The Midday Brief: Aug. 30, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "Though Mr. Romney has assiduously avoided taking on one rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, Mr. Romney took a veiled swipe at Mr. Perry in a speech Tuesday before the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in San Antonio. 'I have spent most of my life outside of politics, dealing with real problems in the real economy,' Mr. Romney said. 'Career politicians got us into this mess, and they simply don’t know how to get us out.'" — Romney, in Perry Territory, Faults 'Career Politicians,' The New York Times

• "There might not be a state that betters symbolizes the fundamental shift that's occurred in the Republican Presidential race over the last few months than South Carolina. When PPP last polled there in early June, Mitt Romney led everyone in the field by at least 15 points. But now with Rick Perry's entry Romney has lost almost half of his support. That leaves Perry with a 20 point lead — he's at 36% to 16% for Romney, 13% for Michele Bachmann, 9% for Herman Cain, 8% for Newt Gingrich, 5% for Ron Paul, 4% for Rick Santorum, and 2% for Jon Huntsman." — Perry up big in South Carolina, Public Policy Polling

• "If Texas is unhappy about how much federal money it gets to keep illegal immigrants behind bars, Gov. Rick Perry should blame Congress, not blame the Obama administration, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday morning." — Napolitano rebuffs Perry's $350 million request for jailing illegal immigrants, Trail Blazers

• "Democrats should be wary of this kind of thinking for several reasons. First, given that the country is still very polarized with so much energy on the extreme right, a candidate like Bachmann or Perry could mobilize voters and lay the groundwork for future, more polished, radical extremists. Second, and more significantly, the 2012 election is likely to occur with unemployment hovering around 9%, the country still engaged in three unpopular and increasingly endless seeming wars and a debt crisis that is not going away." — A Perry or Bachmann Nomination May Not Be Good for Democrats, The Huffington Post

• "Local Republicans gathered at the City Club at the D.R. Horton Tower in downtown Fort Worth today for a $2,500-per-person fundraiser for Gov. Rick Perry." — Perry stops in Fort Worth for midday fundraiser, PoliTex

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "The first-term state senator on being outgunned by Republicans during the legislative session, what the Democrats accomplished and how he thinks Gov. Rick Perry will do in 2012." — José Rodríguez: The TT Interview

• "The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced today that the embattled interim director who oversaw the flawed gun-smuggling investigation known as 'Fast and Furious' is stepping down." — Embattled ATF Interim Director Reassigned

• "As the Central Texas utility struggles to retain electric customers, its new general manager, Becky Motal, announced that four senior positions have been eliminated and said staff reductions 'may be necessary.'" — New LCRA Head Orders Reorganization

• "DAY 30 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: During a legislative session where hardly any services were spared the budget ax, funding for border security actually increased." — 31 Days, 31 Ways: Despite State Budget Cuts, Border Security Funding Increases