Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Here Comes Rick Perry's Parade of Bad Ideas

Posted By on Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 5:00 PM

When you have the opportunity to suck up to a rogue, civil rights dismissing fame-hound of a law enforcement officer who many people consider to be a racist, you have to do it, right?


In an attempt to eliminate any doubt over his conservative credentials, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is seeking the support of Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

This week, Arpaio told the Texas Tribune that he remained open to the idea, but wasn’t ready to make an endorsement. He said Perry’s past support for guest-worker proposal for Mexicans and his endorsement of a law that grants undocumented students in-state tuition would not keep him from endorsing the Texas governor.

The backing of the Arizona sheriff—known for his unsympathetic stance on illegal immigration and aggressive push for increased border security—could give Perry a boost with Republican primary voters, many of whom share Arpaio’s views on immigration.

But some Republicans believe that an endorsement from Arpaio could come back to bite the front-runner Perry in the general election, should he win the nomination, particularly among Latino voters.

“It certainly won’t help,” Alfonso Aguilar, the executive director of the Washington-based group Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, told Univision News.

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