Statesman Sword: RICK PERRY PART III HE'S THE PRIMER ON CORRUPTION

Perry Met with Obama as He Decided to Run
for President of U.S.

Texas Governor Rick Perry is unknown to much of America. Learn about some of Rick Perry’s many conflicts and controversies. Who is this guy? Who are his cronies? Who gave him $102 million? This article is an education in fascism, the merging of corporate power and government power.

Texans for Public Justice Wrote This Article:

"The Rick Perry Primer."

Texans for Public Justice (TPJ) has followed this politician since he became governor in late 2000, publishing numerous reports on Perry’s politics and policies.

Obama requested that they meet in El Paso TX,
but Perry said no since he was already in Austin.

Much of this research focuses on Perry’s fundraising activities and the connections between his contributors and his official actions. We also have kept a critical eye on Perry’s economic development initiatives and privatization schemes, as well as his occasional ethical lapses.

With talk of a Perry presidential campaign escalating,

this report summarizes highlights of a decade of Perry-related research.

~ Texans for Public Justice

The Rick Perry Primer

 Perry’s $102 Million War Chest

As Texas' longest-serving governor, Rick Perry raised $102 million for his Texans for Rick Perry state campaign committee from 2001 through 2010. Half of this money ($51 million) came from 204 mega-donors who each supplied $100,000 or more. This $102 million does not include funds that Perry raised for his inaugural committees and or Republican Governors Association.

View a list or download a spreadsheet of the 204 PACs and individuals that contributed $100,000 or more to Texans for Rick Perry.

Download a complete list (12 MB csv file) of 86,000 itemized contributions that Texans for Rick Perry reported from 2001 thru 2010.

View a breakdown of Perry’s contributions by economic sector.

 Perry Political Appointees

Gov. Perry tapped 3,995 appointees 5,662 times to serve on state agencies, boards and commissions between January 2001 and February 23, 2010 (he appointed some individuals to multiple posts).

Perry’s campaign collected $17,115,865 from 921 of these appointees or their spouses from 2001 through June 2010. Gubernatorial appointees accounted for 21 percent of the $83.2 million that Perry raised during that period. See TPJ’s Governor Perry’s Patronage.

 Perry Pockets $6 Million from Regent Appointees

Perry has collected almost $6.1 million from the 155 people whom he has appointed to be regents of Texas universities. Read TPJ’s report and a Houston Chronicle editorial on “unseemly” appointee fundraising.

 A Top Perry Donor’s Nuclear Dump

TPJ’s Lobby Watch wonders how Perry appointees can regulate the out-of-state nuclear waste pouring into a West Texas dump that’s owned by a top gubernatorial donor.

 Homebuilder Bob Perry--the Governor’s Biggest Asset

Gov. Perry’s biggest lifetime donor is homebuilder Bob Perry (no relation). TPJ summarizes Bob Perry’s history of dirty politics.

Cousin of ManBearPig Texicanus

 Soliciting Under the Influence

The Dallas Morning News’ Wayne Slater reported in August 2009 that Gov. Perry's Alcoholic Beverage Commission chair urged owners of drinking establishments that he regulates to give to Perry’s campaign.

 Perry Backers

Switch to Hutchison: A TPJ report and an Austin American-Statesman article look at ex-Perry supporters who backed Republican gubernatorial rival Kay Bailey Hutchison.

 Perry’s Inauguration Donors

Lobbyists, executives and corporations with state business dominate big donors who forked over $2 million for Perry's most recent inaugural party, Wayne Slater reports in the Dallas Morning News.

Perry Primer: Job Subsidies & Privatization

 TPJ’s Phantom Jobs

The Texas Enterprise Fund’s Broken

Promises and Recession Pounds Perry’s Jobs Fund reveal that many Enterprise Fund grantees failed to meet their job targets in 2008 and 2009.

 In “Slush Fun”

The Texas Observer’s Dave Mann tracks the web of Enterprise Fund grantees that contributed to the Republican Governor's Association or Gov. Perry.

Did Sematech cheat Texas by leaving the state amidst a $40 Million subsidy deal?

