Rick Perry says rock with racial epithet was painted over in 1984

[alp227]

Source: Wash. Post

Texas Gov. Rick Perry denied Thursday that a racial epithet was visible on a rock outside the hunting camp his family once leased in his first on-camera television interview since The Washington Post reported its existence over the weekend.

“I think there were very much some strong inconsistencies and just misinformation in that story,” the Republican presidential candidate told Fox News. “I know for a fact that in 1984, that rock was painted over. It was painted over very soon, my family did that.

“I have no idea where or why people would say that they had seen that rock, because that’s just not the fact,” he added.

In the Post report, seven people said that they had seen the name on the rock at points in the 1980s and 1990s; one recalled seeing it as recently as 2008. Some of the seven are Perry supporters.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rick-perry-says-rock-with-racial-epithet-was-painted-over-in-1984/2011/10/06/gIQAfwFMRL_story.html

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The original report: "At Rick Perry’s Texas hunting spot, camp’s old racially charged name lingered":

“It just said ‘Niggerhead,’ ” said one person who said he saw the rock in the 1980s and did not want to be named, because he still lives in the area. “That’s all that was on it.”

The rock was about five feet across and three feet tall, smooth and relatively flat, the word in block letters stretching across its surface, said the former worker from the Hendrick ranch, who said he had seen the rock numerous times over the past 30 years.

“I was just so taken aback that it was so blatant, so in your face,” said a person from the Dallas area who visited the camp once in 1990 or 1991 and did not want to be named in a story potentially critical of Perry. “It was just, ‘whop.’ It was a big rock, big enough to write that whole thing out.”

Longtime hunters, cowboys and ranchers said this particular place was known by that name as long as they could remember, and still is.

[SpiralHawk]

1. "I did not have Republicon racism with that metamorphic lump, that rock." - Tricky Rickster (R)

"And since I is a Republicon, you know (smirk) how we does the 'truthiness' thing. Smirk."

- Tricky Rickster (R)

[Ian David]

2. The point is that he chose to do business with openly racist people in the first place.

"Let's rent that property from the nice, racist folks!"

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Rove probably refreshed the paint in the middle of the night.