How Rick Perry navigated and shaped Texas politics as the state’s longest serving governor.
Rick Perry, the charming rancher, pilot, and politician from West Texas who was governor from 2000 to 2015, is one of the most important but polarizing figures in the state's history. Over the nearly forty years he spent in the political arena, his political instincts served as a radar primed to sense future political opportunities. Hugging the arc of Texas political change, he shifted from a rural, “blue dog” Democrat to one of the most conservative politicians the state had elected up to that time, overseeing the enactment of controversial redistricting, voting, and abortion measures. Yet his evolution was complicated and incomplete, as his stands on such topics as immigration, vaccine requirements, and the use of state funds to attract business ran into opposition from a growing and ever-more conservative wing of the Republican Party in Texas—and the nation.
Rick Perry is both a biography of Perry as a politician and a study of the shifts in state politics that took place during his time in office. Demonstrating that Perry ranks among the most consequential governors in Texas history, Brandon Rottinghaus chronicles the profound ways he accumulated power and shaped the governorship.
In a sprawling new biography, Rick Perry: A Political Life, Brandon Rottinghaus revives the long, large, and colorful tale of Perry’s rise and reshaping of Texas politics. . . . This blend of in-the-moment color and retrospective helps provide some depth to Perry’s trajectory; longtime Texas political junkies and newer Lege students alike will benefit from the detailed recounting.
What makes Rick Perry: A Political Life so compelling is that Brandon Rottinghaus lets the actual history speak for itself. The author understands that if we aren’t aware of our complex history, we’ll never be the state that we dream of being.
Rick Perry: A Political Life is well reported, thoughtful, and insightful, tracing the changing political dynamics in the state that coincided with the arc of Perry’s political career and clearly showing its singular importance to the state of Texas and the GOP. Rottinghaus offers an honest, objective view of Perry; this is not a book primarily for Republicans or Democrats, but instead a book for anyone who wants to understand Perry, his life, and his impact in an evenhanded manner. The comprehensive reporting included in the book ensures that no key moment is overlooked, and the book is highly readable for those who aren’t political insiders. Rick Perry is an important achievement; the book people will need to read to understand Perry and his political career.
Brandon Rottinghaus is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston. His most recent books are Inside Texas Politics, Current Debates in the Lone Star State, and Inside American Government. He is also the cohost of Party Politics, a TV8 show, a radio program on KUHF, and a podcast on Houston Public Media.
- 1. A Political Rebirth at the Dawn of the Modern Texas Republican Party
- 2. The House Years, 1984–1990: Democrat from “The Big Empty”
- 3. Republican Agricultural Commissioner, 1991–1998: “Jane Fonda–That Was Stretching It”
- 4. Lieutenant Governor, 1998–2001: “Together We Can--Junto Podemos”
- 5. Governor, 2001–2002: Into the Governor’s Mansion and the First Gubernatorial Campaign
- 6. First Full Term, 2003–2006: The 2003 Session and the Democratic Walkout
- 7. The 2005 Session and 2006 Election: “Governor 39 Percent”
- 8. The 2007 and 2009 Sessions and the 2010 Election: No Mood for Compromise
- 9. The 2011 Session and the 2012 Presidential Election: “I can’t . . . Oops”
- 10. The 2013 Session, Indictment, and the 2016 Presidential Race: “Answer to No One”
- 11. An Underestimated Political Rebirth
- 12. Legacy and Impact
- Acknowledgments
- Author Interviews
- Notes
- Index
