Rick Perry

Post's Hunting-Camp Story Unfairly Loads Southern Baggage on Perry's Shoulders

​Well, pardon me for making myself important, but I feel like I do bring a certain perspective to the Rick Perry N-word story. For one thing, I just finished a long stretch of reporting on Perry. I have a story coming out his week in the newspaper that's pretty much a deconstruction of his "Te ... More >>

Hey, EPA, What Does a Little Cancer Matter When We Have Drilling to Do?

I had a big light-bulb moment this morning while reading both daily newspapers. We just price things wrong. We need to stop thinking of clean air in terms of dollars and cents and start quantifying it in our heads by cancer cases. Governor Rick Perry keeps telling us that EPA clean air rules are co ... More >>

Media Political Pundits Quit Surfing TMZ Long Enough to Sculpt Narrative, Declare Rick Perry Campaign Sunk.

Perry Speaks, and The Money Gets Nervous

​It's not just that Rick Perry screwed up in a debate. He is asking supporters to invest millions of dollars in his campaign. When savvy big donors have their phones in their hands about to send the money, they're all asking themselves the presidential timber question: Has he got the stuff? ... More >>

Adventures in Rick Perry Talking About Things

Rick Perry: Easy on Mexicans, tough on English​By now you've likely come across the line Republican strategist Mike Murphy dropped on the Twittersphere a while back, in which he likened listening to Rick Perry talk to "watching a chimp play with a locked suitcase." Well, last night Perry got anot ... More >>

Before He Sipped the Tea, Rick Perry Had a Much Different Take on Voting

​The old Rick Perry -- back before he discovered the Tea Party -- would have swept into Dallas on a white horse shootin' his Ruger and kickin' up dust to defend the embattled Medrano family, accused of faking a family member's voter residency in a justice of the peace election. In fact, I just ... More >>

Rick Perry's Not Always Big on Science, But He Did Use It To Win Some Elections

​Even Rick Perry doesn't hate science all the time. His uneasy relationship with evolution and global warming notwithstanding, the Man Beneath the Hair understands that sometimes all that brainy shit with the white coats and clipboards can actually benefit him. And that's exactly what happened in ... More >>

Rick Perry's Blossoming Bromance With Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a Walking Civil Rights Violation

"When life's got you by the balls, beat life in the face with your baton."​A week or so back, Politico reported that Rick Perry had reached out to Phoenix-area Sheriff Joe Arpaio, one of America's fiercest illegal-immigration foes and a constant innovator in the competitive field of Being a To ... More >>

Rick Perry's Summer Reading: The Only Thing Worse Than Judaism is Happy Hour

Rick Perry's summer readin'.​OK, so we know now that whatever Rick Perry is readin' this summer, it ain't a science book. Because until 142 percent of all scientists agree on something, science is just theories, and people don't need theories right now. They need jobs. Jobs and provocative rhe ... More >>

Pull the Covers Over Your Head If You Like, But Rick Perry's Not Going Away

​I've been on Rick Perry Watch for several weeks, working on a feature story about him. I think I'm going to be able to break the news that he's serious about running for president. Just kidding. I'll try to do better than that. But, man, everybody in American journalism is on this case. Just ... More >>

Perry Sticks By His Guns on Social Security

Are you listening, old people?

Miracle Guile: Rick Perry Has an Odd Way of Measuring Success

Gov. Perry: We Teach Creationism in Texas Public Schools. The Rest of Texas: No, We Don't.

