As a follow up to the Rep. Leo Berman and Rick Perry hostage situation, Berman seems tempted to let our governor go. The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Berman is considering dropping his bid for governor, as he’s received assurances that Perry will give in to his demands. The story states:
In the huddle, Berman proposed to drop his gubernatorial bid if Perry would embrace four items, including two possible ways to deter illegal immigration and two legal strategies for protecting states’ rights.
“The follow up tells me that he’s very interested,” Berman said.
Not surprising. Perry can’t afford to be outflanked by Berman. What is surprising is how this is all playing out in the public and the press. Isn’t this the kind of deal that should be classified as “back room?”
Perhaps not. It’s entirely possible that Perry asked Berman to publicly call him out, wait two weeks, and then agree to the conditions, thus solidifying Perry’s immigration credentials. Or so the production is supposed to play out. Think it’s a stretch? Well, it might be. But is it more of a stretch than Berman seriously running for governor? I don’t think so. In fact, he’s even said as much:
Berman, who once served on the Arlington city council, said he has no great yearning to run against Perry, whom he called a friend and like-minded conservative.
“When I announced that I was going to run for governor, it was mainly to deal with that illegal alien issue,” he said. “And if I can get it dealt with by him accepting it as governor of Texas and doing it, I’m very happy with that.”
“I didn’t ask him to do a heck of a lot,” Berman added.
This whole thing is a bit silly. Berman was going to be a Perry supporter from the start–after all, he said they’re like-minded and that he didn’t want to run against him. Who’s he kidding? Probably no one, since the Texas Lyceum poll shows few are even paying attention yet.
A Texan For Texas 