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Rick Perry

The latest Rick Perry news from The Texas Tribune.

  • Neener-Neener

    By Ross Ramsey

    It's an impulse most of us learn to suppress in the seventh grade — the need give your enemies wedgies, to tape "kick me" signs to their backs, to put lizards in their lunchboxes. Political people don't suppress it — they channel it into goofy stunts to attract attention, ridicule opponents and blow off steam. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • The Workers' Comp Whistleblowers

    By Elise Hu

    Former employees of the Division of Workers' Compensation at the Texas Department of Insurance say their higher-ups have failed to sanction or remove dozens of physicians accused of fraudently overbilling and overtreating patients, costing insurers millions of dollars. The allegations of stalled enforcement action have sparked an inquiry by the State Auditor’s Office, records show. Full Story 

    Dr. Ken Ford and attorney Cathy Lockhart, who until recently investigated medical fraud for the state Division of Workers' Compensation, say the agency has failed to properly sanction unscrupulous doctors over the last half decade.
    Credit: Nathan Lindstrom, Jacob Villanueva

  • A Voice but No Vote

    By Alexa Garcia-Ditta

    It took decades to get Texas lawmakers to allow students to sit on each university system's board of regents — and only on the condition that they can't vote. But most other states with student regents do grant voting privileges. Full Story 

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  • Of Mice and Men

    By Reeve Hamilton

    When Gov. Rick Perry announced the establishment of the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine, a public-private partnership between the Texas A&M University System and Lexicon Genetics, he said the $50 million high-level mouse laboratory, paid for through the Texas Enterprise Fund that he controls, would “attract millions of dollars for medical research and lead to the development of life-saving medical treatments and therapies” for everything from diabetes to cancer. Five years later, depending on who you ask, TIGM has either been a massive taxpayer-subsidized boondoggle or a blessing to scientists across the globe. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: O'Neill Signs Off

    By Ross Ramsey

    Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill, who isn't seeking reelection to the court, also isn't finishing her term. She told Gov. Rick Perry and the other members of the court today that she will step down from the bench on June 20. Full Story 

    Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill
    Credit: Texas Supreme Court

  • A Defining Moment

    By Ross Ramsey

    Bill White, the Democratic nominee for governor, watched Rick Perry make mincemeat of Kay Bailey Hutchison in the GOP primary by painting a devastating picture of her before she could introduce herself to prospective voters. How to avoid the same fate? By travelling incessantly, trying to make himself known everywhere in Texas. By dismissing snippy press releases as interesting only to Austin insiders and pundits. By running bio ads on TV. In other words, by working the problem. Full Story 

    Bill White, on the phone in Grand Prairie Mayor Charles England's office. Behind him, from left to right, are Rep. Kirk England, son of the mayor, Theresa Woodward, his chief of staff, and the mayor himself.
    Credit: Ross Ramsey

  • HuTube: Why Yao?

    By Elise Hu

    The latest Texans for Rick Perry web video gives us an idea of how the campaign will frame Democratic opponent Bill White. But what is Yao Ming doing in there? Full Story 

    Yao Ming and Bill White photo used in Texans for Perry web video.

  • Is Texas a Sanctuary State?

    By Reeve Hamilton and Matt Stiles

    Aides to Gov. Rick Perry's re-election campaign have accused his Democratic challenger, Bill White, the former mayor of Houston, of running a “sanctuary city," where officers don't inquire about immigration status during routine patrols and investigations. But Houston's policy is remarkably similar to that of Texas DPS under Perry. If Houston is a sanctuary city, why isn't Texas a sanctuary state? Full Story 

    An estimated 25,000 demonstrators march past the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in downtown Dallas.
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Bombs Away!

    By Andrew Kreighbaum

    In November 2007, when the presidential campaign of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, raised more than $4.2 million in a single day, the grassroots-fueled "money bomb" became part of the national political conversation. But while the tactic was in greater use this cycle, the underwhelming showing of candidates who employed it reveals its limitations. Full Story 

    Paul speaking at CPAC 2010.
    Credit: Gage Skidmore