Perry TXDoT Appointment Causes GOP Rift

It seemed like only a matter of time before someone called Gov. Rick Perry's decision to make his former chief of staff Deirdre Delisi the new chief of the Texas Transportation Commission (the board that oversees the Texas Department of Transportation) politically motivated. But it's hard to imagine anyone expected the source: Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy. "As of today," the Senate Nomination Committee member said, "I will not vote to confirm her appointment in the next Legislative session."

"It appears that rather than choose someone to head the commission who will reach out to lawmakers and work cooperatively with legislators, the governor instead has chosen a political "yes man" with little or no practical experience involving transportation issues other than carrying out the Governor's myopic vision that relies solely on building more toll roads and selling our highway infrastructure to the highest bidder, usually a foreign owned company."

Maybe the Perry opposition is not so surprising: on his website, Hegar calls blocking Perry's mandatory HPV vaccination plan one of last session's major successes. He added that Delisi might be able to change his mind before the confirmation process begins in January.

Yeah, good luck on that one.