Top 10 Quotes of the Week

Bill Spelman

Photo by John Anderson

1) "The gap between what was expected of [Gov. Rick Perry] and what he delivered ... makes Perry a clear choice for worst candidate of 2012."

– The Washington Post's political column, "The Fix," published Nov. 19 (Nov. 22 issue)

2) "Four years from now, Texas is going to be a so-called blue state."

– Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, explaining to New York magazine how Texas' rapidly expanding Hispanic population could repaint our predominantly Republican state by 2016 (Oct. 18)

Rick Perry

Photo by John Anderson

3) "This separation of church and state is just false on its face."

– Gov. Rick Perry, who blames Satan for getting in the way of his "Biblical responsibility" to "proclaim God's truth" in the public arena (Sept. 27)

4) "Sausage."

– Council Member Bill Spelman, filling a pause on the dais as council members haggled over a budget item (Sept. 13)

5) "This is not the military. This is public education."

– Education Austin President Ken Zarifis, condemning AISD for running summer STAAR test "boot camps" (June 21)

6) "Put bluntly, I believe you are a snake oil salesman; a narcissist that would say anything to draw attention to himself."

Leslie Tisdale

Photo by Jana Birchum

– Dallas Sen. John Carona, in an email exchange with fellow GOP Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston (May 10)

7) "Remember, you can be me, because I am you."

– Exoneree Michael Morton, telling an audience that anyone can be wrongfully convicted (April 5)

8) "They can't just say, 'I love babies, and I love public schools.'"

– Allen Weeks, on Save Texas Schools' mission to hold legis­lat­ive candidates accountable for their campaign rhetoric (March 22)

9) "There are more UFO and Bigfoot sightings than documented cases of voter impersonation."

– State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, applauding the U.S. Department of Justice's rejection of Voting Rights Act preclearance for the Texas voter ID law (March 14)

10) "It's my uterus ... bitch!"

– Leslie Tisdale, with sign, at a Feb. 17 rally supporting Planned Parenthood (Feb. 23)