Dr. James Leininger: Rick Perry's Right Hand Man
Bill Berkowitz printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Wed Sep 07, 2011 at 11:50:01 AM EST
"Perry might never have been governor - nor now be a presidential candidate - but for James Leininger" -- "Rick Perry's Heavenly Host"

These days, the emergence of Texas Governor Rick Perry as the frontrunner for the Republican Party's presidential nomination must be warming the cockles of Dr. James Leininger's heart.  

Who is Dr. James Leininger, and why is he considered one of the Texas Governor's "most stalwart helpmates"?

Outside of Texas, Leininger is a relatively unknown multi-millionaire. Inside the second-largest U.S. state by both size and population, however, Leininger is known as the "Sugar Daddy" of the religious right.
'Well known to the state's political class'

A recent piece in The Texas Tribune described him as being "Well known to the state's political class," who "rose to political prominence for his work promoting school vouchers, the campaign to ban same-sex marriage in Texas and his sizable financial contributions to Perry and other conservative political candidates. He also founded the Texas Public Policy Foundation [TPPF], an influential conservative think tank that has worked closely with Perry."

"What makes Leininger one of the most powerful people in Texas politics is less the amount of money he has given over the years than the broad reach of his spending and his commitment to a conservat