Republican prez nominee-wannabe, Strong man, and rumored closet case Rick Perry drew a blank this week when faced with the topic of Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down state sodomy laws—which, er, rather heavily involved the state he governed at the time.

Perry was speaking to about 150 people in a Cedar Rapids coffee shop on Thursday, when he was asked how he reconciles his support of limited government with his criticism of Lawrence v. Texas.

After bumbling for a bit about out-of-control government spending, Perry responded: “You know, I wish I could tell you I know every Supreme Court case. I don’t. I’m not even going to try to go through every Supreme Court case. I’m not a lawyer.”

More Perry-esque fumbling ensued, and then this: “We can sit here and play ‘I gotcha’ questions on ‘What about this Supreme Court case?’ or whatever, but you know and I know that the problem in this country is spending in Washington, D.C. It’s not some Supreme Court case.”

Afterward, a reporter asked Perry if he actually knew what Lawrence v. Texas was. By now Perry had had enough: “My position on traditional marriage is clear and I don’t need a law. I don’t need a federal law case to explain it to me.”

Problem is, Perry is quite aware of the case, or at least he was until last year: He mentioned Lawrence v. Texas in his own 2010 book, Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington. And way back in 2002, when the Court took up the case, Perry had this to say: “I think our [anti-sodomy] law is appropriate that we have on the books.”

Maybe Perry isn’t up on sodomy rulings now because he’s too busy shoving his head up his ass?

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