Austin Chronicle finally addresses the rumors: http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-02-27/pols_naked4.html " HOME: FEBRUARY 27, 2004: NEWS: NAKED CITY Naked City The Real Sins of Gov. Perry BY MICHAEL KING Gov. Rick Perry On Tuesday morning, a small group of protesters (almost outnumbered by reporters and photographers) gathered at the Governor's Mansion for what was disingenuously billed as a "support rally" for Gov. Rick Perry, under the theme, "It's OK to Be Gay." As any Austinite with access to e-mail or a cell phone knows by now, for a couple of months rumors concerning the governor's personal life have been flying furiously around the Capitol, the capital city, the state, and indeed most of the Western Hemisphere. The variations are multiple and quite inventive – we won't recount them here – but at their core is the tale that the governor's marriage is in trouble, that his wife Anita has/will/may decide to divorce him, and that the issue is Rick's alleged infidelity, with one or another member of his administration of undetermined gender. (Rumors of this sort, about multitudinous politicians, circulate all the time, but the current Perry rumors are indeed extraordinary in their baroque detail and remarkable persistence.) Hence the dubious demonstration – which just happened to coincide with President George W. Bush's declaration of war against same-sex marriage, which poses a threat to "the sanctity of marriage" so terrible it requires a constitutional ban. Last spring, readers will recall, Perry endorsed and signed the odious "Defense of Marriage Act," the Lege's latest gratuitous demonstration that it believes gay and lesbian Texans deserve fewer rights than other citizens. For the record, Naked City looked into the Perry rumors when they first surfaced some weeks ago – inevitably accompanied by the warning, "The divorce papers are being filed today!" – and found no evidence of any truth to any of them, whatsoever. Amid much finger-pointing about who was the original source (and which political party he or she belongs to), nobody will go on the record. The governor's office (perhaps understandably) refuses any and all comment beyond a one-sentence statement from Perry spokesperson Kathy Walt: "These are false, malicious, and hurtful rumors, and the Chronicle's own investigation acknowledges that fact." "

The divorce papers will be filed today!

Hey Rick, I'm sorry you're going through this. I really am. But if it's true that you're gay, you're the biggest f**king hypocrite on the face of the Earth and deserve every bit of this.

Right On, ND223 ! ((Hi-5))

((Hi-5)) back at ya ;-)

I'm suffering from a tilde overdose.

What Exactly Is A .... "Tilde"? (Curious Smile)

The divorce papers are being filed today!

Tilde = ~

Well ~ If You're Talking About Me? ~ You Betta Get USED To It ~ (Snap)(Snap)(Snap) ~ ~ And ~ If That's All You Got To Complain About ~ ~ You In Good Shape ~

<> Classy.

I supposed gay baiting is okay if it's done for a "good cause".

Oh, Politics Is SUCH A "Classy" Business ~ (Turn Head & Roll Eyes) ~

Eddie, You'll Need To Say More About That ~ It Doesn't Make A Lick Of Sense ~

~I suppose gay baiting is okay if it's done for a "good cause".~ (Places hand on hip, flips hair to one side) Is that better? :)

And ............. A "Good Cause" Would Be ..................??? (Inquisitive Smile)

Anything that can be perceived as negatively reflecting on a Republican.

How Is The Current Texas Gov Situation Taken To Be "Gay Baiting"?

From the snippet posted above: On Tuesday morning, a small group of protesters (almost outnumbered by reporters and photographers) gathered at the Governor's Mansion for what was disingenuously billed as a "support rally" for Gov. Rick Perry, under the theme, "It's OK to Be Gay."

I Don't See That As "Baiting" ~ They Were Just Trying To Flush Out A Varmit ~ Not Because Of His Sexual Orientation, But Because Of The Implied Hypocrisy ~

Hmmm...maybe I should revise it to "Gay baiting is okay if it's to flush out "implied hypocrisy".

I Don't Think That There Is Any Good Justification For "Gay Baiting", And I Don't Think The Texas Rally Was Baiting ~

LOL the sad irony here is that if it were a Democratic governor somewhere Eddie would be all over it. So please.....take the next detour off of the "high road" as soon as you can :-)

LOL the sad irony here is that if it were a Democratic governor somewhere Eddie would be all over it. Given that nothing I've ever posted or even hinted at suggests that would be the case, I can only assume you're divining this information about me from a crystal ball, in which case you need to take it in for a tune up.

First of all, I said "IF---IF IF IF IF IF" he were gay, it'd make him a hypocrite. It doesn't mean that I necessarily believe the rumor is true. In fact, I don't know who Rick Perry is sticking it to anymore than you do. So how you equate what I've said on this thread to "gay baiting" is beyond me. However, I'm not surprised in the least given your history of having a penchant for melodramatically blowing everything way out of proportion and then pretending to be "above the fray". So like I said, spare me the "high-road" act, because it's long since been old and tired. Furthermore, you know as well as I do that if it were Ed Rendell or whoever else in the position Perry is in right now, you wouldn't be on this thread faux-lamenting about "gay baiting".