During a question-and-answer session with voters in South Carolina, Gov. Rick Perry said he would eliminate the Small Business Administration, which provides loans, counseling and other assistance to small businesses.
Jay Root
Jay Root is an award-winning journalist who reported for the Tribune from 2011 to 2020. He covered the dramatic collapse of Gov. Rick Perry’s 2012 presidential campaign and went on to write an ebook about it called “Oops! A Diary from the 2012 Campaign Trail.” Root also broke the story that put the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, on the path toward criminal indictment, co-wrote an exposé that brought an end to privately funded prosecutions in Travis County, and authored a series of watchdog articles that prompted a wave of firings and resignations at two major state agencies.
In 2017, Root co-directed “Beyond The Wall,” a film exploring border politics in the age of Trump, which won a national Edward R. Murrow award for best news documentary. Root’s latest film, “Border Hustle,” was released in early 2019 and reveals how desperate migrants have become cash cows on both sides of the border.
Previously, for a dozen years, Root was Austin bureau chief of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he chronicled the rise of then-Gov. George W. Bush, wrote about cartel violence in Mexico and covered Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. During a three-year stint at the Associated Press, Root was twice named AP Staff Reporter of the Year for his watchdog reporting, including a story that sparked felony charges against a sitting state representative.
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Politics
Perry Challenges Romney; Paul Stands by Policies
The 16th debate of the Republican presidential primary season ended Monday with front-runner Mitt Romney bruised but not beaten.
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Politics
Candid Perry Comes to Terms With Long Odds
Gov. Rick Perry’s frenetic campaign schedule suggests he is not thinking much about the moment his presidential run will come to an end. But in an interview before a studio audience Monday in Myrtle Beach, Perry sounded somewhat less certain of victory and finally willing, perhaps, to look beyond a campaign that started off with such hope but quickly went off the rails.
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Politics
Evangelicals Deliver Blow to Perry After Texas Meeting
Rick Perry, trying to rescue his presidential campaign in South Carolina, got some unwelcome news Saturday from back home, where influential evangelical leaders threw their support behind former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
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Politics
Did Perry Mean to Add Interior to His Target List?
In a radio interview Friday morning, Rick Perry was asked again which federal departments he planned to shut down if elected president. This time he remembered to name three — but not the same three as before.
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Politics
South Carolina: Will Perry End It Where It Began?
Gov. Rick Perry launched his campaign for president exactly five months ago in Charleston, S.C. Once a front-runner in the Palmetto State, Perry is now hoping for a comeback to get some much-needed momentum.
Posted inState Government
Perry Takes Heat From GOP Voters Over “Vulture” Comments
Gov. Rick Perry is running into some blowback from voters over his attacks on “multimillionaire” Mitt Romney and the brand of “vulture capitalism” the former Massachusetts governor supposedly practiced at a corporate takeover firm.
Posted inState Government
Perry, Paul Take Different Paths to South Carolina
Ron Paul heads south riding the momentum of a second-place finish in New Hampshire, while Rick Perry has already made himself a fixture in the Palmetto State.
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Politics
Perry Says Romney Firm Acted Like “Vulture”
Rick Perry, trying to claw his way back into the 2012 presidential competition, conjured up images of hungry vultures Tuesday to describe front-runner Mitt Romney’s past as a corporate takeover artist.
Posted inState Government
Perry Rips Romney in South Carolina
It’s been a long time since Gov. Rick Perry tore into the presidential front-runner, but on Monday he let Mitt Romney have it. Perry mocked the former Massachusetts governor for saying recently that he sometimes lived with the fear of losing his own job.
