"A lot of the stuff that he got away with in Texas, you could only get away with as governor of Texas"

The AP’s 2010 report laid out some of Perry’s state-funded expenses on the temporary residence, including $8,400 for maintenance on a heated pool, $1,001 for Neiman Marcus window coverings, and $1,000 for repairs on a filtered ice machine. And in a detail that might be of negligible concern to Texas taxpayers but could make for a convenient talking point for Perry’s future GOP opponents, the governor charged the state $70 for a subscription to Food & Wine Magazine at his home.

“We’re paying $10,000 a month for it at a time when Texans are facing a massive budget shortfall, and it’s irresponsible for Texans to have to pay for his extravagant lifestyle,” Texas Democratic Party communications director Kirsten Gray said. “No governor who spends $1,000 in taxpayer money for Neiman Marcus window coverings can call himself a conservative.”

The controversy surrounding Perry’s pricey rental home could take on added resonance after the governor recently signed a budget that several news reports characterized as having been balanced largely through accounting gimmicks.