Small government promoter Rick Perry sends Texas $2.6 million bill for promotional travel

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) likes to talk tough about his small government credentials, but the numbers he’s been racking up lately tell a different tale: according to The Houston Chronicle, the arch conservative’s out-of-state security detail has cost Texas taxpayers a whopping $2.6 million since he was reelected in 2010.

All that money has gone to pay for Perry’s security details as he tours the country trying to poach jobs from other states, and from his ill-fated bid for the Republican nomination to the presidency, according to data released by the Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS).

The Chronicle noted that the bulk of Perry’s travel security costs, a full $1.8 million, went to his TXDPS detail during the presidential run. Accounting for his food, lodging and other travel-related costs, NBC News reported last May that Perry’s campaign travel cost Texas taxpayers some $3.6 million in total — nearly twice as much as Perry’s predecessor, George W. Bush, spent on travel during his presidential campaign.