Republican Opponents Try to Move to Perry's Right
If your job was to protect Gov. Rick Perry from political attack, you’d probably protect his front, his back and his left flank — the directions from which you’d expect his foes to attack.
You could ignore his right, right?
Perry is supposed to check all the boxes there, collecting superlatives from social conservatives, Tea Partiers, fiscal conservatives, evangelical Christians, home schoolers, economic development types — you name it.
But the first part of the presidential race isn’t a general election, and it is fundamental politics to attack your opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.
Perry’s strength has been his ...
Comments (8)
W Joe Deshotel via Texas Tribune on Facebook
finally...He spends more time raising money and making friends in NY and Cali than Barack Obama...Unless of course these are "missionary" trips.
Beverly Nuckols via Texas Tribune on Facebook
At least he didn't support McCain until after the primary!
Dale H Curry via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Ricky the Sleazy is going to need alot of prayer after the Tea Party Downgrade
Rudy Gonzales
This Perry Yahoo is exposed all around as he has done everything he could to get rich while thumping the Texas populace. With a 34 billion dollar budget shortfall, unemployment doldrums, short changing the youth of Texas, cutting back on schools and universities, he has managed to become a millionaire on the tax payers quarter. He's a politician turned preacher in political tones, cause he's wanting to run for the presidency. This C & D graduate of Texas A&M and ex-cheerleader finagled his way into politics and has sucked on that government tit for too long. A career politician for whom the governor's office was bought. Taking the stance he has on gay's there is talk that he's gay and living with his "wife". I'm not sure he's tells the truth.
Aldo Merino via Texas Tribune on Facebook
It's a primary at a time when the right is perpetually shifting further right by the hour -- of course they're going to attack him from the right.
Kirk Holden
This is the guy that shoved wimps like me into lockers and got 2 cheerleaders pregnant. In Jr. High. Successful bully is successful.
DanielSurman
I don't think you could say Perry has never faced a serious challenge from his right. There was a period during the gubernatorial primary in 2009 when Debra Medina surged to popularity in the wake of a strong debate performance- a performance where she relentlessly went after Perry's conservative bonafides. True, her campaign stagnated later (largely due to an infamous interview with Glenn Beck), but it is easy to forget that before that point she ascended to double digits with no money in a statewide race where the top contenders had warchests in the tens of millions. All of this was after Perry's state sovereignty speech, where he was supposed to have consolidated Tea Party support. He will face a big challenge on his right nationally, but he has dealt with this before. He got lucky that Medina burned her own bridges- I don't see the other presidential contenders making similar mistakes.
Richard Warren
States Rights is the phoniest principle in American politics. It is only invoked when it is convenient. Reactions to Perry's comments on NY gay marriage prove that the social conservative agenda trumps "States Rights." He was wise to back track and propose an amendment to the US Constitution. That wont hurt him at all. Nobody truly believes in "States Rights." People only believe in their agenda -- when States Rights helps their agenda, they are all for it, but when it hurts their agenda they ignore the entire idea. It is not a principle, it's just another tool in the political toolbox.