Texas legislator asks Perry to reimburse state for campaign expenditures

The head of the Texas House chamber’s Democratic Caucus is calling on former presidential contender Gov. Rick Perry to reimburse state taxpayers for millions of dollars spent while campaigning for a shot at the White House. In a hand delivered letter addressed to Perry today, Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) requests the governor return the $2.6 million incurred in travel expenses during the GOP primary race, as well as the more than $92,000 in retirement pension he received last year, despite not having retired, as Farrar notes.

Abortion rights, Planned Parenthood attacked at GOP presidential forum

TPM plays Perry off stage with excruciating video compilation

In 20 years of Texas politics, Rick Perry had never lost an election, a fact you would never guess watching his campaign for president spectacularly flameout over the last six months, from stump speech to stump speech, television appearance to television appearance. TPM has made a painfully hilarious video tribute to the Perry candidacy it calls “The Texas Governor Massacre.”

Perry exit planned to boost anti-Romney Gingrich vote

Texas Governor Rick Perry will end his limping bid for the presidency with an announcement scheduled this morning, just two days before voters go to the polls in the crucial South Carolina Republican primary. The timing is aimed to boost support for Newt Gingrich, whose popularity among voters has been climbing again after he unleashed a barrage of attacks on Romney over the last two weeks, painting him as an arch job-killing vulture capitalist, and after Romney declined to appear last night at an anti-abortion forum in Greenville.

Romney’s shaky record on abortion draws attack from left and right

As Saturday’s South Carolina primary voting draws close, presidential candidate Mitt Romney is being savaged on the right for his shifting stance on abortion, just as he was savaged months ago on the left for his shifting stance on abortion.

Perry’s blustery blundering on Turkey stirs diplomatic flap

Texas Governor Rick Perry’s presidential candidacy is on its last legs in South Carolina. Today, the gaffe-prone candidate suggested he thought U.S. ally Turkey was governed by terrorists and said he would cut all foreign aid to the country if he were president, even though Turkey receives no foreign aid from the United States.

Perry’s Iowa flameout elicits whimper of response from Colorado team

Like a tumbleweed loosed in a storm, Texas Governor Rick Perry drifted out of Iowa after his humiliating fifth-place finish in the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses last night. To the dismay of Tea Party conservatives, Perry returned to the Lone Star state to reflect on whether or not he should continue his bid for the White House. News breaking on Twitter an hour ago, however, is that the campaign will continue, pinning its hopes on South Carolina’s January 21 primary. The Chair of the Perry campaign in Colorado, U.S. 6th District Congressman Mike Coffman, has yet to comment on the Perry loss, the plan going forward, or on the meaning for Colorado Republicans of last night’s historic Mitt Romney-Rick Santorum caucus-race photo-finish.

Tea Party conservatives brace for disappointment in Iowa

In 1996, Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes failed to wow Iowa caucus goers, placing fourth behind rivals Bob Dole, Pat Buchanan and Lamar Alexander. He’s trying to woo them all over again this year, however, as a supporter of Texas Governor Rick Perry. He sent an email plea Monday on behalf of the Perry campaign that struck the desperate tone that has come to mark the contest in Iowa over the last month as Mitt Romney, who Tea Party conservatives love to hate, has chugged along consistently amid the mostly erratic rising and falling popularity of each one of his competitors.

FEC asked to investigate Perry campaign

Campaign watchdog groups are asking the Federal Election Commission to investigate Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry’s campaign committee, web site (RickPerry.org) and pro-Perry Super PAC “Make Us Great Again” for possible violations of campaign finance law.

VIDEO: National Christmas tree to come from Colorado next year

Many of us probably don’t have this year’s Christmas tree picked out yet, but it has already been announced where the 2012 Capitol tree is coming from–and it’s coming from Colorado.