What you may not know about RICK PERRY

A big H/T to ThinkProgress for the following summary of what most people ( including me ) don't know about Rick Perry. I recognize this web site is probably a left leaning outlet looking for bombs to throw at Perry. But, it would be well to consider the following as indicative of the attacks to come on Perry if he jumps into the race. The contrasts on healthcare are particularly formidable:

1. Perry, in 2004, allowed the execution of an innocent man, Cameron Willingham, and then impeded an investigation into the whole matter, including firing and replacing three members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission.

2. Perry has called the 16th and 17th Amendments to the Constitution " mistaken ". The 16th Amendment is the income tax amendment accounting for 45 % of all tax receipts. The 17th Amendment allows for direct election of U.S Senators, taking that right away from government.

3. Perry has argued that states should be able to opt out of Social Security and Medicaid

4. Texas is the leading polluter among states in the union, leading the nation on carbon dioxide emissions, but when the state was sued by the EPA for not meeting clean air standards, Perry sued the federal government. He also is a global warming critic who called the 2010 BP oil spill an " act of God ."

5. One in four children in Texas live below the poverty line. Perry cut $ 10 billion out of child support services even though Texas has a $ 8.2 Billion rainy day fund.

6. Perry was a critic of the TARP program, advocating Texas reject the money but used $ 2 billion of available highway funds even with a $ 27 billion budget deficit

7. Perry said that Texas might have to secede from the Union

8. Texas has the nation's worst uninsured health rate. More than 25 % of Texans lack health care coverage when the national average is 15 %. There are more uninsured residents in Texas than there are people in 33 states with an extraordinarily high level of uninsured children. Yet, Perry has been critical of Massachusetts health care program, even though Massachusetts is number one in the nation with the lowest uninsured healthcare rate around 2 %.

9. Perry has been a strong advocate of anti -gay legislation, even the Texas anti sodomy law that was struck down by George Bush's Supreme Court in 2003

Anyway, interesting and subjective commentary that we all need to become more familiar with if Perry comes out of the Mesquite

CraigS