Birds of a feather. Turkeys all.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  26. #25- Well, you can thank one of your U.S. senators for help in that arena. the nation, as well as the presidency, was thankfully spared those talents.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  27. DaveinPhoenix,

    Nothing’s stopping you from heading to nice, white, arch-conservative South Dakota with the snowbirds every late April. And instead of heading back to greater Phoenix every early October with them, you can stay in the peace and quiet of a South Dakota winter.

    Methinks you won’t take that offer. Why am I not surprised.

    Brad S (5709e3)

  28. Brad, I’m afraid the only thing South Dakota has going for it is pheasant season. In Iowa they ask what do you call a pretty girl in South Dakota ?

    Answer, a tourist.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  29. Brad S is back to not playing well with others.

    IMP’s comment is exactly what I expected when I read the post the first time. Predictable.

    JD (aeb697)

  30. Calling Rick slow witted because of his drawl is what pisses people like me off about so-called Republicans. The man is smart. Period.

    Tex (ba8cd9)

  31. It is simple and it also is not easy! As Perry said it takes integrity – a quality lacking in the GOP for 12 years! Palin and Perry have it but it seems no one else does. Fore sure Arnie and Bush do not and I can say that having voted for them! — Not that there was a real choice.

    Rod stanton (cb678b)

  32. Au Contraire, Mon Ami, when it comes to GW not having integrity.
    Actually, he lived up to almost all of the positions he espoused during the ’00 campaign – the one glaring discrepency being “nation building”, but then, he didn’t know that 9/11 was around the corner, which was a world changer.

    Now, neither you nor I may like all of the things GW did (particularly on the Domestic front), but we can’t complain that we were surprised unless we were being deliberately myopic during the campaign. But, he does have integrity, and says what he means, and means what he says – I’ll give him that!

    As for the usual suspects in DC, I think they mostly fall into the John Nance Garner corner of political descriptions: Not worth a bucket of warm piss!
    …Don’t you just hate forthright Texicans?…

    AD - RtR/OS! (5fd0fb)

  33. You have to remember Perry just broke his collarbone. I am sure he’s in some pain from that. Considering, he did a great job. How many Governors would go on a web chat with a blogger in the first place?

    If you saw him at the Arlington TEA party, he was on fire and full of energy. I am happily married, but I can say without hesitation that I love that guy. He is my Governor. Kay Bailey is the Olympia Snowe of Texas. Not as liberal, but by Texas standards she might as well be.

    Jimmy McInturff (be4188)

  34. I lived in Texas and was represented in the U.S. Senate by Senators Cornyn and Hutchison. I had to move to Washington state and am now represented by Senators Murray and Cantwell.

    From this I have learned that the price of Valium is too high and, no matter what people say, Vodka will give you a hangover.

    Huey (509c33)

  35. Huey,

    Wise words. Funny, too.

    DRJ (cdbef5)

  36. I miss John Tower, and Phil Gramm.
    I was in Tech-Training at Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo when Tower won that special election to fill LBJ’s unexpired term, and you could feel that things in the South would never be the same again.
    It was a wonderful day.

    AD - RtR/OS! (5fd0fb)

  37. AD – I went to tech school there too.

    JD (aeb697)

  38. Calling Rick slow witted because of his drawl

    Speaking of phonics or vocal patterns, I’ve heard our current president sometimes getting into a passionate way of speaking, and some of what I’d describe as a “black dude” dialect has been detectable on those occasions. A tinge of “hey-brutha” — and, btw, Obama has used the term “hey, brother” to a stranger he’s encountered — “let’s-jive” speech quality about it. Reminiscent of a smooth talker, hip walker in a “get down with yourself” urban setting instead of in a location a bit above and beyond that.

    It’s pretty much a variation of Al Gore’s notorious (and laughable) speeches given in a hell-and-brimstone, preacher-man-soul-man dialect.

    Mark (411533)

  39. #33 AD,
    I must agree. I was not happy about Bush when he first ran. I thought him too liberal and wished Cheney was at the top of the ticket, though I voted for him. I felt better about him after 9/11 but he has always been too liberal. He has struck me as a man of integrity however.

    Machinist (95e752)

  40. I moved into my house in Texas in Feb 08. They are still building and selling houses here in my neighborhood and the values in this area have been stable. My house is worth as much or more now than it was two years ago.

    Coming from California it is hard to describe the difference here but it is impressed on me almost every day. There is great pride in America and in Texas but much less fear and feeling that the government is the answer to peoples problems. This is a great post and maybe helps explain it. Even two years ago when we moved here it was a shock to see the rows of huge corporate buildings going up in Dallas and the unimaginable amount of development of huge areas of land, with obvious cooperation and coordination between builders and local governments. It was like the civic and economic version of a person from a small town of adobe and wood buildings going to the city and seeing his first steel skyscraper going up. I can not think of anything that would draw me back to California. I was born and raised in California and I remember a different spirit and attitude there but I see no sign of it now.

