Aides to Texas Governor Rick Perry have
prepared a response to the on-again off-again rumor that he's gay in
the event he decides to run for president, POLITICO.com
reported.
Perry is a social conservative known
for his anti-gay rhetoric.
Yet in 2004, the governor personally
responded to stories he was preparing to leave his wife Anita because
he's gay.
Speaking to the American-Statesman,
Perry denied the allegations, calling the rumor an “obvious,
orchestrated effort” perpetuated by political opponents. The
rumors are “not correct in any shape, form or fashion,” he said.
The rumor mill “is a cancer on the
political process that is deadly,” he said of his reasons for
addressing the rumor.
Dave Carney, Perry's top strategist,
told POLITICO that the rumors are “false and misleading.”
“This
kind of nameless, faceless smear campaign is run against the Perry
family in seemingly every campaign, with no basis, truth or success,”
Carney said.
“Texas politics is a full contact
[sport], live hand grenades and all; unfortunately there are always
going to be some people who feel the need to spread false and
misleading rumors to advance their own political agenda,” he added.
According to The Wall Street
Journal, Perry is seriously considering becoming a late entry in
the contest for the GOP nomination.