Texas Governor Rick Perry Considers a Run

    

Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is perhaps best known outside of his home state for his rhetorical flirtation with idea of secession. During the Tea Party fervor in 2009 he told supporters, "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that." That said, it seems that the nation he threatened with secession he now wants to lead. According to The Des Moines Register, Perry's supporters are looking at the viability of a run in Iowa, one of the early voting states. Bob Vander Plaats, president of conservative advocacy group The Family Leader, reported an aid questioning him about support for Rick Perry on the platform of social conservatism.

     Likewise Pery is scheduling a trip to South Carolina, another early voting state, in August where he itnends to speak at a rally on the same day as the Ames, Iowa straw poll (an early voting poll considered predictive of Republican nominees). It should also be mentioned that several of Newt Gingrich's former top aids have connections to Perry, who may be putting a viability team together soon.

     If Perry, who is one of the most outspoken ultra-conservative leaders in state government, enters the GOP field, what will it mean for potential voters? First of all, Perry is most likely considering a run because of lackluster Republican polls showing a majority are unhappy with the current field. Perry also carries a Tea Party membership card and boasts a political record to prove it, which invests him the brand of radical conservatism with which many of the other Republican hopefuls seem to be merely toying. However, it's his relatively low profile nationally (other than the "secession" comment) and his Texas conservatism that position him to be a possible candidate in a mediocre field.

     What Americans don't know about Rick Perry is that he used to be a Democrat, endorsing and even campaigning for him in '89. How did he become the ultra-conservative evangelical governor he is today? It seems the the man has a mottled history. On one hand he seems to be drinking the Koolaid on fiscal policy, making such deep austerity cuts to schools and other public programs that he's managed to drop to a 9% approval rating among Republican voters in his own state. However, he also attempted to pass legislation that would require HPV vaccinations for 6th grade girls statewide, which pissed off a lot of conservative Christian groups and seems more like a "big" government move. Similarly he suggested in 2006 installing hundreds of night-vision cameras along Texas' porous border and cracking down on illegal immigration, but in 2007 he suggested building a trans-Texas corridor super-highway from Mexico through Texas, which would undoubtedly increase access to the U.S. to illegal immigrants.

     Rick Perry's political identity has mutated as much as his political record, becoming more and more publicaly Christian over the years, even asking fellow Texans to pray and fast with him to heal the nationas ills. Likewise his anti-federal rants and social conservative sermonizing have only been since 2009, where it seems he felt the burgeoning Tea Party movement was the gravy-train to Washington. What remains to be seen is whether this political chameleon has intentions to the White House, and whether his new radical conservatism can get him there. He said in 2010, during a gubernatorial press conference, Our party cannot be all things to all people...our opponents on the left are never going to like us, so let's quit trying to curry favor with them."

     Well Mr. Perry, Republican conservo-crats may not, but the President of the United States is supposed to be all things to all people.