Perry's fundraising prowess

Controversy continues to stir around the timing of Texas Governor Rick Perry's acceptance of donations from Merck before he issued an executive order for mandatory HPV vaccines.

On Monday, Gov. Perry will be lauded for his fundraising prowess after raising more than $9.4 million for the Republican Governors Association meeting with President Bush. (You may still be able to go if you are in Washington, DC and you have $1,000.)

Of the donors to the Republican group, the top giver last year was Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, no relation to the governor. He gave $2.05 million, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks fundraising and spending.

Bob Perry was the largest political donor in Texas in 2006 and gave $380,000 to Perry's campaign, according to Texans for Public Justice, a political watchdog group.

You may remember Bob Perry from earlier posts on this blog.

Go here, if you want to see a little case study from the fundraising consulting group that helped get Rick Perry elected Lt. Governor.

UPDATE: The annual event raised a record $10.4 million for GOP gubernatorial candidates.