Inside Politics

Perry vs. Romney

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, has written a book about the Boy Scouts, and he includes a less-than-flattering story about Mitt Romney, suggesting that the Republican presidential hopeful bowed to the homosexual rights lobby during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Here is a portion of what Mr. Perry had to say about Mr. Romney in the new book, “On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For,”due out in February from Stroud & Hall Publishers:

“The ACLU’s ‘fingerprints’ aren’t on every effort to deny the Boy Scouts access to public facilities and events, though chances are they cheer when kindred groups initiate such efforts. Take the case of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In the planning stages, when it was faltering financially, Mitt Romney stepped in as president and chief executive officer. He soon straightened things out and set plans in motion to make it a success.

“In 2000 he put out a published call for volunteers … The Great Salt Lake Council of the BSA, the largest in the nation, with some 80,000 Scouts and 35,000 adult leaders, answered Romney’s call for volunteers.”

“Some time that fall, however, the Scouts were advised that they were no longer welcome to participate. Chief Scout Executive for the Council, Marty Latimer said, ‘We don’t understand what’s wrong. They just don’t want us and won’t talk to us.’ He said that Romney had not returned calls from several Scout executives seeking an explanation. The Council’s President R. Lawry Hunsaker expressed surprise that Romney had ignored Scout leaders for he had once been a Scout and a Scout leader himself. ‘We can’t get him to return our calls.’ ”

Ready to rumble

A Chuck-Sly smackdown?

Mike Huckabee was asked last night at the Republican presidential debate about martial-arts action star Chuck Norris, who has endorsed and campaigned with Mr. Huckabee and said that rival Sen. John McCain of Arizona, 71, is too old to be president.

Mr. Huckabee said he disagreed with the tough-guy actor, and Mr. McCain responded by pointing to his own Hollywood muscle.

“Now that Sylvester Stallone has endorsed me, I’m sending him over to take care of Chuck Norris right away,” the former Vietnam War POW said.

But Vince McMahon and Don King won’t be getting into any bidding wars for the Huck-Chuck rumble.

Mr. Norris “is a guy who can put this foot on that side of my face,” Mr. Huckabee said. “I didn’t disagree with him at the time [of the McCain-age comment], because I was standing next to him.”

Age “is not an issue for me. It might be for Chuck, but,” Mr. Huckabee said carefully, “I’m far enough away from him that I feel comfortable in saying that now.”

Kucinich bows out

Story Continues →