A decade ago Rick Perry visited a Houston hospital to promote his tort reform bill that would limit medical malpractice awards to $250,000. I had a chance to wear a white coat, put on a badge, wear a stethoscope, smoke a pipe and stand behind Perry during his event.
Perry's bill required a change to the Texas Constitution to limit medical malpractice awards by juries. It eventually passed by a very slim 51% and has resulted in little if any success. Sure medical malpractice lawsuits are down but that should be expected. Suing a doctor and/or a hospital is an expensive risk with little or no gain for those who are injured.
Perry claimed doctors would flood the state to practice in an environment free of the threat of lawsuit abuse. That didn't happen. Perry also claimed his legislation would reduce the cost of health insurance. That didn't happen either. The only thing Perry ushered into this state was making it easier to get away with medical malpractice.
Unfortunately I didn't think about dressing up like a doctor quick enough to actually do it. I guess I had too much respect for doctors to put on a simple white lab coat and a name tag greeting other doctors with a nod of the head and a "Doctor" while I chewed on a pipe. But I did stand on the front row shaking hands with Perry as he stepped onto the podium. I could have been behind him with a snarky smile or making faces for the camera or something more juvenile. :)
But, instead I listened to his incredible amount of bull on the wonderful benefits the bill could bring if passed. I was on the front row with my little note pad as he finished then asked a couple of times "Why are you not telling the entire story?". Perry said I should go to the press room, thinking I was with the press. I asked again as he turned away from me. He seemed agitated when I yelled "Don't turn your back on me!".
Perry whipped around, put a finger in my face, and talked over me with "go to the press room!","Go to the press room!". I was shortly ushered back to the press room then ushered outside once they realized I was not press.
The entire event overshadowed his time on the podium. He got nothing from his press conference but I got a story out of it.