Disclaimer: I am not a member or supporter of the Church of Jesus Christ, Latter-Day Saints, nor am I a polygamist. However, I decided back in 2008 that I could not support Governor Perry for any higher office. I thought the action against the FLDS group in Eldorado, TX was a travesty of justice and a disservice and a danger to all Texas families. I still think so.
The mass kidnapping of 464 FLDS children from their community in Eldorado, Texas, instigated by a crank call from a looney-tune named Rozita Swinton, took place during his watch. An operation of this magnitude could not have been launched without approval at the highest levels of state government. Worse yet, Gov. Perry defended the actions of CPS after the fact; on May 15th, 2008, Perry spokeswoman Krista Piferrer said the governor retained full confidence in the agency, noting that “The governor is very proud of the work being done by CPS…CPS has handled a very complex situation both professionally and compassionately.”
That so-called “professionalism” and “compassion” were called into question just one week later on May 22nd when the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that Texas child welfare authorities acted improperly in removing the children from the FLDS Church’s YFZ Ranch in Eldorado. Ultimately, 440 children were returned to their parents. Wikipedia contains a more detailed chronology of the operation.
The estimated price tag for the entire operation was set at $12.4 million, which did not necessarily include ongoing fees of caseworkers and lawyers. Thus a governor who marketed himself as pro-family and an economic conservative ended up squandering $12.4 million of public money on an anti-family operation.
Governor Perry acquiescence in this judicial kidnapping, not to mention his participation in the Guardasil fiasco, makes me very hesitant to support his candidacy for president. Please can we have a better, more thoughtful and truly conservative candidate to oppose Barack Obama in 2012?
May I make a recommendation? Ron Paul is an honest, humble, consistent candidate. He does not receive the press he (or his impressive grassroots campaign) deserves, because his views differ from the establishment in that he is truly a fiscal conservative. He never has to backtrack or fall back on sound bites in debates because he has been speaking his message of liberty and “financial sanity” for 40 years. He has been happily married to one woman for 50 years (not bringing all the baggage that some candidates bring in that department), gives back part of his congressional budget every year, is a gynecologist who has delivered over 4,000 babies in his lifetime, and sounds more like a beloved professor than a politician when he speaks.
If elected, he will bring home the troops. He will go after the debt and its main cause, reckless spending and money printing by the Federal Reserve. As a reader, my nonfiction reading list has filled up with books on economics because of following this man’s campaign.
I submit my candidate for your consideration because I truly believe he is the man for the job and I hope you will at least take time to peruse his website: http://www.ronpaul2012.com/
Humbly (because I don’t think my words do the man justice),
Michelle
P.S. Ron Paul is also a big homeschooling supporter. Just thought I should throw that in.