Anticipating The Hate
It's probably been fairly obvious that I lean (almost to the point of falling over) toward Perry in the primary, at least against the currently declared candidates. However, as pointed out by several people, he has a few serious negatives that must be dealt with. One that has not been brought up is the absolute revulsion the left will instinctively have for him. Rich Lowry has a decent write up of what the left will convulse over if Perry is our nominee. He starts by writing:
He may not become as despised as Sarah Palin, but that’s because he’ll never be a pro-life woman...
And later he writes:
It’d be almost impossible to come up with a background and cluster of affiliations so provocative. Texas has all the negative charge for liberals that Massachusetts does for conservatives.
This is a problem because, as Rich writes:
The cultural static around Perry could well distract from his core economic message.
This is a fair evaluation of an obstacle Perry will have to overcome should we put him on the ballot. I generally enjoy driving the left as batty as possible, but surely there is a line over which we should not cross. Could Rick manly man, boot wearing, Bernanke bashing, Eagle Scout, Texan incarnate Perry be repulsive enough to the left to energize their base? Should we play it safe with Romney just in case? I want to fall completely in love with Perry's candidacy, but this is yet another weight on the opposite end of the scales. Please tell me why this should or should not be a big deal.
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Jun '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
I see your point, Prawn, but I guess I want to see that fight that Lowry worries about. If Perry is willing to go hard at the Left and he can sustain it we can finally -- after 80 years -- turn this around and start being real Americans again. Texas will show us the way.
The reason this is important now is that there has never been a better leftist "Exhibit A" like Obama and his cohorts. The contrast is very delineated and easy to see -- there is a bright line demarcating the two sides.
Dec '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
I wonder if some of the uneasiness a few conservatives feel toward Perry is in any way related to the deep seated hatred felt by coastal elites toward all things Texas, heartland, traditional, etc.
Jul '11
Re: Anticipating The Hate
This gets at the core of the matter. He probably will be hated by the opinion-makers, elites, and "comedy"-writers, but whether that trickles down to the base is another matter. The Democratic base is, after all, inherently fractured. It's a smattering of college students, ethnic minorities (to put it somewhat clumsily), labor activists, feminists, etc. I can't see his Texan-ness being popular amongst these groups, but that would be a pipe-dream for any Republican. But neither will he become the object of unanimous derision either. Recall, Sarah Palin's problems were so large because she came across as so unprepared (that Katie Couric interview made her irredeemably simple in the minds of independents), but when she was introduced to the American public she was actually very popular. Perry won't repeat her mistakes.
In sum: Perry's "strong personality" may drive op-ed writers nuts, but the vast majority of voters will give him a fair hearing.
Edited on Aug 17, 2011 at 5:54amJan '11
Re: Anticipating The Hate
Do you really have to be a "coastal elite" to find loud, obnoxious Texans off-putting? Are you really a snob if wearing the Bible on your sleeve evangelicalism seems a little smarmy and phony to you ? I dont think so. I think a lot of regular Joe Americans are creeped out by that stuff.
Jun '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
Trust but verify.
Jun '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
Michelle Malkin in her recent NRO article seems to have the same reservations about Perry that many of us have. For what it's worth.
Jun '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
This is exactly what my NJ friends and neighbors would say. We're not the elite crowd. Just normal, (mostly) church going people (predominantly Catholic) who are uncomfortable with overtly public displays of faith, particularly from a politician.
I thought GWB displayed a good balance. When asked who his favorite philospher was, he answered, "Jesus." It was a brilliant answer --- one that I have no doubt was completely honest. It took the reporter completely by surprise and showed how comfortable Bush was in his faith. We knew his life was changed by his acceptance of Christ, but he appeared to be quietly inspired rather than making a show about it.
Once I was approached by a born-again parent at my daughter's public elementary school. She was trying to recruit me for morning prayer sessions around the flag pole. She seemed more interested in the attention she'd get than the prayers being offered.
Jun '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
The Malkin article Brian linked is a must-read!
"The Perrycare executive fiat was not simply a one-off mistake explained away by lack of “research.” It exposed a fundamental lapse in both political and policy judgments, an appalling lack of ethics, and a disturbing willingness to smear principled defenders of limited government who object to the Nanny State using their children as guinea pigs.
Trusting Rick Perry’s tea-party credentials is a perilous shot in the dark."
Jun '11
Re: Anticipating The Hate
Just found out this morning that Gov. Perry will be coming to the neighborhood for lunch this Saturday. I'll attempt to verify for myself.
Jun '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
Terry
Just found out this morning that Gov. Perry will be coming to the neighborhood for lunch this Saturday. I'll attempt to verify for myself. · Aug 17 at 5:42am
Ask him why a friend who only invested $1,000 of his personal cash into a business was awarded $4.5 million in taxpayer money after donating $75K to Perry. I'd love to hear how he spins that......
May '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
As I said about Paul Ryan, don't let what "they" will say define who we choose. Fight for what you believe in.
And use the truth, rather than recycled, dredged-up hearsay and oppo research. Here is a good in-depth analysis of the supposed negatives of Perry. Before you repeat some really damning-sounding stuff make sure it hasn't been debunked already. Makes you look like a gossip who doesn't check the facts.
My two big hesitations about Perry involved the HPV vaccine Gardasil, and the Trans Texas Corridor. In both cases Perry seems to have been slapped back by the people, and the good thing is that he listened and admitted his mistakes.
