Perry Watch: The non-candidate gets a presidential endorsement from Hispanic Republicans

San Antonio Express-News ^ | May 27, 2011 | Richard Dunham

[Cincinatus' Wife]

For a non-candidate, Rick Perry is doing awfully well.

Late yesterday, the Texas governor — who has repeatedly insisted that he is not running for president — received an endorsement from the Hispanic Republican Conference of Texas.

A presidential endorsement.

“Although the governor has not officially entered the race for president we hope our endorsement will encourage him to do so,” said state Rep. Aaron Peña, R-Edinburg, the Conference’s chairman. “Rick Perry has been good for Texas and the members of the Conference join many across the state and the country who think he would be great for the nation.”

In fact, Perry the non-candidate seems to be doing better in the endorsement game than putative GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney, the widely heralded but largely unknown Tim Pawlenty or other would-be White House occupants.

He has Rush Limbaugh’s seal of approval and Laura Ingraham is so enthusiastic that she declared this week that he is running. (Does she know something that we don’t know?)

The latest endorsement of Perry came Thursday when the Hispanic Republican Conference of Texas (a 33-member group of Texas legislators whose districts include sizable Hispanic populations) held one of its final meetings of the legislative session.

In a press release, the HRC said it issued the unsolicited endorsement “to encourage the governor to launch a bid for our nation’s highest office.” The group boasted — correctly — that it “has become the first political organization in the nation to endorse his potential candidacy.”

[Wuli]

Like uncle like nephew - open borders for the crony capitalists.

[RobbyS]

Proof that Perry is to the right of the Bushes on most issues. He got the endorsement of the Hispanics because he has been ambivalent on the border issue, in part because strict enforcement does tread on the toes of the business community. Historically, of course, business have always opposed immigration restriction, and labor has supported it. I doubt with Perry as President that we will get any push to resolve the matter, unless it became politically expedient to do so. Then he would act.

[RobbyS]

When did the GOP ever support immigration restriction? Answer: in 1920, because then millions of veterans had to be accommodated, the country was in depression, and Bolshevism was rampant in post-war Europe. A businesman will always look mto the bottom line, and he will support those politicians who help keep his boat afloat. Crony capitalism is alive and well at every level from small town to the national capital.