The bush leagues
We like to think that Texas politics is as rough as it gets, but it really isn’t. This has been a one-party state since W. defeated Ann in 1994. Perry has had a lot of money spent against him, but he has never been in danger of losing a race since the light gov battle against John Sharp in 1998. Perry has had it so easy in the last decade that I wonder if it has dulled his political acumen. He has looked lost at times in the debates. Last night (Thursday) was one of those times. He couldn’t even deliver his prepackaged lines. He also says things that are patently false, such as his earlier claim that the poverty rate is the highest in history.
The fact is that Perry has gotten this far without ever having to deal with a talented opponent, other than Sharp. He refused to debate Bill White in the general election, on trumped-up grounds; he ducked out on the National Conference of Editorial Writers when they met in Dallas a couple of years ago, choosing to speak with local TV reporters instead; he wouldn’t talk to any newspaper editorial boards in Texas during his race with Bill White. The problem is, he hasn’t had any big-league experience, and it shows. Sooner or later, he was bound to pay a price for not engaging in the give and take of a major political campaign. That price is getting to be mighty expensive. A case in point: the Merck money. When Bachmann attacked him, Perry said he couldn’t be bought for a mere $5K. That was a terrible answer, for two reasons. One is that it suggests that he might be bought for a greater sum. The second reason is that he had actually received $28,500. Did Perry lie? Not exactly. He just left the impression that he had gotten a minimal sum of money, when in fact it was greater by a factor of six. If this had been a race against, say, Bill White, no one would have paid any attention. But he is running for president, and the whole world is watching, and he gave an answer that was at best misleading and at worst flat wrong–and it didn’t take long for the Morning News‘ Sommer Ingram to get the true numbers from a Texans for Public Justice report, which included another $377,000 from Merck to the Republican Governors Association, which Perry chaired.
During his long governorship, Perry has been able to stiff and dodge the media, avoid press conferences and editorial boards, and count on friendly opinions from his appointees on the Texas Supreme Court to shield his records from public scrutiny. The Court’s decision that Perry’s security records should not be made public is one of the worst in the recent history of this undistinguished body. He still owns state government and can still count on his agents on boards and commissions and groups like Empower Texas and TPPF to provide a chorus for his policies. But when he is on the national stage, his vulnerability is on display, and he looks a lot more like one of those rookies on the Astros roster masquerading as a big league ballplayer. He should have spent more time learning how to hit the curve ball in the Arizona Fall Instructional League.
Tagged: republican presidential primary, rick perry, the big leagues
Governor Toolshed says:
What a disservice to the Astros rookies.
Perry couldn’t hold their jocks (but I don’t mean anything by that)…
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Bill says:
Perry is finally getting the scrutiny Texans have deserved for twelve years. His policies on the HPV vaccine and immigration (specifically, in-state tuition) indicate that he is not a man of principal, but rather that he is in the pocket of big business. Decisions aren’t made on ideological grounds: it is all about what Perry stands to gain from the particular interest groups involved.
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Bill says:
And another thing, I was hoping for a poor performance by Perry, but this last one was so awful that I almost felt sorry for the man. (I said almost.)
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Anonymous says:
Peter Principle comes to mind…….Perry prime example
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Robert Morrow Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 2:10 am
From Wiki:
“The Peter Principle states that “in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence”, meaning that employees tend to be promoted until they reach a position at which they cannot work competently. It was formulated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull in their 1969 book The Peter Principle, a humorous [1] treatise which also introduced the “salutary science of hierarchiology.”
The principle holds that in a hierarchy, members are promoted so long as they work competently. Eventually they are promoted to a position at which they are no longer competent (their “level of incompetence”), and there they remain, being unable to earn further promotions. Peter’s Corollary states that “in time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out their duties” and adds that “work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence”. “Managing upward” is the concept of a subordinate finding ways to subtly “manage” superiors in order to limit the damage that they end up doing.”
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Anonymous Reply:
September 25th, 2011 at 12:28 am
It should be renamed the “Perry Principle”
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joe blow says:
Could the explanation for Perry’s struggles be simply that he’s not very bright? Pundits often chalk up poor debate or speaking performances to being unschooled on the issues–e.g. Palin would be more articulate and cogent if she simply boned up on the issues–but the reality is that Palin and Perry are just not very smart. It doesn’t matter how many lectures they sit through or note cards they attempt to memorize, they’ll never be as fluent and crisp as a J.D./MBA from Harvard (Romney).
