The recent indictment of Texas Governor Rick Perry on two felony
counts in connection with abuse of power …
In the field of psychology, projection is a practice
in which humans defend themselves against unpleasant accusations by
denying their existence in themselves, while attributing them to others.
For example, a person who is ethically challenged may constantly accuse
other people of being ethically challenged regardless they are accused
or not. In fact, when someone perpetually accuses someone else of
something such as overstepping their authority, it is not shocking to
discover the accuser is guilty of inordinate authoritarianism. The repugicans have spent no small amount of time accusing President Obama
of untoward actions as head of the Executive Branch, and yet there is a
plethora of repugicans serving in executive positions facing
investigations for much worse than issuing executive orders; something
within the purview of the Presidency.
The recent indictment of Texas Governor Rick Perry
on two felony counts in connection with abuse of power for using
his veto authority to coerce a publicly elected official into leaving
office is about corruption.
When the veto threat and actual veto failed to work, he may have tried
bribery, which is why he is facing criminal charges; not because of a
veto. Perry claims he was trying to get rid of the head of the Public
Integrity Unit (PIU), Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg,
because she had been arrested for driving under the influence of
alcohol, but the real reason was the PIU was investigating the Cancer
Research and Prevention Institute (CPRIT), a taxpayer-funded $3 billion
dollar project that awarded research and investment grants to startups
targeting cancer cures.
Texas newspapers had reported that much of the money
ended up going to projects proposed by Perry’s campaign donors and
supporters, and in fact “the entire scientific review team, including
Nobel Laureate scientists, resigned because millions of dollars of
taxpayer money was handed out through political favoritism.” In fact,
the PUI had already indicted one CPRIT executive for awarding
$11-million to a company without the proposal undergoing any type of
review, and with Perry in the PUI’s crosshairs, replacing Lehmberg
became paramount. When the veto threats, and veto, failed to work, Perry
offered Lehmberg a “more lucrative job” and reinstate funding for PUI.
That is why Perry was indicted; not because of his veto, but because he
desperately wanted to replace Lehmberg with a “friendly” repugican who
would halt the PUI investigation into misappropriation of funds to
Perry’s donors and supporters.
Corruption in repugican executive offices (state
governorships) is not unique to Rick Perry, and although it was,
frankly, refreshing to see him booked into jail
replete with a mugshot, he is not the first, or last, repugican
governor to run afoul of the law. Although Perry is the first to be
indicted and booked, there are serious investigations into two other repugican governors, a third is in the midst of a trial, and two others
should be under investigation as well if they did not enjoy the
protection of repugican legislatures and a cabal that stands behind
ethically-challenged governors; all the while filing a lawsuit against
President Obama and threatening impeachment for issuing executive
orders.
If repugicans were concerned about overstepping
their authority, they would demand the resignation of Wisconsin repugican Scott Walker who has been under an investigation
for some time. Prosecutors say during Walker’s 2012 recall campaign,
unsealed documents show he played a central role in a “criminal scheme”
to illegally coordinate with outside groups and they have emails from Walker to Karl Rove explaining how the coordination between his campaign and special interest groups would work.
The situation, although different, is no less damning in New Jersey where investigators are closing in on Governor Chris Christie. Reports are that investigators already have several of Christie’s top aides “dead to rights” and are unwilling to offer deals to the governor’s aides in exchange for lesser sentences; it is not a good sign for Christie.
Former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell and his wife are in the midst
of a trial for receiving gifts in exchange for political favors.
According to court testimony, within six minutes of emailing a wealthy
businessman about a $50,000 loan, McDonnell sent a note to a staffer
asking to discuss state university studies about the man’s new
tobacco-related dietary supplement. The staffer testified he was unaware
of the loan negotiations between McDonnell and the chief executive of
the supplement company, but he was concerned about acting on the
governor’s email. It is not a good sign for McDonnell that a staffer was
concerned about the “special treatment” for a private business
enterprise’s benefit; not a good sign for McDonnell.
If there was any justice, Florida repugican
Governor Rick Scott would be indicted for pushing a drug testing
requirement for welfare recipients because he founded the company doing
the drug testing and stood to profit handsomely. However, conflict of
interest in the governor’s office is apparently legal in Florida;
particularly since Scott transferred the company into his wife’s name to
avoid any “appearance” of impropriety.
Another repugican governor that should be
thoroughly investigated is Louisiana repugican Bobby Jindal. He has
been transferring public school funding to private religious schools
with impunity and assistance from the repugican legislature. This is
despite it is unconstitutional to use taxpayer money to fund religious
instruction but there is that special and unspoken statute in America
that religion is sacred and untouchable; something Jindal is well-aware
of.
The repugicans have spent an inordinate amount of time
accusing and criticizing President Obama for all manner of imagined
ethical and constitutional violations, but it is all projection of their
own tendency toward corruption. The repugican cabal are avid defenders
of the repugican governors being investigated, and they stood in
defense of repugican war criminal the shrub’s junta when
he lied to take the country to war and outed an active CIA agent. But
they want to sue and impeach Democratic President Barack Obama for
issuing executive orders; particularly one they wanted.
If it were just repugican Governor Rick Perry
facing legal troubles, it might be an aberration. However, there appears
to be a well-established pattern of repugican governors’ corruption
that either financially benefits themselves or their donors and
supporters. Perry should not be indicted for a veto any more than
President Obama should be taken to court or impeached over issuing
executive orders. However, there is a monumental difference between repugican corruption, conflict of interest, bribery, blackmail,
misappropriation of funds, and violating campaign finance rules and a
President issuing executive actions. But when the President is Barack
Obama and a Democrat, repugicans simply defend their violations by
projecting their corruption on the Black man in the White House.
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