(Great post from Back to Basics PAC, who continue to hammer on Perry's abuse of the public trust and our tax dollars. - promoted by Katherine Haenschen)
Rick Perry did a funny thing yestoday - he actually responded to his critics. In the past few days, our friends at Progress Texas and Democratic Caucus chair Rep. Jessica Farrar called on Perry to pay back the approximately $2,651,429.14 that his presidential campaign burned through in security costs. This confounding sum wasn't paid for by the Perry campaign though - it was your tax dollars. And the Perry campaign's answer?
The Department of Public Safety has a policy of providing security for governors and their families everywhere they travel ... These policies are determined by DPS and not the governor's office.
Apparently, it was also the policy of longtime Perry ally and civil liberties foe Steve McCraw to insist on keeping the travel security costs secret. It was so important to keep the public from knowing what was in those records that both Perry and Anita spent time during the June special session pressing for a measure to keep the records sealed for 18 months. In other words, until after the 2012 election. According to an August story from the Washington Post:
One Republican legislator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the governor as "extremely concerned" about keeping his records sealed, and said Perry was actively lobbying key legislators to get it passed in the waning days of the special session. The legislator said Perry's wife, Anita, also was pressing legislators on the issue.
But Perry didn't have to stick Texas taxpayers with the bill for his security. Presidential campaigns typically pay for private security services. Or he could have requested Secret Service protection, as former candidate Herman Cain did in November 2011. Although he may not have met the requirements for protection - the law stipulates that a candidate must have "national prominence," along with other qualifying factors.
So what was that security money spent on exactly, and was it worth it to fulfill Rick Perry's calling? Maybe we'll find out - after the election. |
