| Just a day after Dick Cheney endorsed Kay Bailey Hutchison, her opponent Rick Perry answered with the endorsement of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, the chair of the Republican Governors' Association. Barbour was in Texas earlier today, appearing in Fredericksburg and Dallas, to announce the endorsement, according to the Statesman. When Hutchison's campaign announced the Cheney endorsement, Perry's camp shot back with an attack on Hutchison's time in Washington. “It’s not surprising, since they both worked in Washington for so long. Washington insiders stick together," said Perry spokesman Mark Miner. Haley Barbour has been a Washington insider for over two decades. One of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington in the 1990s, Barbour served as chair of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997. When Perry was by the Statesman asked whether he would rather having Cheney or Sarah Palin endorsing him, Perry, who is expected to campaign alongside Palin in January, answered as you might expected: "I think I'd stick with Sarah." Whether a parade of unaccomplished conservative govenors (sound familiar?) will help convince Texans to stick with Perry for a third term remains to be seen. |
