A new installment of Travel with Rick Perry

Rick Perry, he of the good hair and a love for limited government, is over in merry ol' London as you read this and is headed to Israel this weekend.

The purpose of the trips is (supposedly) to wrangle up new business opportunities for Texas. But the question I have is why is the governor of Texas making the trips. Mr. Perry's responsibilities are to the people of Texas. We are but one state out of fifty. Neither the governor nor the legislature has the authority to enter into treaties with foreign states.

According to this item in The Houston Chronicle, Mr. Perry will be speaking at a water conference in Israel and announcing some sort of partnership between Texas A & M and a school in Israel. The governor describes the trip as an "economic development mission." He says he will be traveling as a guest of Americans for Economic Freedom - which just happens to be headed up by a political consultant who works with Mr. Perry.

Of course Gov. Goodhair proclaims that no public money will be used for transportation, lodging or entertainment. And, while that is technically true, the taxpayers will pick up the tab (yet again) for his security detail.

The tab for Mr. Perry's security detail totaled over $35,000 for the three months ending on August 31. That runs the cost of his security detail since he launched his failed presidential campaign to nearly $2.7 million. That, my friends, is a lot of money for out-of-state trips for a governor.

At the very least the cost of his security detail while running for president should have been paid out of his campaign coffers or by his big dollar contributors. There is something very wrong with the taxpayers being forced to foot the bills for trips having absolutely nothing to do with his official duties.

Once again I feel compelled to point out that Gov. Perry pounds the lectern about his love for limited government and how he will cut spending that benefits the poor and disenfranchised. Yet, he has no compunction about billing the taxpayers for dragging along state troopers as bodyguards whenever he decides to travel out of the state.