VIDEO: RICK PERRY'S LATEST IMMIGRATION STANCE

It would appear that public pressure coupled with Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer putting Texas Gov. Rick Perry to shame in the arena of political courage has the latter revising his public stance on immigration a bit. During an interview with KVUE News in Austin, Perry pulled back from his initial statement back in early May that a bill similar to SB 1070 in Arizona would not be right for his state. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst took a stance similar to that of Rick Perry at the time as well.

Here are Perry's comments on May 3rd regarding the likelihood of a law similar to the one in Arizona passing in Texas:

I fully recognize and support a state’s right and obligation to protect its citizens, but I have concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas.

Strikes me as an attempt to dissuade or discourage State Representatives and, by extension, constituents from pushing for it.

Now, fast forward to this KVUE News report exactly one month after Perry made the aforementioned comments. The interview, conducted by Martin Bartlett focuses on both the matter of a projected Texas budget shortfall as well as immigration. The whole thing is worth watching but the money quote from Perry is this one:

“I don't ever take the bait of saying I'm going to sign or not sign a piece of legislation before it's even introduced or debated one time on the house floor. We'll have a good healthy debate. I'm more concerned with getting that border secure, then laying out a very comprehensive immigration policy, if that's required, if Washington continues to abrogate the responsibility of immigration policy in this country.”

Something made him calibrate his words differently (yes, that was an obscure Obama reference).



The interview highlights two very real problems in Texas. The first is budget deficits and spending; the second is immigration. I found it particularly interesting that New Jersey's governor Chris Christie is demonstrating exactly how to deal with the first problem - by going after unions and reckless spending. Brewer in Arizona is confronting immigration head-on in much the same way. Ironically, those two governors are separating themselves from the pack. Perry would do well to take their lead.

I'm still in the process of contacting every State Rep. down in Austin to get their take. Be sure to tune in live or download my weekly radio show for further updates. I'm getting interesting responses. Curiously, many sound just like Perry does.

Read the entire KVUE report HERE.