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Bill Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 1:22 am
Perry and Palin are both provencial.
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Box of Rocks Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 1:27 am
Perry won’t let a few bad debates keep him down… He won’t even let some bad polls, or even losing the Presidential race, stop him.
Look no further than Jay Kimbrough to understand how Perry will respond.
The tantrum he will unleash on the State of Texas when he gets spanked by Romney or Obama will be monumental.
Too bad we changed Texas election law for Bush, we might be rid of Perry if he were forced to give up Gov’s seat.
There is no way he’ll have the grace to resign.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 2:15 am
Perry will be castrated after his embarassing presidential race loss. He can throw all the temper fits he wants to; we don’t have to listen to him and I am certain the Lege will not. And, yes, it will result in record vetos which will be a good thing; most bills are very bad.
“Kimbrough — the governor’s former chief of staff, director of homeland security, and chief criminal justice adviser — made headlines with his termination and subsequent display of his pocketknife. Kimbrough has over the last decade been the top troubleshooter for almost every crisis facing the Perry administration. Until Wednesday, he served as deputy chancellor at the A&M System. He was abruptly ousted after the System’s newly hired Chancellor, John Sharp, decided Kimbrough’s position at the university was no longer necessary.
Security was reportedly called to escort Kimbrough out after he showed his pocket knife to senior staff members.”
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Robert Morrow says:
One month ago Burka and a table full of political insider journalists were all saying “cancel the primaries, it is Perry’s in a lock.”
Now it is just a question of just how humiliating Perry’s loss in the GOP primary is going to be. There is not going to be a general election for Slick Perry to bother with.
There are a lot of people “out to get” Perry this election cycle. People all across the political/social cycle from homosexuals to the John Birch Society to World Net Daily to the Bush/Rove axis. Did not mean to leave out libertarians, Ron Paulers or anti-illegal immigration folks. Lots of folks don’t like that guy. It is beyond political; it is personal. Perry is seen as much an empty suit as a giant balloon floating in the Macy’s Parade on Thanksgiving Day. Perry is seen as fake, insincere, phony, unctious to the fat cats – counterfeit to you & me.
Rick Perry – who always brags about his poor beginnings from the town Paint Creek he abandoned – makes a point to live “high on the hog” (courtesy of Texas taxpayer/contributors) and has an air of entitlement like a Lyndon Johnson or Bill Clinton.
There are only so many religious whackos to go around in a GOP primary even in the South, even in Florida. Perry’s “business model” for elections has always been billionaire corporate cronyists with the money and religious whackos with the votes.
Independent voters of any stripe are not in the mix. Yes, I guess Perry could rebound in this race, but that would be just a “dead cat” bounce and frankly I am in eager antiticipation for the next anvil to drop on the Perry campaign.
Whatever anvil it is going to be – one thing is for sure – Burka won’t be able to figure it out or anticipate it. But he will be at the scene of the 5 car pile up as the ambulance totes off the remains of the Perry campaign.
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Wish I could vote today Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 2:54 am
Actually, Morrow’s assessment of Perry rings true to me.
This country needs a new kind of strength, and Perry is just not equipped to handle the load.
Obama got my vote the day he took out OBL (who bought the house he was living in anyway?)… that was a very risky call and he got it right. I can’t see Perry making the same decision for some reason – for all his bluster, all I see is kid-stuff bravado… He’d be too worried about reelection.
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paulburka Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 7:57 am
I think it is way too early to bury Perry. Debates are not his strong point. He would have been much better off if he had debated Bill White and gotten his clock cleaned and learned how to counterpunch, going into his presidential race. But for all the sneering about Perry that is going on, he still leads in the polls. Romney is a much better debater than Perry, and so Perry is going to continue to look bad. But debates are prologue. When the last debate is over, the race will switch to meet-and-greets, and rallies all across America, and Perry is MUCH better than Romney at this phase of a campaign. He connects with people in a room, or in a larger setting, far better than Romney does. If the audience is large, he knows how to stir it up. Romney is going to have a hard time building excitement for his candidacy. Perry can do it in his sleep. The question mark to me is whether his campaign staff is up to the challenge of building effective organizations in states across America. It is silly to write obituaries for Perry at this stage of the game. But I will admit that he has performed far worse than I thought he would. I continue to think Perry is physically below par.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 10:44 am
The problem with Perry is “mental,” not “physical” and that is a much greater handicap to overcome. I think that the stuff I talk about is weighing HEAVILY on his mind.
