Chron hotshot columnist Rick Casey gives Governor Perry a dunce cap for his three-pronged strategy for fixing school funding, which boils down to higher cigarette taxes, video gambling, and closing a loophole in the corporate franchise tax which allows limited-liability partnerships to not pay it. While Casey is quite right to question the efficacy of Perry's plan, he fails to mention the history behind it. In particular, it was Comptroller Strayhorn who first floated the cigarette tax and the idea of video gambling, both of which were flatly rejected during the regular Legislative session by Perry. In addition, Perry and the Republican-controlled Legislature tried and failed to close the franchise tax loophole back then as well. Thus, what we have here is two of someone else's ideas that Perry once opposed plus something he characterized as a "high priority" and failed to accomplish. Doesn't that just give you a warm and fuzzy feeling?

Anyway, for omitting this relevant background material, I sentence Casey to sit in the corner along with the Governor. Better luck next time.