Baker Institute Student Forum debate: Re-elect Rick Perry for governor

By Mike Lee     10/28/10 7:00pm

Next Tuesday, Many of my Republican brethren are going to jump ship and vote for Bill White to replace Republican Governor Rick Perry as leader of our fine state. I, however, will not be one of them. In an election marked with heated mudslinging, allegations of corruption and other misdeeds I found myself almost leaning to the Democrats for answers this time. I realize it sounds cliché, but in making up my mind to vote for Perry I absolutely felt I was picking the lesser of two evils. Both men have pointed fingers at the others for misdeeds in their respective former (or current) office. Ads paid for by Perry's campaign allege White "redistributed" monies in Houston Police Department's retirement fund and profited from dispersing cleanup and power contracts after Hurricane Rita in 2005.

On the other side, White's campaign alleges that Perry has covered up the execution of an innocent man, cleared the records of sex offenders who were later deported and steered public money to different organizations run by major campaign contributors.

If tomorrow morning Perry were accused of eating babies, I would still vote for him. His conservative tendencies make him in my mind the only candidate I could even consider voting for. As an NRA life member, second amendment rights are usually the most important issue to me, and although White is not as bad as many Washington Democrats when it comes to respecting these rights, Perry is better.

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As drug violence worsens in Mexico and even sometimes across the border into our state I feel it is important to have a governor who is tough on crime. Perry is pro death penalty and signed legislation putting life without parole on the books for murder. He has been an ardent supporter of harsher sentences on child molesters by signing Jessica's Law and on drunk drivers in particular by outlawing open containers in vehicles, requiring interlock devices for those convicted of a DWI and harsher sentences for repeat offenders.

Perry has been a leader in tort reform. In 2003 Perry signed medical liability reform laws. These laws capped pain and suffering amounts patients could sue for. This law has paved the way for Texas granting record numbers of physician licenses than ever before in 2007 and then again in 2008, which increased medical access in many of the rural and under-served parts of the state.

I guess if I were important or famous, you could add my name to the list of endorsements that includes the NRA, HPD retired officers association, the Texas Society of Professional Engineers and even Farouk Shami, who lost to Bill White in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

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