35 days: Will Texas Voters Opt to Vote Out Political Corruption?

[TexasTowelie]

By Carol Morgan

Corruption has brought down many a country; think Nigeria and Zaire, look at Pakistan and China. Like a silent contagion, it’s infecting America as well. If we examine the kleptocracy at the state level, the prospect for good ethical governance is dim and portentous.

According to State Integrity, which gives a grade to each state based upon ten measures, Texas received a D+. In five of the ten measures, we received an F. The single measure in which Texas received an A was Internal Auditing.

And thank God for Internal Auditing...

Without it, we wouldn’t know about the deals made behind closed doors at the Austin Club, legislators’ offices, and the golf courses on the periphery of Austin. Texas has become a safe haven for insider agreements with our own Davos-banker-bespectacled governor at the pinnacle of the food chain.

If Whitey Bulger ran for office, labeling himself as a Christian Conservative Republican, he’d be elected. In Texas, wearing the CCR label is something close to ala-kazam. It’s a get-out-jail-free card without any dice rolling.

Like Bulger, many CCR politicians should be in jail, but amazingly, they’re running for office. Voting for them is akin to hiring your next babysitter from the list of convicted sex offenders.

Everyone likes lists:

1. Rick Perry: Under indictment for coercion of a public servant and abuse of official capacity. Four days ago, an audit discovered that he granted millions of dollars in the Texas Enterprise Fund to businesses and universities that didn’t even complete an application and the ones who did created no jobs or jobs in the single digits. I’m sure there’s plenty more crimes (think university meddling and the Formula One wild ride) he’s committed during his years as Texas’ governor, he just hasn’t been caught yet.

2. Greg Abbott: The list is long and for those with selective memory loss go here. Recently, Senator Davis shined a little light on the unexplored shadowy corners of Mr. Abbott’s term as AG. How is he linked with the $222 million TEF audit controversy? What about CPRIT? He withheld money for real cancer needs and passed it on to his donors. He downplayed the West explosion to please the Koch Brothers. His decision to appeal Dietz’ ruling, instead of allowing the Legislature to fund our schools; he flat-out lied during the RGV debates. Don’t forget his stance on equal pay, rape, and women’s health. He’s Rick Perry’s hand-picked successor, need I say more?

3. Dan Patrick: Dannie Goeb’s certainly cleaned up his act during this campaign. We don’t hear much about his dirty tricks and cheesy theatrics like we did in 2013. He done pretty well for an ex-titty-bar-entrepreneur-turned-self-righteous-radio talk show host who won’t pay his bills even when he has the money and then, gets all depressed about it. If you want to completely dismantle public education, then he’s your man.

4. Ken Paxton: This is the biggest knee-slapper of all! How can it be that a man who might be elected as Texas’ number one attorney could be a possible two-time felon and disbarred from the TBA all at the same time? His shenanigans with the Mowery firm could cost him, and us. The Travis County DA’s office has decided to postpone Paxton’s possible indictment until after the election. Try to explain that to the kiddies, eh?

5. Glenn Hagar: He says he’s proud to cut the funding to our schools. Is he proud of depriving 11, 000 educators of their livelihood? Mike Collier, please.

6. George P. Bush: Knows nothing about lands other than the front yard he dug up with his Trans-Am when he got mad at his girlfriend. If elected, he will give a free ticket to any energy mogul or polluter that has ties to the Bush family. (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/nut-some-soup-0)

7. Randy Neugebauer: Moves the family business to Puerto Rico to avoid taxes. Allows family farms to suffer without a viable farm bill for how many years? Exponentially increases his personal wealth during his term in office. Likes to use military veterans as a prop. Lapdog to the Heritage Foundation. His latest gift is the Jobs for America Act. It will change the definition of a full time worker in America and thus, assist his corporate handlers. Neal Marchbanks please.
(http://www.democraticunderground.com/107819444)

These midterms scare me.

At the national level, it could determine the nominees for SCOTUS at a later date and that will be uglier than Faustus’ bargain with Mephistopheles.

If Governor Perry’s hastily-arranged-carefully-orchestrated special election is any indication of the poor judgment, lack of factual knowledge, and the dogged belief in dumbed down GOP rhetoric, rather than campaign substance, then those of us on both sides of the aisle have much to fear.

It was name recognition that sent a new Senator to Austin; a man funded by Empower Texans, headed by a fallen Eagle Scout under an ethical cloud for lobbying without registering, and now he’s moving to Denton to get a more favorable ruling from that court.

Empower Texans is merely a front group for Midland oilman and Christian private school entrepreneur, Timothy Cook. If Mr. Cook wants to control things, why doesn’t he run for office himself?

There’s plenty of information out there to educate yourselves on the issues, but most would rather concentrate on football, getting drunk at Raider Alley or ogle Kim Kardashian’s gross oversized wide load.

I want to shake some Texans by the shoulders.

Corruption in Texas is a foundational issue that taints everything. It undermines civic virtue, reduces accountability, and siphons off citizen’s trust in public policy. It results in the inefficiency of public services; assistance does not get to those who need help. Most of all, it’s just plain dishonest; something I thought we were supposed to know by age five.

Until we pluck out the Conservative parasites who are sucking the life and integrity out of Texas, we’ll accomplish nothing. I’ve been ranting about this for two years, and if the experts are correct, that it takes 151 times of hearing a message before you “get” it, then I’m just going to keep on talking every single day.

There should be no more arguments with those who justify Texas corruption by referring to the “Texas Miracle” because that card trick is miraculous only for the insiders and lobbyists; the bootlickers of the corrupt. The only ones who’ve benefitted from the TM song and dance are energy executives, state contractors who operate without any state oversight, corporations who endanger their workers by refusing to provide Workmen’s Compensation, and for-profit educational corporateurs who disguise themselves in the cloak of educational reform.

If there is a GOP victory in November, it won’t be a victory for the people of Texas. It will be the kind of victory that William Faulkner wrote about, the victory that’s “an illusion for philosophers and fools."

I don’t plan on being one of those fools in November. What will it take for you to disengage yourself from the fool’s camp?

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Carol Morgan is a career/college counselor, writer, speaker, former Democratic candidate for the Texas House and the award-winning author of Of Tapestry, Time and Tears, a historical fiction about the 1947 Partition of India. Read her work at the Houston Press and MetroLeader News Service. Email Carol at [e-mail] , follow her on Twitter and on Facebook or visit her writer’s blog at www.carolmorgan.org

http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/carol-morgan/2014-09-29/35-days-will-texas-voters-opt-vote-out-political#.VCnwbBbuPoE

Permission granted to post this blog in its entirety. Links for items 6 and 7 of Carol Morgan's list were inserted by me. Item #6 should be corrected from Trans Am to Ford Explorer.

[Fred Sanders]

1. How will folks ever know about this when the major media are so committed to covering it all up?

[blkmusclmachine]

2. There is something REALLY WRONG with the Republican Party. Too bad the DEMS never cared to secure

the vote against the secret black box vote "tabulators." How can you fight or contest that which you are not allowed to see???