Magnifisyncopathological: Rick Perry Sex Scandal?

February 19, 2004

Rick Perry Sex Scandal?

[Note: It appears increasingly less likely this rumor is true.

UPDATE(3/5/2004) 10:39am
In addition, Governor Perry has directly denied the rumors.]

After being alerted by commenter "CLS" in a previous post on Rick Perry signing the Texas DOMA, I looked around to see if the Texas and Austin news media had anything on this alleged incident. Nothing on the Austin-American Statesman, News8Austin, ABC News Texas local, KEYE, KVUE, KXAN, or Quorum Report frontpages. Nothing either on the Austin Chronicle Naked City issue for 2/20/2004.

However, the Burnt Orange Report has been tracking this and the rumors and it sounds like something ugly is brewing just beneath the surface. It involves divorce, prominent Texas Republicans in positions of power, and a homosexual relationship between two men. Buzzflash (warning, hyper-partisan site) and Bartcop (another partisan site) have more gossip.

I don't know if any of this is true. Given the nature of the people pushing the rumors, it wouldn't surprise me to know they would like them to come to some sort of fruition and end up taking down Governor Perry and - who I heard may the other man - Secretary of State Geoffrey S. Connor and tarnishing Republicans in general. This is, of course, somewhat understandable considering the way conservatives have championed heterosexual monogamous relationships and the tradional family and all that. Schadenfreude can be a hell of a feeling.

I'm not savvy enough in Texas politics to know how this would affect bigger issues, assuming it's true. From my perspective, I generally dislike the social policies of the current crop of Texas Republicans and wish they'd rework their economic policies in a more capitalist fashion. In that sense, I'm not on their side. On the other hand, it's not like I want them to get toppled and a Democratic elected. They aren't any better.

I do like seeing moral sneers get their comeuppance. And given the atmosphere surrounding the country regarding gay marriage, this couldn't come at a better time to take the conservatives down a notch. I don't condemn anyone for engaging in consenual sexual activity as it is none of my business. But I do condemn liars, hypocrites, and fakes who have political power and exercise it to discriminate against specific groups of people.

Let the rollercoaster begin.

UPDATE(12:45pm)
Diary entry from DailyKos with additonal rumors, including the likely names of attorneys involved.

Obviously, once this breaks (will Matt be The One, like he was with Kerry?), there will be tremendous traction in the media now that Drudge stirred the waters with the Kerry Intern Hype. That relationship was denied by both parties, though, and I don't believe any hard evidence or witnesses were produced. The Perry-Connor thing is different on a few levels (assuming what I've read is true):

They were apparently spotted by a third party (Perry's wife!) in the act.
Legal action is being taken with the divorce.
Unnamed students seem to be mentioning sexual harassment by the governor, potentially increasing the number of people involved.
Perry signed legislations banning gay marriages and did so partly by invoking "defending marriage and family" grounds and then allegedly cheats on his wife with another man.

I wish I worked closer to the Capitol to see what's going on. The Governor's Mansion is right out in the open downtown next to the Legislature. I want to be there when the media piles up.

UPDATE(3:20pm)
Atrios picked up the story yesterday and in the comments, someone pointed to DMagazine's Frontburner as another potential source of information.

Wick Allison posted twice - here and here - though he didn't add much to the rumors.

TRACKING DOWN RUMORS

First we reported that the rumors about something amiss in the Governor's office haven't seen print because apparently they aren't true. As a demonstration we tracked down the rumor of the Perrys' having filed divorce papers to Haskell County court clerk Penny Anderson, who said definitely not. Then we were told--wink,wink, didn't we know--that Penny is Rick's cousin. Well, Penny called this morning to say she's not related to Rick or Anita, as if that has anything to do with anything anyway. It may have come from the same source as the very strong rumor that Mrs. Perry no longer is sleeping overnight at the Mansion. More than a rumor is the fact that her name was removed from the travel manifest for the governor's trip to Italy this week, then put back on. As for the reason for all this mongering, all we can say that more rumors are flying fast and furious--and Republican power-hosses in Austin are scrambling.

I bet that by Monday something in the mainstream press will get published. There is too much Internet chatter for this to last much longer.

UPDATE(11:41pm)
The first truely sympathetic comment I've found so far:

It WOULD be sad if Perry got thrown out.

He is a smart guy, and has worked hard to get where he is.

