“It’s kind of bullshit that Rick Perry is backing off of the HPV thing,” says Debra Medina.
The “HPV thing” is Perry’s executive order, as governor of Texas in 2007, to mandate an anti-cervical-cancer vaccine named Gardasil for girls between 10 and 12. The issue arose in the presidential debate on Monday after Wolf Blitzer brought it up and two of Perry’s rivals pounced. Rick Santorum accused Perry of “having little girls inoculated at the force and compulsion of the government.” Michele Bachmann, with her usual flair, added that “to have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat out wrong.” When the debate was over, Ron Paul took a swing, too.
Perry tried something new: unrepentant humility. “If I had it to do over again, I would have done it differently,” he said. “I would have gone to the legislature, worked with them. But what was driving me was, obviously, making a difference about young people’s lives.”
All of this was old news to Medina. In 2010, she challenged Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Republican primary for governor. She’d never won office before, but it was a good year to be a first-time citizen politician waving the Gadsden flag: She surged so high, so fast, that Perry was almost forced into a runoff. One of the issues she pounded him was Gardasil. Hutchison joined in. Perry beat them, but he was on safer turf than he is now.
“What’s interesting about this whole drama,” she says, back at work at her medical billing company, “is that even through the gubernatorial campaign, he maintained it was the right decision and he’d do it again. Now, all of a sudden, he becomes a presidential candidate, and says once the legislature passed bill contradicting him, he heeded their advice.” She laughs ruefully. “He didn’t veto the bill, but he continued to maintain publicly that the executive order was the right thing to do, he wanted to protect these girls.”
AdvertisementHow did this become a problem for Perry? Not too long ago, the only people complaining loudly about this were the sort of people who thought he was building a superhighway to Mexico, or reupping his membership in the Bilderberg Group. Perry welcomed their outrage as just another example of what happens to strong leaders like Rick Perry.
“We instigated, with HPV, a national debate, and I think appropriately,” Perry told Evan Smith in a 2007 interview. “As a matter of fact, the more I know about this disease, the more I know that we are absolutely, unequivocally correct. I don’t think anyone had any idea that it was as widespread or as costly. I tell my Republican friends, ‘If you want to focus on the good old fiscal side of it, we spend $350 million per biennium on this disease with cancer treatments and hysterectomies and the cost to the state.’ ”
The 2007 interview gives us a Perry who’s punchy, annoyed, not sure why this is such a controversy. The people who doubt his strategy are “Monday morning quarterbacking.” He’s basically saying the same thing now, betting that he can get past this issue by admitting a tiny misjudgment, then putting sandbags up and waiting for the fury to burn itself out.
Let’s see….
Perry’s executive order was signed in Feb of 2007.
The order would become effective in 2008.
BUT……
In May of 2007 it was overturned by the Texas House by a vote of 119-21.
It never took effect.
No vaccinations under that order ever occurred.
Perry has called his way of going about getting vaccinations underway a mistake that he would not repeat.
What else can he say or do?
He doesn’t have a time machine.
What’s this? A reference taken from a filthy, liberal rag?
When Debra Medina threw her hat in the gubernatorial race ring, there was a lot of excitement about her. One of her platform issues was abolishing all property taxes on homes, which is the major source of funding for Texas schools. While that sounded good, she had no alternative to school funding. She was doing pretty well, going to a few local TEA Party gatherings (not invited, just showing up and working the crowd), and then she went on the Alex Jones show.
Her campaign manager told her that being on Jones’ show gave her a hickey, but she could overcome it and should just let it die down. Not Debra, she went on Jones’ show again. Now, for those who don’t know Alex Jones, he is a 9-11 truther who believes that FDR helped plan the bombing of Pearl Harbor to force the U.S. into WWII.
