It really is personal: The Bushies (i.e. Rove) can't stand Perry.
This supposes the most personal rift in the Republican race for governor isn’t between the candidates at all.
“It’s visceral,“ Murray says. “The Bushies don’t like Rick Perry very much.“ The disdain for Perry is no secret among loyalists of George W. Bush, but never before have they had to choose sides in a fratricidal struggle. Now that two Texas Republicans are fighting for the same job, Hutchison’s become the beneficiary of more than a decade of bad blood.
A few incidents have fed the fire over the years. Some remember the 2001 Bob Bullock Museum dedication at which Perry kept referring to the new president as “George”. Or Perry’s criticism of the Bush administration’s handling of immigration policy.
Then there was the governor’s 2007 appearance at an Iowa house party for Rudy Giuliani. Perry told a living room full of Iowa Republicans that the President was “never, ever” a fiscal conservative. “Wasn't when he was in Texas … I mean, '95, '97, '99, George Bush was spending money."
He continued: “George was never a fiscal conservative. I think people thought he was."
The comments immediately rankled Bushworld, according to McKinnon. And there Perry went, calling the president “George” again.
That loose, stream-of-consciousness Perry style fed into a long-held Bushworld view of Perry as impolite and insincere. Sources close to Perry counter that the Bushies have long regarded themselves as superior and never fully appreciated Perry quietly working while lieutenant governor to keep controversial bills away from the then-governor’s desk.
One of you has to be wrong, yes?