Posted on 08/20/2011 4:50:00 PM PDT by Para-Ord.45
Rick Perry once tried to get out of a speeding ticket.
Rick Perry once owned stock in a chain of video stores competing against Blockbuster, some of which also rented adult movies.
Rick Perry once was a Democrat.
The attacks have come fast and furious against him. But most of the attacks take on a peculiar and very telling strain.
A reporter on television or in print will utter a sentence like this, Privately many Republican consultants suggest Rick Perry may be too Texas or shoot from the hip too much and might turn off necessary independent voters and women.
It sounds so serious. As Alex Castellanos said on CNN the other night on John King USA, some fear Rick Perry might have Mad Cowboy Disease.
Let me sum this all up for you into what Rick Perrys biggest problem is.
Whether you are talking about Alex (Team Carole Strayhorn 2006) or Karl Rove (Team Kay Bailey Hutchison 2010) or a host of other national Republican consultants, Rick Perry and his Texas team have beaten a significant portion of them.
But they did not just beat them. In many cases, Team Perry then shut the consultants who opposed him out of future business with him.
So there are scores and scores of Republican consultants who have scores to settle with Rick Perry and his team. And for guys like Karl Rove, if Perry were to win the White House, Karl and a few others would see themselves shut out of White House business for at least four years.
Rick Perry may be the only guy in America to have beaten both Karl Rove and also Obamas own consultant, David Axelrod.
So theres a lot of score settling in a lot of the attacks. Next time you hear some Republican consultant say Rick Perry cant win because he is too much of a cowboy, understand that it is probably a national Republican consultant fearful they will be shut out of work if Perry wins and, more importantly, understand that the same dynamics were in place in 1980 with Reagans boys from California team of consultants and the national consultants back them said the same about Reagan hes too much of a cowboy conservative who will alienate key voting blocks.
Thats not to say Perry is Reagan. It is to say the GOP national consultants have been pulling the same stuff since 1980.
Perry needs to make his case, no question about that. At least he is not hiding his ideas about this very controversial issue, and can now be questioned on the campaign trail. I trust the tea party will do just that.
Gotta look at the whole record, plus the plans for their Presidency, plus, the chance of actually winning the election.
Perry:
Record - not perfect, but overall, 85/100
Plans - none specific, but if similar to his book, let’s say 90/100
Electability vs. Obama - 90/100
Palin:
Record - 90/100
Plans - based on her general statements - 90/100
Electability vs. Obama - 50/100
Perry wins this 3-part exam.
He was right about Christine O'Donnell and Sharron Angle and it was nothing personal. He just knew they could be beaten in races that should have been automatic GOP pick-ups.
He's not desperate to go back to the White House and be further demonized. The constant Democrat attacks destroyed his marriage, cost him a personal fortune in legal costs and make him subject to assaults and harassment every time he appears in public.
And as much as I respect Reagan...he granted amnesty.
Having been a Democrat in Texas does not equal being a RINO.
Just because Reagan did not run for office when he was a young man, like Perry did when he was a young man and a Texas Democrat, does not mean anything against Rick Perry.
When I was young it was almost unheard of to run in TX as anything but a Democrat. What precious few Republicans there were did not come from Perry’s area. They came from North Central Texas or around Houston and were from suburbia. The hinterlands were solid, solid Democrat because that was their tradition. Republicans were associated with Reconstruction after the Civil War and with Herbert Hoover.
That is just the truth. You want to rewrite history. The history Rick Perry lived and the geography of his upbringing makes his unfolding political story make perfect sense.
There is Phil Gramm who helped Reagan pass his bills while still a Democrat, then he became a Republican. He represented rural TX.
There is Ralph Hall who for many, many years served as a Democrat Congressman from TX, who had the single most conservative voting record in Congress of 100 percent, year after year after year. When the Dems became so radicalized in DC, Ralph Hall finally switched to Republican when an elderly man with snow white hair. He still serves today way into his 80s. He voted against the debt ceiling bill.
You are pretty sharp most of the time, but on this you are not into reality on the topic. Your head is above the clouds and not down on ground level where these people actually lived and still do.
Gots to go hit the hay, thanks for the back and forth.
Thx much!
Actually, at the end of any 8 year presidency,,every one is singing...
“Thank God and Greyhound he’s gone.”
He was great, but appreciation was delayed.
Having read some background on the candidates, it seems to me (yes, it's a bit early) that Perry has both the campaign ingenuity and the experience to come out ahead of others in giving Obama a real headache.
And then there is the matter of the country. Whether we like it or not, the fate of the country (that's us) hangs in the balance. We need a champion that can take it back NOW.
I will fight tooth and nail for anyone who can bring down Obama. ANYONE (who loves America).
If we can save the country, we can then move it to the right.
Its forgivable. And Fred going to win. Giuliani is too liberal. Romney is too slick. Huckabee isnt a credible candidate. And McCain isnt sticking around.
So face it - youll be voting for Fred Thompson in 15 months, so get on the Fred express now.
I really can’t answer for Perry, but I can tell you my thoughts on why he might think the way he does.
Perry is a politician. I don’t deem him to be anything else. I live in Texas..we have a very large Hispanic population. If anyone thinks he will do anything to alienate that base, you might want to think twice. Hence the Dream Act nonsense that I totally disagree with. But it was supported by the legislature. And so far the Dems have lost.
E-Verify is a joke. Yep...you can call and find out if a ss number is valid. If not, you can inform the person. You cannot not hire them..or fire them. YET..the employer is at risk for hiring illegals.
The Texas Border really does not lend itself to a fence. Lots of rough terrain. Besides..in reality, that is a function of the federal government.
I fear there will never be any kind of provisions to stop this. If there is a candidate running today that actually has a plan..who is it? (no way they will alienate what small portion of the Hispanic vote they might get).
Perry has both good and bad qualities, but he’s not the most conservative candidate - we CAN do better!
No one’s asking you to. But nice try.
Love for Islam? Prove it.
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