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Nati Harnik / AP
Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks with workers at a meat plant Thursday in South Sioux City, Neb.
Texas taxpayers spent $3.6 million paying for Gov. Rick Perry's state-provided security as he flew around the country during his brief Republican presidential campaign, the state said Friday — money that Democrats want him to pay back.
The Texas Department of Public Safety disclosed that it spent $1.8 million on food, fuel, hotels and other expenses and another $1.8 million on overtime guarding Perry during his travels from August through January.
Most of that travel was out of state as Perry sought the Republican nomination and carried out his duties as head of the Republican Governors Association.
 M. Alex Johnson is a reporter for msnbc.com. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. |
Texas Democrats have called on Perry to pay back the money from his campaign war chest. But Perry has refused, citing the example of Gov. George W. Bush, whose 2000 campaign also used state-provided security.
Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for Perry, said Friday in a statement: "Governor Perry is governor of Texas no matter where he travels, and it is unfortunate we live in a world where security is a top concern, but that is the reality. Providing security detail for the governor's family is a customary policy that dates back numerous administrations."
It's likely that some taxpayers won't be satisfied with that answer, because Bush's campaign cost the state on average half of what Perry's cost, even when the figures are adjusted for inflation.
Perry's bill works out to an average of $22,500 a day for his out-of-state political activities during the 160 days he was in the presidential race.
Before the Secret Service took over Bush's security at the end of March 2000, the Texas Department of Public Safety spent $3.9 on Bush's out-of-state security, state records show.
When you run that through the Commerce Department's cost of living inflation adjustment formula, Bush's bill was about $5.25 million in today's money. But that was spread over 455 days from Jan. 1, 1999, to March 31, 2000 — an average of only $11,428 a day.
The Houston Chronicle reported that while Perry's campaign generally paid for his personal travel expenses, his security detail is paid through the state gasoline tax and vehicle registration fees.
"One way to protect taxpayers' money is by not spending it unnecessarily," Texas House Democratic leader Jessica Farrar said in a letter to Perry in January, when the bill was still only $2.6 million, NBC station KXAN of Austin reported at the time. "If someone discovers tax dollars have been spent unnecessarily, it should be reimbursed either to general revenue or directly to taxpayers."
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Leave a Comment:
No one would have bothered that fool--a blind dog would have sufficed. Great job, Texas!
Yeah, he's an idiot. I feel sorry for the Texans that didn't vote for him.
SI
I'm a Texan who didn't vote for Perry, and I WANT TO BE REPAID!!! Perry has cost Texas dearly in more ways than a security detail. He epitomizes everything wrong with party politics. From his hunting lease to his "temporary" governor's mansion on the lake to his religiously blinded politics, he is ruining a great, self-sufficient state. Pay up, Perry! You owe us!
This wouldn't have anything to do with the drastically devalued dollar today would it?
MSNBC, Would you mind reminding your readers how much it costs to secure Obama and family as they jet set around the world golfing and apologizing? You know, Just to keep it balanced.
you didn't bother to read the article did you? just read the headline and blame obama. typical rightwinger.
Elliott--Only a desperate fool would repeat that garbage about Obama "jet setting around the world golfing and apologizing." He is the president of the United States and thank goodness, people around the world are happy to see him, unlike some of his predecessors. I cannot recall that he has done much, if any, golfing on his official visits and whatever "apologizing" he has done was necessitated by the boorish, bullying, go-it-along behavior of his predecessor.
All presidents jet-set around the world. That is their job, and if Obama didn't do it, the GOP would criticize him for it because that is all they do and all they stand for these days, hating Obama. As for Perry, he should pay the money back. I hate to admit it, but when Bush was governor, there was still money in the bank. These days, the rainy-day fund has been tapped, and education resources diverted to pay for the huge debts that "deficit-cutter" Perry ran up, despite the energy windfall that Texas has enjoyed. He's like the rest of the GOP, run up a huge debt and then blame your successor...only problem is that Perry won't have a successor until 2014.