A TPJ {Sematech} letter urges top Texas officials to investigate if Sematech violated its $40 million Enterprise Fund contract and to recover any “funds that failed to deliver the promised benefits.”

Did Contributions Grease $50 Million Enterprise Fund Deal?

TPJ’s Lobby Watch reports that Texas’ top officials took $1.4 million from Texas A&M PAC supporters before awarding that university a controversial state grant.

Texas corporate subsidy programs, which are among the nation’s most wasteful,

earn a C-minus for disclosure, according to Good Jobs First.

An Austin American-Statesman editorial calls for more accountability and transparency in Perry’s corporate subsidy programs. A Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial tells lawmakers to de-fund the governor’s pet corporate welfare programs.

 Coverage of TPJ’s January 2010 Enterprise Fund report:

Associated Press: Perry changes Enterprise Fund contracts Dallas Morning News: Fund not creating promised jobs Austin American-Statesman: Report criticizes Enterprise Fund Associated Press: Countrywide scrapped Texas pact in December Houston Chronicle: Hutchison attacks Perry over Fund

 “Governor Handout” But Trashes the Bailout

A TPJ report is puzzled by Gov. Perry’s sudden populist aversion to "using taxpayer dollars to bail out corporate America." After all, he previously awarded $35 million in state tax dollars to two failed giants of the mortgage meltdown: Washington Mutual and Countrywide Financial. The Houston Chronicle hits a similar editorial note.

 Trans-Texas Corridor

Politicians Get Burned Paving Texas From Top Down

The Texas Department of Transportation declared Gov. Perry’s controversial Trans-Texas Corridor officially dead. While the governor's $175 billion dream vanished, some of the toll roads will live on. The path to these roads was paved with $3.4 million in campaign contributions and up to $6 million in lobby expenditures. The Dallas Morning News reports that a lead lobbyist for the top Trans-Texas Corridor contractor is Perry’s ex-legislative aide.

Trans Texas Corridor

Privatizing the Lottery Raises Gambling Stakes

Gov. Perry proposed privatizing the Texas Lottery to collect a quick $20 billion. Industry projections make clear that the state cannot raise such a payout without a major expansion of Texas gambling, a TPJ report finds. Read a related Fort Worth Star-Telegram article.

 Lax {Prison} Oversight Plagues Private Prisons

For its own facilities, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice maintains data on the number of officers each facility employs and which employees have been disciplined. But it does not collect this data for privately-operated prisons, which cost the state over $200 million a year. After squalid conditions prompted Texas to cancel one Geo Group contract, the company continues to operate nine other facilities in the state, TPJ finds.

 “Texas blunders through privatization”

Texas aggressively privatized state government social services, a policy that was supposed to save taxpayers a fortune. Instead, TPJ researcher Lauren Reinlie writes in the Austin American-Statesman, the state has sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into privatization boondoggles that squandered tax dollars and harmed Texans in need.

Perry Primer: Ethics

 Murky Land Deal

TPJ's Andrew Wheat reports in the Texas Observer on a sweetheart land deal that landed Gov. Perry almost $500,000. A Dallas Morning News series takes closer looks at the deal: Murky land deals mark Gov. Perry's past Perry's property buyer was “invisible” White assails Perry land deals Fraser failed to report Perry land deals.

 How Did Gov. Perry Catch This Venereal Bug?

Gardasil Scandal: Gov. Perry issued an executive order to vaccinate prepubescent girls for sexually-transmitted viruses that cause cervical cancer. TPJ’s Lobby Watch asks, What triggered Perry’s newfound interest in women’s health? Was it Perry pal Mike Toomey—a longtime lobbyist for vaccine manufacturer Merck? The Houston Chronicle then reported that Merck contributed $50,000 to a GOP fundraiser chaired by Gov. Perry.

Texas Governor's Mansion

 Perry Mansion Spending Illegal, TPJ Alleges

A pending TPJ ethics complaint alleges that the Perry campaign broke disclosure laws by not itemizing $816,000 in governor’s mansion-related expenditures on food, drinks and chefs.