    Machinist (95e752)

  41. CA was a wonderful place growing up in the 40’s/50’s…but the struggle over Vietnam changed everything. Prop-13 was probably the last gasp of the “old timers” trying to save what had drawn them to CA in the first place during the Depression, and then following the War.
    Now, it might not be the arm-pit of America, but there doesn’t seem to be enough deoderant to mask the stench.

    AD - RtR/OS! (5fd0fb)

  42. And the crux of that is enough voters of Texas, when it comes to their political preferences, haven’t been idiots and fools.

    Keep in mind that there are people fleeing CA that are going there, and I don’t doubt that a good portion of them will be bringing their unhealthy leftist politics along for the ride. You’ll get some gems, but there may not be many of those.

    Blacque Jacques Shellacque (1641e7)

  43. Texas’ median income is $3200 lower than than national, its per capita income $1900 below the national. Poverty is 16.3 per cent vs. national average of 13.0 per cent. Its lower counties around the Rio Grande are quite literally Mexico spilled over into the US, with the same type of poverty and, in the colonias, the same public infrastructure.

    Having lived in San Angelo and spent all too much time in San Antonio, I can also say it is one of the ugliest places on Earth.

    So yeah, California could probably have a balanced budget if it wanted to resemble the dump that is Texas.

    hortense (aka horace) (973cfa)

  44. Small point someone stated. Texas created more jobs in 2008 than other 49 states. Please do not come here.

    Mike (8b168f)

  45. […] in a single state, Texas. Texas is also running a balanced budget with $9 Billion in the bank. Governor Rick Perry explains the Texas way. “You keep your taxes low, keep your regulatory climate fair and predictable, a legal system that […]

    Rick Perry Explains How It’s Done « Teh Resistance Blog (45e6e8)

  46. Sorry, not that we are not nice, but you all from other states do not understand. Go to work and make something of yourself. Period. We fully believe we can win in Texas. It is a state of mind. I have not seen it states with heavy unions. But, Wyoming, Dakotas also seem to get it. Change your state.

    Mike (8b168f)

  47. #45,
    Many of my family that still live in California have seen both breadwinners in the family lose their jobs. They can’t find work and they can’t leave because their homes are unsellable. I think they find little comfort in California’s higher per capita numbers. They would happily move her and take one of these low paying jobs and buy one of these cheap houses if they could.

    Machinist (95e752)

  48. hortense, part of the reason incomes are slightly lower in Texas is that inflation isn’t as bad there. You can live like a king in Texas if you earn $100,000 a year. Better than a New Yorker earning ten times as much.

    But PLEASE keep telling everyone how awful Texas is. I don’t want any neighbors who are dumb enough to believe you.

    to the rest of the thread: while I do not think Rick Perry is dumb, he simply doesn’t have the polish and clever wit of the kind of politicians our nation would elect. Movie stars, basically. Like I said, I don’t see how being slick makes for a better leader… if anything if makes for a worse leader. I also don’t really think Rick Perry is some kind of fantastic Governor. It’s just not that hard to run a state well if you aren’t a corrupt sleezebag. Rick’s fundamentals aren’t that hard to follow, and he doesn’t really need to be Einstein to keep Texas in the black. What’s amazing to me is that states with every advantage, such as California or New York, have far higher tax rates and run out of money.

    Or that our nation, which is certainly quite blessed, has so many extreme problems. Like I said, it clearly doesn’t take a genius to run a government well, so long as you aren’t a crook.

    Juan (cab674)

  49. So yeah, California could probably have a balanced budget if it wanted to resemble the dump that is Texas.

    Well, we haven’t balanced our budget but we’re still stuck with things like, for example, the shuttered King-Drew Medical Center in South-Central Los Angeles (aka the heart of the 1992 riots or “uprising”), and those large stretches of southern California dominated by areas whose heritage is lower-class-white Oakies and Arkies (and hand-to-mouth Midwesterners), now modified to even lower-class, even more self-paralyzing Latino. IOW, dismal from the beginning and even worse today.

    And, btw, if it weren’t for the immigration of people mainly from south of the border, and if the arrival of such people did not, in turn, result in the departure of people originally from the “Golden State,” California conceivably would be seeing a loss of population — or certainly a stagnation of that — as significant as what’s been experienced by states like Michigan, Massachusetts, Illinois and New York.

    Mark (411533)

  50. Texas has a balanced budget with $9B in a rainy day fund, a legislature that only meets 140 days out of every 2 years, and low taxes.