Nancy Pelosi's 200-seat jet she bought in 2009 costs taxpayers $5,760,000 per year.
WheresCongress: There is not an ounce of truth to your statement, its an old, long debunked pile of doggie do-do.
This is an often repeated right-wing LIE.
Please see: http://www.snopes.com/politics/pelosi/jet.asp if you have any interest in the facts.
A provider, both volunteer and paid
"WheresCongress: There is not an ounce of truth to your statement, its an old, long debunked pile of doggie do-do."
Show me. That would be one less financial worry strapped on this country. I would love to see that it is false. Please give legitimate sources. Some are more legitimate than others.
Please look at the link in my post directly above your post. I gave you the Snopes link debunking this lie.
Procrustes-797831
Interesting article. One question. Nancy Pelosi has not been Speaker of the House in over 2 years, and the article was last updated in March, 2009.
What air transportation has Pelosi used since March, 2009?
Oh my God WheresCongress. Why don't you show US the answer? You seem to act like you have the truth... YOU prove it. We already debunked your stupid lie about the jet, so go on.. give it a try... You are one of those trolls who keep spewing trash knowing full well it isn't true. Guess you think something will eventually stick.... Come on.. we are waiting.... yeah.. thought so.
The problem with Perry's answer is yes he is required protection, but HE chose to run for office (his big ego forced him)... This was NOT something to benefit the state in any form or fashion.
Course we had Huckleberry from our state. He flew so much, he trashed our state plane. Had to be scraped and buy a new one. He would travel all over for his Pres election, then stop by one location to make it look like was for the state and then charge it all to us. Did the same to fly to his lake home.
wives fan
What do you mean 'show you the answer'? The money that ALL of these people use is coming from OUR pockets. Whether it is Perry or Pelosi. If Perry spending money makes you angry, then why do you pshaw taxpayer money spent by Pelosi?
BOTH abuses hurt.
I'll bet most of the people of Texas think it was worth it to be rid of him for a while!
First of all WheresCongress, you began with the totally debunked sound bite of the right regarding her 200 seat plane. I never said congress doesn't spend tax money on travel. Of course we pay. Pelosi is the minority leader and is required to travel for her job and the feds require security. Perry on the other hand was spending STATE money on something NOT state related. That is my point.
Elliot, Obama cost the taxpayers as much as W did jetting off to Crawford for weeks at a time or his daddy did jetting off to his REAL home in Kennebunkport Maine while using a Texas address to scam state income taxes! Or Reagan did jetting off cross country to the ranch in Santa Barbara. Perry decided to run for president on his own he should pay the additional costs as should ALL sitting governors that decide to run. Unless you believe that cr@p about god telling him to run then send the bill to Perry's church!!!!
EdPeters .... I just wish that his absence could have been made PERMANENT!
A new study finds that the consumption of Pink Slime and Genetically modified food are the main causes
of Republicanism. Symptoms include, stupidity, greed, lack of empathy, loss of moral fiber, inability to tell the truth, a plastic smile and hair that doesn't move in the wind. If you experience any of these symptoms you should eat an organic salad immediately and watch back to back episodes of The Daily Show.
You really don't think Perry eats pink slime meat do you? I'm willing to bet that he (tax payers) buys either a half to a whole cow a year. Not just any old cow either I'm guessing. This cow will come from a free range rancher who doesn't shoot hormones or other toxins into them. Perry is a pos and that isn't going to change no matter how many organic salads you feed him. Just my opinion.
I am sure that MSNBC will be telling us how much President Obama's costing us for Secret Service for his trips to fund raising events.
Bill, Barack Obama IS the president, in case you've forgotten. He is receiving SS protection no different than any president that came before him.
Bubba Bill, if you want to condem our president, try to do it on a different blog. This is about The Abomidable- Snow- Job Governor of Texas Rick. "Where the Hell am I, Who the Hell am I, How many didgets are on one A&M students hands and feet,D student Rick Somebody who had extreme difficulty remembering three things although he was forewarned of the questions. Well Bushes and Perry, what can anyone expect?
