Perry Pulls A Strayhorn. ‘So Friggin’ Big??’

Excuse me while I throw up in my mouth a little:

Gov. Rick Perry, who is seeking re-election, predicted that the Texas Legislature will soon be sitting on its largest budget surplus ever, and he said he would like to use some of that money to cut state business taxes before they take effect.

When you can’t get the Comptroller to give you an election year surplus (a la Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who did this when Bush was running for President), you can just make one up on your own.

Oh, and get this:

During a campaign swing through deep East Texas, Perry said a booming Texas economy has caused the state Treasury to swell from growing sales tax collections, permit fees and other sources of revenue. He predicted the surplus would exceed $8 billion, taking much of the pain out of the appropriations process and making a business tax cut possible. Some Capitol insiders suggest the surplus could top $15 billion.

“Our budget surplus is going to be so friggin’ big,” Perry said. “So why not lower the [business] tax rate down to three-fourths of a cent, or a half-cent? . . . I’m all for that.” [Emphasis mine]

I can’t even begin to tell you everything that’s wrong with the previous two paragraphs. First, we’ll go with the “So friggin’ Big!!!!” remark. Honestly, this is just cheap and tacky. It’s like he’s trying to be Kinky Friedman and appeal to Generation X at the same time. “Dude, like, it’s so friggin’ big!!”

If you haven’t thrown up all over your desk yet, what about that remark about the economy? It’s booming? Really? Where? In Paint Creek? Did the feed store down there hire another employee or something?

The only thing that’s swelling here are Perry’s head and ego.

This is so an election year stunt. I’d love to actually see some spreadsheets that support that $8 billion surplus.