    Yeah, but in the summer we’re like a mile from the Sun. Seriously, we don’t want blue-state refugees doing to Texas what they’ve done to Colorado, Vermont, New Hampshire, et al,

    furious (71af32)

  51. Horace never fails to bring the hate.

    JD (aeb697)

  52. Juan – I think you’re not that high on Perry because he’s not a lawyer so obviously he can’t be that bright or write too well.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  53. Horace is DuckCrap without the charm.

    AD - RtR/OS! (5fd0fb)

  54. Keep in mind that there are people fleeing CA that are going there, and I don’t doubt that a good portion of them will be bringing their unhealthy leftist politics along for the ride.

    As such, they’ll be guilty of what can be called the limousine-liberal mentality. That applies to all those people, regardless of their income level, who talk out of both sides of their mouth, who like to sound populist, hip and humane, but who due to their naivete and phoniness end up creating or nurturing big dysfunctional slop piles, and when the going gets too rough, pick up and move the hell out of the mess they’ve allowed in the first place, to some other community, where they’ll start the vicious cycle all over again.

    Mark (411533)

  55. My now deceased father-in-law made his way to California in the mid-1930’s from tenant farming in Oklahoma. He came because like so many at the time who were hard up for work, he had heard the promise of the state: land, work, citrus groves, farming, water and sunshine. The golden state. When he arrived in Orange, CA, he made his way to the center of the then very small town and saw a new spouting fountain wreathed in flowers and roses. So overwhelmed by both reaching the end of his journey and by something more beautiful than he had ever seen, he said he knew, right then and there exactly what heaven would look like. He was overcome by being in California and moreso what it meant to him and what he believed: all dreams and promise would be his in this place.

    A lot of people came to the golden state with similar dreams and hopes because they were very possible and within reach. Word spread, people came, the state lived up to it’s Golden in so many ways. It became the destination.

    These days that’s mostly a quaint memory that others who came before us share about while reminiscing during holiday meals. Today, California is place where a whole lot of people mostly dream of leaving.

    Dana (8d88ef)

  56. daleyrocks, HAHAHA

    actually, that may be part of why he doesn’t communicate is a way I like. But I also don’t like that he’s an aggie and less than generous to my favored schools upon occasion.

    All that aside, just because I noted that lawyers, particularly in Texas, are good thinkers and writers when compared to the general population does not mean I think many other people can be very smart, and any really smart person is probably a lot smarter than most lawyers.

    Joe Biden is a lawyer, after all.

    Mark, Austin is where they are coming, and they are rapidly screwing Austin up. I am so glad that the ‘cool’ factor is isolated to Austin, and that the gorgeous hill country extends far beyond Austin. But they are certainly making Austin into a financial wreck. Our new commuter rail, which actually didn’t require any new track, is hundreds of millions in debt and has a predicted ridership of 2,000 people. We’re building bike lanes that will cost six figures per person using them. It would be cheaper to send limos.

    Juan (cab674)

  57. oops. Wrong thread.

    Dana (8d88ef)

  58. Comment by Dana — 7/1/2009 @ 9:29 pm

    Telling personal anecdotes of how Paradise was attained, and then lost, is never a wrong thread.
    Cautionary tales make us all wiser, if we only take the time to listen.

    AD - RtR/OS! (5fd0fb)

  59. “Our new commuter rail, which actually didn’t require any new track, is hundreds of millions in debt and has a predicted ridership of 2,000 people. We’re building bike lanes that will cost six figures per person using them.”

    That sounds JUST like California! I have been worried about importing those California ways but it seems wrong to say anything as I am from there myself. I am SO glad they are going to Austin. I wonder how long it will be before they are whining for the people farther North to bail them out. After all, we are just “lucky” enough not to be in debt, right?

    Machinist (95e752)

  60. Indeed, Machinist. The Lottery of Life is constantly disfavoring governments and people who buy things they can’t afford. It’s kinda like magic, I guess!

    Juan (cab674)

  61. #57- Agreed. We were East Coast people with that attutude and jaunt in our steps. When we moved to California in the early 1990’s from New York, we walked a little slower, smiled a lot more but almost immediately began to notive that the perpetuated ‘image’ of the California Dream, that ‘destination’ image you painted– and we expected to find– had already begun to evaporate. Over the past near 20 years, it has gotten noticably worse and that lament of California being a place to ‘leave’ is a very real cry. The decline is real.

