Rick Perry Blanks on Sotomayor's Name

Gay-rights case he opposed doesn't ring a bell

(NEWSER) - Rick Perry drew a blank yesterday when asked about a Supreme Court landmark decision that struck down Texas' anti-sodomy law during his time as governor. Perry—who defended the law ahead of the Lawrence vs Texas case, and mentioned it in his latest book—said he didn't know about the case when an audience member at an Iowa campaign stop asked him how his support of the law squared with his support of limited government, the Austin American-Statesman reports. More»

Says he's 'praying' for Obama's wisdom

(NEWSER) - Rick Perry isn't letting one little catastrophic onstage meltdown bother him. At a National Day of Prayer breakfast today, Perry was introduced with a crack about his infamous "oops" moment. "You meant to say 'whoop' as a proud Texas Aggie," the host said, according to the Houston Chronicle . Perry was unconcerned. "Every one of us has 'oops moments' every day," he said. "America may not forgive you for it, but God will." More»

Or at least, with parts of it

(NEWSER) - Today the Supreme Court heard the final arguments in the case over Arizona's controversial immigration law, and it's not looking good for the Obama administration. Justices seemed decidedly skeptical about the Justice Department's central argument that the law impinged on the federal government's power to control immigration, the Washington Post reports. "What could possibly be wrong," John Roberts asked, with having police check detainees' immigration status, and pass the information to the federal government? More»

Most seem inclined to let parts of it stand

(NEWSER) - If the individual mandate is deemed unconstitutional , should the rest of President Obama's health care reform die with it? Supreme Court justices wrestled with that question today in the third and final day of arguments, with the challengers' lead attorney stating his case simply: “If the individual mandate is unconstitutional, then the rest of the act cannot stand," said Paul D. Clement. That got a mixed reaction, reports the Washington Post and New York Times :

• Antonin Scalia: He sounded sympathetic. “My approach would be to say that if you take the heart out of this statute, the statute’s gone.”
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg: She disagreed. “There are so many things in this act that are unquestionably OK,” she said. If the choice is between "a wrecking operation and a salvage job, a more conservative approach would be a salvage job."

Home state paid for food and lodging for bodyguards

(NEWSER) - Gov. Rick Perry's ill-fated presidential run cost the taxpayers of Texas nearly $800,000, spent on travel fees for the security detail that followed Perry around on his campaign from September through November, a state report reveals. Perry took 48 trips across state lines, mostly to primary battlegrounds Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. One trip in September from South Carolina to Iowa and back racked up $45,122 in charges, including $10,834 for hotels and $7,526 for food, reports the Austin American-Statesman . More»