Posted on 09/01/2011 6:46:10 AM PDT by Hawk720
As he has risen to the top of national Republican presidential polls over the last few weeks, Rick Perry has been forced to confront his past — including the years he spent as a Democrat.
In particular, Perry has been fielding uncomfortable questions about his support for Al Gore in the 1988 presidential race. Perry, who did not switch to the Republican Party until 1989, served as a high-profile Texas supporter of Gore’s presidential bid.
More than two-decades later, as the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, Perry frequently cites Gore’s support of the Strategic Defense Initiative, a Ronald Reagan-era anti-ballistic missile proposal that later came to be known as Star Wars.
“I was a Democrat in my days in the Legislature in the 80′s and I was under the false idea that somehow or another that conservative Democrats could save the Democrat Party. They couldn’t,” Perry said in an interview with conservative talk show host Sean Hannity on Tuesday. “Al Gore appeared to be the most conservative — a strong Strategic Defense Initiative guy — and frankly we thought that he would be the most conservative Democrat. You, know, we were wrong.”
Last weekend, at a campaign appearance in Ottumwa, Iowa, Perry called Gore a “strong Strategic Defense Initiative proponent.”
But Gore’s support for the Strategic Defense Initiative while he was running for president in the late 1980′s was not nearly as enthusiastic as Perry implies.
In fact, just weeks before Gore launched his presidential bid in the summer of 1987, he dismissed the defense proposal as “an electronic Astrodome over the United States” in an interview with the Associated Press.
In a January 1988 interview with Florida’s St. Petersburg Times, Gore was asked whether he would support increasing research funds for the initiative. His response: no way.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
The Vet. Hahaha.
Perry was a democrat 22 years ago. ABC would love to make this a problem.
You'd almost think the fake journalists in the kiss-Hussein's-ass media were part of his cult. Oh wait. They ARE.
PING
I believe Perry because I actually saw Gore similarly. I actually said to friends that if Gore won the nomination I would consider him over Bush. Gore came off as more socially conservative and more down home than Bush.
Of course I voted for Bush and by the time Clinton came on the scene the mask was off.
...and it begins. More scrutiny about a statement made by Perry regarding Al Gore’s position on SDI than was ever done on anything in BO’s past in 2008. BO was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America? Nahhhh, not really... who ever heard about that? Pictures of him addressing the group? Articles written for their newsletter...nooooo, not our candidate. We’ll keep that on the DL—moderate voters won’t like the fact that he was/is a socialist, so let’s keep that quiet....
But, Rick Perry supported Al Gore in 1988 because he thought he supported SDI-—but Al Gore didn’t really support SDI, so nyah nyah, Rick Perry-—you’re busted!!!
Wow...the press is so transparent.
Look I have NO problem with the time Perry spent as a Dem. Ronald Reagan was a Dem AND a UNION Boss too. People change and grow up and get a clue.
Happened 20 years ago. I don’t care no mo.
Well, good. The Freebase Media is always looking for the most DemocRATesque Republican to be our candidate so.....
and not an administration.
This is a good sign. They say the first step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem.
You know fools I was a democrat a long time ago and now I would never go back with all the crazy morons in that party..A long time ago it was a very different party most were not Communist like today..
Being a Democrat first made Reagan a better Republican.
Twenty years ago. What were Reagan’s politics twenty years before he ran? He was a union president/democrat. I wouldn’t hold this against Perry.
Gore came off as more socially conservative
His wife was on a crusade to end prurient lyrics on the radio. Can’t get more socially conservative than that.
The problem is that Perry’s excuse for supporting Gore is dumb on the verge of insanity.
This is a good thing. It means the GOP candidate is fully vetted, while the Dim candidate is not. Were McCain not such a toady chicken, he would have raised questions about Obama and either won or made the election much closers.
Alas when you nominate senators, particularly GOP senators, they are so into the clubby culture of the senate that they are not willing to fight on policy or even to get elected. Throw in that Obama was another senator and black and a guy like McCain had no stomach for the race. But almost every other election, that the Dim candidate is unvetted works in the GOP nominees favor.
He should then dare the press to dwell on this.
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