I'm sorry, if the people of Texas are stupid enough to elect morons like Perry they should not be surprised or complain when this is the result.
They elected Bush and Perry - Hope it works out better for you in the future.
Just can't fix stupid
I feel sorry for the state of Texas and for all the Texans who didn't vote for Governor Perry since now everyone in the US and world know that he can't seem to debate and seems like a bumbling idiot. It is also too bad that he cost the state so much money. When he started to drop in the ratings, he should have bailed and saved some of the money on security. Oh well!
Texas is a BIG village and Perry is our Village Idiot -- but he's as dumb as a fox. He spends other people's money like water, generally on himself. Texans have voted this self-indulgent, mega-jerk into office over and over because they hate the I'm-Entitled Leaches and their Politically Correct faction in Congress more than Self-Righteous caricatures who proudly flaunt their hatred, bigotry and 14th Century "Values". A sad commentary on what we jokingly refer to our "representation" in government.
Ain't it the truth! Wouldn't it be nice to get some real people in office who were more interested in doing the job than in preening for the cameras?
LOL - God Bless Fiscal Conservatives.
The Texan is The Texan. The Texan came. The Texan went. And now, The Texan is gone.
I am sure that somewhere in Texas, there are a few Texans who made out quite well because of The Texan's jovial jaunts around this great land.
Perry is nothing but a sham, a grifter who likes to smirk and giggle and talk big about how out of control spending is in Washington. But he's the biggest spender of all in Texas - and he thinks that spending is necessary and completely appropriate for his assumed lifestyle. If someone wants to run for president, the taxpayers of a state, any state, should not be stuck with the bill. Perry is and was perfectly capable of paying for his own travel, his own meals, his own hotels, his own security. But he's so full of himself and his phony defiance of anything federal, that he's convinced he's doing the taxpayers a favor and therefore Texas should be his personal piggy bank. He personifies the Republican Party and its disdain for personal responsibility and accountability. He's the Joe Walsh of Austin. Texas, like Arizona is becoming the laughing stock of the nation. They've elected and re-elected this buffoon and he'll keep taking the citizens of Texas to the cleaners until they wise up - the chances of which are about as good as Perry ever becoming President.
"Now you see me, now you don't--I've come and gone."
PERRY threatens succession ????? ; one good move after another , '' DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON YOUR WAY OUT '' !!!!!!!!!!!!
Whatever Perry spent pales in comparison to the amount of money the American taxpayer forks out daily for the non stop Obama campaign.
good , shows how we're coming to our senses !!!!!!
MSNBC .... Where is your balance? OK... it cost the taxpayers of Texas several million to protect the Governor.
But wasn't Mr. Obama STILL a US Senator when he started his campaign for President of the United States? And when has he stopped that campaign? So a minimum of two years collecting a US Senators salary, plus security at US taxpayer expense. And now as President, he's been flying around the country making "policy" speeches (very thinly disguised campaign speeches.) at US taxpayer expense.
MSNBC do you REALLY want to be fair? How about a dollar for dollar comparison.
Yeah, I thought not.
He's no Sam Houston.
politics out of control
Whats the point of the story..heck GAS is twice as expensive as it was in 2000 as is most eveything...talk about jaded reporting.I dont particulary care for the man but the news article is B.S and sums up the power of the press and how its ruining the country with its bias reporting...Guess they decided to be more like the national enquirer that a reputable news source.
I am wondering how much Obama constant funding raising trips are costing tax payers! I am alot more expensive to tax payers than Perry's and we are still going to be paying on Obama. Hopefully this will end in Jan.
Who's Rick Perry? Is he a CORPORATE POLITICIAN TOO!
Texas, make him pay you back! The next, send a politician who is for the 99% American People; then you'll get your money back! Otherwise, just keep on backing the CORPORATES and we can ALL go down togehter!
