Posted on 10/01/2011 7:19:57 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Rick Perry says a lot of things that don't make sense. Calling Social Security a failure defies the experience of countless elderly Americans. Deriding climate change and evolution contradicts overwhelming scientific evidence. Flubbing a question about nuclear weapons in "the Pakistani country" evokes painful memories of Sarah Palin. He's just lucky Tina Fey cannot play him on TV. (Alec Baldwin can, however.)
But on at least one issue, Perry gets it right: immigration. He's justifiably proud of signing a Texas law that grants in-state college tuition to the children of undocumented immigrants attending state schools. As the governor argued recently in Florida: "If you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason than they've been brought there by no fault of their own, I don't think you have a heart. We need to be educating these children because (otherwise) they will become a drag on our society."
Perry's sane words, however, drew catcalls from the crowd and led to his stunning defeat by Herman Cain in a straw poll of conservative activists the next day. Mitt Romney immediately saw an opening and started beating the drum of denial. "I think if you're opposed to illegal immigration," he declared, "it doesn't mean you don't have a heart, it means you have a heart and a brain."
It's Romney who's not using his brain. Here's a guy who promotes himself as an economic expert, and yet he panders to the anti-immigration hard-liners by refusing to admit an obvious truth: The children of those undocumented aliens are not going anywhere. It's a no-brainer - for Texas and the rest of us - to invest in their education and help them become taxpaying, job-creating citizens.
When the Texas law passed 10 years ago, it commanded virtually unanimous support from both parties. About a dozen states have enacted similar programs since then, and even conservative businesspeople like the idea. Listen to Charles C. Foster of the Greater Houston Partnership, who told The New York Times: "The future of the business community is having a well-educated workforce. We realize the trajectory of Texas is no longer going to be an industrial, steel-age state. It's going to be based on brainpower."
Of course Romney knows this. He also knows how unfair his attacks on Perry really are, because he's been victimized by a similar demand for ideological rigidity. As governor of Massachusetts, Romney signed a health-care bill that made total sense: require everyone to buy insurance (or pay a penalty). Without an individual mandate, many people, especially the young and healthy, will roll the dice and decline to purchase a policy. But when they need care, they go to expensive facilities such as emergency rooms - and stick taxpayers with the bill.
Romney still defends the law but maintains that President Obama's plan, which follows the same basic principles, should be repealed. For this business genius to argue that the economic laws that apply in Boston are suddenly suspended in Baltimore and Birmingham defies logic. But that's what the party base demands.
The attacks on Perry's immigration views and Romney's health-care plan are really part of a much larger trend - purging from Republican ranks anyone who strays from party orthodoxy and even hints that Democrats might have, well, a brain. Here's a partial list of GOP heretics recently exiled for the sin of sensibility:
- Former Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah was denied renomination for a fourth term by his party's convention.
- Former Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania was driven from the party by the threat of a primary challenge from the right.
- Former Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware was defeated in a Senate primary by a far more conservative rival.
- Former Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida ran (and lost) as an independent for the Senate after trailing badly in the GOP primary.
- Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island left the party and won the governorship as an independent.
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska lost the primary to a more conservative challenger but then won the general election as a write-in candidate.
- Sen. John McCain survived a primary fight in Arizona, but only by moving sharply to the right.
- At least two sitting Republican senators with pragmatic tendencies, Richard Lugar of Indiana and Olympia Snowe of Maine, face primary challenges next year.
All these Republicans have learned a hard lesson: Their party today is dominated by jihadists who demand purity. Rick Perry and Mitt Romney are learning that lesson as well.
Was that crap written by Cokie Roberts and her hubby?-—they are so liberal they smell like it-—b/s-—the politicians kissing ass of illegals, whether the originals or their spawn are just pandering for votes-—a pox on all of their houses-
I guess we’re getting to see what the MSM FAVORITE is for this primary season. I just wish there weren’t so many FReepers taking that side too...
Just a little RINO hunting, folks...................
And.............THERE’S A HELL OF A LOT MORE WHERE THOSE CAME FROM!!
Dumbest couple in the Beltway.
Sounds to me like he’s resorting to planted questions now.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2786598/posts
A 10 year old asking him about his policy on the state of Israel? Gimme a break.
Ruben Navarette and Geraldo Rivera support Rick Perry on his pro-ILLEGAL aliens position(s) also.
Liberals fail to see the glaring fallacy in this argument.
“Sounds to me like he’s resorting to planted questions now.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2786598/posts
A 10 year old asking him about his policy on the state of Israel? Gimme a break.”
GREAT POINT. I thought about mentioning that angle, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. But you’re right, not too many 10 years that I know spend much time talking about Israel...but it was effective - if it had been an adult, no story.
Romney signed a health-care bill that made total sense:
_________________________________________________________________
unbelievable!
I agree Perry is a bit wobbly in illegal immigration, but we are hoping he moves closer to the right by primary season. He is OK on most other conservative issues. I think he tossed his hat into the ring when he saw those who were running looked be no win candidates and hadn’t got his mind and mouth together on how to present his core values. We are hoping he improves on this as we who like him, like him a lot.
“I agree Perry is a bit wobbly in illegal immigration, but we are hoping he moves closer to the right by primary season...”
I hear you, you’re looking from the ‘electable’ end. But Perry’s had a good number of other ‘issues’ here in Texas since he’s been governor. Here’s a piece that I did back in mid-August that documents some of them (I’ve learned of others, regarding Muslims and his selection of judges, since)...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2763110/posts
As to the electable angle, I think ANYONE in this field can beat Obama, given the mess that he’s made. I’m much more worried about Hillary, as I think she’ll be at the top of the ticket. I think Perry will get his head handed to him by Hillary in the debates (Perry’s nowhere near up to her intellectual level), and could easily lose to her. What makes me think that it will be Hillary is that Obama himself will understand that 2012 means either a Republican president (if he runs) or a fighting chance at keeping a Socialist in office (if he doesn’t run). And, understanding Bolsheviks as I do (I went to ESU and lived with them in the dorms), this is not about ego, it is only about the cause...and the cause can continue only with Hillary in 2012.
I remember a while back seeing a quote from Cokie online somewhere. It was one of those articles where a bunch of celebrities are asked how they make their marriage work (great insight into the people quoted, BTW). Her quote was something like, “Learn to bite your tongue, and never say what’s on your mind. It takes a while to learn that the person you’re married to deserves the same respect as the people you work with.”
The way she phrased it gave the distinct impression she views everyone around her as stupid, including her husband, and that it took a while to realize she should show him the same (faux) “respect” she showed her coworkers by not telling him it.
Typical Liberal. This imbecile goes through her life with delusions of superiority to everyone she meets, and shows her decency by lying to them about how she feels and pretending to respect them. The only thing better was her instinctual view that her husband should have been the verbal abuse sponge which she didn’t dare turn her co-workers into.
It’s funny the two of them found each other. I guess if you put two idiots together, neither one is going to be able to spot the other.
Who knew they were still alive?
So where are the Perrywinkles, to pick up this heavy endorsement by a DemonRat LSM "power couple"? Calling all Perrybots!
Where are you, girls? Come out, come out, wherever you are, and gather ye DemonRat rosebuds while ye may!
Take credit -- relish in the endorsement by Cokie Roberts, daughter of longtime Mindless Liberal Drone Congresswoman Lindy Boggs of New Orleans, and onetime Democratic House wheelhorse Hale Boggs.
Here twinkletoes, educate yourself about the liberal agenda...
Why is it when I come to a thread where Perry is the subject...I feel like I am now at DU?
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