Well, Rick Perry has made the news again. Ain't politics fun?

[skeptic]

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/08/15/texas-gov-rick-perry-indicted-for-coercion-for-veto-threat/20947859/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D516226

[JoeBob]

I was all ready to jump in and scream "MEDIA BIAS!"

 

But although the headline is misleading, the article does contain the meat of the issue.

 

"Perry and other high-profile Republicans said Lehmberg should resign after she was arrested and pleaded guilty to drunken driving in April 2013. A video recording made at the jail showed Lehmberg shouting at staffers to call the sheriff, kicking the door of her cell and sticking her tongue out. Her blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit for driving."

 

​A pocket of Liberal Democrats in Austin (who worked for Lehmberg) is suing the Governor for threatening to use his veto to get this drunk to do the honorable thing! Wah!

 

How about a counter-suit of "coercion of a public official"? They sued the Gov for contemplating the use of his mandated powers!

[TAHAWK]

Though the Republican governor now faces two felony indictments, politics dominates the case.

 

Do you think?

[King Ding Dong]

"oops"

[packsaddle]

Yeah, politics. Who would have guessed? I'll say this much for Perry. There's no other governor in the history of this country who has presided over as many executions as he has. Not even close. The guy is really good at it. In Texas the state is going to kill the convicted person. That's a fact.

[JoeBob]

Videos of Lehmberg's arrest:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrxsCH_p1oc

 

I'm glad I wasn't on the road with this woman, the top law enforcement official of Travis County, who now refuses to resign.

 

Anyone want to argue that she should keep her job?

And if Governor Perry should not use his authority to pressure her to resign, who should? Who else can?

[Rick_in_CA]

Anyone want to argue that she should keep her job?

And if Governor Perry should not use his authority to pressure her to resign, who should? Who else can?

 

I think Lehmberg should resign; drunk driving is nothing to sneeze at. And it wasn't as if she was just a hair over the legal limit, she was blotto. Should the governor (and others) put on pressure to get her to do the right thing and resign? Yes. Should he use illegal or unethical means to do so? No.

[NJCubScouter]

In New Jersey about 20 years ago we had a Supreme Court justice who was arrested for drunk driving and also for refusing the Breathalyzer test. He pleaded guilty and I believe there was some minor rumbling that he should resign, but he ended up receiving a "public reprimand." I suspect that the facts that there was really no partisan fighting over it, and that he was only about 3 years from mandatory retirement age, would explain why stronger action was not taken. On the other hand, today it might be different.

 

We also had a local prosecutor who did the same thing, and I think he stuck around for a few months and eventually "retired", but it was a little different because those positions are part-time.

 

As for this case, the right-and-wrong of it are obviously drowned out by politics. This does not necessarily lower my opinion of Rick Perry, but only because that would be close to mathematically impossible. Anyway, our own governor here has been the source of enough drama and political wrangling, I don't need to go looking in other states. And although both of them want to be president, it does not look like either of them is going to be, at least not anytime soon.

[King Ding Dong]

You may be right NJ, but Lehmberg could still President. We know theft, disorderly conduct and a DUI are not disqualifications for the Oval Office, but for local prosecutor.....that's different.

[RememberSchiff]

Regarding Lehmberg, did voters petition for a recall election?

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

Looks like Texas doesn't generally allow recall elections, though there's some push for that now:

 

http://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_recall_in_Texas

 

Recall of local elected officials in Texas is available only in political subdivisions that have their own charter, and only if their charter specifically authorizes recall of the local elected officials. Texas has about 1,200 cities and 352 of those cities have their own charter.

 

 

She survived a hearing that could have removed her.

[RememberSchiff]

Thanks for the information Merlyn. I found no information regarding recall elections in Travis County where she is DA.

[packsaddle]

Alan Dershowitz is outraged over the indictment. This is reported in several locations but seems to have originated in Newmax.

"Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz calls himself a "liberal Democrat who would never vote for Rick Perry," but he's still "outraged" over the Texas governor's indictment Friday on charges of abuse of power and coercion.

 

The charges are politically motivated and an example of a "dangerous" trend of courts being used to affect the ballot box and politics, he told Newsmax on Saturday.

 

"Everybody, liberal or conservative, should stand against this indictment," Dershowitz said. "If you don't like how Rick Perry uses his office, don't vote for him.""

 

'nuff said.

Edit: well not quite....as far as I'm concerned, drunk drivers should be prohibited from operating vehicles of any kind for the rest of their lives. But since there evidently isn't a law against electing stupid people, I guess that if the people want them as representatives or public servants, then the stupid people who want them should get stupid people to work for them.

[JoeBob]

Should the governor (and others) put on pressure to get her to do the right thing and resign? Yes. Should he use illegal or unethical means to do so? No.

 

Two questions:

1- Why do you think that threatening to veto state money from her budget is illegal? Should he not announce his consideration of a veto (ie- 'threaten'), and cut the money without advance notice?

2- What other types of pressure from whom do you think would work? (If Perry has to follow through and veto her budget, this woman, who still clings to her office will be working for free just to retain her power.)

[JoeBob]

“I very clearly, I very publicly, said that as long as that individual is going to be running that agency, I had lost confidence in her, the public had lost confidence in her and I did what every governor has done for decades, which is make a decision on whether or not it was the proper use of state money to go to that agency,†Mr. Perry said Sunday.