A sample of GOING DOWN TOGETHER will start in 2013! Hope we make it, but the OIL CORPORATES ONE PRODUCT(oil) is causing MAJOR INFLATION of ALL PRODUCTS that we, the 99% American People have to have to SURVIVE; and it is causing GREAT HARDSHIP on our families BECAUSE OF NOTHING MORE THAN CORPORATE GREED!
It's UNCONSTITUTIONAL and we, the 99% American People are not being PROTECTED by our SUPREME COURT! That's suppose to be their JOB, TO PROTECT US, but they won't even listen to us, THEY'RE TOO BUSY TAKING CARE OF THE CORPORATES, the HELL with us!
TR.... all I can say is ????????????????????????????????????????????/
If you had the ability to compose a coherent thought and put it in writing, I might be able to understand what you're attempting to say.
And the reference to the Supreme Court further indicates your abject ignorance. The SCOTUS is NOT empaneled to protect you. They are they to decide the Constitutionality of a law. Nothing more. They are not there to ensure you get health insurance, or free educations. They are there for one purpose and one purpose only. To determine whether our Constitutional rights are being compromised by a particular law.
The reasoning with "corporate rights" as a person is simple, REPRESENTATION!! If you pay taxes (as all corporation do) they should have a voice!
Remember the first cause of the revolution was taxation without representation.
Unions are the ones that don't have any reason to have a say, as a entity. Only taxpayers should exercise influence in the political arena.
There' no such thing as "I'm one of the 99%", you could be one the 52% that don't pay any tax and by definition by the constitution have no right to vote.
The governor of Texas should pay for the campaigning vacation he took from office. He wasn't gonna win either. He knew this with the other dummy living in the state with him.
The GatewayBull
Would the same hold true for the Senator from Illinois, now wasting time holding the title of President of The United States, otherwise known as Campaigner in Chief?
Here's this for a thought;
How about we as citizens DEMAND laws making CORPORATE and SPECIAL INTEREST contributions to ANY candidate for public office illegal? This is possible if the law is worded so only VOTERS from within the district or state are permitted to contribute. Corporations can't vote, so there is no "Constitutional" question.
Make campaigns for any particular office last no longer than 90 days. (if someone can't get their message or vision out in 90 days, they're useless anyway.)
There are others as well, but this would be a start.
GOP Supreme Court says corporations are people. The senator from Illinois didn't.
GatewayBill...
Your reading comprhension is also lacking.
I never said the "senator from Illinois" did. If it is beyond your grade level the "Here's a thought;" was indicating a new totally thought. I know that probably was way beyond your ability, so I apologize for confusing you.
I loved this guy, he would have been a fun actor in the Whitehouse, you know the president is just there to entertain us.
And what do you have in Obama, a "jocker-in-chief"? Everything is a joke for him and he thinks is so far above the rest that nobody should care as long he knows it, right? Talk about having an entertain!!
Typical liberal media, how much has Obama campaign cost the taxpayers (so far, more to come)? Can we all be honest? Or at least try? Both are wrong, taxpayers money should never be used for elections, is WRONG but if you compare Perry or Bush or any other to Obama then we could start to have a honest discussion.
niko.... you know as well as I and anyone else on this blog that MSNBC is so biased that I'm surprised they haven't modified their logo to note "Official Obama - Huffington Post - George Soros - Brady Campaign - public affairs office"
Rick Perry needs to pay every dime of that money back to the state! He was conducting business outside of being Gov. That had nothing to do with being Gov. He can use his campaign money that was raised to pay that back.
The reason Rick Perry flamed and crashed in such short order can be found in the photo at the head of this article. Look at the photo and see if you don't see George Bush or a caricature of George Bush. One moron Texas governor is enough. Who would he tap for VP, Carl Rove? No, I'm not a liberal.
Typical republican responses change the subject to Obama, lol.
This is about Perry, who doesn't like to pay for education, or poor Womens healthcare. But believes he deserves everything free and first class!
He's the one that created all those jobs, that a women said yeah I have three, to make ends meet.
The sources of all the Perry jobs are companies moving their corporate headquarters to Texas to get closer to their factories in Mexico. That is not something I would brag about.