Perry: See, this hair doesn't just happen!​How does one explain the follicle-by-follicle perfection of Gov. Rick Perry's imperturbable man-mane? Where does his mega-watt smile and its rows of pearly whites come from? Braces? No, silly. They come from God. God spoke, and Perry was born a man of ... More >>

Jon Stewart Joke About Rick Perry's Origin Story Sets Up Wayne Slater's Punch Line

​Speaking of Rick Perry video round-ups ...On the other side you'll find two clips. First up is last night's Daily Show, in which Jon Stewart dissects the Texas governor's entry into the presidential race over the weekend. Stewart, like Gawker, "confuses" Perry with Josh Brolin in W. But, look, sa ... More >>

A Video Round-Up Starring That "Good-Lookin' Rascal" From Texas A&M, Rick Perry

​The New York Times just posted one in a series of national-press pieces since Saturday questioning Rick Perry's role in the so-called Texas Miracle. Read it or don't; your call. But the photo with the story -- Perry watching himself play football for A&M courtesy Electronic Arts, which is exp ... More >>

Remember When Brint Ryan, Perry's Super PAC Man, Spent $1 Million to Lose a Council Seat?

​For the past week or so, stories have been circulating about all the Super PACs lining up to line Rick Perry's pockets as he scooches toward Saturday's announcement that he's running for president. Among the PACs stacked up: Americans for Rick Perry, Jobs for Iowa, GrowPAC and TuPAC, though I may ... More >>

He's Got "The Calmness" In His Heart. And So, Texas Gov. Rick Perry Will Run for President.

Photo by Rachel Parker​It's a done deal: Come Saturday, Rick Perry will announce he's running for president, which isn't nearly as shocking as the fact we may not hit 100 degrees today. (I mean, it's nice out.) Look, the governor of Texas says so right there in his interview with Mark Halperin tha ... More >>

No, God Doesn't Talk To Kinky Friedman. But Rick Perry Does, So There's That.

Kinky Friedman​From the sound of it, the phone woke Kinky Friedman up. He was in Georgia, hanging out on the set of his buddy Billy Bob Thornton's movie, Jane Mansfield's Car. The previous night's fun had lasted until 5:30 in the morning, and here I am, at 10 o'clock, full of questions about his ... More >>

USA Today: "Move to Texas." Ish.

​In hotels all across the country this morning, folks are rising and shining to that bit of advice courtesy this state of the state, which, like everyone else, is just waiting for Rick Perry to jump into the pool of GOP candidates and begin talking about how The Great State of Texas is a jobs-maki ... More >>

When's Perry Gonna Decide? Dunno.

Office of the GovernorRick Perry, Stephen Broden, Sarah Palin and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott at the Majestic last fall​Gov. Rick Perry will be in Denton this week, according to his office, at which time he certainly will not address if and when he's going to announce whether he's running f ... More >>

Wisconsin Group Files Suit, Claiming Perry's Prayer Event Has "No Secular Rationale"

​Now this is a response: Perhaps you've heard that a Wisconsin-based "state/church watchdog" group opposed to mixin' government and religion today filed for a temporary injunction down in Houston, asking a federal court to put the kibosh on Gov. Rick Perry's star-studded prayer rally scheduled ... More >>

New York Times Celebrates Bush's Birthday With Piece About Why Perry Don't Like Him

Via.​On a certain local man's 65th birthday, The New York Times wonders whether Dubya and Gov. RIck Perry's relationship will help or hurt the latter's more-n-likely run for the White House. After all, they're frienemies now -- have been for years, with Perry insisting since at least '07 that "Geo ... More >>

Governor Rick: You Can Have My BlackBerry When You Pry It Out of My Cold Dead Fingers

​Sometimes it takes me a couple days to get my mind around Rick Perry. For the last several days I have been pondering the governor's veto of the Texas no-text bill. As passed by both houses of the Legislature, the measure would have made it illegal to carry out text messaging while driving. ... More >>

Rick Perry Chickens Out By Ducking Iowa Straw Poll? Where's True Grit When You Need It?

