Checking Chris Christie = Rick Perry and Texas unemployment

A New Jersey Democrat recently proclaimed similarities between the Republican governors of the Garden State and Texas, saying Chris Christie and Rick Perry both have hurt women, families and their respective state’s economy.

John Currie, who chairs the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, aired his criticisms in a Sept. 9, 2013, guest post on a blog, the Austin-based, pro-Democratic Burnt Orange Report.

Noting that Christie was making a Texas political trip, Currie took Perry to task for fresh abortion restrictions he signed into law as well as cuts in public school spending approved in 2011. Currie also touched on the state’s high ranking in residents paid the minimum wage; in August 2011, we rated such a claim as True.

But the Currie claim that drew the Texas Truth-O-Meter afresh had to do with more Texans being jobless than before Perry became governor.

Half True, we concluded, noting that no governor controls his or her state’s economy and that cherry-picking the Texas unemployment rate in two out of Perry’s 140-plus months as governor can leave misimpressions about multiple changes in joblessness during his tenure.

See the fact check to the right; extra points for clicking through to the Corvette mention.