Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) insisted Friday that he wasn’t rendering a harsh judgment of state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) with remarks he made earlier this week, but a leading Republican in the Lone Star State doesn’t share his interpretation.
After Davis, the daughter of a single mother, led a filibuster effort to derail a tough abortion bill in the legislature earlier this week, Perry said it was “unfortunate” that she didn’t learn a lesson from her own example.
Perry subsequently claimed that he was actually offering praise of the Democrat, but Republican state House Speaker Joe Straus evidently doesn’t have the governor’s back on the matter. Straus said Friday that Perry’s remarks undermine the GOP’s effort to pass what would be one of the most restrictive abortion measures in the country.
“Disagreements over policy are important and they’re healthy, but when he crosses the line into the personal, then he damages himself and he damages the Republican Party,” Straus told The Texas Tribune.