​Maybe I just had the wrong impression of Rick Perry. I guess I was remembering that time he shot a coyote with his .380 laser-sighted Ruger loaded with hollow-points. He said, "Don't attack my dog or you might get shot." Now that's some macho cowboy stuff right there. I don't approve of it ... More >>

Perry Signs for Cupcakes

Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty it's free at last.​Don't ever underestimate the power of pissed-off bakers. Gov. Rick Perry knows. That's why he signed Senate Bill 81 last week. (Because no candidate wants chocolate cake with thick butter cream icing thrown at his campaign bus i ... More >>

As Rick Perry Preps Run at White House, He Explains Veto on "Texting While Driving" Bill

Via.​This just in from the Associated Press: "Key advisers to Texas Gov. Rick Perry are beginning to lay the groundwork for a campaign for Iowa's leadoff GOP presidential caucuses in case the Republican decides to seek the 2012 nomination." And, this just in from Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office: He ... More >>

Holy Crap: Does Perry Have a Prayer?

Dear, God, let's hope not.

Rick Perry's Supporters Can't Stop Making Him Seem Like a Closed-Minded Prick

"Pipe down, people, I'm trying to look presidential. My hair can't do all the work."​As he gears up for his inevitable run for president, Rick Perry is doing his very best to shield his inner kook and maintain some semblance of populism. But in the last couple days, two Perry allies have taken ... More >>

How Much Does Ohio Gov. John Kasich Still Hate LeBron James? This Much.

​Texas Gov. Rick Perry has The Response. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has The Resolution. Here's the press release declaring Your Dallas Mavericks and the rest of us "Honorary Ohioans" tomorrow. And here's the signed doc, suitable for framing.

As the Governor Declares August 6 "Day of Prayer and Fasting," One Response to Rick Perry's "The Response" Event

From Governor Rick Perry's Flickr pageRick Perry and Sarah Palin at that Heroic Media event at the Majestic Theatre last November​Speaking of over-the-weekenders, the morning paper had a pay wall piece Saturday about Governor Rick Perry's "call to prayer for a nation in crisis" scheduled for Augus ... More >>

Well, That's Quite the Mavericks-Heat Sports Bet You've Made There, Governor Perry

Via.​This just in from Governor Rick Perry's office: He's added congressional redistricting to the special session's to-do list. Wait. Sorry. Wrong press release. Let's start this over.This just in from Governor Rick Perry's office: He's bet Florida Governor Rick Scott "a case of Texas barbeque sa ... More >>

As Rick Perry "Secures the Integrity of the Ballot Box," He Says, Sure, He Might Run for Prez

​Just got a note from Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst after Perry signed into law the voter I.D. bill, which requires voters to present photo identification at a polling place. Said the gov, "The right to vote is simply too important for us to take the act of voting lightly. Today with ... More >>

Running Perry, Leppert Up UT/Texas Trib's Poll

Photo by Sam Merten​If anything, the results of an already outdated University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll posted this morning -- outdated in that it features three would-be GOP presidential candidates who've said they aren't running -- more than likely reveal that at least 800 registered-to-vote ... More >>

Perry Says Additional $1.2 Bil Shows Texas' "Strength," But Is He Looking at Prez Run?

​At more or less the exact same moment, two items of note hit the Unfair Park inbox: a statement from Governor Rick Perry concerning Texas Comptroller Susan Combs' guesstimated billion-dollar bump in state revenues, and a Real Clear Politics piece headlined "Rick Perry Presidential Push Quietly G ... More >>

C'mon Down to Rick's Sheepskin Bargain Warehouse!

A $10k bachelor's: Do you get fries with that?

Rick Perry, State Officials Named in Class Action Over Failures in Texas's Long-Term Foster Care

​A lengthy federal suit filed this morning by the national advocacy group Children's Rights says Gov. Rick Perry and other state officials have neglected their legal responsibility to the children in state care, and violated their constitutional rights, by "failing to either return them safely to ... More >>

Rick Perry's Compassion and Honesty Deficits

​Talk about a disconnect. On Wednesday night I see Governor Rick Perry on television, with that little cowboy sneer he gets, saying, "The lieutenant governor, the speaker and their colleagues are not going to hire or fire one teacher, as best as I can tell." Kind of like he's saying somethin ... More >>

The public school funding crisis is part of a bigger plan to suck all sense of community out of the country

