Perry: I’m more conservative than she is … no you’re not
The Morning News’ Trailblazer blog reported Wednesday that Rick Perry had said at a news conference in Dallas that he was a stronger conservative than his gubernatorial opponent. This was fodder for Republican primary voters, but I think it had another purpose. It was a baited hook designed to draw Hutchison into a fight on this point, which the Perry campaign would love to do. It is a fight she cannot win. There is no way for her to get to Perry’s right. In an October AP story Hutchison aides described her as “every bit as conservative” as Perry, pointing to her opposition to gay marriage and to federal funding for abortion. But she’s not, and that is what makes her appealing to Republicans who are tired of Rick Perry.
It is futile for Hutchison to fight Perry for the “most-conservative” label. The more she does so, the less likely she is to attract the silent majority of GOP moderates who haven’t been voting in primary elections. This is why I think bringing in Dick Cheney to campaign for her could backfire. Cheney is too conservative. He favors torture. He favors spying on American citizens. He is one of the most sinister figures to share the American political stage in recent years. He’s anathema to moderates and especially to Democrats who might be tempted to cross over into the Republican primary.
If Hutchison persists in fighting Perry for the most-conservative label, she has no chance. She will alienate the very voters she needs to get to the polls, the suburban soccer mom types. They are mainstream conservatives, and so is she. But she seems afraid to be who she really is.
Tagged: dick cheney, kay bailey hutchison, rick perry.
Mr. Cynic says:
Gee, why not follow the Bob McDonnell playbook?
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Mr. Cynic Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 7:12 am
KBH, that is.
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TXpol Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Mr Cynic,
I am in total agreement; the McDonnell model is perfect for KBH
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TX watcher Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Mr. Cynic and TXpol. You forget Bob McDonnell had no primary. The Lt.Gov, and McDonnell cut a deal (came to an understanding) that had the Lite Gov. run for re-election and let AG McDonnell run with no primary. KBH does not stand for anything (other then FED $$$ spending can solve lots of problems) so she has to take a stand any stand and try to forge a coalition that will equal 50% in the GOP primary with less then 100 days early voting starts. The pipe dream of new or disenfranchised moderates and the stretch of the imagination that sophisticated democrats would cross party lines to vote for Kay. Wow what type of drug testing does your employer have? The democrats will have a more active primary for governor then the GOP side. What serious democrat wants Kinky to lead the ticket? Or Farouk Shami with this being a redistricting election in the TX House and Senate Serous democrats will be fighting to be credible in the general election.
All this lead to the fundamental questions: What the hell is Hutchison thinking? How does she think she can win with out going on the air this year (pre holiday season)?
Where does she build a turnout universe to win? What is a message that will peel voters away from Perry to KBH? When or will she step down from the senate? will she turnout to be a liar by leaving before the Health care battle is over? how can she leave before Cap and trade is dealt with? If she stays in the US senate does that not break her word that she gave to voters, supporters and donors that she was really all in this time? And will she even file for Governor when facing near certain (as certain as one can be in politics) defeat March 2, 2010?
Anonymous says:
When are Texans going to realize that being “more conservative” isn’t necessarily a good thing? It’s like we’re still stuck in the Reagan era — 25 years behind the times. And the current version of “conservatives,” given their complaints about GWB’s fiscal policies, would have to call Reagan a liberal.
I agree with your conclusion about how KBH should run, Paul, but she’s already made a different decision…and more than once. Cheney is not only bad news for the reasons you explained; he’s also “Washington” – the source of all evil.
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Anonymous says:
The timing of the Cheney endorsement also reinforces the perception that KBH is out of touch. Like it or not, her campaign’s ineffectiveness has allowed the Perry camp to almost completely define the campaign as nothing more than Texas vs. D.C. The net result of her Cheney/Armey support is she winds up looking like a Washington outsider with no real understanding of what’s important to Texans.
