Perry’s talk of unity hits a sour note, some say
AUSTIN ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ At his inauguration, after being sworn into office by the first black chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ a man he appointed ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ Gov. Rick Perry spoke wistfully of a tolerant Texas, where “no one is invalidated because of their heritage, but valued because of their humanity.”….If you ask critics, the spirit of unity didn’t last through the governor’s $75-a-ticket inaugural ball, held later Tuesday night at the Austin Convention Center.
So Governor Goodhair was able to string together a few complete and flowery sentences about tolerance and everybody getting along an pulling in the same direction? Man, it sure didn’t take long for the new era of good feeling to go up in flames, eh?
You’d think that a man who was all about tolerance and getting along and respecting ALL Texans would have the common sense to realize that inviting Ted Nugent to perform at your ignaugural. Yes, THAT Ted Nugent, the immigrant-despising, Liberal-baiting, Confederate-flag-waving troll who’s not afraid to offend just about anyone to make his point.
A tolerant Texas? A Texas where “no one is invalidated because of their heritage, but valued because of their humanity”? Nice speech, man, but somehow I think that people are going to be paying more attention to your actions…and your actions don’t bode well for an atmosphere of tolerance and respect.
Rocking the house as the night’s final act was singer Ted Nugent, a friend of Perry’s known as the “Motor City Madman.” Nugent appeared onstage wearing a cut-off T-shirt emblazoned with the sure-to-draw-headlines Confederate flag and shouting some unflattering remarks about non-English speakers, according to people who were in attendance. His props were machine guns.
Perry’s spokesman, Robert Black, downplayed the incident.
“Ted Nugent is a good friend of the governor’s. He asked him if he would play at the inaugural. He didn’t put any stipulation of what he would play,” Black said. He added that “Most people had a really good time and enjoyed the show.”
Of course they had a really good time. Most of the audience were no doubt wealthy White Republicans who were more than willing to have someone like Nugent celebrate their heritage. Why would any of them complain?
However, some within Perry’s party said the appearance was unbefitting a governor who may have national ambitions. “I think it was a horrible choice,” GOP strategist Royal Masset said. “I hope nobody approved it.”
The black-tie ball was just hours after an inauguration notable for its conciliatory tone. Perry was sworn into office by Wallace Jefferson, who descended from slaves to become the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court.
Does anyone need any more proof the Governor Goodhair is the “do as I say, not as I do” Governor?
In his speech, Perry extolled the virtues of bipartisanship, compassion for the poor and racial and class unity. The rhetoric was so moderate for a Republican governor from Texas that some news stories speculated Perry must have vice-presidential ambitions.
I don’t know about Governor Goodhair’s Vice-Presidential ambitions, but if he had any DUMB@$$ ambitions…well, his dreams just came true.
If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be off dreaming of a tolerant Texas, where good, God-fearing White Folks rule, and…uh, wait…we’re already there, aren’t we? So who says prayer doesn’t work??
