Rick Perry Is the King of Pay-to-Play

[douglas9]

Political Animals

That quaking and creaking isn't from the Chilean earthquake; it's a destructive seismic shift to right-wing extremism and plutocracy in real time with its epicenter in Texas.

The rumble began with Attorney General and Texas gubernatorial hopeful Greg Abbott's new educational model, "Teach the Best and Shoot the Rest," based on Charles Murray's white-nationalist writing. It became louder with Gov. Rick Perry's favorable nod to his nuclear-waste cronies last week, his abuse of political patronage and having Texas taxpayers foot the bill for his travels related to his thinly veiled presidential aspirations.

But the "big one" came just last week with the SCOTUS ruling on McCutcheon.

There's no longer any point in waiting for an all clear; it's a daily series of aftershocks. Perry's 12-year reign as the king of pay-to-play state appointments is no secret, but lately, it's a blatant and unashamed succession of revolving doors. Perry is running an employment agency for his cohort of Perryists, his lieutenants and benefactors. They are unqualified individuals whose only marketable skill is being his friend or contributor.

Among the latest unqualified appointments is Joe Weber, Perry's closest friend when he was a cheerleader at Texas A&M. Weber's most recent stint was as A&M's vice president for student affairs. How that qualifies him to head TxDOT is a head-scratcher.

http://www.houstonpress.com/2014-04-10/news/rick-perry-ted-cruz-uber/

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