Media Criticism, Political Commentary

A Presage Of Things To Come?

25 Comments

Rick Perry shows Michele Bachmann how it’s done in her birth state.

I haven’t formed much of an opinion of Perry yet, other than that he can’t possibly be worse than Barack Obama. Am I put off by his religiosity? Sure, but that’s something that I’ve gotten used to, and I accept that I’m not going to get a serious presidential candidate in my lifetime who doesn’t at least pretend to be religious (though Barack Obama really pushed the envelope, and only survived the Reverend Wright affair because the press did everything it could to cover for him). Fellow agnostic Roger Simon agrees with me.

More thoughts on the Perry candidacy:

Perry is an exceedingly successful Texas politician. He comes from a place that is self-regarding in the extreme (I speak as a native of Oklahoma) and inward-looking. He has never operated outside its borders, and he may be unaware of its parochial character. If he is, he needs to wake up right away – and Mitt Romney is perfectly situated to give him that wake-up call.

Here is what Perry needs to do. He needs to anticipate the assault.

For example, if Obama’s people play anti-Texas prejudice against him, he should mock their advertisements. Indeed, he might do well to hit them hard the day they play this card – by preparing humorous advertisements ahead of time comparing Texas . . . with Chicago. They could touch on corruption, gangsters, population explosion and population implosion, political practices. And it could all be done with a light touch.

He has some other good advice as well.

25 thoughts on “A Presage Of Things To Come?”

  1. Perry now leads Mr. Rooney on Intrade 38% to 30%. Bama’s recidivation back down to 50%. 🙂

  3. I can’t wait for the first beltway blowhard to try a Cuomo “gravitas” shot. I’m guessing he’ll get his lunch handed to him.

  5. I suppose Perry would be a Johnson Space center booster. I may have misunderstood, but it seemed like Rand was implying that he would try to educate Perry on space policy somehow. I wonder if SpaceX and Blue Origin have tried to contact Perry. I sure hope Perry can see the Whittle/Simberg newspace video.

  7. Governor Perry doubled the Texas state debt

    With lots of help from Obamacare. Unfunded mandates… there aught to be a law. Oh? Laws are the problem?

  9. The relevant statistic would be what happened to state debt in Texas while Perry was Lieutenant Governor, since that is the position with legislative influence – a position, incidentally, that Bush never held; he went straight to the (largely ceremonial) governorship. In any case, if Perry gains the nomination but loses the general election, it won’t be because Texas’ debt grew (rather slower than Federal debt, I suspect) while he was governor; it will be because a majority of the electorate, to be polite about it, finds him culturally offputting. Or, to be less polite about it, because they are mindlessly prejudiced against people who look and talk the way he does.

  10. While at UHV I was part of a group that lobbied Gov. Perry about ten years ago on encouraging the development of spaceports in Texas. He said it was a good idea. Then when funding time came he eliminated the Texas Aerospace Commission which was leading the effort for entrepreneurial space in Texas.

    Technically he failed to over rule the Sunset Commission that ruled Texas had no interest in an agency to encourage the development of private space firms in Texas.

    http://www.sunset.state.tx.us/78threports/tac/dec_02.pdf

    Take it for what its worth.

  11. Thomas,
    CNN was unhappy with the way he balanced the budget, balanced the budget, balanced the budget. If there is a revenue short fall now, payments may be coming in later to offset it. kind of like federal revenues. I’ll take Perry over Moonbeam everyday. If the economy does pick up, our tax structure is such that revenues will go up fairly quickly. Oh and horror of horrors, he held the line on spending increases.

    “I guess he feels he is ready to follow former Gov. Bush to the big leagues…”

    Funny that. Bush is big league and Obama is bush league.

  12. Rahe: “Here is what Perry needs to do. He needs to anticipate the assault.”

    Perry is an Aggie. Answering charges of hickiness and resultant ignorance is a constant in any Aggie’s life. Perry doesn’t need to do anything new to anticipate the assault. He’s been living with it from UT alumni and other elitist ignoramuses ever since he showed up on campus in College Station.

    Regards,
    Ric

  13. I’m non-religious, but Perry’s religious beliefs can’t be any stupider than the stuff Matula writes or the stuff most “liberals” believe. Except in the case of the theocrats (and “liberals,” being secular theocrats, are hardly in a position to throw stones there), Christianity–in the words of Jefferson– neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. Statist “liberalism,” on the other hand . . . .

  14. Bill,

    But he didn’t balance the budget, that is why Texas has such a large deficit, and doubled it debt, even in its so called growing economy.

  15. Bill,

    Or are you referring to 2010 when Gov. Perry used President Obama’s stimulus money to balance it?

    http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/23/news/economy/texas_perry_budget_stimulus/index.htm

    [[[“Stimulus was very helpful in getting them through the last few years,” said Brian Sigritz, director of state fiscal studies for the National Association of State Budget Officers, said of Texas.

