The Surprisingly Long Career of Rick Perry

Who would have bought Rick Perry stock back in 1985? He was a brand new member of the Texas House, a rural Democrat with no notable post-collegiate success on his résumé, an Aggie, a former Air Force pilot, a good ol’ boy in a Legislature full of good ol’ boys. He outdid everybody in the room. The 1985 Legislature had two future Harris County judges in Republicans Robert Eckels and Ed Emmett. Two future members of Congress — Republican Sam Johnson of Plano and Democratic Chet Edwards of Waco — roamed the halls. Lena Guerrero, D-Austin, was appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission, but her political future came apart in a résumé scam — she lied about earning a college degree — when she lost an election for a full term in that seat. Dan Morales, D-San Antonio, became a two-term Texas attorney general only to end up in a federal penitentiary for lying on his federal tax returns after a long investigation of his conduct in tobacco litigation while he was AG.

 

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