GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry and his family leased a popular hunting camp they frequented with political and personal guests. The name of that hunting lodge was “N*GGERHEAD.” Now Gov. Perry is struggling to find some sort of suitable explanation in hopes of preventing his candidacy from completely imploding.
The name “N*GGERHEAD” was prominently painted on a rock as Perry and guests entered the gated property. According to the Washington Post, at least 7 people it interviewed said the name was clearly visible on the rock at the entrance “at different points in the 1980s and 1990s,” and that a former worker said he had seen it as recently as 3 years ago. Now Rick Perry and his camp are on the defensive trying to explain away his connection to the blatantly racist site name.
Ray Sullivan, communications director for the Perry campaign, went to great lengths to distance Gov. Perry from the controversy, saying the governor’s father leased the hunting rights in the early 1980s and that Rick Perry was only on the lease from 1997 to 2007. According to Sullivan, Rick Perry has not visited the property since December 2006 and was under the impression the name had long been painted over and forgotten.
But in an interview with The New York Times, Wallar Overton, who is the son of Mr. Perry’s former scoutmaster in his hometown, said the hunting camp had always been known by that name. “It’s just what it was called from Day One,” Mr. Overton said. Several of Perry’s former neighbors and friends also weighed in, saying they worried the name could become a political liability for him.
Herman Cain, the only African-American in the GOP presidential race, used the Sunday news shows to blast Perry and accuse him of insensitivity. “Since Gov. Perry has been going there for years to hunt, I think that it shows a lack of sensitivity for a long time of not taking that word off of that rock and renaming the place,” he told ABC’s This Week.
“Yes, it was painted over,” he said. “But how long ago was it painted over? So I’m still saying that it is a sign of insensitivity.”
<span>I heard about this story yesterday and my first reaction was "Wow.Rick Perry. The man truly is Stuck.On.Stupid." </span><span></span><span>Clearly, Perry is intellectually and morally deficient. However, I have to say, I really don't think he's "racist." YES. His family began "leasing" "N*GGERHEAD Hunting Camp" in the EARLY 80s which means that Rick was in his early 30s at that time. And YES. Perry decided to go into politics and yet, allowed that offensive rock (name) be prominently displayed for years to come. BUT.IT'S.TEXAS. I'm NOT condoning it in any way. H*ll. As a Black-American female, I'm offended by the "N"-word no matter how it's used OR who uses it <side-eyeing>. But we're talking TEXAS. And most Perry supporters are probably saying: "What's the big deal?" Which brings me to Cain's comments on the matter: Cain may actually find himself in hotwater with many_if not MOST_Right-wing White voters who take issue with Cain's response MORESO than with Rick Perry's camp. SEE: Commenters on Redstate.com, Townhall.com and Hotair.com. You really cannot make this stuff… Read more »