Texans are suffering the worst fires in Texas history.  Did you know that Governor Rick Perry slashed the state firefighting budget by 75%?

Earlier in 2011 Perry said he was planning on slashing funding for the volunteer fire department from $30 million down to $7 million!  Back in May, Forest Service Director Tom Boggus told Reuters that volunteer programs were the number one defense against wild fires.  Despite this, the Texas Forest Service is expected to see $34 million in cuts over the next two years, no thanks to Rick Perry.

Rick Perry recently tried to blame Obama for lack of funding for Texas firefighters: “It is not only the obligation of the federal government, but its responsibility under law to help its citizens in times of emergency.”

Perry’s cronies say their cuts are necessary to save money: “We understand the difficulty they have had in dealing with almost unprecedented numbers of fires this year. We also understand that in order to balance the budget, everybody needs to endure some reductions.”-Talmadge Heflin, Center for Fiscal Policy/Texas Public Policy Foundation

But get this, the ‘savings’ in cuts to Texas firefighting services have been totally negated by the cost of this year’s ongoing fires.   So far damages are estimated to be $5 billion, and counting!

And yet the historic fires of Texas aren’t enough to stop ‘christian’ Rick Perry from campaigning for President of the United States!