Yee-haw! Palin gets involved in Texas politics - endorses Perry

See, that Sarah Palin "I'll never run for president" PAC is already working.

The Alaska governor launched a political action committee last week, and she's already using it to endorse other candidates.

Texas tea

Her first outing since the PAC was formed? Texas. She didn't travel down there for a big hoo-hah, but she did endorse Texas Governor Rick Perry for re-election yesterday.

No big deal, right? After all, she endorsed an incumbent.

That would normally be the case, but there's someone else in the party who's interested in the position. Not a Texas version of Joe the Plumber either – this candidate's for real.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison wants the governor's chair. She announced her bid back in December (we told you about it here).

Guns, guns, guns

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Palin sent a letter to 10,500 members of the Texas Federation of Republican Women endorsing the current governor.

"He walks the walk of a true conservative," she said of Perry. "And he sticks by his guns – and you know how I feel about guns."

Abortion

Another reason for the endorsement is abortion rights. Perry is opposed. Hutchison favors legal, but restricted, abortion.

"Not every child is born into ideal circumstances, but every life is sacred," Palin wrote. "Rick Perry knows this – it is at the core of his being."

Diplomatic

Of course, Perry's camp is playing up the letter. And Hutchison's camp is dismissing it - although tactfully. Her campaign didn't go all Blagojevich on the announcement and issue a statement filled with words like "@$#*&!."

Wayne Slater of the Trailblazer blog calls the response "masterful."

"We look forward to having the [Alaska] governor's support after the primary," replied the spokesperson.

Let's dance

Despite the diplomatic response, the race will heat up over time. That's a ga-rawn-tee. You remember Perry's response to Hutchison's announcement last December?

"Bring it on," he said, stated like only a true Texan can.

Here's a video of Palin and Perry together (from last year).