I still see the two as very similar. (As a disclaimer, I would be more than happy to vote for either Romney or Perry. In fact, I’m please as punch that the nomination will most likely go to one of them.) Also Perry stood by his decision for quite a while. I believe that when the Texas Legislature passed the bill overriding his EO, he let it become law by simply not signing it or vetoing it, and there are some statements out there that he thought that the legislature made a pretty big mistake. It appears that his “owning up to it” is more for political expediency. I really don’t see how Perry can attack Romney on health mandates. Perry didn’t even bother using the representative legislature like Romney did, he tried to do it all on his own.

Having said that, even if his “owning up” is only for political purposes, I think he has learned his lesson in the same way that I actually think Romney might actually try harder than any other candidate to repeal Obamacare. (He doesn’t want to be blamed for it.) Sometimes political expediency is simply the way for our politicians to bend their will to the will of the people

All the parents had to do was opt out by simple affadavit. Every doctor likely has the opt-out forms on file.

Given the number of parents listening to unfounded fears of a link between autism and vaccinations and opting out of standard measles, mumps, rubella, and whooping cough shots, I’d find it hard to believe doctors don’t have this stuff on hand.

Mew

Because it does have a risk, and received severe scoldings from the doctor each time. It sure as hell is a parents rights issue. We are creating a culture where school and health officials are viewed as having greater rights towards children than their parents.

and you are wrong. Oh yes, if parents don’t like it they can homeschool — after the liberal ethos has permeated the culture, denigrating stay-at-home mothers and heralding the mom who brings home the bacon; after our tax laws have dis-incentivized the traditional family with the marriage penalty.

It is most certainly a parental rights issue: the government has decided it knows best about your childrens’ medical well-being, and the only way you can stop its overreach is with an affidavit???

I will not vote for Rick Perry, for this reason and for many others; and I’m appalled that Erick Erickson is so taken with this obvious FAKE.

Agree with me.

Would you be fine with mandatory std testing for kids?

Agreed. Somebody whip out the “blamstick”. I’m bored with “regs” posts.

It’s nice to see so many engaging in thoughtful discussion and not brainless campaigning for your guy.

Check the archived sites. I’ve been around a long time.

who savages the front runners for the republicans. but i have yet to see him say a cross word about obama. and i will echo the comments of several other people and wonder why the ban hammer hasnt landed yet?

If only one opinion is allowed, why do we even have a comment section?
People should simply respond to Reg’s points and leave the personal attacks out.
If people like the idea of state-run health care vaccinating kids they can let everyone know. If they want to leave these sorts of matters up to the individuals, well this is the place to voice their opinion.

As a health professional (surgeon)

If I had a daughter – I’d get her vaccinated for HPV, Hep B and everything else.

At the same time I completely respect your right not to. Everything, even crossing the street, has risk.

The manditory vaccines like pertussis (whooping cough) protect us from contagious, potentially deadly diseases. There is a small segment 2-5% of the population that can not develop adequate immunity from the vaccine. Therefore to protect these individuals it is critical that all get vaccinated….. not so with HPV.

You say these concerns have been addressed elsewhere. So what?
This is an original posting, which attempts to be comprehensive. However, it wasn’t. Not only that, the two greatest concerns we should have as conservatives were not even listed. If someone were to read this and nothing else, he would be ill informed.
Instead of telling me others have asked these same questions somewhere else, tell me the answers. Otherwise, you’re writing simply to see your handle posted, along with your little mantra/diatribe.

Your sole argument against my supposition is the amount of the direct donation given to Perry’s campaign by Merck. I was not my only argument. You did not react to Mike Toomey, Perry’s former chief of staff, being employed as a lobbyist by Merck. You did not react to the timing. You did not respond to the by-passing of the legislature. What was the rush? Why not go through the legislature?
Oh, here’s something I left out earlier: Perry’s chief of staff in 2007 was Deidre Delisi. Her mother, Diane White Delisi, was the state director of Women in Government, an advocacy group. Women in Government received funding from Merck as a part of its lobbying. Also, an executive of Merck sat on Women in Politics business council.
That seems like a lot of connections between the governor and Merck. But maybe that’s just me…

from:
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=20459
excerpt:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) says that it’s just a coincidence that he and eight other lawmakers received donations of $5,000 each from Merck lobbyists

Yeah, that donation alone put him over the top to be a millionare.
In polatics, $5,000 is not that much to risk a political career on, don’t ya think.

Great they’re silly. Brilliant argument.
The CDC recommends via ACIP, but they do not determine which vaccines become mandatory. In the state of Texas, that is the job of the state legislature. Perry’s executive order by-passed the legislative process. Why would he do that? It wasn’t as if it were going to be implemented immediately. Might it be he was hoping it would go through quietly following the election? We don’t have any other explanation because Perry took so much heat he caved in and apologized without any defense of his actions.
The matter of his connections to Merck don’t live or die with the amount of money involved. There were other ties to the Governor’s office than through the campaign. Again ignored are his former chiefs of staff’s ties to Merck, and the influence possibly exerted through them.
Once again, everyone wants to ignore what his actions tell us about his attitudes about the use of government power. We already have a president who tries to rule through executive order. We already have a president who has his favorite corporations.
This is not the only instance of Perry acting favorably towards certain business interests. Government should not favor anyone over another.
If these arguments are so laughable, then ignore them.
BTW I’m not tied to any one candidate right now, but if I were to pick a personal favorite, it would be Thad McCotter. Brilliant, funny, well spoken, conservative.

