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Perry’s rugged Texan image can send conflicting message
Houston Chronicle ^ | August 31, 2011 | Maggie Galehouse

Posted on 09/01/2011 1:22:22 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

[excerpt of ONE analysis in the article that includes an "executive imager," and "sociology and urban research" professors who pick over Gov. Rick Perry and rural people]

[snip]

...Perry is a “no” man, says James Hoggard, an author and English professor at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.

“He fits into what Stuart Chase, a political economist, called ‘no’ men and ‘yes’ men. ‘No’ men tend to be associated with a rural or an agrarian society, which means they’re farmers and they’re going to be working by themselves as opposed to in groups, the way people in towns work. ‘Yes’ men – town men – think more in terms of cooperation and pooling ideas.”

Tension between groups

Tension between the two groups shows up in Faulkner and other writers, Hoggard notes. People from the country think the townspeople are looking down on them, so they become belligerent.

“In many respects, that ill-tempered gruffness you find in Rick Perry fits into this,” Hoggard observes. “The belligerence reveals something that’s not being talked about directly. That’s the crack in his myth. … He’s trying to be the colorful hick who’s in rebellion against the intellectual establishment, the country guy uneasy about the townspeople. The mistake comes in assuming the townspeople are laughing at the country people, when in realty, they’re not even thinking about them at all.”

Clearly, though, people are thinking about Perry. In a recent Gallup poll, 29 percent of Republicans and Republican-minded independents said they’re most likely to support Perry for president, with Mitt Romney next, at 17 percent.

For now, Perry is still winning, leading his posse north.

(Excerpt) Read more at blog.chron.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government
KEYWORDS: culture; formerdemocrat; gopprimary; leadership; openborders; rickperry2012; rino
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"Amusing" piece -- worth the read -- or just to see the picture they chose to go with it. (AP photo so can't post on FR)
1 posted on 09/01/2011 1:22:30 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: All
"Dumb" didn't stick so they're working a new angle -- "angry hick." (Unlike an elite, getting-along Obama). I expect there will be another description of Gov. Rick Perry (brought to us courtesy of a compliant, Leftist msm quoting academic elites) after the Reagan Library debate next Wednesday. But for now they've planted this cartoon of Rick Perry in voters' minds.

The "dumb" debunk from yesterday:

Rick Perry deals with the ‘dumb’ question (no wisdom in Obama's circle of academic advisers)

"FORT WORTH, Texas — Between events in Fort Worth and Dallas Tuesday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry called in to conservative pundit Sean Hannity’s radio show, and the host brought up a controversial story published by the online publication Politico this week with the headline "Is Rick Perry Dumb?"

"What’s dumb is to oversee an economy that has lost that many millions of jobs ... to downgrade the credit of this country ... to put fiscal policies in place that were a disaster back in the ’30s and try them again in 2000s," Perry said.

Hannity quickly warned that the thought listeners will take away from the interview could be: "Perry calls Obama policies ’dumb.’"

"Are you ready for that headline?" Hannity asked.

"America is ready for leadership," Perry said.

Perry continued on the intellect theme, explaining why he thinks it’s a problem that many of Obama’s advisers come from academia.

"They have gone to some great schools and they are intellectually smart, but he does not have wise people around him ... He has listened to smart people but nobody who has real wisdom," Perry said."

2 posted on 09/01/2011 1:32:34 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

So in other words, he’s a “bitter clinger onner”...


3 posted on 09/01/2011 1:41:38 AM PDT by DB
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

“Real Wisdom”.

How about real experience, Governor. And you can add honest principles to that, too.


4 posted on 09/01/2011 1:48:04 AM PDT by SatinDoll (NO FOREIGN NATIONALS AS OUR PRESIDENT!)
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To: SatinDoll
Office of the Governor Rick Perry


5 posted on 09/01/2011 2:22:47 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: DB
backwoodsman/woman, boor, bumpkin, clodhopper, cornfed, country boy/girl, country cousin, countryman/woman, farmer, hayseed , hillbilly, local yokel, redneck, rube, rural, yokel, blockhead, bucolic, buffoon, bumpkin, chuff, churl, clodhopper, gawk, hayseed, cornball, hick, hind, jake, lout, mucker, oaf, peasant, rube, rustic, chawbacon, swain, yahoo --- provincial: a person of local or restricted interests or outlook; a person lacking urban polish or refinement.

VS:

cosmopolitan, cosmopolite, sophisticate, elite

6 posted on 09/01/2011 2:29:23 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
In response to Perry thread #3,568,223,342,014 since the Tex Gov announced:

Palin is prettier;)

7 posted on 09/01/2011 2:59:14 AM PDT by Happy Rain ("11/4/2008: The day America elected a pyromaniac in the middle of a fire storm.")
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
For now, Perry is still winning, leading his posse north.