I don't respect him for his hypocrisy, but as a gay man, I empathize with his loss. If he truly is gay, it must have been truly horrible to have to hide himself all this time, just to protect his achievements.

I think many of us have been in that place before, and it's a lonely and sad place to be.

The thought of a gay Texas Governor is somewhat shocking, even as annoying and internally bigoted as that may come across. This is just one of those states where such things aren't even considered to be on the table when voting for a major party candidate. I live in Austin, which is probably the most Democratic and left-leaning city in the state, and it's a shocker. It's a shame the GOP has the image of being anti-gay, even though it's unfair to paint the entire organization and it's members as such. Perhaps, after all the time spent under the recent Bush-created spotlight, the hard religious wing of the party will loose some of it's sway and grant conservatives more leeway in their social policies.

Still a whole weekend to go on this story and it could all be proven wrong. Let's keep this in mind, please.

UPDATE(2/20/2004 9:40am)
More here.

UPDATE(2/21/2004 8:37pm)
I am still quite surprised the only "heavies" reporting on this are lefty bloggers like Atrios, Hesiod, and Buzzflash. It did make Metafilter and Austin's Indymedia. Where is The Drudge Report? This kinda stuff is right up his alley.

My web traffic has exploded over this and I know Burnt Orange Report's has as well to an even greater degree. The vast majority of referrals are coming from Texas. Hell, even Sage Francis heard about this when or before he stopped by Austin to play the Fuck Clear Channel tour date and a significant number of people in the crowd knew what he was talking about. This has spread far and wide and not a blip in major media (whom are apparently compiling what they can before going public) or the large righty blogs.

UPDATE(2/24/2004 9:13am)
I won't be updating this page after this point. A new post on this can be found here. There is a bit more to report.

Posted by Drizzten at February 19, 2004 08:57 AM

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Comments

Check out the story on the gossip section of www.Datalounge.com.

Kirker who posts there is more up to date with infomation than anyone else I've seen commenting on this story.

Be forewarned. Datalounge is a steaming hotbed of gay gossip. It's not for the easily offended, but perfect for the easily amused.

URL here >>> http://www.datalounge.com/datalounge/forums/index.html?thread=2803452&stack=2,2:thread,1:thread

Posted by: Brad on February 19, 2004 11:25 PM

You might be interested in reviewing the governor's official view of sodomy, in response to the Supreme Court decision that knocked down the Texas sodomy law in favor of privacy rights: http://www.sodomylaws.org/usa/usnews52.htm

Posted by: TexasMom on February 20, 2004 05:05 AM

TexasMom, yep. I've seen that link and that quote a few times. I've never been satisfied with the responses Mr. Perry and people who agree with him to questions as to why sodomy must be outlawed when the parties involved consent to it. I was happy ( http://www.drizzten.com/blargchives/000289.html ) when the Supremes struck down the law.

Posted by: Drizz on February 20, 2004 08:32 AM

I think it's woth noting here that in some sex circles and cultures [like brazil], you are not gay unless you are penetrated.

It's also really disturbing that Perry had sex with a subordinate, the Sec. of State. Wouldn't this constitute severe harassment, also? i mean, a gigolo would be one thing...

http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/04/02/ana04003.html

Posted by: Dudeman on February 21, 2004 03:45 PM

Dudeman, let's be clear: we don't know if these rumors are true. They remain unsubstantiated to the best of my knowledge. Taken as a whole, the issue seems possible to me. Give it some time.

Posted by: Drizz on February 21, 2004 08:06 PM

I think in light of all the gay baiting going on in this presidential race, this story should not be allowed to die. Why is Matt Drudge not covering it (www.drudgereport.com) It seems like it would be right up his alley. He loves stories with a gay flair- if you don't believe me just look at his archives. And he loves political gossip and intrigue. And I know he knows this story is out there, so who exactly has a muzzle on him?
Anyone who thinks this story is worth telling (our president is considering passing an anti-gay CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT for God's sake) should harass Matt Drudge. Email him- the address is on his website. Call his radio show- I believe it airs on Sunday night at 10pm, and you can find out how to call thru his website, just log on at 9:30- 10pm Sunday night.
Ask him why he chooses not to cover this story. It was made for him (hehehehehe)

Posted by: justin on February 22, 2004 06:56 PM

Um, I'd imagine the reason Drudge isn't covering it is because he's an admitted biased right-wing Conservative.

