In the latest salvo between the Romney and Perry camps today, the Romney campaign accused the Perry campaign of having “four Pinocchios in 48 hours.” 

“One of Rick Perry’s biggest problems in this campaign is the truth,” said Romney communications director Gail Gitcho in a statement. “Governor Perry can’t explain away his support for tuition benefits for illegal immigrants, or his plan to dismantle Social Security, or why he took stimulus funds to cover his budget deficit. Instead, he is running a campaign fueled by distortions and tall tales.” 

For those who want to see the details about the four Pinocchios, I’ve pasted the Romney press release below the jump.

The Perry campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UPDATE: Perry spokesman Mark Miner e-mails, “Mitt Romney’s latest attack shows he is in full defensive mode and desperately trying to run from his past. Which way will Romney go next?”

PERRY ON MITT ROMNEY’S BOOK

·         Perry Version: “Mr. Romney bragged about Romneycare being a national model in his book, No Apology, published in March 2010.” (RickPerry.org, Press Release, 9/26/11)

·         The Truth: “My own preference would be to let each state fashion its own program to meet the distinct needs of its citizens. States could follow the Massachusetts model if they choose, or they could develop plans of their own.” (Mitt Romney, No Apology, 2010, p. 177)

PERRY ON EDUCATION

·         Perry Version: “I think Secretary [Arne] Duncan has done some good things. He is the current Secretary of Education. He, for instance, has a program called Race to the Top which encourages schools to have more choice, more testing of kids, more evaluation of teachers. Those are things I think make, make some sense.” (RickPerry.org, Press Release, 9/27/11)

·         The Truth: “But the real answer for me on education is get it back to the states. Get information to the states. Encourage with incentives programs that work like school choice. You know, I think Secretary Duncan has done some good things. He’s the current Secretary of Education. I hope that’s not heresy in the room. He for instance has a program called Race to the Top which encourages schools to have more choice, more testing of kids, more evaluation of teachers. Those are things I think make sense. For me, get that back to the state level.” (Mitt Romney, Remarks, Miami, FL, 9/21/11)

PERRY ON STIMULUS

·         Perry Version: “The ‘all-Democrat’ stimulus that was passed in early 2009 will accelerate the timing of the start of the recovery.” (RickPerry.org, Press Release, 9/28/11)

·         The Truth: “The ‘all-Democrat’ stimulus that was passed in early 2009 will accelerate the timing of the start of the recovery, but not as much as it could have had it included genuine tax- and job- generating incentives. President Obama and his economic team said their stimulus would hold unemployment below 8 percent. But unemployment soared well above that level. Not only has the 2009 package already been far less than successful, it will impose a heavy burden on the economy in the intermediate and long term.” (Mitt Romney, No Apology, 2010, pp. 144-145)

PERRY ON STIMULUS, AGAIN

·         Perry Version: “This is surely the time for economic stimulus.” (RickPerry.org, Press Release, 9/28/11)

·         The Truth: “So this is surely the time for economic stimulus. But — and this is the crucial point — the government can’t just make itself bigger and more oppressive in the guise of stimulating the economy. That would make matters worse.” (Mitt Romney, “A Republican Stimulus Plan,” National Review, 12/19/08)