The Midday Brief: Sept. 2, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "Mitt Romney starts to make the contrast with Rick Perry over immigration, an area where the Texas governor's critics see an opening, in his remarks at the National Hispanic Assembly in Florida this morning. Romney urged … 'Finally, we must stop providing the incentives that promote illegal immigration. As governor, I vetoed legislation that would have provided in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants.'" — Romney draws immigration contrast with Perry, Politico

• "'We are going to have to make serious decisions in the future because we can’t keep stretching the nickel,' Patrick said. 'How do we fund education long term? I think we should add 2 cents to the sales tax, and dedicate that to education. The reason I think that is: for every penny we bring in, we get $2.5 billion.'" — Dan Patrick calls for 2-cent sales tax increase for education, BurkaBlog

• "As long as the Republicans nominate one of their co-front runners, Mitt Romney or Rick Perry, they're likely to keep South Carolina in their column pretty easily next year. That's no surprise. What makes the Presidential numbers in the Palmetto State more interesting though is that despite Perry being the overwhelming favorite of Republican primary voters in the state, Romney actually does 7 points better than him against Barack Obama." — Romney outperforms Perry in South Carolina, Public Policy Polling

• "Though Perry has long tried to distance himself from the incident, the phrase is enjoying an unexpected revival. Now that Perry is the challenger to an incumbent rather than running for reelection, his supporters are repurposing the phrase as a sort of warning to President Obama." — Perry fans repurposing "Adios, Mofo," PoliTex

Your afternoon reading:

• "Gov. Rick Perry announced who's running his presidential campaign Friday, bestowing official titles on the staff that has brought him into hallowed frontrunner status in a matter of a couple of weeks." — Perry Campaign Announces Top Staff

• "Austin Democrats are pretty unhappy with the Republican Legislature’s redistricting maps, and Rep. Lloyd Doggett is the poster child for their frustrations. Their anger might save him." — Doggett vs. the GOP and the Political Map