Growing Our Way Into the Third World

​Rick Perry keeps telling me that I shouldn't worry about dumping all the kids out of school or putting Grandma out of the nursing home. Texas has the nation's fastest-growing economy, he says, so don't sweat it. What does that mean -- fastest-growing economy? I took a look around yesterday ... More >>

Preservationists Say If Perry Kills Historical Commission, He Could Also Decimate Future

Flickr user: Nicholas Henderson​It hasn't been easy reaching a preservationist in this state in the last couple of hours. Or in D.C., for that matter. Not since Governor Rick Perry announced earlier today that in order to save the state some money, he's proposing the elimination of the Texas Histo ... More >>

How Dumb Do Governor Rick Perry and the Lege Think We Are? Well, We Elected Them.

​Oh, now it starts. Faced with a state budget deficit somewhere between $15 billion and $27 billion, Governor Rick Perry says the most important thing for the Legislature to do now is ban "sanctuary cities." Those are cities where the cops don't ask people about their immigration status, bec ... More >>

What Do Rick Perry and Nigerian E-Mail Scammers Have in Common? You.

​You know what the pigeon drop is, right? Some scam artist convinces an old lady she can get $10,000 for free by withdrawing a mere $1,000 from her bank account. All she has to do is allow the scam artist to hold her thousand dollars for half an hour. I don't have to tell you how it ends. So ... More >>

Smokestack Lightning: Since Texas Won't Regulate Emissions, E.P.A. Will Handle Permits

Sam MertenWhat Gov. Rick Perry thinks of the Environmental Protection Agency​Surely you're aware of the ongoing battle between the Environmental Protection Agency and Governor Rick Perry over the state's enforcement (cough) of the Clean Air Act. Long story short: The governor says the feds don't h ... More >>

Governor Rick Perry Joins the Party in Garland for the Big Announcement, At Long Last: Chuck Norris, Texas Ranger

Photos by Patrick MichelsChuck Norris shows off his new badge, flanked by Governor Rick Perry and Aaron Norris, and, second from left, Texas Rangers chief Tony Leal.​The toughest room in Texas today was a plain white conference room in Garland along Interstate 30, down the hallway in the Texas Dep ... More >>

State Rep. Johnson Would Like Gov. Perry to Go Get Some of That Federal Small-Bidness Money

​On the other side's a letter state Rep. Eric Johnson sent Governor Rick Perry yesterday, in which the District 100 representative asks Perry to apply for federal funds intended to "provide critical resources to help small businesses continue to drive economic recovery and create jobs." That's per ... More >>

Rick Perry Boldly Stands Against Imaginary Threat Toward Salt Shakers

"They may take our lives, but they'll never take our salt!​It looks like salt may be the next weapon government won't be able to pry out of conservatives' cold, dead hands. Tea was the symbolic foodstuff of the just-finished election cycle, but recent comments from Governor Rick Perry sugg ... More >>

Deja Vu: What, Not Another New Day in Politics? Plus, Don't Let the Doorknob Hit You, Rick.

Perry's "Feelin' Pretty Good About the Wind at Our Back" and Takin' Some Credit For the Arts District as Mayor Tom Blows Him Kisses

Photos by Sam MertenWhile Leppert gives the appropriate courtesy laugh to Susan Combs, Perry has his eyes on other, um, things.​It's not often when we get to watch Mayor Tom Leppert play Robin to anyone's Batman, but that's exactly what happened when he introduced and subsequently endorsed Gov ... More >>

A Bike Trip Through Vermont Makes Buzz Realize There's A Whole Lot Of Democracy Going On-- In Places Other Than Texas

"The State of Texas Is Strong," Says Gov. Perry, Just Before Getting Mayor Tom's Thumbs-Up

Photos by Sam Merten​Governor Rick Perry recycled his campaign stump speech and sold it as his State of the State Address to the crowd gathered at the Hyatt Regency this afternoon, as Perry bragged about the economy and railed against Washington for failing to secure the Texas-Mexico border. ... More >>