Posted by: Charles on February 23, 2004 12:39 AM

copied from burnt orange....
overheard saturday at Pei Wei restaurant in Dallas, Texas, shortly after 1:30pm Saturday 02/21/03:

Unnamed loud lawyer discussing with his son-in-law(?) that he was leaving for Austin. The lawyer said Rick Perry's wife has had enough and it was time for damage control. Acording to the conversation Mrs. Perry is soon filing in her home county or other Texas jurisdiction to avoid Travis County Courts. The lawyer was said to be nervous about what it would do to "us". Apparently the discussion was overheard by many of the patrons at the restaurant.

The restaurant is located near Central Expressway and Henderson in Dallas. At this time the story has not been verified but we're working on it. The source is totally reliable.

Posted by: anonymous at February 23, 2004 10:15 AM

Posted by: JDP on February 23, 2004 11:55 AM

I *heard* right winger James Leininger had been in Austin all week attempting damage control....supposedly perry will be offered a lucrative lobbying spot. This came from a WELL contected politico in San Antonio.....

Posted by: anon on February 23, 2004 05:24 PM

rick PErrrry is gay and so am i.

Posted by: David on February 24, 2004 04:39 PM

Either they got to anita...or there is nothing to this

she was with him at govenors meetings monday and Rick

stayed the night at the white house...she is the key

if she has been intimidated or given a lucrative

deal...then this falls on its face...also the secretary

of state went to hospital as emergency...they may spin

this as this guy was in distress and perry was helping him.

Posted by: aslan on February 24, 2004 05:01 PM

an inside source said they're true...

Posted by: j on February 24, 2004 08:51 PM

They may very well may be true ...my point if they

succed in damage control and keep anita from filing

then they can cover it up...an prevent the embarassment]

to the President and the Karl Rove machine in Texas

Rove has been succesful in damage control wiht Bushs

past by hooking in J.Hatfield and his book fortunate son book

Hatfields book is probably all true but they destroyed

the messenger...Hatfield should have taken a political

science course before he ever took on Rove...Rove was

his source and Rove was his destroyer.

My point Rove will do damage control with Anita

Posted by: aslan on February 24, 2004 09:34 PM

When someone can come forward with proof of this, I'll believe it. Until then, anonymous blog commenters don't score substantial points with me, even when in large quantity.

Posted by: Drizz on February 26, 2004 02:09 PM

why haven't the media acted on this? they ripped clinton a new one...kerry, everybody, but not the frigging texas governor. maybe because they want to be respected journalists? when has that ever stopped them before?

Posted by: lib baker on February 27, 2004 01:32 AM

If it's not true, then the media has done the responsible thing by not fanning the flames.

If there's no evidence, then the media has done the responsible thing by staying away from a story they can't support.

When the media went after President Clinton, they had evidence. There was an accuser. There were audiotapes. There was a blue dress.

What a travesty it would have been if the allegations against Clinton were untrue. But they weren't. We don't know one way or another about Governor Perry. This is seeming more and more like Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour".

Posted by: Kevin Bailey on February 29, 2004 11:35 AM

Hey Silly Governor: dicks are for Chicks

Posted by: Bob boso on March 9, 2004 09:29 AM

The allegations against Clinton appeared in the press long before any evidence was produced. There was an accuser, but this accuser was merely repeating hearsay evidence. Moreover, the press actually went out and hunted down evidence, which does not appear to have happened in this case.

I have no idea whether the rumor is true or not, but it's important that Perry be subjected to the same press scrutiny as would a Democrat who, say, FAVORED equal rights for gay people.

Posted by: Alan Richard on March 9, 2004 05:54 PM

Hey Folks- Apparently this one is for real! I didn't even know about it until 2 days ago, when a very good friend of mine told me 2 acquaintances of his knew all about the Governor's clandestine gay relationship- they know his lover well. Apparently he is a high class gay hooker named Miguel, and the Gov has been renting him a house in West Austin for years.

Posted by: truthbnon on March 13, 2004 11:33 AM

And a very good friend of mine told me he knew five people who told him they knew about the Freemason's secret Nazi-inspired plan to take over the Skull-and-Bones Society and replace it with a covert cabal of Italian mafia types who prefer vanilla ice cream over brownies.

But that doesn't mean any of it's fucking true. How about some *evidence*?

Posted by: Drizz on March 13, 2004 01:58 PM