Gov. Rick Perry
In his latest gaffe, Texas Gov. Rick Perry drew a blank today when asked about Lawrence v. Texas — the landmark case overturning the state’s sodomy law — during a campaign stop in Iowa. ABC News reports:
A voter at a meet and greet asked him to defend his criticism of limited government in the case.
“I wish I could tell you I knew every Supreme Court case. I don’t, I’m not even going to try to go through every Supreme Court case, that would be — I’m not a lawyer,” Perry said at the Blue Strawberry Coffee Shop here. “We can sit here and you know play I gotcha questions on what about this Supreme Court case or whatever, but let me tell you, you know and I know that the problem in this country is spending in Washington, D.C., it’s not some Supreme Court case.” ….
Asked by Ken Herman, a columnist with the Austin American Statesman, for clarification on whether he knew what the case concerned, Perry responded, “I’m not taking the bar exam…I don’t know what a lot of legal cases involve.”
When told that the Supreme Court case struck down the Texas sodomy law, Perry said, “My position on traditional marriage is clear and I don’t know need a law. I don’t need a federal law case to explain it to me.”
The Texas governor referenced Lawrence v. Texas in his 2010 book Fed Up!, calling it one of the court cases in which “Texans have a different view of the world than do the nine oligarchs in robes.”
In 2002, after the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear Lawrence v. Texas, Perry told the Associated Press that he felt the sodomy law was “appropriate.”
“I think our law is appropriate that we have on the books,” Perry said.
UPDATE: Here’s the video:
Perry IS a walking talking gaffe. While it is fun to watch him make a fool of himself, it is sad that he has to drag our state down with him.
Rick Perry’s tombstone should read:
Line 1 – “Moron – Racist – Bigot”
Line 2 – Greatest Intellectual Accomplishment – “I don’t recall.”
I love how now, after Sarah Palin, that every question a candidate can’t answer is considered “gotcha” journalism. I’m so glad he’s getting outed as the sham and empty suit he is.
What a jackass! I think I just felt my I.Q. drop several points in listening to this garbage.
@Brian: Perry can’t drag down your IQ, but I’m sure he would try…after someone explained to him what IQ actually is, of course. Mr. Perry graduated from Texas A & M with a degree in animal science. (Go figure.) His overall GPA: 2.22. (For all you readers who never attended college, that’s just slightly better than a “C” average. Translated: he almost didn’t make it.)
perry, perry perry, come out of the closet already, find yourself a husband and get over it, geez.
Rick Perry is the male species’ version of Sarah Palin. As a previous blogger commented, his response to any question to which he doesn’t know the answer is “…..not gonna play ‘gotcha’ journalism.” What a loss for all of the electorate, both Dems and GOPers, that this is what retail politics has come down to. Instead of having a presidential candidate who is well-educated (for real, not a sham education,) and has a caring and commitment to the long-lasting improvement of the well-being of the nation and its citizens, we get someone – like Palin or Perry – who is dumb as a box of rocks, plays to the dark side of human nature, and is only interested in improving their net worth on the stage of presidential politics. Hopefully Slick Rick will soon be back in Austin where he can do the least amount of damage.
I personally do not support him but seriously…We are better than this! Don’t celebrate because he didn’t know the specifics( or chose not to remember) of this case. Does your candidate know the intricacies of the LBGT history and challenges we face? Take the high road. Be the better person.