Three Myths About Rick Perry

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Rick Perry’s whirlwind arrival on the presidential stage has made him a Texas-sized character in Americans’ political imaginations. But some early black-and-white images of Perry’s life and politics don’t quite square with the more nuanced facts.

He’s a political outsider. Perry deftly saw the Tea Party movement brewing and horned onto it early, styling himself as an anti-government conservative. He fended off a 2010 primary challenge from Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in part by mocking her 16 years spent in Washington. But it’s true, as Mitt Romney likes to say, that Perry is a career politician himself. The Texas governor first ran for public office 26 years ago, and has never since tired of the public payroll. (Indeed, as a young legislator he once sought to triple his job’s modest pay.) Perry’s only adult experience outside of politics was in the Air Force, which is also a form of government service.

But it’s not just Perry himself who is a creature of the system his base so despises. It’s his entire modern lineage. Perry’s great-great grandfather was a Texas legislator and county judge. His great grandfather was a county commissioner. His grandfather also ran for county commissioner. He lost, but Perry’s dad made up for it by serving for 28 years in that post.



Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2011/09/22/three-myths-about-rick-perry/#ixzz1YnPxPOjx

[TxVietVet]

1. Perry, like Paul Ryan, has been on the government tit most of his life.

He's made a career mooching off the government.