Perry talks bipartisanship

I'm looking out my office window and I could swear I don't see any flying pigs, but they must be out there somewhere if Rick Perry is talking about bipartisanship with a straight face.

Bridge-building and bipartisanship were GOP Gov. Rick Perry's watchwords Wednesday as he looked to his agenda after being re-elected with substantially less than half the vote.

Democrats, meanwhile, made gains in the state House.

"Over the next four years, I intend to set a positive tone, to govern with a very inclusive agenda, because Texas is better off when we work together. ... We need less partisanship, we need less cynicism, we need more bridge-building in this state," the governor said.

Uh huh. It might help if you cleaned up the blood from the 2003 redistricting sessions as a first step. Perry has governed with an iron fist from the time that the Republicans took over the State House, and I'll believe he means this when I see it. He can talk all he wants about things like higher education, but unless his idea of reforms comes from the same planet as Democrats', it's as meaningless as phrases like "school finance reform".

State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, who has sharply criticized Perry over education and health care, said Democrats are willing to work with the governor if he is willing to work with them.

"We want to benefit all Texans and not just a select few. I hope he's ready to sit down and have that discussion," Coleman said.

Very simply, if what Perry is saying is anything more than the standard rhetoric of someone who doesn't have quite the mandate he wanted, then all he needs to do is actually do the things he's talking about. Like talking to the Garnet Colemans and seeing what they want, then offering specifics to help do it. Talk is cheap, actions matter. That's all there is to it.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on November 09, 2006 to Election 2006 | TrackBack