Sarah Palin brings GOP star power to suburban Houston rally for Gov. Rick Perry

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Palin stumps for Gov. Perry in suburban Houston

CYPRESS, Texas — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stumped for Gov. Rick Perry at a rally Sunday in suburban Houston, adding some national Republican star power to Perry’s re-election campaign.

“At the very mention of her name, the liberals, the progressives, the media elites, they literally foam at the mouth,” Perry said. “Sarah literally inspires millions of people with her values, her spunk.”

Palin appeared with Perry a day after the GOP’s vice presidential nominee last year was in Nashville, Tenn., to address the first national convention of the anti-establishment “tea party” coalition.

Perry is firmly establishment in Texas but has campaigned as anti-Washington in his March 2 GOP primary race against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. He’s seeking a third four-year term that would add to his tenure as the longest-serving governor in Texas history.

Palin said Texas and Alaska had some “really sweet connections, … independent pioneer-spirited people and big wide open spaces.”

“A lot of us in our states proudly cling to our guns and religion,” she told a cheering crowd.