Apparently Democratic State Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso doesn’t have any “pro-business” ideas of his own, so he decided to steal someone else’s, and took their words to boot. What makes this case of probably political plagiarism so funny is who he cribbed: Republican Governor Rick Perry.
In his fall 2009 newsletter to constituents (a taxpayer-funded mail piece), Mr. Moody “wrote” in a section titled “Continuing Texas’ Pro-Business And Pro-Job Economy”:
Legislator’s [sic] re-affirmed Texas’ emphasis on investing in job creation with continued funding for the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. Also passed was a new proposal with an updated incentive package for the film and moving image industry. In addition, the 81st Legislature fought off attempts to raise taxes, loosen restrictions on frivolous lawsuits and increase the regulatory burden borne by Texas employers. Texas ends this legislative session poised to remain the national leader in job creation.
Now here’s what Gov. Perry said in a speech (2-minute mark in the video) at the end of the legislative session. The text of which was up immediately after the speech:
Legislators also affirmed my emphasis on investing in job creation, with continued funding for the Texas Enterprise Fund, the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, and an updated incentive package for the moving image industry.
In addition, we fought off attempts to raise taxes, loosen restrictions on frivolous lawsuits and increase the regulatory burden borne by Texas employers.
(What little re-write Moody did to the governor’s quote actually introduced a punctuation error.)
Conservatives might not like the Enterprise Fund and subsidies to Hollywood (Empower Texans and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has often spoken against both), but it’s funny to see a Democrat so blatantly taking the words of the governor and applying them without attribution.
Indeed, the young lawyer went to some lengths to make the words appear to be his own. If he had merely been reporting the governor’s words, he could have written, “As the governor said in June…”
But, no, the lazy lawmaker just counted on folks back home not knowing what he had — and had not — been doing in Austin.
One thing he clearly didn’t do was vote in the taxpayers’ interests.
Moody brags about fighting off “attempts to raise taxes” without noting that the small business tax he brags about passing provided for only temporary tax relief for small businesses.
(Mr. Moody failed the Fiscal Responsibility Index.)
Moody’s Democratic colleague, Ways & Means Chairman Rene Oliveira, blocked attempts to provide permanent small-business tax relief. Instead, he pushed the temporary relief.
Could the reason Joe Moody had to crib a “pro-business” section of his newsletter be because he really isn’t?
