The nonpartisan watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), selected Rick Perry as one of the nation’s worst governors and further refer to him as one of “the nation’s most incompetent and unethical governors.” of the eleven governors meeting the criteria for “one of the worst governors,” nine are republican and two are democrats. A link of the CREW report report is located at the bottom of page.

Currently, Perry is running second to Mitt Romney in the polls.  This calls into question the criteria voters evaluate when seeking a presidential candidate.  If they’re looking for integrity, nonpartisanship and a commitment to the public good, then certainly Rick Perry, would not meet that criteria. As  moderate democrats, we’ve come to the conclusion that republicans simply follow the party line, have instituted a loyalty oath to never speak negatively or have disagreements within the party, and finally, vote against their own convictions.

Crew utilizes the following criteria to evaluate governors:

Corruption: Has there been outright corruption? We also considered whether a governor violated state ethics rules or campaign finance laws and whether he used his position to influence the award of state contracts.

Transparency: Did a governor block access to records that state law deems discoverable? Similarly, did the governor oppose legislation to make public records more accessible?

Pressuring public officials: Has a governor attempted to pressure or intimidate other state officials to act contrary to the public good?

Partisan politics: Several governors appear to put partisan politics above the interests of the citizens of his or her state. Did the governor attempt to score political points by turning down federal funds that would benefit a state’s residents?

Pressuring public officials: Has a governor attempted to pressure or intimidate other state officials to act contrary to the public good?

Cronyism: Did a governor abused his position to reward family or friends with state employment or other benefits?

Self-enrichment: did a governor use his position for his personal financial enrichment?

Scandal: a governor involved in a personal scandal that clearly distracted from his ability to govern effectively?

CREWReport2010 The report on Rick Perry-His information begins on page 21