On the Road Again
June 25th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Over the weekend our jet-setting governor left on yet another international trip, this time to Israel to receive a “Friend of Zion” award. Peggy Fikac, of the Express-News, explores why the Gov received the award:
Asked what Perry had done for Israel to merit the honor, Perry spokesman Robert Black said Perry “has always been a friend of Israel” and a leader in homeland defense, border security and economic development.
“The state of Texas, under his leadership, has taken the lead in all those areas. That has not gone unnoticed outside of the cynical press corps in Austin,” Black said.
A company called Global Capital Associates, which helps Israeli start-ups find investors, is paying for the trip and hosting a gala to give Perry the award. This is the 18th year they’ve hosted these “networking galas,” and past awards have gone to all number and variety of political leaders.
What to make of Perry’s itinerary this year? Lately, it seems like he’s made more trips abroad than Condi Rice.
Besides this trip, just since March, he has also appeared at the secretive Bilderberg Conference in Turkey, where he spoke to international leaders about state-federal relations. (This also earned him a spot in an “international conspiracy,” according to GOP presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul.) And he traveled to Dubai to dedicate a new Texas A&M engineering facility, and perhaps while there he helped Halliburton move its headquarters from Houston to the eastern Arabian Peninsula.
Perry says he’s not running for higher office, but his travel plans seem to involve a lot of international networking. Of course, this could also be about business both drumming it up for the state and for himself. Maybe Perry has dreams of becoming a foreign wheeler-dealer when he leaves the mansion.
Yet Perry’s legislative proposals this session had a distinctly higher office flavor, too. He called for and got a bill passed that divested state investments from business working in Sudan. He helped convince lawmakers to take out a $3 billion loan to try to cure cancer. Lately Perry’s been touting an appearance with U.S. Health and Human Secretary Michael Levitt to sign a Medicaid reform bill. He had a little fun playing Texas tough on a late-night national talk show. And way back, he issued his now infamous HPV vaccine mandate, which he later praised for having started a national debate on the issue. Still, it’s difficult to imagine the nation is ready for another Texan anywhere near the White House. A spot in the cabinet would require the election of a new Republican president.
It’s hard to know what plans and machinations are turning in the governor’s mind. Maybe Perry is just bored and wants to get out of town. Or maybe he’s yearning to spend time in the only region on the planet that’s hotter and has more per capita gun ownership than Texas.
