Rick Perry: First Impressions
Yesterday, I listened twice to Rick Perry’s first advertisement. This afternoon – at the office where the internet connection is fast – I listened carefully to the first speech of Rick Perry’s campaign. And I can say that I am both pleased and mildly worried.
The video I thought fabulous. It was low-key, gentle, soothing, and devastating. It muted the drama and appealed to the intellect, pointing to the obvious and quietly encouraging the listener to compare President Obama with Governor Perry and to judge them by their accomplishments. If Perry and his team can keep this up, he is likely to win. I am of two minds, however, about his announcement speech.
On the one hand, he sounded the right themes. The antidote to this country’s soft despotic drift is decentralization. When Alexis de Tocqueville wrote about this question, he had his eye on France, and he was offering the American example – federalism, decentralization within the states, religion, and the nuclear family – as an antidote. As I argued two years ago in Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift, our troubles today today arise from the partial collapse of the family, from religion’s decline, and from our abandonment of federalism. Think through the implications of Terrence Moore’s first post – on the welfare state – and you will get the picture. In his speech and video, directly or obliquely, Perry touched on all three of these questions, reasserting the central importance of the integrity of the family, intimating that religion is our moral anchor, and demanding a return to federalism. If he thinks through the logic of his own commitments – and perhaps he has done so already – his instincts will be pretty consistently sound.
On the other hand, Perry was folksy throughout – and that worries me a bit. The tone of the speech and the manner of delivery were pitch-perfect for Texas. I am not, however, certain that this will play for a national audience. I do not mean to suggest that Perry should never be folksy. He comes from Paint Creek, and this comes naturally to him. Moreover, he needs at the outset to gather to him those who belong to his natural constituency – which is made up of white people who live in the countryside and in small towns. But to persuade a wider audience, Perry will have to pitch his argument to an audience that thinks itself more sophisticated. I am not arguing that the city slickers really are more sophisticated; I am arguing that they are in the grips of a powerful prejudice against people from places like Paint Creek.
You will respond that Bill Clinton came from Hope, Arkansas, and you will be correct. But Bill Clinton went to Georgetown University and Yale Law School, and he did a stint at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He was vetted. Perry is an outsider. Even in some circles in Texas, Aggies are regarded as hicks. It is easy to see what sort of campaign David Axelrod and his associates will gin up against Perry. It will draw on the instinctive bigotry that made it so easy to demonize Lyndon Baines Johnson and the younger Bush. Obama cannot run on his record. To win, he must demonize the alternative. It is going to be ugly.
Perry is an exceedingly successful Texas politician. He comes from a place that is self-regarding in the extreme (I speak as a native of Oklahoma) and inward-looking. He has never operated outside its borders, and he may be unaware of its parochial character. If he is, he needs to wake up right away – and Mitt Romney is perfectly situated to give him that wake-up call.
Here is what Perry needs to do. He needs to anticipate the assault.
For example, if Obama’s people play anti-Texas prejudice against him, he should mock their advertisements. Indeed, he might do well to hit them hard the day they play this card – by preparing humorous advertisements ahead of time comparing Texas . . . with Chicago. They could touch on corruption, gangsters, population explosion and population implosion, political practices. And it could all be done with a light touch.
The larger problem is this, however. Most Americans – outside Texas – associate a West-Texas accent and a folksy manner with stupidity. The Obama people – and, perhaps more subtly – the Romney people may try to depict Perry as a hick. This he can head off if he has the wit to recognize the obvious: that what plays in Texas may not play as well elsewhere.
My suggestion would be that he give two or three speeches at venues associated with the conservative intelligentsia. The speeches should be low-key, gentle, and, above all else, thoughtful. In them he should outline in a manner almost academic what he intends to do and why. One could deal with defense and foreign policy. Another could focus on healthcare. A third could take economic growth and the prerequisites for economic growth as its theme. In these speeches, his purpose should be to demonstrate that he is anything but a hick, anything but stupid, and that he has thought in depth and carefully about the larger issues we face. There should not be a hint of the campaign speech in them. They should be intellectually devastating without being polemical. His aim should be to dispel once and for all the suspicion that he is just another hot dog from Texas running his mouth in predictable ways.
I mention this now in the hope that someone in Perry’s entourage reads Ricochet. What Perry did in South Carolina on Saturday was appropriate for the occasion. But there are other occasions, and most of us are not Texans. If I were the head of the American Enterprise Institute, I would get on the phone tomorrow and invite Perry to give three lectures in DC. The trick here is to get out ahead of the onslaught and to kill the appeal to prejudice before it is even launched.
