Texas Docs: Turn Your Head, Cough and...Vote for Rick Perry

Hutchison Touts Doc's Support, Too

By OMAR VILLAFRANCA

Updated 7:45 AM CST, Tue, Nov 3, 2009

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Rick Perry's campaign hopes you follow your doctors advice and vote to re-elect him.

On Monday, the Texas Medical Association's political wing, TEXPAC, announced the group will support Governor Perry's campaign.

"We thank Governor Perry for his leadership and look forward to continuing to work with him shoulder to shoulder to improve the health of all Texans,” said William H. Fleming III, MD in a press release. Dr. Fleming III is the TMA's president.

In the release, Dr. Fleming cited Perry's support of medical tort reform as a major reason the TMA's 43,000 members would back Perry.

But Perry's main rival in the GOP gubernatorial primary, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, tried to steal some of Perry's thunder with an endorsement from a coalition of "Physicians for Kay" on the same day the TMA endorsement was announced.

In a release, the Hutchison campaign touted a Dallas doctor, Dr. Craig Callewart, MD as the statewide chair of the " "Physicians for Kay" coalition. The release also said that Dr.Callewart is a member of the TEXPAC board of directors. Records show that Dr. Callewart has given at least $2,000 to the TMA's political action committee, which endorsed Rick Perry.

"As a TEXPAC Board member who was present at the endorsement meeting, I can attest to the broad support that Kay Bailey Hutchison enjoys within TMA and with physicians across Texas." Dr. Callewart was quoted as saying in a press release by Hutchison's campaign.

Dr. Callewart's statement said one of the main reasons for the coalitions support was that Senator Hutchison has been "pushing for conservative reform in the health care system." No specific examples were quoted in the release.

Hutchison's "Physicians for Kay" coalition also listed several co-chairs, including current and formers members and a president of the TMA.