Friends in high places

Here's a story from the weekend that deserves some attention.

Gov. Rick Perry is lending his endorsement to an organization established by two indicted associates of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay that is promoting amending the Texas Constitution to ban gay marriage.

Perry, who this week was quoted as saying that gay war veterans returning to Texas should live elsewhere if they wish to marry, touts the gay-marriage ban in a video link on a Web site operated by the Texas Marriage Alliance.

The Web site was set up by a Vienna, Va., consulting firm operated by John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, the DeLay associates under indictment in Texas on charges of violating campaign-finance laws during the 2002 election. Both are charged with money laundering, and Colyandro also faces 13 counts of unlawful acceptance of a corporate political contribution.

Luis Saenz, who heads the Republican governor's 2006 re-election campaign, said there is nothing improper about Perry's involvement with the organization.

"The governor was asked to help, and he helped," Saenz said.

It sure is nice of Rick Perry to help out a couple of guys like Colyandro and Ellis who are going through a rough patch, isn't it? After the last two legislative sessions, I was beginning to think he completely lacked the ability to empathize. I'm relieved to know that there really is some form of downtroddenness that tugs at Rick Perry's heartstrings.

Anyway. Marc Olivier has more on the cause that Rick Perry is helping to support. Check it out.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on June 14, 2005 to Scandalized! | TrackBack