    Mostly we noticed it in frozen architecture tainted with hints of decay, that had a late 1960s look. At first, quaint. Later too unchanging in a state once known for fast change and fresh trends. In Los Angeles, roads named for aviation pioneers around empty buildings where a legendary aerospace industry once flourished. Gone. And then the alarming decline in the quality of the local education system and state university system in the state. But generally, it seems to be the decay in the quality of life, the distain for other cultures and their resistence- or resentment at integrating into the California/American lifestyle. In Hollywood we’d quip amongst ourselves, “Bad roads. Bad cops. Bad air. BelAir! We love L.A.” We’d wanted to drive up into northern California and experience the majesty of that part of this truly beautiful state, but again, the car myth proved to be just that- a myth as the rising cost of fuel made such monthly jaunts too expensive. Add to it a run of bad and costly brush fires, the rise in earthquake insurance, the perpetual worry over draughts, not to mention gunfire from gang fights– and now the budget disaster in a state that is truly America’s richest in terms of stark beauty, but growing poorer every day through mismanagement and frustration. The cry to leave is heard a lot, especially from the younger residents, who want a place to grow. Utah? Nevada? Wyoming? Oregon? New Mexico? Dare I say it, Texas? Where to go. California’s most redeeing quality is its climate. If it wasnt for that, it sooon will have all the charm of Rutherford, N.J.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  62. New Jersey really isn’t all that bad. I think it’s beautiful. But yeah, it’s a lot like California that way.

    DCSCA, you said earlier that you agreed with the notion ‘Democrat=Good Republican=Bad’ Now, I don’t agree with the opposite of that by any stretch, but certainly someone seeing California’s unsustainable government should understand that Democrat does not always equal good.

    Juan (cab674)

  63. Juan,
    Isn’t it amazing how that works?

    It’s like gun control. Somehow the places that don’t have it don’t need it as crime is so low, but the cities with strict controls need it as they have so much crime.

    Machinist (95e752)

  64. DCSCA, you said earlier that you agreed with the notion ‘Democrat=Good Republican=Bad’

    That’s even more laughable and absurd since both California and New Jersey have a large percentage of residents who fondle liberal politicians and believe the Democrat Party is a sign of compassion, generosity, sophistication and advancement. And, therefore, the two states have governments installed and run by those who think and act accordingly.

    Mark (411533)

  65. Juan- South Jersey is a garden. Truly. Hence, ‘the Garden State’ South of Perth Amboy down toward the pine barrens and along the barrier islands. My family had a place on Long Beach Island for 30 years and there are no beaches better on either coast. It’s a well kept secret. But North Jersey, once a beautiful spot, is now congested and old. It doesnt winter well, either. Same problem as California. Too many people and disintegrating infrastructure. But I encourage you to visit the Jersey shore. It is the finest place in the Midatlantic states.

    As to the D/R quip, I was reflecting the simplicity of the statement back at the poster. It’s not that simple of course. There’s fine people on all sides and I beleive we desperately want the same outcome. Its the extremists- conservative and liberal, who have driven debate to become so hostile, so politicized and uncivil that nothing gets done. And it’s hurting everyone and the future as well. The situation in California is absurd and I agree with you totally. Some cuts, some realistic reallocations and some fresh thinking is needed. The prospect of California going bankrupt is very real and it’s reprehensible that both parties have refused to get together and manage a compromise. Compromise in the art of politics. We need politicians with the courage to face and fix this because the people who need the help the most are the ones getting hurt the most now- the young, the invalids and the elderly.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  66. but growing poorer every day through mismanagement and frustration.

    Yes, but at least you can say a majority of its politicians — and, in turn, the policies they promote (which are so kind-hearted, so tolerant, so permissive, so benevolent, so beautiful, so worldly) — are able to mouth or symbolize the words of Mr. Obama: “We won!”

    Mark (411533)

  67. we are building billion dollar light rail trains here in seattle – it would be cheaper to buy busses plated with gold for every 10 riders. The benefit of trains? At last we’ll be just like other “big cities.” Yay. My taxes at work.

    steve miller (722243)

  68. “Its the extremists- conservative and liberal, who have driven debate to become so hostile, so politicized and uncivil that nothing gets done”

    Please give me an example of conservatives ever doing what was done to Bork, Thomas, Rice, Palin, McCain, Bush (2), Reagan, etc. This is like saying Clinton and his victims shared the blame for his molestations and rapes. I don’t buy it at all.

    Machinist (95e752)

  69. You certainly haven’t lost that East Coast attitude DCSCA that you referred to which makes your ilk almost universally reviled once outside your bubble. Congratulations!

    daleyrocks (718861)

  70. You’re right, DCSCA, that the Republicans and Democrats in California must share the blame for what you correctly call “reprehensible” performance.

    And I’m glad that you were simply quipping about a simplistic idea.

    Surely, we would have not been better off if Bush’s explanation for invading Iraq was ‘we won’. he could have legally done just that, but instead he spent 6 months discussing it with democrats and the UN.

