Politico's perry jobs piece

Tom Blumer:

Politico's Katie Glueck must have been really desperate for something newsworthy as a Saturday column topic.

She apparently believed it was worth devoting over 1,500 words to a writeup whose key point was that "at least one Republican" doesn't like Texas Governor Rick Perry's aggressive attempts to persuade companies in other states to relocate to or expand in the Lone Star State. She cited only one. Even that person person's criticism was very mild, and it came from someone who, because of his position, couldn't say that what Perry is doing is great even if he wanted to without risking his job. Despite the overdose of verbiage, Glueck also never provided any details of Texas's outsized contribution to the nation's overall mediocre post-recession job growth.

But first, the identity of the "at least one" -- and at most one -- Republican constituting a "backlash" (bolds are mine throughout this post):

Rick Perry faces backlash over jobs raids

Gov. Rick Perry’s high-profile efforts to lure jobs to Texas from other states may be good business and smart politics back home, but they’re infuriating to prominent Democrats around the country.

And now at least one Republican business leader says Perry’s taking the Lone Star swagger a little too far.

... Some of those who have been on the receiving end say that Perry raises eyebrows as much for his grating style as for the substance of his pitch.

“The biggest difference with Perry was, he was kind of like a Roman emperor coming into town with horns blowing in front of his arrival, his parade,” Doug Whitley, the president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, told POLITICO.

Whitley, a Republican who said he “generally [doesn’t] have any negative comments to make about” Perry, was referring to an April trip the governor took to Chicago, where he also addressed a conference.

“It was unusual in the fact that he spent some money to buy radio airtime to announce his arrival. … I thought it was a bit over the top,” Whitley added. “Other governors tend to do it with a little less fanfare but no less desire to make a positive impression in the Illinois business community.”

Perry got far more value in return from the highly publicized whining of Democrats like California Governor Jerry Brown and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel than the relative pittance his state spent on radio spots.

The most Glueck would say about Perry's efforts is that "The governor’s bids to encourage companies to relocate — critics call it “poaching” — are the most aggressive in the nation, according to experts."

In March 2012, Jan Norman at the Orange County Register covered a study released by Spectrum Location Solutions noting that "In 2011, 254 California companies moved some or all of their work and jobs out of state, 26% more than in 2010." Its CEO told Norman that in 2011 in Orange County alone, "Twenty-eight of these companies were in Orange County. Seven of them moved or expanded to Texas, three to Mexico, two to Washington and one each to 16 other states."...

...

There is more including an interest chart showing the comparative jobs numbers in California, Illinois and Texas.  I think Perry got his money's worth out of the recruiting trips.  He also got a chance to contrast his jobs message with that of liberals in the most liberal states.  It is good prep work if he decides to run for President.  It also was good PR for such an effort.