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TXpol says:
I for one would like to know a little more about the innner thoughts (or lack thereof) of the KBH campaign; I suppose we will have to wait until the dust clears for that story, no doubt Mr. Burka will enlighten us
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anon. says:
I can’t decide if Perry is talented or lucky; how is he still in office?
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LBKTX says:
He is in office for the same reason Gray Davis was: he always seems the lesser of two (or more) evils
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TXpol says:
I would be cautious about underestimating the Armey endorsement. He brought out alot of voters for these ‘09 campaigns.
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DFW says:
Dick Armey is a political hack who is paid over a half a million dollars to gin up folks against bigger govt. while at the same time he is lobbying for the same programs to be passed inCoongress. NO one in TX thinks Dick of Armey anymore.
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WestTXRR Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Fine, Armey is a wealthy lobbyist with conflict of interest issues. How does that equate to people in Texas not being interested in what he thinks? Especially if they agree with his rabble-rousing. No one in Texas thinks Dick of Armey anymore? Aside from being trite, I think that statement is wholly inaccurate.
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CharlesfrmDFW Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 9:10 am
DFW,
Aside from the obvious need to spew venom about the GOP, what is your point? Just because Armey is a hack and a hypocrite does not mean people wont listen to him
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Dallasite says:
Perhaps it is just my little circle, but I don’t know anyone impressed with an endorsement from Cheney. Is he the face of a 21st Century Texas? What Texas challenges can he solve? What non-Perry voter hangs on Cheney’s words? (pardon the torture pun.)
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Old guy says:
Paul, you are right on target. I might not have said it as eloquently (or bluntly), but we certainly see this situation the same.
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scooter says:
LBKTX … I beg to differ on Gray Davis. The reason he remained in office was the $25 million war chest (not including his own money) and the political and economic favors he used to keep the right people happy and utterly decimate his opponents with attack ads (Richard Riordan, Bill Simon, Dan Lundgren, etc.) No Republican beat Gray Davis – they just took advantage of the tanking CA economy and revelations of his less than respectable tactics. Perry, in many ways, has benefited from a relatively stable Texas economy, even in the recession that he apparently does not realize that we are (were?) in.
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Cali Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Scooter,
I agree that the economic issues are different; however, the tactics used by Perry and Davis are similar, particularly regarding the demonizing of moderate opponents (Sanchez in TX, Riodan in CA)
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scooter Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Cali, agreed. Unfortunately, we have not seen (and possibly will not see) any of Perry’s opponents successfully take advantage of his limitations both personal and political – and as we all know, there are many of each!
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CharlesfrmDFW Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Scooter,
How True!!!
CharlesfrmDFW says:
Also,
Txwatcher: what type of drug test does your employer have?
Really? In that post, full of good points, you had to add that?
Never mind that brining in moderates is the only chance KBH has (and that is slim)
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TX Watcher Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Charles, Cant posters have a little fun? A sly cutting(maybe over the top)little poke? ligthen up please.
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CharlesfrmDFW Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Touche; I stand corrected!
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Anonymous says:
“Bringing in moderates…”
Look, the Republican base may be primarily tea party wack-o’s, but even in Texas they are outnumbered by what they call “moderate” Republicans (who are anything but — they are the “mainstream conservatives” Paul is talking about).
The Perry camp is using Campaign Strategy 101: Voter Suppression & Perception of Invincibility. It works when the opposition hasn’t bothered to take Campaign Strategy 102: Comptetence & Issues Trump Ideology. Then again, from the looks of things, they don’t have a candidate that can fill the bill for the strategy.
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Kay the confused says:
Regardless of whether there are more “mainstream” republicans in Texas or not, what really matters is who is actually voting in the primary. On the republican side that would be the conservatives, and they will vote very strongly for who they believe in, thus, we have Kay trying to attract their attention by calling herself just as conservative as Perry. Unfortunately for her, not only is this a battle she can’t win it’s also a blatant lie. With a nicknames like Kay Bailout and being named one of the highest pork spenders in senate history there can be no denial that she is anything but conservative on the issues.