- Comment (77)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (4)
Comments:
Sep '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
So what is needed is a Lincoln at Cooper Union - the percieved Western hick, with a folksy, evangelical delivery, comming to a seat of the establishment, to deliver not a political barn burner but a thoroughly researched, thoughtful, low key, scholarly, Lyceum like lecture - to demonstrate his intellectual underpinnings. It worked then.
May '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
I see we're recycling the old Haley Barbour-sounds-too-funny-to-be-president material. The curse of the magnolia tongue rides again.
Dec '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Duane Oyen: Washington is a mess largely because of the encroachment of the insider-dealing corporatist state.
The only troubling thing about Perry, other than the fact that he is easy to parody (see Steven Hayward, who has also said that a Northerner probably needs to oppose Obama) is his comfort with taking care of his insider buddies, as Charlie Dameron's WSJ piece points out, and as the Merck episode (where his former staffers got to him) reinforces.
Given the choice between favoritism to corporations (who create jobs) and unions/community organizations (who destroy jobs) I'll take the former. In both style and substance Perry is the antithesis of Obama. Romney is, as has been pointed out previously, merely Obama with an R after his name.
Aug '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
My 80 year old Dad is from Texas. Hasn't lived there since he was a child but that doesn't stop the Texas coming out in him from time to time. Asking Rick Perry to leave Texas at the stateline is unrealistic. It's part of who he is, right or wrong. I'm interested, but not sold yet. Need to hear more. It's a very long time until next summer and lots will happen between now and then. However, if he adds Palin to the ticket, I'm gone. I don't think she will take the second chair again but it will divide the party even more and that will lead to an Obama second term.
Jun '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Duane Oyen:
Brian, let me know when you find one of those nutty apocalyptic Christian politicians whose view of the book of Revelations actually gets in the way of sound policy. They tried to do that to Watt 25 years ago, and it was a lie then as well. · Aug 15 at 9:23am
Only pointing out, good buddy, that since Perry seems to wear his religion on his sleeve that the questions about his associations to End of Times preachers like Hagee will be asked. In the latest Texas textbook review Perry made it a point to appoint fervent Creationists to the board to attempt to introduce Creationism into science curricula - despite the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision in Pennsylvania in 2005 prohibiting such inclusion. So, if he was so moved to do that, what else does his religious belief influence him to do? It's a fair question and it will be asked. I'm sure if he has any sense, he will artfully dodge and weave around them.
Mar '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Paul A. Rahe
Thank you for this. Perry obviously comes from the old Tory wing of the Texas Democratic Party. It is not pretty, but it is not as off-putting as Obamacare. I do wish that Paul Ryan would run. · Aug 15 at 5:04am
Here's another article discussing the crony capitalism charges surrounding the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. I agree that if we wait for a candidate totally devoid of warts, we'll end up with 4 more years of Obama, but this is the kind of thing that can be made to stick, and needs to be addressed before the inevitable questions start getting asked.
Jan '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
~Paules
As easy a job as any ad-man has ever faced. Perry: genuine accomplishment as the governor of a major state. Obama: no major accomplishments after 4 years in office. Pound it: Can we afford 4 more years of this loser? · Aug 15 at 8:24am
I have no issues at all with the messaging. Perry can not only bring the rhetoric, he can bring a record.
But the handwringing of those who worry that Perry will come off as being a dumb hick... I wonder whose opinions they're worried about. The Upper West Side of Manhattan and Laguna Beach aren't going to vote for Perry, even if he sounded like Peter Robinson.
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Nicely put.
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
TheSophist
~Paules
As easy a job as any ad-man has ever faced. Perry: genuine accomplishment as the governor of a major state. Obama: no major accomplishments after 4 years in office. Pound it: Can we afford 4 more years of this loser? · Aug 15 at 8:24am
I have no issues at all with the messaging. Perry can not only bring the rhetoric, he can bring a record.
But the handwringing of those who worry that Perry will come off as being a dumb hick... I wonder whose opinions they're worried about. The Upper West Side of Manhattan and Laguna Beach aren't going to vote for Perry, even if he sounded like Peter Robinson. · Aug 15 at 10:42am
I am worried about the folks who live in suburbia in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, New Mexico, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire . . . I could go on. In the movies and on TV, for something like sixty years, we have been lead to associate the West-Texas accent with ignorance.
Aug '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
The "curse of the magnolia tongue." An awesome line...
What bugs me (as a Texan, now Tennessean) is that Texas and Southern accents are reason for questioning a person's intelligence, but not the far more grating Northern accents. (OK - I admit - I'm baiting some folks.)
The truth is - we are losing many of the amazing regional accents in this country, and that's a shame. I think we oughta celebrate them. After all - it ain't HOW you say it. It's WHAT you say.
