Why would I care about that? It’s not 1980 and Reagan isn’t coming back from the dead to run for President again. So silly to be vetting a non-candidate who isn’t even alive...
It goes to the fact that not everyone who is conservative follows your line of thinking, most importantly Mr. Ronald Reagan. Perry's position sounds even more conservative than Reagan's.
I live in California and know that many of our friends from down south work hard and contribute to our country's success. Many are Catholic Christians and differ greatly from the Islamic immigrants in Europe, sharing our Judeo-Christian principles of hard work and assimilation to the American Dream of Free Markets and moving up the ladder.
Perry is very familiar with these same truths being the Governor of a border state.