Why I Think Rick Perry Did Not Help Himself

[cali]

The Atlantic Home
Thursday, September 8, 2011


1) Ponzi scheme, as shown the exchange below with Romney over Social Security. Romney is already in "running as the party's nominee rather than for the Tea Party vote in South Carolina" mode. Perry is not. Among the differences is Romney's recognition that he can't run next fall in Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and elsewhere on the proposition that Social Security is a fraud and a failure.

2) Galileo. I am on a slow overseas connection and don't have time to find the clip, but what Perry said about Galileo was flat-out moronic.* Voters don't want to be led by a bunch of eggheads and Ivy League faculty members. But I assert that over time they want someone who sounds like he (or she) knows what he is talking about -- which meant only Romney and Huntsman in this debate. There are times when a crisp, "let's not get too complicated, here are the simple truths" approach can seal the deal. The sainted Ronald Reagan had that, versus Jimmy Carter. But even Reagan labored until late in that campaign to show that he was "serious" enough for the job -- as I've mentioned before, it was a much closer race, until the end, than people assume in retrospect. And for Perry, I think that too little time has passed since the GW Bush administration. The memories of crisp, hyper-decisive, but under-informed answers to complicated issues are still there, and for a general-election campaign are not a plus. Perry sounds less "compassionate" than the GW Bush of the 2000 campaign, and less reflective or informed.

3) No regrets. I still have enough faith in the basic Will Rogers-style, Tom Hanks-style, even Reagan-style, humanity of the general electorate to think that the exchange below -- the lusty cheers for the announcement of how many people Texas has executed, followed by Perry's saying he has had not one instant's regret about literal matters of life and death -- is not going to wear well in a general election campaign. If I'm wrong, we've got more to worry about than even I believe. Note: we're not talking about hunting down and killing Osama bin Laden. These are cheers for executions per se.

To my eye: Romney moves smoothly ahead, Perry raises some of the "hey, wait a minute" doubts that have pulled down Bachmann since her early prominence. Romney and Huntsman, who sounded way smoother and more confident than he had before, were the two who seem as if they realize there is a campaign to run against Obama after the primaries. Obviously I am not part of the Tea Party base. But one of these people is going to have to run for non-Tea Party votes a year from now, and that's the standard I am applying.


<snip>

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/09/why-i-think-rick-perry-did-not-help-himself/244727/

[Chemisse]

1. It was all rather funny until that part near the end:

"-- the lusty cheers for the announcement of how many people Texas has executed, followed by Perry's saying he has had not one instant's regret about literal matters of life and death --"

That reminded me this is not all a joke, and people like this could be leading the country. It made me ill.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[cali]

3. huh?

[LaurenG]

7. That was weird and the link even more bizarre

troll I guess.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. I don't know why this point hasn't been brought up earlier.

In Texas, the governorship is an office that is mostly leadership and doesn't exact a lot of duties to the state.

As opposed to the Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the Legislative Budget Board.

Under the provisions of the Texas constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is President of the Texas Senate. By the rules of the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor establishes all special and standing committees, appoints all chairpersons and members, and assigns all Senate legislation to the committee of his choice. The Lieutenant Governor decides all questions of parliamentary procedure in the Senate. He or she also has broad discretion in following Senate procedural rules.

The Lieutenant Governor is an ex officio member of several statutory bodies. These include the Legislative Budget Board, the Legislative Council, the Legislative Audit Committee, the Legislative Board and Legislative Council, which have considerable sway over state programs, the budget and policy. The Lieutenant Governor is also a member of the Legislative Redistricting Board (together with the Speaker of the House, Attorney General, Comptroller, and Land Commissioner), which is charged with adopting a redistricting plan for the Texas House of Representatives, Texas Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives after the decennial census if the Legislature fails to do so.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Governor_of_Texas

When * was governor of Texas, he didn't do much except approve of laws that were drafted and voted on by others. He approved executions. He did fundraising. But ironically it was Rick Perry as Lieutenant Governor who did more work than *.

On the TX governor's website by contrast, here are the duties of the Governor:

The governor makes policy recommendations that lawmakers in both the state House and Senate chambers may sponsor and introduce as bills. The governor also appoints the Secretary of State, as well as members of boards and commissions who oversee the heads of state agencies and departments.

The constitutional and statutory duties of the Governor include:

Signing or vetoing bills passed by the Legislature.
Serving as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.
Convening special sessions of the Legislature for specific purposes.
Delivering a report on the condition of the state to the Legislature at the beginning of each regular session.
Estimating of the amounts of money required to be raised by taxation.

Accounting for all public monies received and paid out by him and recommending a budget for the next two years.
Granting reprieves and commutations of punishment and pardons upon the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles and revoking conditional pardons.
Declaring special elections to fill vacancies in certain elected offices.

Appointing qualified Texans to state offices that carry out the laws and direct the policies of state government. Some of these offices are filled by appointment only. Others are ordinarily elected by the people, but the governor must occasionally appoint individuals to fill vacancies. The governor also appoints Texans to a wide range of advisory bodies and task forces that assist him with specific issues.

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/about/duties/

Texas is a state that has relatively few duties bestowed upon its governor. Perry can't take credit for doing too much of anything under the circumstances.

[KharmaTrain]

5. booooosh did the same thing...

He took credit for a lot of things that happened in Texas that, as a weak governor (in more ways than one) he had no direct effect upon. But the corporate media doesn't care. Since so many governors have been elected President in recent years its assumed all governors are equal...be they represent a state with 20 million or 500 thousand. Actually Mittens shot Goodhair's record down pretty good on many of these counts...and I expect he'll do it more. Those two assclowns don't look like they care much for one another.

[KharmaTrain]

6. That's Too Much Reality For Teabagland

What surely will be a major liability in a general election may just be what helps goodhair win the nomination. Last night's debate was for the wingnut fundies of Western Iowa...or other early primary states who will be the ones who pass the ultimate judgement on these jokers. Parry's shtick is new and he knows all the dogwhistles to blow and doesn't hesitate to use them. That's why the pundits may think Mittens or Huntsman may have won last night, but from the parallel universe, it was Parry going away...