    Obama passed the stimulus bill with urgency and force we have never seen. And most of the bill is a very slowly moving thing. Instead of passing urgently a bill that would expire in 6 months, to give us time to discuss such an enormity, we got this ‘we won’ bullshit. That’s also reprehensible to me Right now, it’s the party in power that has the burden of making it possible to have a debate. And the democrats have dramatically reduced the openness with which bills are passed. When I worked on Capitol Hill, I made copies of bills for every single congressional office, and they had enough time to read it (even if they didn’t read it, their staff could look over sections). I wasn’t a page, but I had them delivered to each and every democrat.

    Pelosi is hiding these bills from view until after they are voted on. Reprehensible, and far, far from how Texas is run. In Texas, we do not pass bills that aren’t even available to read.

    Juan (cab674)

  71. #72- Juan–well, I think all of us on all sides are fed up with the damage both sides have inflicted on the country in this game playing. I’m no fan of Pelosi, Reid or Banhner (sp.?) or McConnell et al. They’re all more concerned with scoring petty points than solving problems. And they’re real problems that they seem to have isolated themselves from solving. Shovellig billions to banks, to car companies. It’s madness. There’s enough blame on all sides and we’re now starting to realize that this perpetual knife fight is doing real damage to the country. The rest of the world just looks at us, shrugs and is moving on into the future. I really hope a fresh generation of less caustic and more practical politicos ascend to office soon. We really need fresh thinking from a new generation.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  72. #71- Ha. It’s hard to shake. You cant survive in New York without it. Even Chicago is a friendlier locale. I recall a friend greeting us on a flight from NY at LAX in Los Angeles and we were delayed several hours late and directed to a different gate. As we deplaned I asked him how he knew how to find us and he replied he just stood at the baggage claim and watched for the loudest and pushiest people and he’d know it was the NY plane. He was right.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  73. the Republicans and Democrats in California must share the blame for what you correctly call “reprehensible” performance.

    Sorry, Juan, but that smacks of a bit too much of, if you will, moral equivalency. After all, the Democrat-controlled Calif Assembly and the Democrat-controlled Calif Senate did manage a few months ago to peel off enough Republicans to squeeze through an increase in the statewide sales tax.

    By comparison, any of the long-overdue reductions in spending proposed for ages by various Republicans have fallen on deaf ears of a majority of the politicians in the Democrat-dominated Assembly and the Democrat-dominated Senate.

    Moreover, Schwarzenegger is, and has been, so very, very squishy, thanks in part to the drubbing of his reform initiatives on the ballot a few years ago, that in many ways he’s been to spendthrift budgeting at the state level what George Bush was to excessive spending on the federal level. Meanwhile, Obama (aka Mr “We won!”), of course, has taken spendthrift budgeting to a whole new level, to the stratosphere.

    Mark (411533)

  74. Mark, I hesitated to say that, and I agree with much of what you say, but Arnold and other Republicans have played a role in the problems. Like any legislature, there are a few sane people who are ignored by the rest, and in Cali, these are republicans.

    In fact I noted that California is an example of why Democrat policy is clearly imperfect to say the least.

    But as I said, it’s both parties to blame. Perhaps if the GOP were less squishy (as you aptly put it), they would have more power. Compromising is a short term solution. And this is doubly true for the federal legislature, where I place a ton of blame on the GOP for our problems.

    Their main sin is that they deny the voters a chance to say ‘we pick fiscal conservatives’.

    Juan (cab674)

  75. #73 — Comment by DCSCA — 7/1/2009 @ 10:45 pm

    #72- Juan–well, I think all of us on all sides are fed up with the damage both sides have inflicted on the country in this game playing.

    hmmm….

    I’m no fan of Pelosi, Reid or Banhner (sp.?) or McConnell et al. They’re all more concerned with scoring petty points than solving problems.

    what???…say it ain’t so…

    And they’re real problems that they seem to have isolated themselves from solving. Shovellig billions to banks, to car companies.

    You think??…

    It’s madness.

    No…

    There’s enough blame on all sides and we’re now starting to realize that this perpetual knife fight is doing real damage to the country.

    “Now starting”???
    Not sure who “we” is; you got a turd in your pocket? Some Americans have LONG recognized this (put it in caps, so you know it has to be true).

    The rest of the world just looks at us, shrugs and is moving on into the future.

    And here I thought “Hope and Change” was a forward type of thing…(are they really going to leave without us????…no, they’ll wait, right guys…guys?…where are you going…wait up)…

    I really hope a fresh generation of less caustic and more practical politicos ascend to office soon.

    Me too; they are called Con-ser-va-tives.

    We really need fresh thinking from a new generation.

    Oh, you had me until here; no we have had enough of the new generation with its messed up values of smoothness over honesty, of hype over humility, of coolness over substance, of slogans over wisdom, of blame over responsibility, of hidden agendas over transparency, of ego over patriotism, of party over Country.

