Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
Richard Young ·
Aug 26, 2011 at 10:16pm
In an article over on NRO, Jonah Goldberg expresses his concern over what he calls an “identity-politics problem” that conservatives risk if they nominate Rick Perry. The article is worth reading and expresses my same reservations with Perry. He sums it up by saying “...folksiness isn’t a substitute for seriousness, and I have very little patience for those who pretend otherwise.”
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Dec '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
A man's goodness will transcend his erstwhile supporters reservations. I worry about the same issues as you. I am willing to let this play out and plan to rally around the winner, whomever he/she is. We should not "O'Donnell" anyone who is willing to step up to the plate against the current administration.
Edited on Aug 26, 2011 at 4:08pmJun '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
Grimaud: A man's goodness will transcend his erstwhile supporters reservations. I worry about the same issues as you. I am willing to let this play out and plan to rally around the winner, whomever he/she is. We should not "O'Donnell" anyone who is willing to step up to the plate against the current administration. · Aug 26 at 4:07pm
Edited on Aug 26 at 04:08 pm
Yeah...but what if he's a warlock?
Jul '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
Brian Watt
Yeah...but what if he's a warlock? · Aug 26 at 5:20pm
Then He'll start the "I am Y'all" campaign.
Dec '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
At least we have time to learn if he's the real deal or not. Romney has the advantage that we all ready know he isn't.
Sep '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
I'd settle for folksiness as a cover for ruthlessness.
Dec '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
If Jonah Goldberg writes it, I'll read it. That doesn't mean he's always right.
I think what both Jonah and Richard mean is that if we back Perry we'll be open to charges of identity politics. If that isn't what they mean, I'm pretty sure I'm insulted. And sadly, we'll be open to those claims even if we choose the candidate that Keller or the NY Times would pick for us. No Yalie, no Haaavaaad graduate could get over the handicap of actually being a Republican, much less a conservative.
But Jonah's point is taken. I'll start looking for a non-Christian, anti-gun, non-Texan who don't talk like me.
I have to say that I'm impressed at just how open Jonah is keeping his mind on the subject of Rick Perry.
Edited on Aug 26, 2011 at 6:20pmJul '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
"But here’s my problem: I find the prospect of another four or eight years of defending these cultural distinctions to be intensely wearying."
That's Yer job, Jonah. Then I say retire.
May '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
I came to the Member Feed to draw attention to the same article, Richard.
A huge handicap that we conservatives have is that we can't get that educated, hip, John Stewart-listening demographic to listen to our arguments because so many of our spokesmen (and women) are dismissed as bumpkins.
Ya, it's bigotry -- our Southern or "country" candidates are held to a higher, unfair standard -- but that doesn't change the fact that it's our problem: we can't change minds if we aren't taken seriously.
I've been obsessively watching Perry YouTube clips the last couple days to try to figure if this guy is nimble enough to handle the road ahead. He's a mixed bag -- better than Bush, but he needs work.
Get to work, Rick. Study, keep your cool, be serious, and play against stereotype: You got the folksy folk in your pocket. Check. Now ease the fears of the skittish Midwestern suburban moms, and maybe a few annoying, bigoted, know-it-all college punks, too.
Edited on Aug 26, 2011 at 6:39pmJul '11
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
We didn't worry about image during the Reagan years, mostly because there was no alternative conservative media out of which a group of elitists could emerge.
Apr '11
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
Perry has won every election he has ever entered in a state that plays political hardball. If nominated, he'll win.
The only question I have about him is: will he make a good president?
Look, any Republican candidate will face merciless, baseless attacks. Which one hasn't?
But, barring a dramatic change of events, the Republican nominee is going to be the next President, so the question is: Who would best be able to enact the conservative reforms the country desperately needs now?
College grades or accents or what Jonah Goldberg feels like doing are completely irrelevant to that.
Dec '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
Scott Reusser: He's a mixed bag -- better than Bush, but he needs work.
Get to work, Rick. Study, keep your cool, be serious, and play against stereotype: You got the folksy folk in your pocket. Check. Now ease the fears of the skittish Midwestern suburban moms, and maybe a few annoying, bigoted, know-it-all college punks, too. · Aug 26 at 6:29pm
I think this is all part of the master plan. If he's half the politician people say he is then he is smart enough to sandbag a little and not make his announcement speech the best speech he ever gives. If he gives everything he has on the first outing then there is no room for improvement and the awe of his start will wear off. Starting the primary season this early makes it a marathon, not a sprint.
