[Cincinatus' Wife]

Conservatism = economic health.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Rick Perry started as a Democrat in West Texas (essentially THE only party). He served in the Texas legislature - was known as one of the "pit bulls," conservative members who sat in the lower pit of the House Appropriations Committee and bitterly fought spending increases.

Perry changed parties in 1989, joining Phil Gramm and other conservative Texas Democrats, who now had a true ideological party with a burgeoning Texas GOP.

When Perry campaigned for Lt. Gov. [1998], he and his campaign staff were in it to win and his hard-nosed style was against the "friendly" advice and request of GWB [in re-election bid for Texas Gov] and Rove to run easy against Sharp, a popular democrat (and Aggie friend of Perry's from their A&M years together). Rove wanted to broaden Bush's base for his upcoming White House run. Perry told them where to stick their advice, because he knew the voters would vote for Bush for Gov. and then cross back over and vote for Sharp (D) for Lt. Gov, if he just walked through the motions like the Bush-Rove team asked him to do.

Perry won the seat for Lt. Gov. -- the first Republican elected to that office since Reconstruction. Now 13 years later and into his 3rd term as Texas governor, the GOP holds a super majority. So Perry has earned his conservative spurs -- fighting both parties!

[The Bushes and Rove supported Kay Bailey Hutchison's primary challenge against Gov. Perry the 2010 election too]

[FatherofFive]

He has Texas authenticity in a way that Bush never fully did.

And he has things 0bama will NEVER have.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

You mis-spelled “Alaska”. :)

[Savage Beast]

"Texas is the new California."

Perhaps. But there are notable differences.

One is this:

Texas is not likely to commit suicide.

California infected itself with the disease of decadence ("Liberalism"). The once Golden State is now in free-fall into a Third World Hellhole. California's future is Detroit, if it's lucky--Zimbabwe, if it isn't.

Texas is not California.

[Texas Fossil]

Bush got religion; Perry had it from birth. He has Texas authenticity in a way that Bush never fully did.

Texas is not where you were born, but a State of Mind, Heart and Attitude. Goes something like this: "Leave us alone to live our lives in peace and we will get along fine, if that is not satisfactory, we will deal with it."

[Fiji Hill]

California lost its way after Governor George Deukmejian left office in 1991.

[Dudoight]

NPR? NPR? you gotta be kidding me. I would call this a positive view. But from NPR? How did it sneak thru?

[shield]

Perry Ping

If you'd rather not be pinged FReepmail me. Thanks.

[ken21]

over regulation has stifled the californicate economy.

[lentulusgracchus]

Conservatism = economic health.

No doubt. But I would argue that Perry is an exponent of Bushy access capitalism (Stockman's "pigs at the trough") rather than the Randite "real deal" capitalism of Adam Smith and the Austrian liberals.

[Art.] Tod Lindberg, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and editor of Policy Review, is a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard.

Another endorsement by the Neo-Conservative Weekly Standard crowd. Okay, Neocons love Perry. Do conservatives? Tea Party people? Remember, he's working for the bankers and builders and open-borders people.