Rick Perry’s Rent Busts Texas’ Budget

If even the Associated Press has figured out that the incumbent’s shafting the state, how do we get the voters’ assistance in unloading this guy?

After the Fire: Office of the Governor Photo

“Anybody who is not offended probably doesn’t know what’s going on,” said Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, the Texas House Democratic leader. To spend so much while asking state agencies to spend less, Dunnam said, is “just rank hypocrisy.”

The Governor’s Mansion was undergoing renovations when an arsonist set it afire — but that was years ago, and the repairs have not progressed. Meanwhile, Perry sucks down more than a quarter million dollars of taxpayer money to keep himself in the style to which he’s (and presumably his family’s pets have also) become accustomed. Rumor has it he wants to run for President — maybe with Sarah Palin?

Doubts about Deadeye Rick’s story on the coyote continue.

One Austin resident who had her cocker spaniel attacked by a coyote in the central city several years ago said she had serious questions about why Perry was jogging while armed.
“This is one time I’d be on the coyote’s side. I’m not a Rick Perry fan,” said Nancy Williams. “Whoever heard of someone jogging with a gun? It sounds off to me.”
Williams said city trapping programs have been effective in removing aggressive coyotes from her neighborhood.
Perry told the Associated Press this week that he was jogging near his home in the sparsely populated and heavily wooded hills of a gated community in west Austin in February when he encountered a coyote. Perry said that because the coyote was acting threatening toward him and his daughter’s Labrador retriever, he pulled a .380 pistol with a laser sight from a belt on his jogging suit and shot the coyote dead. He told the reporter he carries the gun when jogging because he is afraid of snakes.
“Don’t attack my dog or you might get shot … if you’re a coyote,” the AP quoted the governor as saying.

Don’t attack his lifestyle, either — there’s been a $22 million tax appropriation to fix the arson damage, but there’s an ongoing campaign to raise funds to renovate the mansion in addition to those moneys.

On June 8, 2008, the Governor’s Mansion was severely damaged by arson. The Mansion was empty and all its prized contents in storage, but significant structural and architectural damage occurred to the house. It will cost millions of dollars to restore the national historic landmark. This house belongs to all Texans and you can make a difference! Please make a donation, large or small, to restore the Governor’s Mansion by contributing to the Texas Governor’s Mansion Restoration Fund.

The Perrys remain ensconced in a lavish residence in the meantime.

I’m feeling pretty damn Taxed Enough Already about supporting this guy’s incumbency. It’s time for a change!