Texas TSA legislation returns as brave Rep calls out Perry for neglecting bill

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: TSA, Rick Perry, health news

(NaturalNews) Despite countless pages of rhetoric about "defending the Constitution and demonstrating the harm caused by excesses in Washington" in his new book Fed Up, Texas Gov. Rick Perry had all but abandoned his seeming interest in supporting a bill to restrict the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from conducting invasive pat-downs and other acts of illegitimate molestation at Texas airports. However, a recent letter from the bill's author, Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview), has convinced the reluctant Perry to add House Bill 41 (HB 41) to the call for special session in the state Senate after all.

Perry had promised not long ago to add the anti-groping bill to the special session, but later claimed there was not enough time and not enough support to make that a reality. However, after being confronted by a man at the recent Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans who challenged this cop-out excuse -- and after receiving Rep. Simpson's plea letter -- Perry has now changed his mind and agreed to add the bill to the special session.

"They don't have the votes on either side," Perry is quoted as saying in response to Wesley Strackbein, the man at the conference, in the Houston Chronicle. "That's what I told them. I said, 'Bring me in a multitude in votes.'" These odd statements came after the Texas house unanimously passed the bill in a 138-0 vote, and they stand in direct opposition to the overwhelming, widespread support among Texas voters for the bill.

Strackbein allegedly remained polite, but expressed concerted disappointment in Perry's response. "This is a flimsy excuse, as the bills considered in the special session and the length of the session itself are the sole prerogative of Perry to determine," Strackbein told reporters later. "His comment, in effect, was: 'I'm powerless to do what I've been empowered to do.'"

Perry's lame excuse has been considered by some to be evidence that he has been attempting to quietly derail and kill the bill all along, despite paying lip-service to it initially. Both Perry and Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who also seemed to express initial support for the bill, have been accused of trying to secretly sabotage it. They are now, however, having their feet held to the fire as Texans continue to push for its passage.

Sources for this story include:

http://davidsimpson.com/

http://www.infowars.com/ex-cia-spook-dewhurs...

http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2011/06/...