“Feel like God called them.... truly feel like we are here for that purpose.’’
Was this also God's will?
"Perry gamble on subprime lenders cost Texas $35m" by Jack Gillum Associated Press / October 4, 2011
WASHINGTON - As Texas governor, Rick Perry spent tens of millions in taxpayer money to lure some of the nation’s leading mortgage companies to expand their business in his state, calling it a national model for creating jobs. The plan backfired.
Just as the largest banks began receiving public cash, they aggressively increased risky lending. Within four years, the banks were out of business and homeowners across Texas faced foreclosure. In the end, the state paid $35 million to subsidize it.
An Associated Press review of federal mortgage data, court filings, and public statements found that Perry downplayed early warnings of an impending mortgage crisis as alarmist. That was even as Perry’s own attorney general would later investigate whether Countrywide Financial Corp. encouraged homeowners to borrow more than they could afford.
As Perry offered $20 million in grants to Countrywide and $15 million to Washington Mutual Inc. - each blamed for having a major role in one of the country’s most serious recessions - he took in tens of thousands of their dollars for his gubernatorial campaign.
Perry, a Republican candidate for the White House, did support a cap on how much consumers could borrow against their homes, which analysts credit for softening the blow of the mortgage crisis in Texas. By the end of 2008, more than 22 states had a greater percentage of foreclosures.
Yet Perry did not appear to recognize that the industry his administration had subsidized was damaging the economy....
--more--"
God's will, right?
"Perry posts $17m in fund-raising" October 06, 2011|By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff
Don’t count him out yet.
Rick Perry may have suffered some recent stumbles on the campaign trail and dropped in the polls, but his strong fund-raising over the last several weeks should quiet some of the doubters and solidify his position as perhaps the strongest challenger to the presumptive front-runner, Mitt Romney.
Perry’s campaign reported yesterday that the longtime Texas governor hauled in an impressive $17 million since entering the race 49 days ago. That sum dwarfs the $11 million to $13 million that Romney reported raising in the previous 92 days.
Perry’s robust fund-raising gives his campaign a much-needed boost....
I'll give you one guess who gave him a hand.
--more--"
"Perry makes first major policy speech" by Matt Viser Globe Staff / October 15, 2011
WASHINGTON - Governor Rick Perry of Texas sought yesterday to reinvigorate his once-promising presidential campaign, making a pitch for a major expansion of oil and gas drilling and then immediately flying to a state vital to his campaign: Iowa.
The energy and jobs speech near Pittsburgh was the candidate’s first major policy address, following repeated complaints from rivals and others that he needed to lay out his plan for the stuttering economy. Combining the speech with a blitz on national talk shows, Perry tried to project a candidate in command of the number one issue facing voters - the economy - and a campaigner ready to robustly contend in the early contests and across the nation.
“They’re trying to regain the initiative,’’ said Terry Holt, a Washington-based GOP consultant who is not aligned in the race. “The guy has $17 million, and he can still spend it to introduce himself in a lot of important early matchups. They have good people and they can organize.
“But the stakes are high and time is short.’’
Perry’s campaign has been staggered by a perception among some influential conservatives that he has inadequately defended parts of his record, such as a more moderate stance on immigration and support for a mandated vaccine for teenage girls. The candidate has also been hurt by weak or indifferent debate performances.
Even my mother noticed how lame he was during the last debate.
To reconnect with his conservative base, Perry’s campaign is expected to dip into his deep war chest - the campaign confirmed yesterday that his $17 million in fund-raising topped all GOP rivals last quarter - to unleash a television ad campaign in the coming weeks. The ads offer the candidate greater control over his message, particularly focusing on the theme of job creation that guided the early days of his campaign. Perry stressed that theme in his speech yesterday....
Perry called for increasing drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean; expanding energy production on federal land, including in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and curbing federal regulations, including scaling down the Environmental Protection Agency and removing its ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
These guys never learn, do they?
Related: Obama's Hot Air
Looks like Obama let the air out of your balloon.
Straying away from a potential conflict in a politically important state, Perry’s plan would continue a ban on drilling in Florida’s Everglades. He would also exempt Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks from any energy exploration....
Just four weeks ago, Perry was far ahead in the polls, leading in many cases by double digits. But he quickly fell, with much of the support transferring to Georgia businessman Herman Cain, who has never held political office.
Father, why have you forsaken me?
Perry’s struggles have also taken a personal toll. “It’s been a rough month,’’ Perry’s wife, Anita, told reporters on Thursday in South Carolina. “We have been brutalized and beaten up and chewed up in the press. . . . We are being brutalized by our opponents and our own party.’’
There is nothing more distasteful than a whiny politician.
She said her husband is being targeted for his strong Christian faith. “He is the only true conservative - well, there are some true conservatives. And they’re there for good reasons. And they may feel like God called them too. But I truly feel like we are here for that purpose.’’
--more--"
Also see: Sunday Globe Special: The Health of the Perry Campaign
