When all other political ploys fail … call the Texas Rangers

Were Gov. Goodhair Rick Perry to do the limbo — an absurdity certainly because his hair would get tripped up in de limbo stick — he certainly would have a good answer to the limbo question: How low can you go? If you are Rick Perry, you can go pretty damned low.

Perry has employed the iconic law enforcement agency, the Texas Rangers, to fight a somewhat dubious war on the border with alleged drug cartels. The specifics are few, “operational security,” says the state’s public safety director, according to a very illuminating Associated Press story. Plus, the Rangers don’t want to brag. What the hell is this? Andy Griffith? No, I imagine good ol’ Andy would be more forthcoming than the Texas Department of Public Safety, under the political control during the political silly season of the silliest goober of them all, Rick Perry.

The Rangers are a part of the DPS. They are seasoned officers who served in various duties ranging from the highway patrol to intelligence to narcotics. I have encountered the DPS in many situations over the years. These encounters were as a fellow public servant, as a reporter, as a bystander and yes, as a traffic offender. I can say that all-in-all, the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers I have known have with a few exceptions been the most professional law enforcement officers I have ever known or ever hope to know. Yes, there are some bad eggs. But I’ve seen many more good ones.

As for open government, the majority of state troopers I knew would tell you as a reporter, right there on the scene of an accident, what he knew from whether an accident victim had life-threatening injuries to which car’s driver “over-corrected” before striking the oncoming automobile. That is not to mention, which the trooper would, whether the victim wore a seat belt or if alcohol was suspected.

That is why I am so very disappointed at the state’s DPS director allowing Perry to, once again, use the department’s personnel to make Goodhair into an even bigger cartoon doofus than he actually is. The Capitol Police and governor’s security detail are also DPS. The whole “Rick shooting a coyote” deal is just total bulls**t. The DPS director, former FBI official Steve McCraw, to his credit did spend several years in his early career as a Texas State Trooper. Maybe he will come to his senses and remember those days, back when the welfare of Texans was more important than serving the political jackass who hired him.