Observers question impeachment talk

AUSTIN, Texas, July 2 (UPI) -- There's talk in Texas of impeaching Gov. Rick Perry but political observers say it's more likely to stir partisan bickering than lead to his removal.

A small group of Democratic legislators have circulated a memo on the legal requirements for impeachment of the Republican governor, the San Antonio Express-News reported Friday.

The Democrats said at this stage they are simply gathering information to determine if there was a violation of the law, the first step in deciding whether impeaching proceedings would be justified.

The Democrats are concerned about Perry's prediction that his appointees on the Texas Supreme Court would reject a lawsuit challenging the state school finance system and his alleged role in the award of a lottery commission contract.

Robert Black, a spokesman for the governor, said Perry is "sad and disappointed" that legislators would engage in what he called "partisan political ploys."

"I think this is just an element of the increasing partisanship in Texas politics, and it appears to me that this is really a Democratic Party with few levers of power left for it to operate," Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson told the Express-News.