August 29, 2011 11:14 PM UTC

Rick Perry Rakes in Big Money in Aspen

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: The focus of today’s Statesman story is the money raised by Rick Perry in Aspen last week, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge this fascinating quote from his speech:

“When it comes to economic growth, I know this,” Perry added. “The answer is not trickle down stimulus coming from Washington, D.C. but is truly up to freeing up those individuals unleashing corporate growth and the investment on Wall Street freeing them up from over taxation, over regulation and over litigation.”

“Freeing up…Wall Street?” Probably not coming to a bumper sticker near you.

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Texas Governor and Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry banked $175,000 for his campaign in a fundraising trip to Aspen last Thursday. And as The Colorado Statesman reports, the money came with the help of two high-profile Colorado Republicans, Marc Holtzman and Scott McInnis:

Perry’s short side trip to the mountains that day netted the conservative candidate $175,000 for his campaign coffers – the most lucrative such event in the history of Republican politics in Pitkin County, according to a local and national source – and put him in front of a well-heeled Aspen crowd, many of who said afterwards that the prospect of a Perry presidency truly excited them. There were numerous pledges of support from the approximate 60 people there, including promises of additional financial backing in the future, and a general joy at having rubbed elbows with, as Holtzman proudly announced more than once that afternoon, the next president of the United States.

That’s a lot of money for Perry, but perhaps more significant is the commitment he has received from Holtzman. While his 2006 campaign for Governor fell apart when he — shockingly — failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the primary against Bob Beauprez, fundraising was one area in which the wealthy Holtzman had little trouble. Holtzman raised nearly $2 million despite basically ending his campaign in June, nearly two months before the Republican primary. If Holtzman is going to be bundling money for Perry, which we would assume to be the case, then we’d assume a fair number of Colorado Republicans are going to be getting phone calls very soon.