His posse of millions of illegals.

8 posted on 09/01/2011 3:05:31 AM PDT by iowamark
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To: DB
The campaign to compromise Perry in all possible ways will go on like this until Doomsday.

How anyone can seriously credit this BS is beyond me.

9 posted on 09/01/2011 4:16:49 AM PDT by SMARTY (A claim for equality of material position can be met only by a government with totalitarian powers.)
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To: SMARTY

What a bunch of liberal nonsense. I am from TX and know what kind of man Perry actually is. I voted for him in several elections and will do so again. I agree that this is nothing but BS


10 posted on 09/01/2011 4:27:14 AM PDT by Grey Eagle
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To: iowamark

Not hardly. Posse of illegals is correct for California.


11 posted on 09/01/2011 4:29:45 AM PDT by Grey Eagle
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Thoughts on Texas...... (with paragraphs)

To win over Freepers for Perry, I think a tactic might be to not concentrate on selling the steak, but sell the sizzle. The steak is Rick Perry, the sizzle is Texas. To separate the sizzle is to demean the steak.

In many respects, all things considered, Texas can be boiled down to a state of mind.

Texas is America, but Texas is different. Texas has different beginnings that set it apart. Texas has founding fathers of it’s own. America today needs the concepts that caused and allowed those refugees from across America to gather in Texas and start a nation from scratch. Texas is immense and diverse. By appealing to what makes a basic Texan and sets them apart from mere Americans, A reminder or two about who they are and who Rick Perry is could be telling. Texas is not ordinary. The Governor of Texas is not ordinary. The cries of RINO are trumped by Texas soul.

Rick Perry is an Aggie, a genuine dyed in the wool Texan. He is the product of the Texican revolution led by a diverse group of opportunity seeking patriots from the United States who would not stand for the tyrant Santa Anna. They did not abide a ruler that took a perfectly good Mexican Constitution and trashed it. They were an ad hoc conglomeration. They more or less congealed around the leadership of Sam Houston and others to disallow the tyrant to rule them across the river in Texas. Rick Perry is the progeny of those brave men and women as he casts off the tyranny of those in Washington who everyday trash the American constitution. He stands in opposition to a President who would take federal control of his state.

Everyone knows of the Alamo and the stand of a few brave souls, but there were equally dedicated group that died at Goliad a few days later and then there was a great victory at San Jacinto in modern day Houston where the Mexican army was slaughtered. There were some military men leading the troops, but the troops were ordinary men who took up arms to defeat tyranny. The survivors of the first war against Santa Anna are the very soul of Texas. Their spirit and grit and determination and dedication are the very bedrock of Texas.

It is said by some that the battle at San Jacinto was won as the result of Santa Anna’s mid afternoon dalliance with the indentured mulatto girl Emily Morgan, known to history as the Yellow Rose of Texas. The Men of Texas memorialized her a few years later as they fought for the Confederacy in the “Yellow Rose of Texas”. The song is part of the essence of Texas. Here are several versions that convey the feeling and power of that essence

The song is interpreted by many….

A classic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoPQqPJ7fbQ&feature=player_embedded

A modern view

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izz0_qEl_-E&NR=1

A different classic view

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=yellow+rose+of+texas+lyrics&mid=ECA497DF0960C7836E18ECA497DF0960C7836E18&view=detail&FORM=VIRE5

It is this essence, the force of historical precedent, that Perry conveys.

There is another song that conveys the Texas soul. It does not have the deep historical roots but it nevertheless is Texas. There are many different versions by lots of artists. The ballad is from the Texas soul

Waltz across Texas

A classic by ordinary…….with fiddle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHrxc3D03DQ&feature=related

A classic by the best of the best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWu8Fz49hUM&NR=1

To merely watch and listen will be a glance into a window on the state. To listen to the different interpretations, and there are many on You Tube, is to develop a feel for the Texas essence.

It is this essence, the force of historical Texas precedent that Perry conveys. It transcends the petty conservative squabbles over this or that issue on which people label themselves as advocates. It trumps the infamous RINO label so treasured by many.

The Texas battle for independence from Mexico came about because of undesirable abhorant political change. Those who were coming to Texas in large number and those already settled, found living under the governance of far away Mexico City to be ok. Then there came the change. Santa Ana became dictator and trashed the constitution. The consensus was that could not stand. Today, Governor Perry has a similar mindset. The American Constitution being trashed by the tyrants in Washington must be upheld. Washington must be told to go away. The EPA has been repudiated and Texas awaits the President to fight or back off. That is Texans at their best.

