Talking With Dollars

Rick Perry is still the money man: Falls in polls, but raises $17 million in 49days

Unlike Texas' public school system, Rick Perry's campaign is well funded.

The Drudge Report reported Wednesday morning in an exclusive:

Republican White House hopeful Rick Perry raised over $17 million in 49 days, DRUDGE has learned. $347,000 per day; 20,000 unique donors from all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam. With more than half of donors living outside of Texas."

Of course, it turned out that Perry's campaign leaked the information to Drudge, with analysts speculating that the campaign is trying to woo the conservative web giant — one that's run some negative Perry stories.

Upon entering the race mid-August, Perry's charisma and rhetoric pushed him to the top of the GOP running, so contributing to his campaign may have initially seemed like a good investment. Perhaps those 20,000 donors now feel that their hard-earned dollars were misspent, as Perry's poll numbers are sharply declining.

The latest poll numbers show that Perry has fallen from 23 percent to 12 percent over the past two weeks, and now rests below a steady Mitt Romney and Herman Cain (who is rapidly gaining ground) — each at 17 percent among Republican primary voters.

Perry looks great in photos and promising on paper to Republicans, but the past three GOP debates have raised empty talk concerns. Perry also seems to have alienated large portions of the conservative base with what's being perceived as contradictory views.

Plus, the Texas governor just can't seem to keep his foot out of his mouth — or certain unfavorable pieces of his family history out of the national spotlight.

The Washington Post seems to think that the announcement of these funding numbers will give a boost to Perry's campaign. Do you believe money — which translates to support, or at least the appearance of it — will power Perry back up the polls?

unspecified

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

undefined

Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”