Texas' no-can-do governor

Cowboy hat By Jim Hightower - Sat., 2/1/03

You’ve got to admit that George W. is smarter than he was given credit for. Granted, that’s not saying much, but still, next to his successor as governor of Texas, W is Mensa material.
Rick Perry is the new governor, and he couldn’t spell “IQ” if you spotted him the “I.” While most incoming governors brim with optimism and talk about getting things done, our Texas leader said that the people shouldn’t expect him to deal with the state’s big problems.
Yes, he said, our state is saddled with an inadequate, regressive tax system that can’t even meet minimal public needs, and yes, our educational system is in crisis. But, he asserted with a deer-in-the-headlights look, he was new on the job, as was the new lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house, so they should get a pass on these tough ones.
“To put these newly elected individuals in and say, ‘We are going to fix something that has been broken or substantially bent for some period of time’ is a bit unreasonable,” Perry whined.
He may be newly elected, but he’s spent his entire professional life in state government. The new Republican speaker of the house has been in the legislature since 1969! If they’re not ready now, when would they be?
We should put these goof-offs on piece rate, like chicken pluckers: If they don’t pluck, they don’t get paid.