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texun Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
For once, I agree with Morrow. (Don’t wait for it to happen again!)
Perry graduated from a tiny high school, apparently never on the honor roll, graduated from A & M with less than a 2.0 average, commonly uses terms and concepts that he doesn’t really grasp and can’t explain. He is just not very bright, considerably dimmer than W, who was at least on the up-side of average.
True, Paul, he developed compensatory social skills and can appear well when handlers pull the right strings, but it seems unlikely that his intelligence deficit can be offset with good looks and clever management. But,I’ll bet he can spell “potatoe and tomatoe.”
Blue Dogs Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Burka, Perry debated KBH and Medina in the GOP primary last year 2 times, debated Bell, Kinky and Strayhorn once, Sanchez twice-all for the Texas governorship.
Did he ever have debates in his successful campaigns for Agriculture Commissioner and Lieutenant Governor ?
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Anonymous says:
TPPF is not a think tank, it’s a bumpersticker tank. Ask any Republican staffer who has worked with them. They don’t research, they don’t return calls, but they’ll damn sure threaten..not that they get involved in electoral politics.
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Mr. Smith says:
I think it is way, way too early to be writing Perry’s obituary. What many here forget is that this unrealistic jabber from him is exactly what many in the Republican primary like and want. The only thing Perry has to concern himself about is in state tuition for illegal aliens, and the HPV vaccine. And this is because those are two issues where Perry chose to do what he thought was correct rather than pander to the furthest right wing of his party. If he could go back in time and do those two items differently, he would be unstoppable, regardless of looking stupid on stage.
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Dave Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 7:49 am
Too early to write him off. Romney moves back in the lead and puts the target back on his chest. Everybody likes sniping at Mitt. Perry can go get another round of stem cells and his consultants can come up with better spin while Romney is being taken down again. Not saying the Rick can pull it off, but there’s a path back to the top.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Just like KBH, who was leading Perry by over 20 points before Rick rose like the phoenix and kicked her butt on March 2, 2010-effectively ending her political career.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
Another way to look at it is “its hard to soar like an eagle when you only have turkies to beat”.
As long as democrats are second rate Guv Perry only has to beat them, Bill White comes to mind.
Maybe its time for democrats to bring back the dreamteam for another shalacking.
The National scene isn’t much better the Top Dawg is President Obam? really?
Guv Perry will do fine.
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Mr. Smith Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 8:09 am
So, you support Governor Perry signing the illegal alien in state tuition bill? And ask the dogs you watch all day long how to spell turkeys correctly, you creepy dude.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
you still having fantasies about me?
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JBB's Shadow Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
The only one having fantasies about you, JBB, is you.
JohnBernardBooks Reply:
September 25th, 2011 at 5:07 am
I know that’s why you liberals have to post a reply to my posts, its my fantasy.
John Johnson says:
Paul’s words to the Northeasern Elite and the Chris Matthew’s of the world ring rather hollow now in my estimation. “Don’t underestimate Perry”.
His competiton in Texas races have not had the money, looks, name recognition, nor verbal skills to give him much of a challenge. Not so now.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 10:47 am
Don’t leave out well-funded “opposition research” which is already killing Perry behind the scenes …
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Anonymous says:
Disagree, Johnson. It wasn’t so much his competition that was the problem, it’s the difference in the acument of the electorate he’s got to play to this time.
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John Johnson Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 9:01 am
That certainly plays a part. I voted for Perry everytime he ran except the last. I wasn’t paying attention; just voted party line.
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joe blow says:
It is also silly, Paul, to proclaim Perry the foregone nominee before his campaign barely got off the ground–as you did six weeks ago.
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paulburka says:
I thought then, and I think now, that Perry is well placed to win the Republican nomination.
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John Johnson Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 9:41 am
So, are you saying that Perry can do it solely on the votes of the Tea Party faction of the Republican party? You think there are enough of them to get him nominated?
What about the people like me who now declare themsevles independent, or the moderate Repub’s or the Blue Dog Dem’s who are going to vote for a Repub in the general election, but are never going to vote for Perry in a primary? You think Perry can win the nomination without us?
