I call bullshit on the left-wing press
Aug. 5th, 2011 01:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsAn article sailing through the lefty bloggerverse this morning is a profile on Rick Perry that basically says that his claims about job growth and education in Texas are chimeras, and any news agency doing its job (i.e. John Stewart & Stephen Colbert) will be able to ferret out a dozen millstones that ought to sink any attempt by Perry to vault into the Presidential race.
One millstone in Perry's behavior in the Cameron Willingham death-penalty case. It was widely reported that Perry's attitude toward Willingham was dismissive and cavalier, and that he had no responsibility to look any deeper than the initial guilty verdict. (Follow this logic and a governor ought not to have pardon powers; he will use it only for cronyism.) What is factually known is that, when questions were raised about the rush to judgement that ultimately put Willingham to death, Perry convened a panel to investigate whether or not he had been innocent. A preliminary report emerged that yes, Perry may well have signed the death warrant on a man for whom not only was there reasonable doubt, but Willingham may well have been completely innocent of the crime. Perry then tried to silence the panel by firing all its members and suppressing the report.
Okay, Perry's attempt to suppress the embarassing fact that he signed the death warrant for an innocent man is ugly. It's a failure of character and leadership.
But today, the lefty bloggerverse is atwitter with this quote:
Men acknowledge that testosterone makes them act bravely. It does this, often, by making them act stupid. For all I know, the quote is a reflection that Perry thinks with this dick, not his head or his heart. Until the intent of the quote is clarified, I for one don't believe it says what Kos, Politico, and the rest want it to say.
One millstone in Perry's behavior in the Cameron Willingham death-penalty case. It was widely reported that Perry's attitude toward Willingham was dismissive and cavalier, and that he had no responsibility to look any deeper than the initial guilty verdict. (Follow this logic and a governor ought not to have pardon powers; he will use it only for cronyism.) What is factually known is that, when questions were raised about the rush to judgement that ultimately put Willingham to death, Perry convened a panel to investigate whether or not he had been innocent. A preliminary report emerged that yes, Perry may well have signed the death warrant on a man for whom not only was there reasonable doubt, but Willingham may well have been completely innocent of the crime. Perry then tried to silence the panel by firing all its members and suppressing the report.
Okay, Perry's attempt to suppress the embarassing fact that he signed the death warrant for an innocent man is ugly. It's a failure of character and leadership.
But today, the lefty bloggerverse is atwitter with this quote:
Multiple former Hutchison advisers recalled asking a focus group about the charge that Perry may have presided over the execution of an innocent man - Cameron Todd Willingham - and got this response from a primary voter: "It takes balls to execute an innocent man."Here's what I find bullshit about this incident. It doesn't say if the man voted for Perry. It doesn't say if the voter approved of Perry's actions.
Men acknowledge that testosterone makes them act bravely. It does this, often, by making them act stupid. For all I know, the quote is a reflection that Perry thinks with this dick, not his head or his heart. Until the intent of the quote is clarified, I for one don't believe it says what Kos, Politico, and the rest want it to say.