Medina, during her campaign, claimed she was the TEA Party candidate and that she had the support of certain TEA Party groups. The Austin Tea Party, the Woodlands TEA Party and the San Antonio TEA Party came out with statements that they were not backing any candidate, and that they most certainly were not backing Media. Medina had crossed the bridge too far. Her poll numbers started cratering as people did not want to hear her 9-11 truther mantra.
Now Medina holds meetings at her home every month where no conspiracy theory is left unturned. Agenda 21, 9-11 Truther stuff, LBJ had JFK assassinated, Bilderberger/One World Order, etc. She backs Ron Paul and actively campaigns for him and claims a close relationship with Judge Andrew Napalitano, although there is no proof of that, but she is now good friends with Alex Jones.
Why any website that has a conservative bend would reference a Slate article is beyond me. Slate is also the website that tried to make the claim that Rick Perry supports Sha’ria law in Texas. Other bloggers (some of them radical) jumped on the story from a website they would never count as credible on anything else but Islamic experts like Danial Pipes, the Center for Security Policy and the pro-Israel, Jewish centric Commentary Magazine all came out dismissing the story by Slate.
Perry has admitted that issuing an EO was a mistake and said he should have left it up to the legislature, as other states have done. To see what other states have done pertaining to Gardasil:
http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14381
This story is a non-starter. A hubbub started by Michelle Bachmann, who has never answered why she never tried to block the mandatory vaccination for Hepititus B required by her own state, and research of her time, and legislation, while in the state house shows no effort on Bachmann’s part to overturn that ruling. HPV not only can cause cervical cancer, it is a primary cause of genital warts, a problem that has become almost epidemic in young adults.
Shall we stop vaccinating our children again lock jaw, another disease that is not communicable? Or polio? Not all vaccinations deal with diseases that are contracted like mumps and measels.
Still waiting to hear Perry’s position on 2nd amendment. In all the static over this exercise in executive fiat, I suppose we’re going to have to wait. May be it will be brought up at the next debate… Not likely.
@coldeadhands:
know this is not the topic here but Perry has had plenty to say about the 2nd amendment.
ON THE ISSUES . ORG has this:
Also see Top Romney Flip Flops: #3. Gun Control – http://www.ontheissues.org/2012/Mitt_Romney_Gun_Control.htm
http://www.ontheissues.org/Michele_Bachmann.htm
Herman Cain on Gun Control – http://www.ontheissues.org/2012/Herman_Cain_Gun_Control.htm
Obama:
Opposed bill okaying illegal gun use by home owner in home invasions (Obama lost)
Obama endorsed Illinois handgun ban
Obama: “…they get bitter……They cling to guns or religion….”
Obama supports the D.C. handgun ban
2000: cosponsored bill to limit purchases to 1 gun per month
Obama: “I am consistently on record and will continue to be on record as opposing concealed carry.”
Concealed carry OK for retired police officers
Voted NO on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers.
@Nan G:
Thanks very much for the good links
@coldeadhands:
Governor Perry packs where ever he goes. When asked by a reporter in Iowa if he was packing then, Perry responded “That’s why they call it a “concealed” carry permit, isn’t it?”
@retire05:
Although I can’t buy one in CA, I have seen the official Perry handgun and it is a sweetie!
It actually says, “A True Texan,” on the barrel.
A Rugar ”Coyote Special.”
You can see one here.
http://www.houston-imports.com/forums/showthread.php?t=577259
Seems more a ladies gun than one for a big guy, but then it is his concealed weapon.
HPV is an EPIDEMIC…… I wish SOMEONE would do something about it!! My niece “got it” from her Boyfriend…. swell. Treatments are NOT fun… and it is INCURABLE, once you get it, you’ve GOT IT FOR LIFE…..
As to “Perry’s carry gun”…. I’ve packed a 1911, my 6 inch 357.. a CZ 75…. and the idea of a SMALL LIGHT gun is a GOOD ONE!! Easier to hide… less weight to lug about… etc etc… especially in the SUMMER!!! Winter.. not so much….