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CharlesfrmDFW Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Kay the confused,
You are right, but the point is that her only chance is to bring moderates in to vote in the primary; I think the suggestion is that she should try to woo as many mderate to liberal voters into the primary as possible. Is that not a decent strategy? Certainly better than trying to out-conservative Perry. As for the pork, does that mean she is not conservative? Strom Thurmond brought in alot of pork. Fiscally irresponsible? Maybe. But still more conservative then the Democrat alternative, not that that matters
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ModerateGOP says:
Question: why is it that often subtle disagreements on policies mean that one candidate is conservative, and the other is a liar?
KBH is as much a Republican as Perry, and arguably far more conservative, especially in her private life
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Anonymous says:
GWB was a “conservative” until his economic policies were revealed to be a failure. Now, “conservatives” just need some way to distance themselves from Bush’s failed economic policies (which were virtually identical to “conservative” icon Ronald Reagan). Rather than admit that their “conservative” economic policies don’t work, they’ve changed tactics and made it about spending. Yes, Reagan claimed it was about spending; so did Bush; so do countless other politicians looking for votes. The reality is there hasn’t been a “conservative” under the new definition of “conservative” since Herbert Hoover. And we know what that looked like. We also know what government services, including public education and public health, look like in Texas. But tightwads who only think of themselves still want their taxes to be lower. So what if we have to build more prisons to house the dropouts. That’s just economic development, and those in prison deserve it because they’re all illegals anyway.
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Harry Doghiney (D-TX) says:
Edgar Cayce says:
KBH is not going to resign from the Senate.
KBH will soon withdraw from the Governor’s race.
Sharp and White will have to decide which runs for Governor and which for Lite.
Schieffer will drop out of the Governor’s race before the primary.
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Anonymous Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Not that far fetched. White is the guv guy; Sharp for lite guv.
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Anonymous Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
KBH not resigning would be a blessing for White and Sharp. After Tuesday’s results, I can’t imagine either of them are too psyched about being on the ballot in 2010. Things can only get better for Democrats in 2012.
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Anonymous Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Harry Doghiney is a channeling…
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Briscoe Democrat Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Perry wins reelection to a 3rd full term, being the state’s 4th governor to serve 3 terms for the term conveying January 18, 2011 to January 20, 2015.
Dewhurst runs for the governorship to succeed Perry in 2014, but ends up screwing things up as GOP fatigue continues to drag folks down.
TX Democrats FINALLY get the governorship back in 2018 and other down-ballot statewide offices and clean the GOPers out of Austin for good.
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TexDem says:
John Sharp holding statewide office would be a great thing for the state. Maybe Ken Bentsen as well.
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Briscoe Democrat Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
TexDem, why would former Comptroller John Sharp (D) win another statewide office when he’s already lost back-to-back campaigns for Lieutenant Governor in 1998 and 2002 sending his record at 3-2 in statewide elections ?
I bet you some of the Texas Democrats will be pressuring him to get into the governor’s race or LG gig again (assuming Dehwurst doesn’t get appointed to KBH’s Senate seat).
The DSCC is backing Houston Mayor Bill White (D), who is outraising ALL of the candidates running, including the GOPers in the race.
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paulburka Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I agree with TexDem who says that Sharp would be an excellent officeholder. The trouble is, he’s not a good candidate. That’s why he lost two races. The one against Perry was winnable.
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Leesa says:
I’m a Democrat who plans to vote for KBH in the primary election.
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Blowfish says:
Briscoe Democrat doesn’t seem to get it that the rumor spread by him and other Bill White backers that Washington partisans are supporting them hurts their candidate’s chances.
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goo says:
Let Medina take the far right/Ron Paul nuts. Kay can get all the normal people (and be our next gov), and Perry can go be a spokesman for Paul Mitchell hair products.
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