Romney is my first choice, only because he stands the best chance of beating Obama. Not sure that any of the other ones can. Paul would be my first choice if he had more of the “it” factor. He “walks the walk” and what most consider “radical” ideas, after refection, hold water in my estimation.
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The Mustache That Dare Not Speak Its Name Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Perry is well-placed to get the GOP nomination, but that’s not the same thing as being a virtual lock to get it, which is what you previously suggested. Also – I suggest taking a look at Intrade this morning, which has Romney with a 44 percent chance of getting the nomination and Perry with a 28 percent chance. Intrade isn’t perfect but it’s wise to look at the people who are putting their money behind their predictions.
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paulburka Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 11:23 pm
I don’t recall saying Perry was a virtual lock to get the nomination, but then I write a lot of words and don’t necessarily remember all of them. If I said that, it was because the field was weak and Perry, at the time, had the most enthusiastic voters on his side. He has lost a lot of momentum since then, as voters have learned about his support for in-state tuition for illegal aliens and other positions that the crazies on the far right detest. The Republican voter in this election cycle is really not a very admirable person, and Perry happens to have a few shreds of decency left that pisses them off.
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Tired and Sick says:
Let’s look at the unintended consequences of the Perry campaign. The white hot national spotlight on Texas and our dismal record on schools and health care isn’t just news here anymore, it’s now a national – if not international – story. Our pay to play system of government seems more like Honduras than Texas. And our seeming obsession with execution, guns, and now knives leaves a lot of folks kind of scratching their heads. God help anyone trying to bring jobs to Texas in the aftermath of this debacle.
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Robert Morrow says:
The importance of Perry’s unintelligible gibberish debate flop can not be underestimated. There is a thing called the “invisible primary” of GOP insiders, activists & donors.
And their reaction to Perry was – “Oh my God!” – he can’t even deliver scripted zingers. Ask him a question about Pakistan, he answers you about India. He insults parents who don’t like mandatory HPV vaccines. Calls the GOP base “heartless.”
Then you add in all those nasty personal life rumors about Perry – which I can’t detail here – but which are absolutely rampant among GOP insiders & journalists – (Larry Flynt ominously on the case now) and Perry’s becomes unacceptable.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/23/rick-perry-polls-front-runner_n_978317.html
The delegates of the “invisible primary” are by definition “opinion makers” and their impact on the actual polls will be felt long before the primaries start. And they just fired Rick Perry.
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Ausowl says:
Daily Beast article with the counter narrative:
“It’s Time to Buy Rick Perry Stock” Tomasky
http://tinyurl.com/3z9ay6c
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Robert Morrow Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Michael Tomasky does not impress me. Just another liberal who does not know much about internal GOP politics … or really anything else.
He is right about one thing – Rick Perry stock is much cheaper today than it was 2 weeks ago.
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The Mustache That Dare Not Speak Its Name Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Unless Tomasky is buying Perry on Intrade right now, I’d be wary of taking his political stock tips.
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Fear the Beard says:
Totally agree. The glare of the national spotlight is hot, and will melt Perry like a snickers bar left in your pickup in August.
A certain state senator will similarly whither under the rigors of a statewide campaign when he tries to make the leap after next session, which will be a nasty and bitter session(s).
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Anonymous says:
The GOP ticket is Romney/Perry. Mail it in. Been saying it for more than a year. It was Perry’s goal before he decided he might even be able to be at the top. He’s Palin without the baggage, unless he keeps answering questions like she does.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
The GOP ticket is 1) Fill in the blank/ Marco Rubio for VP. There is absolutely no way Rick Perry hops on as VP. None.
Rubio – rising Hispanic star from key swing state Florida. He is already penciled in. No baggage that I know of.
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texun Reply:
September 24th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Romney-Pawlenty.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Romney-McDonnell for the GOP.
If Romney badly needs Latinos, he’ll pick either US Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R).
Blue Dogs Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Morrow, I think Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (R) should be on the VP shortlist for the Republicans.
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anita says:
Paul,
I believe there’s even more to the Merck issue — Toomey has formed a Super PAC to support Perry’s campaign, and it has a $55 million budget. Toomey’s not doing this out of the goodness of his heart.
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houtopia says:
I think the GOP primary race remains very fluid. Gov. Perry has had a rough 10 days or so, and he’s on the ropes, but not down for the count.
