Texas Governor Rick Perry’s campaign is on the defensive over a report in The Washington Post about his family’s old hunting camp, which had a racially-charged name. The report says the racial epithet was visible on a rock at the entrance of the camp as recently as 3 years ago. However, Perry’s campaign maintains that the name was changed soon after Perry’s father leased the property almost 30 years ago. Herman Cain, the only African American Republican presidential candidate, responded to the story yesterday on Fox News. He said, "There isn't a more vile, negative word than the n-word and for him to leave it there as long as he did before he painted over it, it's just plain insensitive to a lot of black people in this country." Governor Perry’s spokesman responded to Cain’s comments, saying, “Mr. Cain is wrong about the Perry family’s quick action to eliminate the word on the rock, but is right the word written by others long ago is insensitive and offensive. That is why the Perry’s took quick action to cover and obscure it.”
Perry also grabbed headlines this weekend for some controversial remarks he made on military intervention. Speaking to voters in New Hampshire on Saturday, the Governor said he would consider sending U.S. troops into Mexico to combat drug-related violence. Perry added that such action could prevent violence in Mexico from entering southern parts of the United States.
These developments come as Rick Perry placed second again to Herman Cain in a straw poll. Fresh off his Florida straw poll win last weekend, the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO also won the National Federation of Republican Women’s Straw Poll, getting over 48% of the vote. Rick Perry came in a distant second with 14%, while Mitt Romney followed in third place with 13% .