Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday he isn’t worried that a failure to increase the nation’s debt ceiling would trigger an economic catastrophe. He also says that it should be up to the states to decide whether abortion is illegal — or legal.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Monday it had preserved certain travel records associated with the cost of providing security to Gov. Rick Perry before 2008, contrary to information it provided on Friday.  

State officials said Friday they can’t reveal how much money taxpayers are spending to protect Gov. Rick Perry — and that records of security costs compiled before 2008 have been “purged.”

Americans for Rick Perry, an independent group promoting would-be presidential contender Rick Perry, has suffered a setback in Iowa, but it’s picking up new volunteers in South Carolina. 

John Nance Garner, the colorful West Texas politician known as “Cactus Jack,” used to say the office of vice president “wasn’t worth a warm bucket of piss.” Gov. Rick Perry, without using any four-letter words, said as much on Tuesday.

Gov. Rick Perry, in his first question-and-answer session with reporters in weeks, said Texas taxpayers should pick up the expense of his security even if costs shoot up dramatically while he travels around the nation running for president. 

Gov. Rick Perry, who is considering a run for the White House, has spent nearly $1 million in state campaign funds since January, shelling out thousands of dollars for out-of-state travel, hotels and meetings, records released Friday show. 

Gov. Rick Perry, a no-apologies conservative known for slashing government spending and opposing all tax increases, is about as Republican as you can get. Except when he wasn't.

Trial lawyer Steve Mostyn insists the governor and the GOP-led Legislature punished him for donating millions to Democrats by putting his clients — coastal homeowners — in the crosshairs. "It's straight-up vendetta politics," he says.

Gov. Rick Perry may or may not try to become the leader of what was once called the free world. In the meantime, he has cemented his reputation as one of the most powerful governors ever to walk the corridors of the Texas Capitol.

Gov. Rick Perry had surgery this morning for a recurring back ailment, and will likely be in recovery for "a couple of days," his spokesman Mark Miner said. "It went according to plan," Miner said. "Everything went well." 

Gov. Rick Perry sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder this week calling plans by pro-Palestinian activists to protest and potentially disrupt Israel's naval blockade of Gaza an "unacceptable provocation."

Just as Gov. Rick Perry steps out on the national stage, lawmakers back home are moving to limit public access to detailed records showing how much it’s costing to protect him during his travels.

Gov. Rick Perry is the first to admit that his views on a host of hot-button political issues — from letting states legalize marijuana and gay marriage to describing Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme” — could cause him heartburn in a race for the White House.

Gov. Rick Perry's Saturday speech during the Republican Leadership Conference at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel.