CLEBURNE -- Unsigned handouts distributed by a Rick Perry campaigner Monday night portray U.S. Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison as aligned with President Obama on abortion.
The handout, a chart labeled "The Stakes Are High," praises Perry as someone who "has always been active in the pro-life movement" and lines him up alongside Sen. John Cornyn.
Hutchison is listed alongside Obama with the note: "Senator Hutchison supports legal abortion until viability and has called for the removal or weakening of the pro-life plank of the Republican party."
Hutchison's campaign spokesmen have said that she supports restrictions on abortion and that she has voted with abortion opponents "90 percent" of the time.
The handouts were distributed by Burleson banker Shanda Perkins, a recent Perry appointee to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, pictured here. She described herself as a Tarrant and Johnson County chair for the Perry campaign.
"People need to be informed of the voting records," she said.
A spokesman for the Texas Ethics Commission said that as long as the total bill for printing handouts was less than $500, the handout is not covered by the law that would otherwise require disclosure on anything distributed by a campaign.
The handouts apparently came from the Web site of Pearland pastor Rick Scarborough and originated in a letter signed by religious conservatives, including Aledo historian and author David Barton.
--Bud Kennedy
The chart:
Well, look at that! Kay Bailey may not be all that bad after all...
Posted by: Criss | February 17, 2009 at 03:00 PM
Wait a minute, so a local activist prints off some flyers from Rick Scarborough's website, and suddenly it's "the Perry campaign" doing this? Talk about a misleading headline.
Posted by: Texas Conservative | February 17, 2009 at 03:41 PM
Sweet chart. I guess this answers the question of who is the prolife candidate.
Posted by: McGruber | February 17, 2009 at 03:56 PM
Do you think Perry is starting to sweat? This is another petty attempt to scare Texas voters into voting for him. That's the ONLY way people would vote for him.
Posted by: Kay Backer | February 17, 2009 at 04:41 PM
So I am confused. Is the handout accurate? It doesn't look like a campaign-produced piece, so I am trying to research their records myself.
Posted by: Angriest Gus | February 17, 2009 at 08:18 PM
3.5 million child abuse cases in the U.S. Sarah Palin's daughter says abstinence isn't reality. The right to life fraud continues.
Posted by: S Watson | February 17, 2009 at 08:42 PM
Kinky Friedman for Governor! A Texan for Texans.
Posted by: JR | February 17, 2009 at 09:14 PM
Angriest Gus,
The flyer is accurate. What is confusing about the entire matter is that KBH has recently adopted children. So you would think that she would be totally against abortion. KBH has said she is for a woman's right to choose. That makes her ok with abortion.
Posted by: Jon | February 18, 2009 at 08:53 AM
Ya know, I never cared for Rick "check your wallet" Perry to begin with. Now that he has Sarah "Trailer Trash" Palin endorsing him this ought to be fun!!
HEY KINKY!!! PLEASE RUN FOR GUV-NER!!
Posted by: Steven | February 18, 2009 at 12:22 PM
I agree with Criss. If anything, this handout makes me want to vote for KBH. I am tired of the religious right here in Texas. They need a good dose of reality. And I think Perry losing just might be the thing.
Also, Jon, people can be pro-choice and adopt children. In fact, people can be pro-choice and have children of their own. I know it might hurt, but try thinking outside the lines sometimes.
Posted by: darla_d | February 18, 2009 at 08:48 PM
I never really had an oppinion on abortion until one of my friends was raped and later got an abortion. There are MANY reasons why abortion is legal and this is one of them. It's not always about abstinence or oops I made a mistake.
Posted by: Leigh | February 19, 2009 at 12:33 PM