May '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
The King Prawn
Given the choice between favoritism to corporations (who create jobs) and unions/community organizations (who destroy jobs) I'll take the former. In both style and substance Perry is the antithesis of Obama. Romney is, as has been pointed out previously, merely Obama with an R after his name. · Aug 15 at 9:36am
KP, most of us agree with you. As far as I am concerned, I wish unions all disappeared. But I am more concerned right now about the 53% of the voters who didn't agree with us last time.
And the bolded statement is hyperbole, I understand, but it is demonstrably nonsensical as well. The statement is baldly untrue. If that is the quality of the argument in favor of Perry and against Romney, you can have him.
Brian- Pennsylvania case precedent does not apply in the Texas district. This is a question of fact, not Judge John's opinion. Were the school board people nutty? If so, I agree with you. If they were instead in favor of not having the textbooks propound untruths (most do), I disagree with you. Welles may be a nutty Moonie, but his book documents reality.
Jun '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Duane Oyen
Brian- Pennsylvania case precedent does not apply in the Texas district. This is a question of fact, not Judge John's opinion. Were the school board people nutty? If so, I agree with you. If they were instead in favor of not having the textbooks propound untruths (most do), I disagree with you. Welles may be a nutty Moonie, but his book documents reality. · Aug 15 at 3:34pm
The case was heard in a federal court and the attempt to introduce the Creationist/ID material was ruled a violation of the establishment clause of the Constitution by a conservative Republican judge. You can bet your jalapeno peppers that had the Creationists (and Perry) been successful in introducing their material in Texas, a lawsuit by various parties would have quickly ensued and cited Dover. I won't take the trouble to list the endless number of books that discredit those, like Welles, who cherry pick outdated information that scientists have long ago corrected or distort the work of current experts to attempt to nullify ToE. I invite anyone to read the 66 one-star reviews on the Amazon link you cited.
Jun '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Paul - Apologies for sidetracking your discussion in my response to Duane. But this is an aspect of Perry that will certainly be touched upon in the MSM.
Aug '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
The battle for the Presidency in this environment is a battle for the independents. The strong liberals and strong conservatives are locked into their choices - I don't think there's anyone here who would vote for Obama even you ran a cardboard cutout against him.
The creationism issue is a big one. Palin was hit hard by it, and she's never actually tried to push Creationism on Alaskans. To a lot of moderates, advocating that creationism be taught in school is a deal-breaker - a sign that you're a religious zealot who isn't capable of understanding science or the evidence in front of you. That, coupled with a Texas swagger, public prayer sessions, and a speaking style reminiscent of a televangelist is going to seriously put off a lot of moderate and center left voters who are ready to abandon Obama.
Perry's a strong candidate, and probably the best choice among those currently running with the possible exception of Mitt Romney, but he's got a lot of potential baggage. How many here who are supporting him are doing so reluctantly because he's just the best of a relatively weak field?
Jan '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Paul A. Rahe
I am worried about the folks who live in suburbia in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, New Mexico, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire . . . I could go on. In the movies and on TV, for something like sixty years, we have been lead to associate the West-Texas accent with ignorance. · Aug 15 at 11:52am
Paul, if the Republic is truly at a place where otherwise sane Americans would choose to not vote for an otherwise stellar candidate based on his accent... and enough of them would do so such that we are stuck with a President who sounds right but is oh-so-wrong...
Is that Republic still worth saving?
Mar '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Paul A. Rahe
I am worried about the folks who live in suburbia in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, New Mexico, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire . . . I could go on. In the movies and on TV, for something like sixty years, we have been lead to associate the West-Texas accent with ignorance. · Aug 15 at 11:52am
You don't need to worry. The fine citizens of North Carolina., Virginia, Florida, New Mexico and Colorado; states we need to flip, aren't going to be distracted by an accent. Someone as astute as you should be infinitely more concerned by what a person says and does, than how he sounds. My faith in America will be completely shaken if any swing voter gave Barry another shot, when if Perry wins the nomination, we'll have a competent politician as his adversary.
Jan '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Dr. Rahe is exactly correct that Perry needs to inoculate himself against the sort of prejudice that those of us from small towns have come to expect. Sarah Palin refused to take the steps necessary to do that, and her image has been forever harmed. It may well be that she isn't capable of doing what needs to be done, but she hasn't made the attempt, and it has forever tarnished her "brand" I find it sad that all this is necessary-prejudice against small places and regional accents is boring in the extreme, but it exists, and must be dealt with. I found Rahe's comments about attacking the problem with humor to be right on the mark, and I hope the Perry campaign will take them to heart. But he has to acknowledge the problem, and deal with it with the kind of serious rhetoric and self deprecating humor that should be a must in a national politician. And know, I don't think claiming he reads Hayek on the beach will work. You don't have to reassure American voters of intellectual creds, but they want to know that you are smart.