Rick Perry is pitted against Mitt Romney, the governor of Massachusetts, capital, Boston, Greater Boston is 4.5 million people. It is the only metro area in Massachusetts of such size

Rick Perry was Governor of Texas…… Greater Houston is 5.4 million folks, Dallas Fort Worth is 6.4 million and San Antonio is 2.2 million. Even the western metro area of El Paso exceeds at 650,000 exceeds any smaller than Boston Massachuttes area.

In spite of the fact there are several large populated cities, Texas is an agricultural, make that great agricultural, state. Texas has cotton fields that exceed the size of some states. The city population has a rural flavor even though they are decidedly citified. Rick Perry Went to Texas A&M, An Aggie, A farmer? no a rancher. There are tremendous areas where cattle are raised. There is a ranch in Texas bigger than Rhode Island or Delaware. These are people of the land who produce incomprehensible quantities of stuff to eat and fibers to wear. They do what they do by using the leading edge technology applied by Texas A&M. They are the best in the world at what they do and are far, very far from being bumpkins. Rick Perry is evolved from these roots. (Texas also has major league seafood producers, but I digress)

The roads in the Bay state are falling apart and a third are said to be in poor condition. The cost of repairs to vehicles is in effect a tax, a bad road tax. The governor Romney and others are unable to do the simple task of keeping the roads up. Meanwhile, the roads in Texas are good to excellent and there are far more miles than in the state up north. We must not be guilty of giving Gov Perry the total credit for the excellence of the Texas roads, from interstates and city freeways down to the thousands of miles of well designed and paved farm roads, but he administered the state that developed and maintained the excellence.

There are many other points that can be made about many different aspects of governance and aspects of ordinary life, but the status of the roads is an indicator that carries the principle. The roads are an indicator of excellence and stewardship. The bad roads are also an indicator of the inability to cope or purposeful disregard and perhaps priorities that are misplaced.

Being Governor of Texas requires a much vaster vision than being governor of Massachusetts. The vision required for governing Texas and that actually provided by Governor Rick Perry compared to that of Governor Romney is overwhelming.

12 posted on 09/01/2011 4:33:02 AM PDT by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 ....Rats carry plague)
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To: Grey Eagle
You can bet that when Liberals become more persistently rabid in their attacks on Conservative candidates (more than their usual rabid attacks), that it is an accurate indication of just how much of a threat that candidate is perceived to be.

I have loved watching Liberals jump through their own a$#holes defending themselves against Bachmann, Perry, Palin, Cain, etc. What is going on right now in the Conservative camp (no matter HOW it shakes out in the end) is a perfect storm for Liberalism in America...immediately and for a very long time to come.

“O” as so far radicalized American politics that, not only will America never be the same, but Conservatism will never be the same again either!!!! Thanks “O”!!!

13 posted on 09/01/2011 4:34:58 AM PDT by SMARTY (A claim for equality of material position can be met only by a government with totalitarian powers.)
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To: bert
If you go there, they will give you one of these at the Welcome Station


14 posted on 09/01/2011 4:35:12 AM PDT by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 ....Rats carry plague)
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To: Grey Eagle; SMARTY

I can see the headlines now.

November 9, 2012....

President Rick Perry Unexpectedly Elected 45th President of the United States.


15 posted on 09/01/2011 4:35:26 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: bert

16 posted on 09/01/2011 4:36:30 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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Rick Perry Unexpectedly Elected 45th President of the United States.


17 posted on 09/01/2011 4:37:30 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: DB

No, he’s a selfish opportunist who’s main goal is to feed at any public trough he can find.

“Rugged Texan” my butt. Frankkly, I think Perry looks like someone I watch my wallet around. Nixon had the same heavy beard and was deemed to be “tricky”. Ditto Perry.


18 posted on 09/01/2011 5:00:37 AM PDT by dools0007world
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To: dools0007world

Hello “dools0007world” I see you’re a fairly new poster to FR.

Who do you like in the GOP Primary - declared or undeclared?


19 posted on 09/01/2011 6:58:49 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife; RoosterRedux; jonrick46; deepbluesea; RockinRight; TexMom7; potlatch; ...
Perry Ping....

IF you'd rather NOT be pinged FReepmail me.

IF you'd like to be added FReepmail me. Thanks.

20 posted on 09/01/2011 7:26:21 AM PDT by shield (Rev 2:9 Woe unto those who say they are Judahites and are not, but are of the syna GOG ue of Satan.)
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