    Even as Perry requested the Recovery Act money, he railed against it. On the very same day he asked for the funds, he set up a petition titled “No Government Bailouts.”]]]

  16. I’m referring to this from the link, “One reason for the harsh cuts is the end of federal stimulus funds for the states. Texas had included $6.4 billion in stimulus money during its most recent 2010-11 budget. The new spending plan does not replace these funds with state money.” As I said,”he balanced the budget, balanced the budget, balanced the budget.”

  17. What is coming? The left will be trotting out theocracy fear-mongering yet again. Surely you have heard all of the speeches where Perry has been advocating a theocracy right?

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/14/dominionism-michele-bachmann-and-rick-perry-s-dangerous-religious-bond.html

    Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry aren’t just devout—both have deep ties to a fringe fundamentalist movement known as Dominionism, which says Christians should rule the world.

    Democrats can’t run on issues so they run on race, religion, and caste in 2012.

  18. Bill,

    Sorry. But he didn’t balance the budget. He papered over the gaps in it.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/rick-perrys-budget-sleight-of-hand/2011/08/15/gIQAuiGCHJ_blog.html

    [[[The Texas governor also used accounting sleights-of-hand that deferred payments and papered over enormous expenditures that will soon come due, as the Associated Press explains — though not until the 2012 election is over.]]]

    He just pushed off the day of reckoning until after the election, something even the Republicans in the state recognized.

    [[[That’s why some Republicans are starting to advocate for the need for (gasp!) tax increases to cover Perry’s papered-over budget gap. ]]]

    If falling oil prices hit the Texas economy, as is likely with a double dip recession, expect Governor Perry to resign, using his presidential campaign as an excuse, and leave the mess for someone else to clean up. And for him to pin it on.

  19. Bill,

    Also here is an article on how Governor Perry placed a huge debt burden on future Texans…

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7680903.html

    We can’t ignore the debt crisis right here in Texas
    Under Perry, the state borrowed money for roads
    By JIM DUNNAM
    TEXAS FIRST FOUNDATION
    Aug. 2, 2011, 9:30PM

    [[[Before Rick Perry became governor, Texas was a pay-as-you-go state for roads, meaning we used current gas tax receipts to pay for new road construction. Our forefathers set up a system where transportation needs were paid for then and now, not by passing the buck to future generations. Under Gov. Perry, all that changed.

    Starting in 2001, Texas started borrowing money for new road construction, pushing that cost onto future taxpayers. In just a decade, this debt has grown from zero to $11.9 billion. With interest payments, future taxpayers and our children will need 20 years and $21.1 billion to pay off that debt. There is even more about to be borrowed. In all, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has authority to borrow $17.3 billion, with a 30-year payoff of $31.1 billion, further shifting the burden to our children.]]]

    and

    [[[This debt is as potentially crushing on the future of Texas as the federal debt is for our United States. Texas’ borrowing has gotten so bad that we are now spending more annually on debt service than we are paying for new roads. According to TxDOT’s latest figures, we will spend $1.72 billion on debt payments over the next two years, compared to $1.28 billion for new roads. Just like Washington, Austin is borrowing and spending away our future.]]]

    Wow, from Zero to 30 years of crushing debt under Governor Perry.

    And YOU claim he is fiscally responsible?

    Yes, he “balanced” the budget, he balanced it on the backs of future generations of Texans…

  20. You are all missing the biggest problem with Perry. He was swimming with the stream. Palin calls that dead fish. She on the other hand had to actually win executive battles with some pretty powerful guys inside and outside of government. Pretty boy Perry doesn’t come close.

    Why is it everyone excepts the superficial without coming to terms with real depth. It’s there for anybody to see.

  21. Ken,

    Meanwhile, in Alaska, the Alaskans are trying to rid themselves of the burden of the taxes Governor Palin imposed on the oil industry during her short time as Governor that are driving energy jobs from the state….

    http://gop12.thehill.com/2011/03/republicans-want-to-lower-palins-tax.html

    [[[Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell (R) is supporting Republican efforts to lower taxes on oil companies. Palin had raised them in what the New York Times called a “major oil tax increase”.

    Republicans in the Legislature say her tax increase is driving jobs away, and as you might expect, it’s Democrats who are rallying to keep the higher taxes in place.]]]

    Yep, its amazing what these folks believed in and did before they join the Tea Party bandwagon…

  22. Thomas, for the last time: correlation is not causation; the governorship of Texas is a ceremonial position with almost no real power; and if Perry gains the nomination but loses the general election, it will be because of prejudice, not his record. Give it up.

  24. Jay,

    [[[the governorship of Texas is a ceremonial position with almost no real power]]]

    So based on that statement if Governor Perry is taking credit for the Texas Economy he is lying to the America voters, since he is not responsible for it.

    So one way or the other he is misrepresenting himself to the American public.

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