Perry, Schieffer, Ellis, Hilderbran, Garza, Averitt, and Hardy

Gov. Rick Perry, on federal stimuli, states rights, and secession, quoted by the Associated Press: "There's a lot of different scenarios. We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."

Democrat Tom Schieffer, currently exploring a gubernatorial bid against Perry: "Talk of secession would be laughable if it weren't mentioned in a serious way. Texas certainly can't withdraw from the world. We can't withdraw from America. We can't roll up into a ball and pretend problems don't exist. This is not the time to build walls between Texas and the world. This is the time to find workable solutions to the problems we face."

Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, on the same subject: "Talking about state's rights, the oppressive hand of the federal government and secession brings up some pretty bad memories in this state. It was not all that long ago that those were the exact words used by those who opposed desegregation and the civil rights movement. The top elected official in the second largest state with our history simply cannot be so loose with his comments. He's not a radio or cable TV talk show host."

Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, on the slow pace of the session, in the Houston Chronicle: "We had a record number of bills introduced. That's the bad news. The good news is that probably a record number of them will fail."

Former U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza, asked by Texas Monthly what he'd do if Kay Bailey Hutchison resigned her seat and Gov. Rick Perry wanted to appoint Garza: "My response would be, 'Rick, I live in Mexico City. It seems like an odd place to choose a U.S. senator from.'"

Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, on political squabbling at the State Board of Education, quoted in the Austin American-Statesman: "All I hear is that the Republicans want to push their religious views into the curriculum, and the Democrats want to teach our children how to masturbate."

SBOE member Pat Hardy, R-Fort Worth, on legislation that would strip the board of power, quoted in The Wall Street Journal: "As crazy as the Texas Board of Education is, there are just as many crazies, percentage-wise, in the state Legislature."