Former Obama advisers split on Perry

The indictment of Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Friday shocked the political world and drew everything from tough defenses to calls for Perry to resign.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), who is seen as a rising star and could run for governor himself someday, called on Perry to resign. 

For the sake of Texas, Governor Perry should resign following his indictment on two criminal felony counts involving abuse of office.

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) August 15, 2014

Perry was indicted on two felony counts for allegedly abusing his veto power in an effort to force a Democratic prosecutor to resign. 

Perry vetoed money for the corruption unit under Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg after Lehmberg refused to resign following a drunk driving conviction last year. 

Perry is a prominent critic of President Obama who ran for president in 2012 and is considered to be eyeing another run. But David Axelrod, a former Obama senior adviser, came to Perry’s defense. 

Unless he was demonstrably trying to scrap the ethics unit for other than his stated reason, Perry indictment seems pretty sketchy.

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) August 16, 2014

Jim Messina, another former top Obama adviser, took the opposite tack, cheering the indictment.

Here’s to suddenly loving the Texas legal process: Rick Perry indicted.

— Jim Messina (@Messina2012) August 15, 2014

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who could face Perry in a Republican presidential primary, defended his home state’s governor.

“Unfortunately, there has been a sad history of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office engaging in politically-motivated prosecutions, and this latest indictment of the governor is extremely questionable,” Cruz wrote on Facebook. “Rick Perry is a friend, he’s a man of integrity – I am proud to stand with Rick Perry. The Texas Constitution gives the governor the power to veto legislation, and a criminal indictment predicated on the exercise of his constitutional authority is, on its face, highly suspect.”