    No thank you; time for those with the “old” generation values — honor, courage, integrity, fidelity — to come forward. Age does not matter, for these values are timeless, from our earliest writings, they are ancient.

    What “we really need” is to vote for them.

    Pons Asinorum (5919fb)

  76. Pons, I voted for them in 1994. Most of them turned out to be jerks. Tom Delay is a good example. He is the epitome of Democrat Light. K Street lunches and pork and spending.

    They reformed the government to an extent, got the budget balanced for Clinton, and then… started going crazy. not even slightly as badly as what we have now, and if we had known the stakes the GOP would have won a landslide last year, but really, it’s hard to mobilize the country in support of Republicans who aren’t conservative.

    I’m pretty damn dispirited about it. Mccain supporting TARP really is a wound that won’t heal.

    Juan (cab674)

  77. After all, the Democrat-controlled Calif Assembly and the Democrat-controlled Calif Senate did manage a few months ago to peel off enough Republicans to squeeze through an increase in the statewide sales tax.

    And that’s how it usually is here in CA; “compromise” typically entails a small number of Republicans going along with the Democrat playbook after the proper bribes….er, excuse me, “sweeteners”, if you will, have been offered up.

    Blacque Jacques Shellacque (1641e7)

  78. Anyone that voted for TARP is not a conservative.

    Agreed no system is perfect, that why vigilance is vital.

    Pons Asinorum (5919fb)

  79. #78 — Comment by Juan — 7/1/2009 @ 11:42 pm

    They reformed the government to an extent, got the budget balanced for Clinton, and then… started going crazy.

    yes, that’s the problem with power. No guarantee of success in the American Experiment, but we know from the facts of history what does not work.

    Modern American liberalism is a horrible philosophy mix that has been tried in various guises and always had led to suffering and misery for all but the wealthiest.

    Pons Asinorum (5919fb)

  80. Pons – yes, that’s the problem with power.

    The very essence of the checks and balances instilled in our country – limit the government’s power.

    The last election was awash in ‘transparency’ and ‘ethics’ promises from both sides.

    Without transparency and limited to a two party system, there will be no improvement in our leadership.

    Apogee (e2dc9b)

  81. That’s why Texas is so great… the state government is so institutionally weakened by our process that it really matters a lot less which party is in power. They can only muck things up so much.

    It would be so nice if the federal government was so weak that it just didn’t matter if our prez was pro life or pro choice or pro entitlement or not. Then we could choose to live in a state that did things the way we liked, but we’d come together for defense and interstates and the like.

    I really am in la la land tonight.

    Juan (cab674)

  82. #77- You sir, are a partsian part of the problem. Not a source for the solution.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  83. #81 Modern American liberalism is a horrible philosophy mix that has been tried in various guises and always had led to suffering and misery for all but the wealthiest. And with this mindset comes the sad improbability of compromise that inhibits progress. This is why conservatism in all lands and in all guises is stubbornly, wickedly, obstructionist, rooted against change and will be contained as a minority POV in both parties.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  84. DCSCA, obstructionism was a tremendous problem when the democrats were the minority party, and it’s not even slightly a problem for the democrats as a party with regard to the republican party at the federal level.

    Sorry, but the obstructionist card really won’t work this time. The democrats have a supermajority in congress, and the presidency. They can pass any legislation they really want to pass, get any nominee approved if they really want to, and regulate in any way they wish, and all the republicans can do is ask that a bill be read or complain on TV about things.

    sorry, but the ‘party of no’ is a particularly lame excuse for Democrats at the federal level. In California, it’s more the referendums conflicting with the legislature that’s a problem, of course.

    Juan (cab674)

  85. As you have reminded us 70 times, ‘we won’. Handily. You won the responsibility for everything, too. The GOP can unanimously oppose everything the democrats do, and it won’t make a difference if the democrats really want something. They indeed deserve it, too, for forgetting their contract with america.

    Juan (cab674)

  86. #86/#87- Well the excuse of not having 60 votes wont wash any longer. They hold all the cards now and should be able to push through the agenda they were elected to implement. Not everyone agrees with it but it would be better for the nation if Republicans joined in crafting positive solutions. The GOP/conservative approach has been rejected so a piece of something is better than a whole lot of nothing. The far fight, the very hard conservatives are a lost cause in that department just as the hard left is. Neither will ever be satisfied. It’s going to take some time to affect change but it is coming and a lot of the debris from past successes and failures from previous Congresses and administrations. But I expect only criticism from the hard right and ultra conservatives. Moderates in both parties with some pragmatic thinking will hopefully prevail.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  87. This is the standard tactic of International Man of Parody. The idea that he cares about working together, bipartisanship, etc … is laughable. Snort inducing. Note that in doing so, he chides everyone that disagrees with him as being a partisan hack.

