Rick Perry channels Glenn Beck

When Gov. Rick Perry recommended an obscure book at a recent conference for social conservatives in Washington, heads nodded around the room.

Lots of people seem to recognize the 1981-year-old book, The 5000 Year Leap, and the author, Cleon Skousen.

Fox News host Glenn Beck has invoked Skousen lavishly in his battle against all things Obama. And in recent weeks, Perry has followed Beck’s lead and adopted the author, who died in 2006, as a political ally in his re-election campaign against Kay Bailey Hutchison.

There has not been one doubt that Perry is going after the batsh*t crazy crowd. And, yes, racism is front and center.

"White schoolchildren would 'envy the freedom' of 'colored playmates.' Slave food, even if monotonous, was plentiful. Corn bread and bacon were the mainstays, with plenty of fruit and vegetables in season. In hog-killing time, countenances were unusually greasy."
-- Glenn Beck's idol, far-right activist W. Cleon Skousen in "The Making of America". Beck has made some of this man's writings the centerpiece of his of 9-12 Project.