White, Mattox Back HPV Vaccine, But Former AG Says Perry Lacked Authority For Order
By Vince Leibowitz on Feb 9, 2007 in 80th Legislature
Stick a fork in it and call it done: Jim Mattox has spoken.
Former Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox and former Texas Governor Mark White have come down on the side of Perry’s HPV vaccine executive order.
But, Mattox did say Perry actually lacked the authority to issue the order:
But Mattox, attorney general from 1983-91, said Perry lacked the authority to bypass the Legislature in ordering the vaccinations, a decision that sparked a firestorm from many of the Republican governor’s conservative supporters and even from some moderate lawmakers.
If Jim Mattox says it is so, it probably is so. White, who is also a former AG, didn’t comment on the legality but does concur that it is proper for legislators to seek an opinion from the AG on the legality of the order.
If the General said it, then it is as if Moses brought it down from the mountain. Even folks who didn’t like Mattox–some police agencies–said that at least they knew exactly where they stood with him.
Wow. What a difference he made and the end of his political career made. Had he become governor or had Gov. Richards appointed him to the Senate rather than Bob Kruger–a good guy, just not a state wide electable kind of guy–there might have been less steam in the Republicans stride. Or Karl Rove would have had to go after Mattox in Rove’s march to Washington over every Democratic state wide office holder.
Made me happy to see the General’s name in print on some serious constitutional issues. Gov. Perry thinks he can issue executive orders along the lines of a single executive model.
But the General says now hold on here.
I was happy to see Mattox’s name in print too. At the convention last summer, he was actually a delegate and was the one to announce results from his home senate district in one of the floor votes. I looked up at the jumbotron and was stunned to see none other than Jim Mattox.
Oh! If Ann Richards had appointed him to the Senate, there is no way KBH would have won. And, he’d probably be in line to be President Edwards’ (or Clinton’s or Obama’s or whomever’s) Attorney General.
Imagine…Mattox as USAG. Oh, but we can dream, I guess. I hope he runs again one day.