The Convergen Lifesciences issue is not (yet) addressed there, but from my own reading, it does look fishy. Yet the appeals process they used was a legal option that had been set up.
Perry's not perfect, but I don't appreciate some of the criticisms of his faith or of public prayer, or other things that have been dredged up and repeated as facts, but turn out not to be.
Edited on Aug 17, 2011 at 6:59amMay '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
StickerShock
This is exactly what my NJ friends and neighbors would say. We're not the elite crowd. Just normal, (mostly) church going people (predominantly Catholic) who are uncomfortable with overtly public displays of faith, particularly from a politician.
I guess you'd be uncomfortable with most of the Founding Fathers and early Presidents including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and many others.
Just because there are some phonies out there doesn't mean we should disparage true believers. Just because you don't feel personally comfortable expressing your Christian faith in public doesn't mean you should disparage those who are comfortable with it.
Edited on Aug 17, 2011 at 6:15amMay '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
The over-the-top Bernanke-bashing language reveals that Perry's not an adult and can't be trusted as the nominee, let alone the presidency.
We need Ryan desperately. Without him, Romney is our least bad option: so-so ideologically, but a serious, plausible candidate whom independents could trust. Perry's blowing it after one short week. Good grief.
Jan '11
Re: Anticipating The Hate
I guess you'd be uncomfortable with most of the Founding Fathers and early Presidents including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and many others.
…Just because you don't feel personally comfortable expressing your Christian faith in public doesn't mean you should disparage those who are comfortable with it.
I'm pretty sure the people you cite, with the exception of Lincoln, would have been considered coastal elites, and I also believe the brand of religious expressions they exhibited hewed to pretty standard Old World protestantism, not the televangelist variety.
I have no problem with public expressions of faith or politicians saying prayers. There is particular way of doing so, though, that can be pretty creepy. The tightly shut eyes, both-hands-embracing-the-podium-so-I-don't-fall-over-from-the-rush-of-the-Spirit-through-me kind goes over the top for me personally, especially when it is employed at times that seem particularly opportunistic and inappropriate.
There are times when I like to see politicians express humility and fealty to a higher power. Often, though, I'm skeptical and find it cynically deployed. I haven't made a judgement on Perry yet. I'm simply pointing out that I see the potential for him to give off an inauthentic, obnoxious vibe.
Edited on Aug 17, 2011 at 7:23amMay '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
Do you think what Bernanke has been doing is good for the nation?
Perry's colorful language may come across as being over the top, but he's expressing what a lot of us are thinking about quantitative easing, etc.
Not only that, but what he says often gets twisted by the media. He said it was bordering on treasonous, not that it actually was treason as reported by many headlines. He never said he wanted Texas to secede from the Union, he just said (more or less) that he understood some of the frustrations that would cause people to want to secede. Yet it's constantly repeated as fact now that he wanted to secede.
Aug '11
Re: Anticipating The Hate
Chris Deleon:
Here is a good in-depth analysis of the supposed negatives of Perry.
I recommend that link that Chris posted above. An excellent summation of and response to the talking points Perry's critics will be using.
In regard to anticipating the hate, MSNBC's Ed Schultz has already been caught chopping up a Perry sound-bite so that he can prove that Rick Perry is racist. This is what we can expect, boys and girls! Gird your loins!
Edited on Aug 17, 2011 at 7:34amAug '11
Re: Anticipating The Hate
Hmm. I found it odd that Democrats went into hysterics over that comment. But then, for the last couple years I've been called a racist-nazi-terrorist just because I'd like to see smaller government.
This is where I regress to the mental state of an eleven year old and point and jeer that the Democrats can dish it out but can't take it, neener neener neener . . .
Okay, I'm back . . . Another round of quantitative easing would be a disaster for our already fallen dollar. I'm fine with using the word "treasonous," but will consider any other synonyms you have to offer.
Jan '11
Re: Anticipating The Hate
If we are going to pick our candidates on the basis of which one is most acceptable to the left we might as well pack up and go home now.
Jun '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
During the Wilderness campaign officers of the Union Army came to U.S. Grant in a panic because Robert E. Lee had been spotted on the field. Grant's response (I paraphrase from memory): "I'm sick of all this talk about Bobby Lee. It's time we stopped worrying about what Bobby Lee will do to us, and start planning what we're going to do to Bobby Lee."
Jun '10
Re: Anticipating The Hate
Drew .... I stopped reading that 17 points piece after seeing how he conveniently left out facts showing what a disaster Perry's Gardasil issue was.
"I'm pretty sure the people you cite, with the exception of Lincoln, would have been considered coastal elites, and I also believe the brand of religious expressions they exhibited hewed to pretty standard Old World protestantism, not the televangelist variety.
I have no problem with public expressions of faith or politicians saying prayers. There is particular way of doing so, though, that can be pretty creepy. The tightly shut eyes, both-hands-embracing-the-podium-so-I-don't-fall-over-from-the-rush-of-the-Spirit-through-me kind goes over the top for me personally, especially when it is employed at times that seem particularly opportunistic and inappropriate."
Exactly. I am comfortable with more mellow expressions of faith. I'm not ashamed to make the sign of the cross when I hear an ambulance, or say "God bless you," or tell friends I will say a prayer for their intentions. The televangelist style has been used to con people, so I am automatically skeptical of its use in a political context.