Rick Perry is prancing all over the country saying that he knows stuff, like how to bottom out an educational system and wreck a state university and keep folks from getting health care.  So, if that’s what you’re looking for, Rick is your man.

He’s also real good at oops.

He spoke at a Virginia Republican fundraiser.

“Thomas Paine wrote that ‘the duty of a patriot is to protect his country from his government,’” Perry said, drawing applause from the crowd during his Feb. 24 event at the Richmond Marriott.

Well, that’s real spiffy but Thomas Paine never said that.

Saying that the quote doesn’t even sound like Paine, Gary Berton says it doesn’t appear in any of Paine’s writings, adding that Paine was oops to the English rule of the states, but …

But in the meantime, he was for a strong central government with redistribution of wealth,” added Berton, who is also the coordinator of the Institute of Thomas Paine Studies at Iona College in New Rochelle.

Best anybody can figure, the quote came from Edward Abbey, an American anarchist, environmentalist and novelist.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Thanks to David for the heads up.