Gov. Perry is fortunate that he gets a few weeks off before the next debate (Oct. 11th in New Hampshire), and he needs to use that time to right the ship of his campaign.
It seems to me the danger his debate performances pose to his campaign is not so much with grassroots primary voters. Most people don’t watch debates, particularly this early, and aren’t as sophisticated as the “pundit class” in their analysis. The danger is with big donors and the press. If they decide he’s done, the money dries up, the scrutiny increases, and his campaign will be over before it really gets off the ground.
That said, I think he can salvage his campaign for the nomination (the presidency is another matter), mostly because Romney is only other viable member of the field, and he is widely disliked by many Republicans, from the elites down to the grassroots. Gov. Perry remains the only viable alternative to Romney in this lackluster field.
Some people think Christie from NJ will get in, I don’t. For one thing, people thinking seriously about running for president start trimming down. He seems to be headed in the opposite direction.
I believe the nomination fight will go on for a while, unless Romney can find a way to win Iowa. Gov. Perry has taken the first real punches of his political life. He has a very effective political team, and I expect him to rebound. We shall see.
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Indi says:
As Texans, we should all be embarassed by Perry’s performance in these debates. He is not just having bad nights, this is who he is. He is a reflection of our politics and of us. His ignorance is a reflection of our ignorance. The fact that this man has been one of our top politicians and longest serving Governor shows how pitifully inadeqaute our broken political system is in Texas. The Emperor has no clothes. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Perry is a lightweight. He is a joke. And he has no chance in hell of becoming the GOP nominee.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Indi, Perry has never lost an election-EVER, he’s like 10-0 unless you include the primaries.
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Alan says:
I’ve been saying Rick Perry would reveal himself to be a Ronald Reagan or a Fred Thompson. He’s looking more and more like Fred.
It’s obvious that Perry had his designs on running for president well before his announcement last month. I assumed some behind-the-scenes prep work had been going on for at least the past few months. But if I didn’t know any better, I’d think he woke up one morning and decided to run for president.
He has no platform and no spin strategy for his various policy skeletons (HPV, his illegal immigration stance). This can go on for only so long until his big donors get tired of waiting on him to get his act together and decide to put away their checkbooks.
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Robert Morrow says:
Florida Straw Poll results are in:
Florida Gov. Tim Scott says that the next president will win the Florida Straw Poll. Tim Scott was definitely flacking for Perry when he said that…. I guess that means Herman Cain is the next POTUS.
2,657 votes cast and Rick Perry bought everyone breakfast:
Herman Cain 37%
Mount Everest of Hypocrisy 15%
Mitt Romney 14%
Rick Santorum 11%
Gingrich 8%
Huntsman 2%
Bachmann 2%
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/64343_Page2.html
If you were a sophisticated big money, would YOU make an “investment” in Rick Perry? No, I think you would be more likely to ride a roller coast without wearing a safety belt. Or rub yourself with bloody chum and jump into a pool of sharks, while thrashing around madly, just for fun.
The “next” anvil has not fallen on the Perry campaign and the anticipation of it is just killing me… Hey, is there a debate coming up any time soon. These things are fun!
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JohnBernardBooks says:
solyndra is all you need to know, then go vote Obama or Perry? See it isn’t that hard of a choice.
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anita says:
Seriously? America, meet David Nance . . .
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
September 25th, 2011 at 5:10 am
solyndra, GE cronie capitalism democrat style
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Robert Morrow Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 2:39 am
Rick Perry is the poster child for crony capitalism. Ever heard of the Texas Enterprise fund? Toll roads? HPV vaccine mandate?
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vietvet3 says:
indi, All true, except your last sentence. The way the TP has pulled the GOP to crazyland, your statements may be His Hairness’ path to victory!!
Verily, the Emperor has no clothes……
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AreYouKiddingMe says:
Word this morning was the Christie is now “considering” a run. If he announces, RP is toast. I think he is toast anyway, but this would seal the deal. The Repubs are desperately looking for a candidate that is not a complete loon. I think Saturday Night Live had the candidates pegged, if anyone saw that sketch they did. The Ron Paul guy was really good.
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Blue Dogs Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
I personally feel if Perry is tanking (see the Houston Texans against the Saints), then Republicans should just avoid the painful mess and nominate Romney already.
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