[x]

The Reagan years is when he chose to become a Captain for the Democrats, a 1984 Congressional Democrat candidate, and Al Gores's campaign manager against Reagan's veep in 1988.

To be fair, the Al Gore of 1988 didn't look much to his fellow Southern congressmen like the Al Gore of later years. If they were wrong, it was a common perception.

And a lot of Reaganites weren't crazy about the prospect of George H.W. Bush in the White House. I'm not sure they were entirely wrong.

I'm not exactly disagreeing with you, just saying that it's possible to overstate the case against Perry.

[ansel12]

To be fair, the Al Gore of 1988 didn't look much to his fellow Southern congressmen like the Al Gore of later years. If they were wrong, it was a common perception. And a lot of Reaganites weren't crazy about the prospect of George H.W. Bush in the White House. I'm not sure they were entirely wrong.

No one can soft pedal Al Gore and remain credible, and Reagan's veep got 53% of the national vote, and 56% of the Texas vote in that election, we didn't win Perry's vote, he preferred Democrats.

[hellbender]

It's time to bury forever this crap about Al Gore being some kind of "Southern conservative Democrat" when Rick Perry enthusiastically supported him. Al Gore's voting record is easily accessible on the American Conservative Union website. His ACU rating was 9%. That's more liberal than numerous leftist northern Demonrats, like Patrick Leahy of VT. Al Gore registered pro-abortion votes during the '80s.

Yet Rick Perry thought Al Gore, punk son of a rich elitist Demonrat, who frittered away his time at Harvard smoking dope, then flunked out of divinity and law school, was a better Presidential choice than Reagan's choice for VP, George H.W. Bush, WW 2 hero and former CIA Chief.