Jun '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
I'm not sure he's "folksy", and I'm a shade offended -- not much of a shade, just the difference between sea-foam and teal -- that Jonah writes off the populations of 14 States who think that Rick Perry sounds normal. The 14 States which make up the most dynamic, in terms of economic and population growth, region in the country. I know that 'Southern Republican' has almost become an archetype in today's political culture, but we make up a huge swath of the population and drive the nation's economy. It's only natural that we have a strong, Southern contender in every election cycle. I contend that the weariness Jonah experiences at the thought of another "folksy" dude in cowboy boots running for national office is a product of his living in D.C. instead of, say, Richmond.
Jun '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
I don't buy this .....we didn't worry about image with Reagan because he was a smooth, intelligent, gifted speaker whose passion shone through. 100% authentic and decent.
The jury is still out on Perry in many areas.
Mar '11
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
I think Perry should be himself, and all those that don't like it, go vote for someone else. If the country votes for Barack Obama because Rick Perry has a twang, then we're all screwed anyway.
Be yourself and let the chips fall where they may. Perry should keep doing what he's always done.
May '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
I'll take the ruthlessness. Christopher Hitchens writes the following in Slate:
"Where does it come from, this silly and feigned idea that it's good to be able to claim a small-town background? It was once said that rural America moved to the cities as fast as it could, and then from urban to suburban as fast as it could after that. Every census for decades has confirmed this trend. Overall demographic impulses to one side, there is nothing about a bucolic upbringing that breeds the skills necessary to govern a complex society in an age of globalization and violent unease. We need candidates who know about laboratories, drones, trade cycles, and polychrome conurbations both here and overseas. Yet the media make us complicit in the myth—all politics is yokel?—that the fast-vanishing small-town life is the key to ancient virtues. Wasilla, Alaska, is only the most vivid recent demonstration of the severe limitations of this worldview."
Edited on Aug 26, 2011 at 11:25pmMay '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
I think "drive" is a little strong. Without California, New York, and Illinois, the South would constitute just another 1st world economy.
Mar '11
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
Looking at Google's result for "define: folksy", I see two distinct ideas that the word can represent. The first is what I think sophisticates mean. The second is what I think of when I hear it. If Perry meets the first, particularly the part about "contrived", then we should hold it against him. However, if he meets the second, then it seems a (small) plus. folk·sy/ˈfōksē/Adjective 1. Having the characteristics of traditional culture and customs, esp. in a contrived or artificial way: "the shop's folksy, small-town image". 2. (of a person) Informal and unpretentious: "his tireless energy and folksy oratory".
Aug '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
If a candidate has come from humble origins to achieve political success then he is entitled to enormous credit not condescension. Perry seems to me to present a compelling story that could be themed: "Only in America...." Race aside, his bio seems far more compelling than Obama and on all fronts more so than Clinton whose greatest challenge seems to have been to overcome his own irrepressible sleaziness. Perry's past dalliance with the Democrats seems to be a net positive for him at the moment, possibly because his flaws, such as they were perceived to be at the time, didn't exclude him from representing that Party, albeit at a much lower level than the job of all jobs. As to where he goes from here , I agree whole-heartedly with Scott Reuser (#8 above). Playing to stereotype will make him a heroic figure to a substantial but inadequate minority. The urban sophisticates are a lost cause but the independents need reassurance that Perry can be thoughtful, dare I say contemplative, when the occasion or issue demands it. He's been smart enough to achieve great success already so I expect he knows what is required and how to provide it.
Jul '11
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
Goldberg makes a good point, however unpleasant it is to acknowledge. The truth is that the West Texas accent and body language are distasteful to many, and not just in the blue states on the coasts. Perhaps it's unfair and even unjust, but it's a reality to which anyone seeking the presidency had better get used.
I grew up in Queens, New York. When I left for college I had a thick Noo Yawk accent and I quickly realized it was a handicap with my peers. I made a great effort to lose the accent and I had so much success that for many years I've been unable to speak like the native I am. My experience was that the condescension stopped when the accent became imperceptible. Of course, one could say any number of things about the superficiality of the environment I was in and my character in the way I chose to adapt to it. But those are secondary matters. The basic fact is that I wanted to be taken seriously where I was and the accent was a liability.
Nov '10
Re: Rick Perry and the Conservative Image
Michael Labeit
Without California, New York, and Illinois, the South would constitute just another 1st world economy.
But CA, NY and IL are in remarkedly dire financial straits and... Texas is not.