    JD (e59ffa)

  88. “Seriously, we don’t want blue-state refugees doing to Texas what they’ve done to Colorado, Vermont, New Hampshire, et al,”

    This Colorado right-winger would like you to study two Colorado laws before you make such a statement about my state:

    1. The Colorado Labor Peace Act of 1943.
    2. The Taxpayers Bill of Rights.

    Both Business and Labor have made attempts at gutting both, and Business and Labor have failed miserably, despite the Dems having (for the moment) the Legislature and the Governorship.

    Please realize that the mere presence of Dems in power doesn’t necessarily mean wreckage of a way of life. And as any in-depth look at my native South Dakota suggests, a GOP hammerlock on state government doesn’t necessarily mean milk and honey is flowing.

    Brad S (9f6740)

  89. And with this mindset comes the sad improbability of compromise that inhibits progress. This is why conservatism in all lands and in all guises is stubbornly, wickedly, obstructionist, rooted against change and will be contained as a minority POV in both parties.

    You could end up like Texas, with a budget surplus. California conservatives have had no ability to stop anything. Which state is doing better? Which is what the whole point of the thread is.

    I love those fact/logic free characterizations of conservatives. It seems to comprise the main building block of your “thoughts”.

    What do you want Obama to not fully get his way on but have to compromise with the Republicans on?

    What changes proposed by Bush did the Dems support – excluding things passed in the wake of 9/11 when Bush was riding a wave of approval?

    Gerald A (138c50)

  90. 89 JD,
    The most successful leader at drawing bipartisan support was Ronald Reagan. I don’t recall him being much of a fan of Reagan or his principles.

    Machinist (95e752)

  91. Texas, California says it all. Two different, distinct political philosophies in a position of dominate political power.

    One is wondering what to do about the future, the other is creating it.

    Note: to DCSA, the other commentators beat me to the punch countering your opinions — I stand with them. Regarding your demand for compromise, I’ll add this:

    You can have your compromise with the current party, which is a promise to “begin again the work of remaking America”.

    Build the Country up, improve and make it better, but not “remake” — that is a nonstarter for me. I prefer Republicans, Democrats, and Independents who stand for this nation and will NOT compromise its Founding Principles.

    Pons Asinorum (5919fb)

  92. Let’s not forget how George W Bush really made a huge boost to bipartisanship in Austin, Texas when governor. He and Bullock and other democrats had their differences and weren’t afraid to argue about them, but W was truly a great bipartisan leader in the state.

    Sadly, the promise that he would be able to bring that spirit to DC was destroyed by Al Gore’s attempt to steal the election. Bush tried several times to facilitate a new spirit, but failed.

    Juan (5fa9e0)

  93. Machinist and Pons – As I have stated before, you would have a better chance of teaching a brick wall how to speak Mandarin than to have an honest discussion with IMP. I am about to join DRJ in the “bored” category.

    JD (cfbd15)

  94. The Republicans are not the party of ‘no’, they’re the party of ‘No, that’s stupid.’

    luagha (5cbe06)

  95. And, btw, if it weren’t for the immigration of people mainly from south of the border, and if the arrival of such people did not, in turn, result in the departure of people originally from the “Golden State,” California conceivably would be seeing a loss of population — or certainly a stagnation of that — as significant as what’s been experienced by states like Michigan, Massachusetts, Illinois and New York.

    Huh? I think what you are trying to say that folks leaving California are made up for by immigrants ‘from south of the Border” . I’d put the causality differently, people are leaving precisely because of mass immigration and the costs it imposes on the state — and yes, the ‘liberal’ regulations etc play a role to. Unfortunately, to have anything close to a livable state with 37 million (plus no doubt a few hundred uncounted) , we must have a lot of regulation. Plus we have to pay for school for Patterico’s nanny’s and ‘mow and blow’ guy’s kids — I hear they have 8 combined.

    As for cost of living being lower in Texas, that is no doubt correct vis-a-vis Cali. But I wasn’t comparing Texas with Cali, but with national figures. I.e. such gems of states as New Mexico, Mississippi, Arkansas is also included.

    And here’s a delightful story about Texas’s wonderful education system “Texas SAT scores fall further behind national averages”

    I remember driving down to Corpus Christi from San Angelo — I was stationed their TAD. Man, what a disappointment. How the heck can you make a costal city look like crap? Granted this was mid-1990s, maybe things are better now.

    hortense (aka horace) (411ef0)

  96. I am about to join DRJ in the “bored” category.

    Me too.

    I was just conducting an experiment to see how fast he would go against his own views espoused in #73. His first response from that point was an insult (#84). His second response is where he countered some of his own views (#85).

