DJ Says...

From the Trail Blazers Blog:

Stung by late-night comics who have lampooned Rick Perry's expressed sympathy for secession, the Republican governor is trying to recalibrate his critique of corporate bailouts and government spending. In an op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman on Sunday, Perry says he never really advocated seceding from the union-- "and never will." In truth, what Perry said following an anti-tax tea party protest in Austin last month was that he understood the passion of those calling for secession and declared, "If Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."

Finally, the word is getting out that Gov. Perry did not advocate for secession. That angle was pushed by the Kay Bailey Hutchison camp in an effort to shore up their rapidly dwindling support. Gov. Perry's op-ed is on the mark when it comes to the issue of, as he states, a federal government that is like a swollen river that has overflowed its banks. A few excerpts:

When Congress and the resident make plans to increase the federal debt
by one-third in just the administration's first 100 days, citizens and
taxpayers should be worried. When federal stimulus bills force state
governments to change long-standing laws, raise taxes and increase
government spending, citizens and taxpayers should be outraged. The
swollen river known as the federal government has clearly overflowed
its banks.

I suspect America's founders would be appalled at their successors
taking control of private corporations, hiring and firing workers and
breaking contracts. Watching the federal government purchase majority
stakes in manufacturers should terrify anyone who ever saw a Cold
War-era Russian automobile. Government lacks competitiveness, which
makes it a breeding ground for inefficiency and stagnation.

This next one should be read and distributed to anyone that thinks we need a full-time legislature:

Those looking for the positive impact of limited government and fiscal
conservatism should turn their eyes to Texas. Our Constitution limits
our Legislature to 140 days every two years with the bottom line of a
balanced budget. Our freedom from an income tax makes Texas attractive
to employers and entrepreneurs as do the state's predictable regulatory
climate and fair legal system. Add hard-working Texans to our
opportunity-friendly environment, and you start to understand why the
state leads the nation in exports, job creation and Fortune 500
companies. Limited government works.

Heaven help Texas if legislators ever convince the voters that they should be full-time.

Back to the Trail Blazers entry, they are one of the few media outlets that provide balanced coverage. And they provide nice balance in this one.

Word from inside the Beltway is that Perry's pronouncements on states
rights and secession have made him a sort of amusing later-day George
Wallace.

That phrase "Word from inside the Beltway" really means from inside the KBH camp because that is the only home she's known for the past 16 years after breaking her original campaign promise in the 1993 special election to serve only two full terms. She has been there so long, she might not be able to recognize the truth in the next Trail Blazers sentence.

But polls in Texas suggest that Texans aren't put off by the
message -- and understand the context and subtlety of remarks that play
to the state's independent streak.

Texans completely understood what Gov. Perry was saying. The 2010 primary isn't going to be the walk in the moderate park that KBH thought it was going to be.