Posted on 09/07/2011 12:43:45 PM PDT by wolfcreek
It’s a legend of Texas politics and a hatchet for foes of Gov. Rick Perry, front-running candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. The story goes that as a Democratic legislator, Perry chaired Democrat Al Gore’s presidential campaign in Texas.
The legend has been aired routinely for more than 13 years, originally by a Democratic opponent of Perry’s, and in news reports—all but unchallenged by Perry. Even we at PolitiFact Texas repeated the story as fact.
Of late, there’s a July 16, 2011, reference to Perry chairing the Gore effort in Time magazine, and an Aug. 29, 2011, item in The New Yorker magazine saying Perry "became a Republican after shouldering the thankless task of running Al Gore's 1988 Presidential campaign in Texas."
This week, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, likewise bidding for president, premiered an advertisement calling Perry "Al Gore’s Texas cheerleader."
Cheerleader, maybe.
But interviews with political players in Texas and Tennessee and news articles from 1988 have convinced us that, although Perry endorsed Gore, he was not his Texas chairman.
(Excerpt) Read more at politifact.com ...
I found a similar article from a long-time columnist for the Houston Chronicle. This kind of diminishes one of the Perry-bashers key talking points...
Perry Ping!
>>This kind of diminishes one of the Perry-bashers key talking points...<<
They invent them as they go — the talking points are infinite. I am waiting for “borrow Chico’s soap — never return.”
Why, yes it does.
Sometimes it’s just as well to let those rumors fly.
I don’t think Algore was nearly as nutty as he is now when he was a US Senator from Tennessee. I don’t think he would have lasted very long in that normal state.
Funny, the face book as been scrub, here is prior :http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rick-Perry/106153772748276?sk=info
The legend has been aired routinely for more than 13 years, originally by a Democratic opponent of Perry’s, and in news reports—all but unchallenged by Perry. Even we at PolitiFact Texas repeated the story as fact.”
Geez, I’ve seen people give eye-witness testimony to it on this board 1,000 times. Odd.
Even if its true, I could care less. The man has a 20 year record in government since then to run on. Pulling up things from 1988 is silly when you have 10+ years as governor of one of the largest states to analyze as a record.
You do know that’s one of probably dozens of *unofficial * FB page for Perry, right?
The bottom line is that Perry endorsed Al Gore against Reagan.
Yes, you are busy trying to scrub them all and old news papers stories also.
See I remember the 1980’s and even these so called ‘southern conservatives’ were opposed to Reagan's stand against the continued spread of soviet style communism... This post does NOT spring forth clean clear water... it only raises more questions.
That won't stop the anti-Perry types from spreading the Al Gore "campaign chair" claim.
What, then, does he have to say for himself? Has he provided a valid explanation?
[By the way, I would consider: "I was really drunk/stoned at the time" to be a better explanation than: "I honestly thought that Al Gore would make a better president than George W. Bush". After all, a person can quit using intoxicants, but as another famous Texan, Ron White, says: oes: You can't fix stupid.]
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Gee, the 'story' reads that NOT even Perry is sure what he did or did NOT do...
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