    Like shooting fish in a barrel 😉

    Pons Asinorum (5919fb)

  97. #93- Build the Country up, improve and make it better, but not “remake” — that is a nonstarter for me. I prefer Republicans, Democrats, and Independents who stand for this nation and will NOT compromise its Founding Principles. Right. The Constitution itself was designed to amend to the changing times progress brings. This sort of stubborn, uncompromising conservatism will simply be seen as increasingly shrill and become more and more isolated, then left behind as the nation and the world progresses. Conservatives are not in a position to dictate how the cow should eat the cabbage when they no longer preside over the garden. Once conservatives start offering constructive alternatives rather than perpetual cristicism, the majority of the country might give you a listen. But the hard right shows no signs of compromise. More’s the pity.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  98. DCSCA, amending the constitution would be a great way to handle things (except california has gone off the rails with that process). Why do you think Conservatives are annoyed when the Supreme Court changes standards and interpretations of the Constitution?

    Because it short circuits the amendment process.

    And sorry, but the Democrats have that legislature in Cali and the federal leg, too. Legislatures dominated by Republicans work so much better at bipartisanship.

    When the GOP ran congress for 12 years, they gave the dems rights and access that the GOP had asked for for decades. Many bipartisan ideas, from drug benefits to education bills to AUMF were discussed. No gridlock, just discussion. Now that the dems have congress, the GOP has lost all teh minority rights they gave the dems. Pelosi is hiding bills until after they are voted on.

    The idea that the right is responsible for the gridlock is incorrect. In California, the problem is mostly that the democrats got their way for a long time and now there is no solution to their problems. It’s not gridlock, there’s just no way out.

    Juan (5fa9e0)

  99. Why even bother responding to him? You’re not getting any intelligent discussion. You’re getting a pingpong game sponsored by DailyKos.

    steve miller (0fb51f)

  100. #99 — Comment by DCSCA — 7/2/2009 @ 1:16 pm

    Right.

    Thank you.

    The Constitution itself was designed to amend to the changing times progress brings.

    Correct, well sort of, it can be amended.

    The purpose of the Constitution is to preserve Freedom and Liberty for all, which is what it is designed to do — please take care upon amendment.

    This sort of stubborn, uncompromising conservatism will simply be seen as increasingly shrill and become more and more isolated, then left behind as the nation and the world progresses.

    Compromising the Founding Principles? Freedom and Liberty will persist despite the best efforts of a small portion of your party to extinguish or mitigate them for the sake of staying in power.

    Hunt us down if you can.

    Conservatives are not in a position to dictate how the cow should eat the cabbage when they no longer preside over the garden.

    Cattle eat cabbage?

    American Conservatives cannot dictate, it is against the club rules. But the liberals on the other hand, are a bit more…flexible.

    Presiding over the garden…is that analogous to a Founding Principle of temporarily borrowing Power from the citizens, only to return it at the end of a term?

    Once conservatives start offering constructive alternatives rather than perpetual cristicism, the majority of the country might give you a listen. [sp I think you mean criticism]

    Gee, I bet they have never thought of that. Well, I let them know right away, Sir.

    Maybe California can give pointers to Texas on how to run a government, because that “hands-off” approach is so disastrous.

    But the hard right shows no signs of compromise. More’s the pity.

    Thank goodness for “hard left”. They are such nice teddy-bears. All we have to do, is what they tell us too.

    I leave you with this DCSCA, then you are free to get back to your rant, as I agree with DRJ, this IS boring.

    “Hard right, hard left, conservative, liberal, democrat, republican — all meaningless.”

    “So what is important?”

    “It’s the Constitution, stupid.”

    Have fun with your rants, enjoy–regards.

    Pons Asinorum (5919fb)

  101. “#71- Ha. It’s hard to shake.”

    DCSCA – No it is not as long as you are willing to:

    A) Admit you are not always right; and
    B) Admit you are not the center of the universe and that everything must revolve around you.

    Don’t cross swords with me on this, I know whereof I speak.

    Since you have displayed not a micron of the humility required for either A) or B) I can understand why you might have the perception that it is hard to break. Other people here understand your problem. There is help available.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  102. Its easy. If you do not work and pay taxes and thereby make a contirbution to society you can not vote. If your not a U.S. citizen you can not vote. If you receive any type of compensation from the federal government or state government you can not vote. If you have any kind of felony conviction you can not vote. Voters must approve any kind of monetary compensation for politicians including retirement. No special “deals” for those in politics. No free trips on the voters dime. No guaranteed medical. Treat them like every other working stiff. No state unions period. Annual state budgets must be voted on by the population. Anything not making a certified contribution to society is stopped. Get rid of all congressional districts. Now. I think that would be a good place to start.

    Denise (56fe0b)


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