Wendy Davis delivered a damning speech on Thursday at the University of Houston in which she charged Greg Abbott with greed, crony capitalism, his and Austin's culture of corruption. Davis did not mince words. Most of us have heard about various cases of Rick Perry's and Greg Abbott's shoddy underhanded dealings but when Wendy exposed all of them at the same time, it became glaringly clear that Austin is infested by a revolving door of sleaze and creeping corruption. Politicians are using taxpayer funds to enrich their crony donors who, of course, give back generously to them. We the wee ones are not only left out of the process, thanks to a lack of oversight and transparency, but we also get stuck paying the price in more ways than one.
Wendy Davis's speech is driven by the recent state audit of the Texas Enterprise Fund that revealed hundreds of millions of dollars were given to firms and universities that did not even submit grant proposals. Greg Abbott worked tirelessly to keep the use of these funds hidden from public view. In fact he even tried to cover up how the funds were being used. And to put a cherry on top of this lovely sleaze sundae Greg Abbott received $1.4 million from some of the TEF's recipients.
One reason Rick Perry and Greg Abbott promote small government is because there are not enough cops on the beat to keep up with crooks like them who can easily rob the cookie jar of every last crumb. Next time we hear a politician extol the virtues of small government we should remember that this is coded language that means taxpayers are going to be robbed blind while fat cats get richer. It's the Republican way, after all.
This latest scandal surrounding the TEF reminds us of CPRIT, the state's taxpayer funded Cancer Research Institute. In this situation the unethical behavior was so blatant and criminal that Nobel Laureates and highly respected scientists quit their jobs there. And once again Greg Abbott had turned a blind eye to the pillaging and looting of CPRIT's funds. A familiar pattern by now, the top administrator had awarded grants to institutions without oversight or proper review.
One cannot help but wonder what Rick Perry and Greg Abbott are doing or have done to other taxpayer funded pots of money. A full blown audit of every budget is long overdue.
Meanwhile please join us on the Wendy Davis campaign trail. See how hard we are working to elect a much needed breath of fresh air to the Governor's mansion. Texas voters should have had enough by now and we refuse to take the sleaze, the greed and the corruption anymore.
Breaking. 9:06 p.m. October 3. The Houston Chronicle endorses Leticia Van de Putte as Lt. Governor.
The differences between the candidates this year could hardly be more stark. State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, the Democratic candidate, is not only knowledgeable and experienced but also congenial and easy to work with. Her Republican opponent, state Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, is divisive, disruptive and self-aggrandizing.Snip.
Van de Putte, a moderate Democrat of Mexican descent, is a mother, grandmother and small-businesswoman. She was elected to the Texas House in 1990 and the Senate in 1999. The exact opposite of Patrick, the 59-year-old lawmaker has earned the respect of her colleagues in the majority-Republican Senate. They know she'll work with them.Oh come on Texas. Who on earth doesn't love Leticia?
Meanwhile, check out what we have been doing on my turf in Houston this week.