It is less than 3 individuals are allowed, by law, to contribute to a candidate.

You’re “put up or shut up” offer is invalid, and you avoid, as has everyone, the main point.
You do not set the term of any debate into which I enter. Additionally, it is you who have libeled me with you accusation.

Here are the facts:
1) I HAVE NEVER alleged that Gov. Perry and Merck had an illegal arrangement for the direct purchase of the executive order in exchange for campaign contributions.
2) I HAVE noted that there were legal political contributions made by Merck.
3) I HAVE noted that two of his former chiefs of staff had connections to Merck, one direct and and one indirect.
4) I HAVE noted that Gov. Perry acted in a way inconsistent with prior governors when he by-passed the legislature and signed his executive order.
5) I HAVE noted the the unusual timing of the order’s issuance, immediately following his inauguration to his second full term in office.
6) I HAVE noted the questionable status of his executive order under Texas law and the Texas constitution.
7) I HAVE noted that there were no extenuating circumstances given as a reason for the executive order’s necessity.
I HAVE noted the public’s hostility to the order, once they became aware of it.
9) I DID NOT note that both chambers of the state legislature (both controlled by the Republicans) passed measures condemning Gov. Perry’s order.
10) I HAVE noted that Gov. Perry quickly rescinded his order and apologized, after the public (and legislative) backlash.
11) I HAVE noted that all of Gov. Perry’s public statements concerning his apology had to do with the nature of the order (the vaccine), and not with his legal authority to issue such an order.
12) I HAVE noted that Gov. Perry has never admitted to executive overreach in his issuance of such an order.
13) I HAVE questioned what this set of events (along with others) tells us about Gov. Perry’s attitudes toward executive power.

Now that I have gone through the facts of what I HAVE and HAVE NOT said, you may either tell me where I am materially incorrect or you may offer your apology for your libel against me.
From this point on, I would advise you to add something constructive to the conversation or refrain from entering it.

If you don’t think lobbyists and campaign contributions have any influence over elected officials, I have some unicorn dust for sale.

Companies and interest groups hire lobbyists for a purpose. Campaign contributions are given for a reason. If they were not in some way effective, why would they spend the money? It doesn’t make it illegal, it only makes it questionable.

Bachman goes to #1, the smear machine digs up her RINO warts. Perry takes the lead, and the same thing happens. Rinse. Repeat.

Do you notice who is pushing this and wonder why?

..

a Fuhrer it is Ron Paul. Paul has his own utopian idea of what this country “should” be. He has been rejected time and again, but keeps coming back to promote is ideas. Think about it for a minute. Paul was asked in the latest debate if he could get his plans through the Congress. He really had no answer. He knows darn well that what he is promoting has no more a chance than the man in the moon, they are all empty promises. So, how would Paul get his plans through? Would he just appoint Czars, or sign Executive Orders in order to retool the country into what he wants it to be? How does Paul deliver on his promises other than by mandate or edict?

he again knocks the Democrats and the Republicans as being one and the same. The idiot has been in Washington for more than 20 years, as a REPUBLIAN. He has accomplished absolutely nothing, zip, zero, nada. Why has he been running as a Republican when he is so anti-Republican, and so anti-American?

rather than the constant bashing of the candidate that he doesn’t like. It’s that simple. This is not vetting. There is vetting and then there is vetting. There has been so much posted here at RS about the Gardasil issue that if you want to know about the issue you can 1) do your own research, 2) read the copious amount of information that has been posted here already. The issue has been addressed over and over again, no? The guy said that he is not satisfied with Perry’s explanation, and he is not satisfied with his apology. You don’t have to agree with any of it, but, what goal is there to keeping the issue in the limelight? You accept it, or you don’t, period. He said that he wants the issue out there yet again, because he doesn’t want it to die out. Why? Please explain why the issue has to be discussed ad nauseum here at RS?

It’s not working, but he and a few others a really trying hard.

(and if he does go away, he can stay away for all I care)

Now put your helmet on, climb on the bus, and give the laptop back to the grownup.

I’ve never said I hate Gov Perry. I have voted for him four times in the general elections (once for Lt Gov).
I don’t understand the anger directed at someone for simply asking questions. No, they have not been answered. Instead, I have been belittled for asking them, and my motives impugned.
I’ll leave you alone to wallow in your self-satisfaction. Enjoy.

I must have been hallucinating……..Gee..What was I thinking? Of course no politician would ever do anything out of corruption or influence from big business.

OH! And of course mercury is never a problem. I’ll just go take a swig of it with my cereal.

And, I must be out of my mind to think a person ever has the freedom to refuse a vaccine! I’m just totally off the wall! Of course the government can force us to do anything and everything. I must have forgotten that this is the USSR. Somehow I thought we lived in the USA! SILLY ME!

As always you are TOTALLY RIGHT!