Perry's Campaign Will Pay For a Happy Ending

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The "Perry Home Headquarters" program is akin to a multi-level marketing system, wherein campaign volunteers can earn money by convincing their friends to vote for the candidate in a three-step process:

1. Volunteers are asked to recruit friends and neighbors, who are called Perry Home Headquarters.

2. The Headquarters pledge in turn to recruit 11 more people to vote for Perry in the March primary.

3. The initial volunteers get $20 for each Perry Home Headquarter recruited, plus another $20 for every 11 voters each Headquarter signs up to vote in the primary.

Though it draws comparisons to get-rich-quick pyramid schemes, the program is perfectly legal and doesn't involve participants putting any money in. Still, as one person affiliated with the Chris Bell campaign in 2006 put it, "a dishonest Perry supporter could create a huge scam [with this]."

"These are people that want to be involved," said Perry spokesman Mark Miner. "It's an incentive to work hard for the governor."

Hutchison's campaign, which doesn't pay its supporters, derided the plan as "typical Rick Perry arrogance."

"When his failed record can't earn him support, he'll just buy it," said spokeswoman Jennifer Baker.

The trick to the program is to get in early, and recruit your friends. One guy in Dallas, according to the AP article, managed to earn $3,500 last month.